As a kid, you don’t think about the sacrifices you’ll have to make for your dreams. I surrendered a carefree childhood to hours upon hours of grueling practices. Abandoned life with my family in favor of a boarding school that would hone my skills to perfection. But my biggest sacrifice, the one I couldn’t predict I’d have to make as a little boy, is denying who I am. I thought I could do it. I thought hockey would be enough. After all, as the top rookie in this year’s NHL draft and the most promising defender the league has seen in years, my dreams were coming true. Staying in the closet should’ve been a no-brainer. Enter Xander Nydek. Dark and brooding with a side dish of comic nerd—a.k.a. my kryptonite—and a new dream starts to take shape. Now, I’m wondering if glory on the ice is worth losing a lifetime of happiness with the one person I’m not supposed to fall for. I knew my career would intersect with my personal life at some point; I just didn’t expect it to happen before I played my first pro game. Now, I've got a choice to make, and if I get it wrong, it could cost me everything. Gretzky takes on the grump in this forbidden MM romance featuring a hockey prodigy and a brooding skateboarder who try to be just friends amid driving lessons, nosy friends, and sword crossing—literally—that blurs the lines. Bad Pucking Timing_ is a queer romance featuring hockey players, not a hockey book featuring LGBTQ+ love. Listeners who love golden retriever heroes who win over the grouch will enjoy this light-hearted, steamy yet touching love story. This spicy journey contains gay characters, same-sex romance, and themes of acceptance. It’s book one in the Colorado Bulldogs MM hockey series._