HOME ICE
by Saxon James
TAI
Ten years ago, I made the biggest mistake of my life.
When Hawke left for the NHL and my hockey dreams went up in smoke, I ghosted my best and longest friend. It made sense at the time, but there hasn’t been a day where I haven’t missed him.
So when we run into each other again, and his only response is “Do I know you?”, I know I deserve it. But I refuse to let one mistake keep us apart forever. Especially when he has bigger problems, and I’m in a position to help him
JENSEN
All I wanted this offseason was to spend my time relaxing—not getting an emergency phone call from Mom to come home. My hometown is full of too many memories of me and Tai so I avoid returning there as much as I can.
But now I have one more memory to add to the list: my high school girlfriend.
And the kid we apparently had together.
Kasen hates me and thinks I abandoned them, and my only way to get to him is through his coach. My ex-best friend. The friend that has been impossible to forget. No matter how much I’ve tried.
NHL hockey player Jensen Hawke is suddenly spending his summer back in his hometown after getting some interesting news. He just found out he has a 14-year-old son and is now in line for custody. Coming home also means running into his ex-best friend Tai Barrett, who ghosted him without explanation a decade ago.
Jensen is lost, overwhelmed, and not sure what to do about any of it. But a tentative reconnection with Tai and airing of their past and explanations help them to start to rebuild. Jensen is trying to connect with his son while also trying to figure out what this means for their lives. Jensen has been living the life of a hockey star, with no major responsibilities, so this is a whole new world for him.
And Tai has stayed home, taking care of his dad, working hard on his coaching and is rooted in the small community. He hasn't been living a full life, and was resentful for a time because he had to give up his dreams and build new ones. He’s kind, loyal, hard-working, and caring, but he also has anxiety and guilt. regret, and negative thoughts hiding under his positive facade.
Jensen is lost, overwhelmed, and not sure what to do about any of it. But a tentative reconnection with Tai and airing of their past and explanations help them to start to rebuild. Jensen is trying to connect with his son while also trying to figure out what this means for their lives. Jensen has been living the life of a hockey star, with no major responsibilities, so this is a whole new world for him.
And Tai has stayed home, taking care of his dad, working hard on his coaching and is rooted in the small community. He hasn't been living a full life, and was resentful for a time because he had to give up his dreams and build new ones. He’s kind, loyal, hard-working, and caring, but he also has anxiety and guilt. regret, and negative thoughts hiding under his positive facade.
I loved Jensen and Tai together. It was obvious that they shared so much in their past and that they were both hurt by the loss of their friendship. I loved seeing them start to be there for each other again. Together, they just have this natural witty rapport, and they develop a new chemistry and start acting on the attraction that as confused teens they were afraid to ever entertain. I loved seeing them reconnect as friends and emotionally, but also start to explore intimacy, their changing dynamic, be vulnerable, and provide support. But Jensen is only supposed to be home for the summer. He has an NHL career, and Tai and his son don’t want to go anywhere.
This deep and meaningful connection and understanding of each other is rooted in their past, but built upon in their present as they’ve grown into being new people. I also enjoyed both of their relationships with Jensen's son, Kaysen, and the development of their whole story. The found family and finding home component is really strong in this story.
This is a rekindled best friends to lovers, hurt-comfort, surprise dad, hockey player and local hockey coach story. There are no simple and easy fixes for these two, but I loved that they were willing to fight for what they found again and try to figure out how everybody could get what they needed as best they could. It was just a very heartfelt story with plenty of feels and spice, but also family moments too.
Saxon James
Website | Newsletter | Facebook | FB Reader Group | Instagram | TikTok
Saxon James unapologetically writes happy endings for LGBT+ characters.
While not writing, SM is a readaholic and Netflix addict who regularly lives on a sustainable diet of chocolate and coffee.
Member of SCBWI.
