The Coach

At fifty-five, Marcus Reed has already lived the kind of basketball career most coaches can only dream of. A celebrated African American coach with years of NCAA and international success behind him, Marcus is wealthy, respected, and ready for a quieter life. When he accepts a position at a struggling small-town college in North Carolina, he expects one last professional challenge. He doesn't expect Tyler Bennett. Nineteen, talented, openly gay, and increasingly isolated by some of his teammates, Tyler has the raw ability to become an exceptional player. Marcus sees it immediately. What begins as extra practice soon turns into private training sessions at Marcus's secluded home, where a private basketball court, gym, and swimming pool give them a world away from teammates, expectations, and watchful eyes. And away from everyone else, the distance between coach and player begins to disappear. Lingering glances become touches. Touches become kisses. Their growing attraction becomes impossible to deny, despite the thirty-six years between them and the professional boundary Marcus knows they are crossing. For Tyler, Marcus becomes more than the powerful, demanding coach who believed in him when others did not. For Marcus, Tyler awakens something he thought he had left behind long ago: the desire to share not only his body, but the private life he has guarded for years. But some relationships are easier to protect behind closed doors than under the bright lights of a basketball court. And when someone begins to notice that Tyler and Coach Reed may be sharing more than private training sessions, their secret—and everything they are becoming to each other—could be at risk.