Release Blitz, Excerpt & Review: Gametime by Jami Davenport

The hockey house was lit tonight. And I don’t mean by lights.

By drunken hockey players—myself included.

My twin brother, Patrick, had exited long ago with two hotties on his arm. We might be identical twins in appearance, but my brother always got the girls, and I got his leftovers. He was way more gregarious and outgoing. I was the quiet, serious one.

I sat down on one of the worn, beer-stained couches and tried not to think about what else it might be stained with. It’d probably be a petri dish of… Okay, I wasn’t going there.

Being alone on a Saturday night after the first hockey game of the year was bad enough. I was a junior at Burlington University in Vermont, fondly known as Moo U by the locals and pretty much everyone else in the state.

Watching my brother revel in his hockey-team star status after a typically fantastic game brought out the ugly in me. I was jealous of him, and I hated being jealous of my brother. He was the best guy I knew and deserved all the good things in his life. Yet being the one always in his immense shadow proved more and more difficult. I played my supporting role as I always had, bolstering him in any way possible, sending the puck his way, and deflecting defensemen intent on mowing him down. That used to be enough, but this year was different. This was my year to break out. My year to establish myself.

Beer made me sleepy, and apparently, shots of whiskey made me grouchy.

I’d sworn things would be different this season. I’d have more fun, get more involved, shed my role as the smart, nerdy brother, while Patrick was the fun, partying brother.

Did I mention Patrick even had a cool nickname? The team called him Trick because he’d had a hat trick his freshman year, when a hockey player scored three goals in one game. I, on the other hand, was merely known as Pax, short for Paxton. No good story there.

A blonde staggered by and spilled some of her beer on my jeans. I did a double take.

Oh, my God.

Naomi?

I blinked a few times, forcing my eyes to focus and focus they did.

That blonde was Naomi Smith, the unrequited love of my life. Naomi was petite with gray eyes that had a warmth and humor that drew me in. She’d dyed her hair blonde in the past week, rather than the caramel color I’d so loved. I wondered if the change of color had anything to do with my brother, who was currently working his way through the blondes on campus.

She wore a skintight dress showing ample cleavage. The skirt’s hem teased the bottom of her rounded ass. She teetered on these really high heels. The overall look was smoking, but so not her usual style, more the style of the females my brother preferred.

“Oops, sorry,” she said with words as slurred as mine were.

“That’s okay.” I met her gaze, and her eyes widened when she realized it was me. My heart rate sped up as a result. It was no secret that Naomi had a crush on Patrick, but he was oblivious. She and I’d been good friends since our freshman year, and I’d heard all about her pining for my twin.

She dropped down on the couch next to me, sitting way too close for comfort. “What’re you doing sitting here alone?”

“Waiting for you. I’ve been waiting for you for a lifetime.” The mass doses of alcohol I’d consumed made me bold and stupid, but I didn’t have the wherewithal to shut up before I blew my cover, and I’d blown it good this time.

She laughed, and it sounded like a siren’s song reeling me into my fate. I smiled back.

“Your dad’s a piece of work,” she noted. Not that she hadn’t experienced my dad before, but he’d taken it to a whole new level tonight.

“I know.”

“Don’t feel bad. So is my dad. He wishes I’d been born a boy, or at least a female with skating talent. He hates that I have zero athletic ability.”

We exchanged glances. We’d had this talk before, and our mutual problems with our fathers were one of the things that’d bound us together.

She snuggled close to me and leaned her head on my shoulder. While she watched the crowd buzz around us, I contemplated my next move or if there should be one. Taking a chance, I dropped my hand to her bare thigh. She sighed and snuggled closer. I slid my hand higher, and her legs parted while she made a happy little purring sound from deep in her throat.

I turned my head and Naomi lifted hers, regarding me with interest, sexual interest, and my hopes bumped up slightly. I cocked a brow at her. She put her hand over mine and guided it farther upward.