Erryn and Dana review The Jock Script (Script Club Book 3) by Lane Hayes. An audio code was provided in exchange for an honest review.

Title: The Jock Script

Series: The Script Club #3

Author: Lane Hayes

Publisher: Lane Hayes

Release Date: Sept. 24, 2021

Heat Level: 4 – Lots of Sex

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: 250

Genre: Romance, Bisexual, Jock and Nerd, Romantic Comedy, Coming Out, Humor

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Synopsis

The nerd, the coach, and the hookup…

Asher-

Swipe left, swipe left, swipe left. Sure, the idea of a quick, no-strings intimate rendezvous via hookup app sounds oddly thrilling, but it’s simply not me. Or maybe it is me, because it happened…and I liked it. Until I realized he looked familiar for a reason. A bad reason. Now I’ve made a faux pas with the sexiest man on planet Earth, and my internal karma system requires me to fix it. Help!

Blake-

I may seem like I have it together, but the truth is, I’m a hot mess. I’m so deep in the closet that I can’t remember my real name some days. That’s okay. The benefit of one-night stands is anonymity. Until Asher. Not a total surprise. I’ve always had a thing for geeks, but I’ve never met anyone like him. He’s a pint-sized dynamo on a quest for perfection who can help me come out…if I follow his script.

Hmm. I’m in.

The Jock Script is an MM bisexual, geek/jock romance starring a bowtie wearing nerd, a sexy lacrosse coach, and a shenanigan inducing script!

Asher closed his mouth in a tight line and sighed. “We should change the topic. Every time I’m with you, I secure my spot in Hades.”

I threw my head back and laughed. “What’s with you and the guilty conscience? I admire your commitment to honesty, Ash, but I don’t think it’s healthy to punish yourself after the fact. Not to mention, your rules seem arbitrary. They don’t make sense.”

“Sure, they do.”

“Hmph. You say sex is a part of nature, and you’re happy to discuss it until your internal sex-o-meter overloads and you decide you’ve overstepped some invisible boundary. It’s like you want to punish yourself for no good reason.”

Asher opened and closed his mouth. “I don’t do that.”

I polished off my salad, pushed my plate aside, and reached for my wineglass. “Yeah, you do. You should give yourself a break once in a while.”

“Says the devil incarnate.”

“Who me?” I flashed a roguish grin. “I’m not so bad, and you don’t have to be so good. Is this the remnants of a super religious upbringing or—”

“Oh, gosh, no. My mother is a hippie. She’s not judgmental at all.”

“Then why—”

“I’m just weird, Blake.”

His tone was firm rather than sharp and sent a strong message that he’d prefer to drop the subject. In fact, he looked suspiciously eager to greet the waiter when he returned to clear our salad dishes and set dinner plates on the table. I observed his animated hand gestures, his starched collar, and perfectly straight bow tie, wondering what he was hiding under all that armor.

Asher wasn’t weird, he was—okay, fine…he was totally weird. But I had a feeling he was compensating too. Making up for something or glossing over an unseen flaw. Sort of like a kid standing guard over a lamp he’d busted by accident. No one would notice as long as he made sure the unblemished side was never shown.

Call me crazy, but that got me. Yes, I was very attracted to him and definitely wanted to get naked and horizontal with him ASAP. But I wanted to know him too. I wanted to peel away his protective layers and study his quirks. His internal system of checks and balances fascinated me.

I twirled my fork around my pasta and smiled. “You know, I’m no devil and anyone who sucks dick like you cannot be an angel. There’s got to be a good middle ground for us.”

“Yes. As friends.”

“Right,” I agreed, shifting in my seat to adjust my cock when he hummed around a mouthful of pasta. No joke, my dick woke up at the mention of alien sex and was now stretching the seam of my zipper. I sipped my wine and willed my body to get the “friend” memo. “So, buddy…since we’re supposed to be spending time together now, I think you should come to my game next weekend.”

“Game,” he repeated, drawing out the single syllable into two. “The one you coach? Or do you play also?”

“I play with a club team, but our season ended a couple of weeks ago. We’re on a break till summer, which is fine ’cause my kids have finals and my girls’ team is in the last stretch before CIFs.”

“I don’t understand that acronym, but I’ll come to your game and maybe afterward we can do power tool…things.”

“Sounds like a date. The game is at ten at Westgate. I’ll text you the address.”

“Okay. I have questions, like…where do I sit and what should I wear? Also, what are the rules?”

I smiled. “Sit wherever you want and wear whatever you want. The idea is to have fun. Well…and to kick OC Lutheran’s ass. As for the rules…the goal is to put the ball in the net more times than our opponent. You’ll be able to follow along.”

He didn’t look convinced. “I’ll do some research. Now, what about us? Do you want me to be there and not speak or…are you going to introduce me? And if so, what will you say? I need to rehearse my lines.”

“Lines? This isn’t a play, Ash. We’re friends.”

“No, we’re not. We hardly know each other.”

I frowned. “Then we need to fix that ’cause I’m going to introduce you as my friend. It’s less complicated that way.”

“And if someone asks where we met, I’m allowed to improvise, correct?” he teased. taking a big bite of pasta.

Too big of a bite. He slurped a rogue piece of tagliatelle with wide eyes, then covered his mouth with his napkin. It was pretty freaking cute. I pointed at the sauce on his cheek.

When he swiped at the wrong side, I hooked my finger and motioned for him to lean in. I wiped his cheek with my thumb, underestimating the intimacy of the gesture. The strong current of heat and desire sizzling between us threw me off guard, rendering me speechless.

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Erryn’s Review:

I’m enjoying The Script Series by Lane Hayes. A group of geeks who don’t set out to find partners, but who wind up doing just that. Take Asher for example. He’s never tried a hook-up app. But his innate curiosity has him creating a profile and, within moments, he’s got a nibble. So he takes the plunge. I’ve eyed dating apps but am too chicken to try – so, needless to say, I admired Asher.

Blake is also a relatable character. He works at an expensive prep school for girls where being gay is frowned upon. A young woman he coaches on the lacrosse team has been brave enough to come out, but Blake can’t find the courage to say he’s bi. He’s broken up with his girlfriend who just won’t take the hint. He’s hiding himself from his parents who might just turn out to be supportive. He’s keeping his hookups secret because he’s ashamed.

Asher meeting Blake makes life interesting. And hot. Until Asher remembers where he’s seen Blake before and, uh, reacts badly. But Blake is undaunted. He wants Asher to write him a script he can use when he comes out. Asher is reluctant, but eventually gets on board.

Now, Blake starts enacting the script but when things aren’t moving fast enough, Asher bails. This felt a little off to me. I wasn’t thrilled with the timing, and I get writers want a dark moment, but this one struck me wrong. Ah well, Blake did the big gesture, they got back together, and everything worked out.

I enjoyed Alexander Cendese’s performance, but he feels a little over the top at times. A little too excitable. But it suits the characters so I rolled with it. Another good audio worth a listen.

8.5/10 Pots of Gold (85% Recommended) – Compares to 4.25/5 Stars

Dana’s Review:

Well, that blurb just had me so curious about why Asher’s hookup would look familiar and in a bad way. I couldn’t wait to check out this book. In the previous books Asher has been a side character, one of the members of the script club with his fellow science geeks and nerds. I don’t think I got a good view of his character in the other two books though, because he was a little bit of a surprise.

Asher is full of quirks. He grades himself everyday on how virtuous he was, how well he peoples. At times he shows signs of OCD but we learn there are reasons he feels he has to be perfect. It sometimes seems he is really uptight and doesn’t know how to relax, not even enough to hug his mom. All sorts of things run through my head and I try to diagnose him though I am not qualified to do so, because he is just so strange to me. However, he does have an underlying sweetness and care for his friends and family that endeared him to me all the same.

So how was Blake familiar to him in a bad way? It is a lot less of a personal reason than I thought it would be, but Blake has appeared in this series before though he was mistakenly called Jake by one of Asher’s friends. Yeah, the short introduction we had of Blake early on didn’t really do him justice. He was a closeted jock who chose to get involved with a woman to hide who he was. Even though he’s bi, he does end things with the girl because she was safe. He does have a thing for nerdy guys though, and with Asher he really wants to change. To be let his friends and family know he likes men and women. Honestly, I like Blake. His past encounter with Asher’s friend wasn’t all it was made out to be and the balance he brings to Asher’s somewhat neurotic tendencies is much needed. And I think Blake is probably better than me because he never gets exasperated with Asher and his idiosyncrasies. For me, that made this a really sweet listen.

I thought this was another good combination of Lane Hayes writing and narration by Alexander Cendese. He’s narrated the series so far and I think he’s doing a good job bringing it to life. I look forward to the next book in the series and recommend m/m book lovers check this one out.

8.5/10 Pots of Gold (85% Recommended) – Compares to 4.25/5 Stars

Meet the Author

Lane Hayes loves a good romance! An avid reader from an early age, she has always been drawn to well-told love story with beautifully written characters. Her debut novel was a 2013 Rainbow Award finalist and subsequent books have received Honorable Mentions, and were winners in the 2016, 2017, and 2018-2019 Rainbow Awards. She loves red wine, chocolate and travel (in no particular order). Lane lives in Southern California with her amazing husband in a not quite empty nest.