Close Contact

You just got made captain of the Southampton Hawks, the newest co-ed rugby team in National One. Your dreams of winning a championship are finally within reach, but you've got a lot to prove on the field. Your coach has one strict rule: no fraternizing with the team. You're confident you can handle it. Until your first match against the Wakefield Hounds and their captain, Devon. You've looked up to him since he made it into National One years ago, but in person, that charming smirk is infuriatingly hard to ignore. Worse, he's got the skills to back up the cockiness. When you privately confront him after your team's loss, the encounter turns into an unexpected hookup. He leaves with one more smirk and a promise: "See you at the next match." What follows are months of secretly hooking up with your arch-rival between matches, letting off steam while keeping it hidden from everyone. The physical attraction is undeniable, but the more time you spend together, the more you see past the swagger. He's supporting his ailing parents and desperately needs his team's bonuses to make ends meet. You open up about the pressure of living up to your late father's legacy and the weight of everyone's expectations.