“Publisher's Note: This story contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable: homoerotic sex (m/m).”

Luke Rossovitch is a tennis champion who at thirty-four loses his temper on the court a little too often, costing himself terrific opportunities. After one such match, he encounters Jesse McAllister, a twenty-three-year-old American player who showed great promise just out of university but hasn’t quite lived up to his potential. Jesse suggests playing some doubles with Luke to polish up Luke’s game, but Luke just blows him off and heads back home to Malibu.

When Jesse moves to L.A., Luke sets up practice time with him and immediately discovers he can’t keep his eyes focused away from the younger beauty. Luke is a lifelong gay, but the men’s pro tennis tour isn’t gay-accepting as is the women’s pro tour. He’s sure Jesse is gay also. The electricity between the two is impossible to ignore; but every time Luke allows Jesse to get close, his guilt, stemming from the loss of his life love two years earlier, erects a wall between them. Luke is Jesse’s first intimate partner, the man he’s desired from afar since he was fourteen. The push/pull behavior Luke consistently demonstrates goes a long way toward convincing Jesse he is undesirable to Luke.  When they do become a couple, Jesse insists on keeping the news from his parents, to whom he is still close; and Jesse’s coach warns Luke to back away in order to keep their relationship from being publicized and doing damage to Jesse’s budding career.