What do you think?
Rate this book
Poker Night #3
Pocket Pair
For three years, Trey Huggins has watched and wanted Principal Cole Harding. As a teacher in the high school where they both work, Trey knows it'll never happen. Even if Cole was gay, he'd never go for a guy like Trey.
Seeking love in other places, Trey meets a man online and finally agrees to a drink. What he gets instead is a trip to the emergency room in the back of an ambulance. With the school year swiftly approaching, Trey fights to overcome his physical limitations as well as his constant fear.
For twenty-five years, Cole has managed to keep his private life separate from his job. Extending a helping hand to a colleague shouldn't be a big deal, but the feelings Trey invokes in Cole are anything but professional.
Can the teacher tutor the principal in love, or will class be out for these two before the school year even begins?
Seeking love in other places, Trey meets a man online and finally agrees to a drink. What he gets instead is a trip to the emergency room in the back of an ambulance. With the school year swiftly approaching, Trey fights to overcome his physical limitations as well as his constant fear.
For twenty-five years, Cole has managed to keep his private life separate from his job. Extending a helping hand to a colleague shouldn't be a big deal, but the feelings Trey invokes in Cole are anything but professional.
Can the teacher tutor the principal in love, or will class be out for these two before the school year even begins?
113 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 24, 2009
3 people are currently reading
153 people want to read
About the author
Carol Lynne
251 books1,196 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
erotic & gay romances
erotic & gay romances
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
June 3, 2011
The Poker Night series features a group of 6 gay men (Zac, Bobby, Trey, Angelo, Marco and Kent) who have been friends for almost 4 years and get together to play poker, drink beer and have fun every other Saturday. As the series starts, they're all single, but it's obvious that each of them is destined to find their HEA as the series progresses.
The 3rd book in the series, Pocket Pair, is Trey's story and picks up a few months after Slow-Play ended.
As the story opens, Trey Huggins is still recovering from what happened to him at the end of the previous book. Quiet, shy and very lonely, he'd agreed to have a date with a man he met on an online website. That became a nightmare when the man turned out to be a psycopath who left him to die after raping and stabbing him. Now, still trying to deal with the consequences of that event, Trey decides to act on his long-time crush on Cole Harding, the principal of the school where he and his friend Zac teach.
Cole is a handsome, confident, successful, closeted gay man. He's also had a secret crush on Trey for years, but he needs to keep his private and professional life separate. He isn't willing to risk his career for an affair with Trey, but when he learns what's happened to his favorite teacher (sorry, bad joke), he rushes to help. Soon, there's no denying their feelings for each other and what begins as a crush grows into love. But Trey is still too emotionally damaged by what happened and isn't ready to embrace a physical relationship with Cole. Will Trey ever be ready for that? Is Cole's love strong enough to endure a sexless relationship? And what about the public implications of their relationship? Is Cole ready to come out of the closet yet?
Wow, I really enjoyed this book. Despite its premise (a man recovering from a rape attack), this wasn't an overly dark and angsty story. Trey's issues weren't ignored, but they didn't took over the pages and I was glad. I loved, loved, loved Trey: he was so sweet, I wanted to cuddle him and help him get over his nighmare. Unfortunately (for me, not for him), Cole was there. ;) I liked the way they didn't jump into bed right away, as it would be too unbelievable considering Trey's situation. Cole was kind and patient, exactly what Trey needed.
Now, the "bad" part... I admit I was uncomfortable with the huge age difference between Trey and Cole: Trey was 29 years old and Cole was almost 20 years older. That was too much, especially because Trey was very inexperienced - he was a virgin, rape aside - and sometimes insecure. Theirs was not a balanced relationship, IMHO. Anyway, I'm choosing to ignore that and believe in their HEA, just because I love those guys and wish them the best. :)
The 3rd book in the series, Pocket Pair, is Trey's story and picks up a few months after Slow-Play ended.
As the story opens, Trey Huggins is still recovering from what happened to him at the end of the previous book. Quiet, shy and very lonely, he'd agreed to have a date with a man he met on an online website. That became a nightmare when the man turned out to be a psycopath who left him to die after raping and stabbing him. Now, still trying to deal with the consequences of that event, Trey decides to act on his long-time crush on Cole Harding, the principal of the school where he and his friend Zac teach.
Cole is a handsome, confident, successful, closeted gay man. He's also had a secret crush on Trey for years, but he needs to keep his private and professional life separate. He isn't willing to risk his career for an affair with Trey, but when he learns what's happened to his favorite teacher (sorry, bad joke), he rushes to help. Soon, there's no denying their feelings for each other and what begins as a crush grows into love. But Trey is still too emotionally damaged by what happened and isn't ready to embrace a physical relationship with Cole. Will Trey ever be ready for that? Is Cole's love strong enough to endure a sexless relationship? And what about the public implications of their relationship? Is Cole ready to come out of the closet yet?
Wow, I really enjoyed this book. Despite its premise (a man recovering from a rape attack), this wasn't an overly dark and angsty story. Trey's issues weren't ignored, but they didn't took over the pages and I was glad. I loved, loved, loved Trey: he was so sweet, I wanted to cuddle him and help him get over his nighmare. Unfortunately (for me, not for him), Cole was there. ;) I liked the way they didn't jump into bed right away, as it would be too unbelievable considering Trey's situation. Cole was kind and patient, exactly what Trey needed.
Now, the "bad" part... I admit I was uncomfortable with the huge age difference between Trey and Cole: Trey was 29 years old and Cole was almost 20 years older. That was too much, especially because Trey was very inexperienced - he was a virgin, rape aside - and sometimes insecure. Theirs was not a balanced relationship, IMHO. Anyway, I'm choosing to ignore that and believe in their HEA, just because I love those guys and wish them the best. :)
July 31, 2011
I is gonna give it five stars even though I didn’t like Cole most of the time I loved the story and couldn't put it down.
Poor Trey kept making me cry
And it had some laugh out loud moments with Angelo and the big cop
Poor Trey kept making me cry
And it had some laugh out loud moments with Angelo and the big cop
July 31, 2011
Hmm, I didn't like this one near as much as the last one. It felt too rushed and had too much going on for such a short story. I never felt the connection between Trey and Cole at all. In the beginning it felt like Cole was mostly taking advantage of the crush Trey had on him and his loneliness. I did have more respect for Cole when he waited until Trey was really ready to make love, but by that time I was really bored with their relationship. Maybe if the story was longer and better developed I would have enjoyed it more.
September 8, 2012
Not the light fluffy read like the others, this one has more story but despite the darker story line theres still the perfect HEA.
September 1, 2009
Its a few weeks since Trey Huggins has been involved in what is now known as “the incident” and he is still hiding away not only from his friends but his job and the man that he has been lusting after for about three year now.
With friends like the ones he have, someone was bound to tell him some truths and try to get him out of his depression and what better way than forcing him to acknowledge a call from the one person that he thought would never look at him in a million years.
When the call that Cole Harding had not really been expecting came he certainly did not think he would end up with Trey sitting across from him late at night.
Things moves on quickly for the two ill suited men and they both make every attempt at finding that common ground between them, but there is more to lose for each man and they may not really have what it takes to see this thing that's building between them through.
When Ms. Lynne introduced the Poker Nights series I was one of her fans that rubbed my hands in glee and had a little smirk on my face, because yes this woman has some imagination.
POCKET PAIR is the third in the Poker night series and it is a powerful book on one hand but for some reason it so did not live up to the expectation that I had probably built up for Trey's partnership on the other hand..
The book dives straight into heartbreaking areas and it never really stopped - friendship, honour, protectiveness and taking a chance despite everything that the relationship had going for it to survive, are some of the issue that rose above the surface of this book. Despite all that there was this feeling of everything fitting two neatly into the boxes – other than Trey traumatic experience the angst was really non existent between them.. and that was were my total disappoint came about – I suppose I was expecting bells and whistles after all Trey’s character has been building up over the past two book and I was just expecting more for him.
Regardless of the convenience of some aspect of the story it kept pace with the other two books in the series – with minimal character development and the entire story revolving around the friends and their search in finding happiness. A whole lot of emotional tension filled this story along with some in your face angst from the support cast. This book tossed in one or two new players and the next book looks to be a firecracker of a storm….
With friends like the ones he have, someone was bound to tell him some truths and try to get him out of his depression and what better way than forcing him to acknowledge a call from the one person that he thought would never look at him in a million years.
When the call that Cole Harding had not really been expecting came he certainly did not think he would end up with Trey sitting across from him late at night.
Things moves on quickly for the two ill suited men and they both make every attempt at finding that common ground between them, but there is more to lose for each man and they may not really have what it takes to see this thing that's building between them through.
When Ms. Lynne introduced the Poker Nights series I was one of her fans that rubbed my hands in glee and had a little smirk on my face, because yes this woman has some imagination.
POCKET PAIR is the third in the Poker night series and it is a powerful book on one hand but for some reason it so did not live up to the expectation that I had probably built up for Trey's partnership on the other hand..
The book dives straight into heartbreaking areas and it never really stopped - friendship, honour, protectiveness and taking a chance despite everything that the relationship had going for it to survive, are some of the issue that rose above the surface of this book. Despite all that there was this feeling of everything fitting two neatly into the boxes – other than Trey traumatic experience the angst was really non existent between them.. and that was were my total disappoint came about – I suppose I was expecting bells and whistles after all Trey’s character has been building up over the past two book and I was just expecting more for him.
Regardless of the convenience of some aspect of the story it kept pace with the other two books in the series – with minimal character development and the entire story revolving around the friends and their search in finding happiness. A whole lot of emotional tension filled this story along with some in your face angst from the support cast. This book tossed in one or two new players and the next book looks to be a firecracker of a storm….
September 13, 2012
Poor Trey, I felt so bad for him, but this story just felt too heavy to be so short.
We never found out about the conversation Trey had with his parents, he was so worried about it, I thought there would at least be some reference to the outcome.
I also had some issues with Cole, they live in San Fransico and he hasn't had any kind of relationship in 25 years because he is afraid of the school board ? Huh? I didn't like him telling Trey to give them a try but not willing to offer him anything in return, I thought Trey gave in very easily, considering he had very valid points to not wanting to be a 'secret'.
If Bobby hadn't bluntly asked Cole about his priorities when would he have come to his senses?
Last but not least, and I could be wrong, but why didn't Cole even think about offering to let Trey top? He had been violated and his only experience with anal sex had been violent and hurtful and traumatic, I would have thought way more of Cole if he had at least offered!
Trey and the rest of the gang made up for me not likeing Cole!
We never found out about the conversation Trey had with his parents, he was so worried about it, I thought there would at least be some reference to the outcome.
I also had some issues with Cole, they live in San Fransico and he hasn't had any kind of relationship in 25 years because he is afraid of the school board ? Huh? I didn't like him telling Trey to give them a try but not willing to offer him anything in return, I thought Trey gave in very easily, considering he had very valid points to not wanting to be a 'secret'.
If Bobby hadn't bluntly asked Cole about his priorities when would he have come to his senses?
Last but not least, and I could be wrong, but why didn't Cole even think about offering to let Trey top? He had been violated and his only experience with anal sex had been violent and hurtful and traumatic, I would have thought way more of Cole if he had at least offered!
Trey and the rest of the gang made up for me not likeing Cole!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 6, 2012
I just love these series!
Low-angst, nice, light stories with very sympathetic characters, you can't help, but LOVE all these guys )))
Here it was a hard sell for me, since I'm really not into whole '30 yo and still virgin' thing, but here it's been done very touching and believable. Both Trey and Cole are great guys!
I've had small issues with too much mentions of safe sex, I mean, when Cole said to Trey they need to wait several months until Trey's second tests were done, that was... a little jarring for me, because if someone would say such a thing to me - I'd be offended. But overall that was still great read!
Low-angst, nice, light stories with very sympathetic characters, you can't help, but LOVE all these guys )))
Here it was a hard sell for me, since I'm really not into whole '30 yo and still virgin' thing, but here it's been done very touching and believable. Both Trey and Cole are great guys!
I've had small issues with too much mentions of safe sex, I mean, when Cole said to Trey they need to wait several months until Trey's second tests were done, that was... a little jarring for me, because if someone would say such a thing to me - I'd be offended. But overall that was still great read!
September 5, 2012
This was one of the better books in this series because it had a pretty substantial plot and there really wasn't the insta-love scenario of the first two books. At the end of book 2 we discover that Trey is the victim of a brutal crime. This book opens with Trey staying at Bobby and Jules' house, recovering from his attack physically and mentally. Cole is the principal of Trey's school and the attraction that has been building between them for years, finally comes to a head. I liked Trey - he was very sweet. I also liked the introduction of the new character, Officer Moody, and his interactions with Angelo.
May 4, 2022
Ok, vamos deixar algumas coisas bem claras aqui... se você veio ler esse livro, com certeza não foi por causa do enredo. Então, eu não vou reclamar do fato que ele é inexistente, mas sim que os personagens são tão insípidos que as cenas de sexo ficam monótonas.
Livros eróticos são fundamentalmente diferentes de suas contrapartes em outras mídias... é preciso que haja pelo menos um dos seguintes fatores para que a leitura não se torne monótona: escrita diferenciada, trama interessante, personagens cativantes. Não é o caso aqui.
Tudo parece ter sido feito apenas com o intuito de preencher buracos, como aqueles exercícios de complete a frase. No fim, se torna tão tedioso que fica irritante.
Mesmo para quem acompanha a série, não há motivo para ler esse número pois ele termina tendo pouco vínculo com a sequência.
January 7, 2020
Loved this story
Just the right amount of suspense and comfort. Set everything up nicely for the next book. I really line this series.
Just the right amount of suspense and comfort. Set everything up nicely for the next book. I really line this series.
Read
September 1, 2009First of all, I have to pay my compliments to the author for a choice I think she did: to not write an overtly dramatic story. Unfortunately for Trey, his story didn't start well: of all the men who gather for Poker Night at Zac's house, Trey was to most quiet and shy. A teacher in the same high school where Zac is a coach, he had a crush on the principal but has never found to courage to make a move on him. First Cole, the principal, is much older than Trey, more or less 20 years of difference, and he is also handsome and self-assured, something Trey is not. Second, Trey is an old fashioned guy, from a southern family he is a bit the male version of a southern belle: he was taught that sex is something you do with your partner life and not with the first guy you meet. And so at 29 years old Trey was still a virgin and was probably losing the hope to find the right guy.
On a desperate last attempt, he signed in an online dating website and unfortunately saw the worst side of the experience: the first guy he decided to meet was a psychopathic who raped and stabbed him almost to death. Trey survived, and at the end of the previous book in the series all his friends were there to help him to recover. So, starting this book, above all if you read the previous one, you could probably expect a story with an high dose of drama, and with a lot of issue from Trey's side to accept and give another chance to a normal life. It's not that the author doesn't highlight Trey's trouble, but she chooses to be light on them. The first move we see Trey doing is calling Cole, in a way giving a way out to their relationship. Truth, Trey has some problem with touching and being touched by people, even friends, but it's something he is able to overcome with a bit of gentleness and caring.
Cole is both tender and caring but also not too much oppressive; he understands Trey's issues, he tries to ease him on having a sexual relationship, but he doesn't build an house of cards from nothing. He is not overwhelming, he lets Trey having his pace, but he is also always there, ready to let Trey knows that he is ready to help. Someone could question on Cole's attitude towards their relationship, above all when Cole states almost from the beginning that he is not ready to put in danger his 25 years old career in teaching for an homosexual relationship with Trey... Cole in that moment sounds cold and harsh, even more if you consider Trey's situation and his emotional unsteadiness. But truth be told, Cole never brings on his statement and he is always ready to be a steady figure near Trey. So any potential issue the reader could have with Cole is soon forgotten.
As I said, the story is less dramatic then expected and in a way I liked it better in that way. Trey is a gentle soul, he needs someone strong near him, and being Cole older than Trey, makes him the perfect partner for someone like Trey. Not only the age difference, but also the difference in body structure, Trey small and delicate, and Cole big and strong, reinforces the idea that Trey is a "belle" in need of a knight to protect him. Not all the possible layers of the story are fully developed, Trey's relationship with his parents, the trial and its abrupt ending, but again I think the author chose to give more space to the characters than the possible development of the story outside their relationship.
The Poker Night series has a more realistic and ordinary feeling than other series of Carol Lynne, but this doesn't make it less interesting and good.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1907280804/?...
On a desperate last attempt, he signed in an online dating website and unfortunately saw the worst side of the experience: the first guy he decided to meet was a psychopathic who raped and stabbed him almost to death. Trey survived, and at the end of the previous book in the series all his friends were there to help him to recover. So, starting this book, above all if you read the previous one, you could probably expect a story with an high dose of drama, and with a lot of issue from Trey's side to accept and give another chance to a normal life. It's not that the author doesn't highlight Trey's trouble, but she chooses to be light on them. The first move we see Trey doing is calling Cole, in a way giving a way out to their relationship. Truth, Trey has some problem with touching and being touched by people, even friends, but it's something he is able to overcome with a bit of gentleness and caring.
Cole is both tender and caring but also not too much oppressive; he understands Trey's issues, he tries to ease him on having a sexual relationship, but he doesn't build an house of cards from nothing. He is not overwhelming, he lets Trey having his pace, but he is also always there, ready to let Trey knows that he is ready to help. Someone could question on Cole's attitude towards their relationship, above all when Cole states almost from the beginning that he is not ready to put in danger his 25 years old career in teaching for an homosexual relationship with Trey... Cole in that moment sounds cold and harsh, even more if you consider Trey's situation and his emotional unsteadiness. But truth be told, Cole never brings on his statement and he is always ready to be a steady figure near Trey. So any potential issue the reader could have with Cole is soon forgotten.
As I said, the story is less dramatic then expected and in a way I liked it better in that way. Trey is a gentle soul, he needs someone strong near him, and being Cole older than Trey, makes him the perfect partner for someone like Trey. Not only the age difference, but also the difference in body structure, Trey small and delicate, and Cole big and strong, reinforces the idea that Trey is a "belle" in need of a knight to protect him. Not all the possible layers of the story are fully developed, Trey's relationship with his parents, the trial and its abrupt ending, but again I think the author chose to give more space to the characters than the possible development of the story outside their relationship.
The Poker Night series has a more realistic and ordinary feeling than other series of Carol Lynne, but this doesn't make it less interesting and good.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1907280804/?...
August 23, 2013
This story is about Trey and Cole. The story starts with Trey in the hospital after being attacked and raped from by a blind date. Trey develops an online relationship with "William Overton" from a political family due to being lonely. Obviously it turns out really bad, all the friends come to help, he moves in with Bobby and Jules until the catch the criminal. Cole, the principal comes into the picture due to Zac and the book goes through the trials of love and the real trials of the rape. Every one of the friends steps up to help and then you are introduced to the next book with Angelo and Moody "the detective" on the case. This is another great book and love the continuation of the poker night friends
December 29, 2011
3.5 stars
I'm really enjoying this series and the developing relationships between the men and their 'significant other'. For this book, I felt that the resolution of Trey's issues was a bit rushed and too easy. But this IS a novella, so I guess some things can't be dragged out too long ;)
I'm really enjoying this series and the developing relationships between the men and their 'significant other'. For this book, I felt that the resolution of Trey's issues was a bit rushed and too easy. But this IS a novella, so I guess some things can't be dragged out too long ;)
September 6, 2012
This story is mostly about Trey's attack, recovery and the prosecution of his attacker, which was pretty good. It was also about Trey and Cole, though I had a hard time feeling the connection with them. Cole is a bit older, and I just had trouble seeing the connection between them. Ready to move on to Angelo's story now.
December 6, 2012
I had a good time reading this book, but I just couldn't get excited about the main couple. While I instantly fell in love with Trey, I never got comfortable with Cole. I felt he has had to be pushed throughout the book. Otherwise, it was very enjoyable and I recommend it to all who liked the first two books in the series.
September 21, 2013
I had a hard time getting in to this third book of the series. Perhaps it's because the story was so short and the topic--rape--so serious, and I felt I needed more. The MCs came across a little flat, and things were resolved a little too easily, too quickly.
The best part of this story, in my opinion, was the budding relationship between Moody and Angelo. I'm hoping the next book is about them.
The best part of this story, in my opinion, was the budding relationship between Moody and Angelo. I'm hoping the next book is about them.
August 25, 2009
Loved it. As I do all hers. AKM
May 25, 2011
3.5 stars
July 11, 2011
Love this one!
August 12, 2013
Trey is an adorable character. Cole is a sweetheart. Lots of sexual tension that ends in hot sex scenes. another fantastic couple.
August 26, 2013
Trey being stabbed and raped broke my heart. He is such a sweet and loving guy. I'm so happy that Cole finally found the balls to go after what he wanted most in life.
November 12, 2013
Sweet characters
February 2, 2015
Трей повергся нападению и изнасилованию,Коул работает в школе завучем.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews