Jace summerset shore uni.., p.1
JACE: Summerset Shore University Book One, page 1
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Copyright 2024. All rights owned by N. Boeyer
http://www.nboeyer.com
Edited by: Kris Vanc Writing Services
Beta read by: Melanie Jensen & R.K. Eefe
Cover made by: www.getcovers.com
Formatting: Kris Vanc Writing Services
Synopsis
Tyler
Tyler, a calm and gentle soul, is set out for great things both on and off the field. As the star quarterback of Summerset Shore University’s esteemed football team, he is NFL-bound. With the perfect girlfriend by his side and a tight-knit group of friends who share his love for the game, Tyler is set for a life of success and fulfillment.
Until a new voice speaks up.
Jace
Jace, an enigmatic exchange student from Amsterdam, arrives at SSU with a bang, quickly making a name for himself as the new lead singer of the university’s favorite band.
But there’s one thing that he didn’t have in Europe and hopes to find here.
A family. A place to call home. Deep down he carries a profound sense of loneliness, yearning to discover a place to call his own.
While Tyler King would rather be enjoying life quietly from the sidelines, Jace Janssen is drawn to the spotlight like a moth to a flame. Their paths, destined to intertwine, will take them on a journey that they never saw coming.
Jace wants something he doesn't dare to hope for, while Tyler hopes for something he doesn't even know he wants.
JACE is the first book in a full-length MM trilogy romance and tells the story of a bi-awakening. It’s a strangers-to-friends-to-lovers, medium-burn, high-steam sports and rock star romance.
If you love banter, don’t mind the occasional duck wandering around in the story, and are a sucker for long love stories revolving around the same couple–including shenanigans from their loving, idiotic friends–then don’t hesitate to pick this up!
Dedication
I’m a sucker for the long stories, for the epic couples, for the books where you get sucked into the characters' world and live through their eyes for several novels, falling more in love with them every written word, chapter, book, and will leave you wrecked when the story is finished.
So this is for Logan and Tate.
For Ty and Zane.
For Miro and Ian.
And for all other series with wonderful pairings.
This is for you.
I hope at least one person loves Jace and Ty’s story as much as I’ve loved the epic couples before them.
Thank you.
ONE
I’m such a fucking idiot.
I stare at the lovely naked behind sticking out of my gray blankets. It’s a nice butt, which is attached to a gorgeous girl. However, I really didn’t plan to take someone home last night, since I promised myself I wouldn’t do this anymore.
But she is very pretty.
And very nice.
As is her butt.
“But this really wasn’t supposed to happen,” I mutter as I nudge her leg which hangs over the side of the mattress with my foot, which gives me zero response.
“It wasn’t?” My longtime friend, bandmate, and recent roommate, Missy, enters my room where I’m busy standing next to my bed, still eying the girl I found after a quick bathroom break. I didn’t even know that she decided to stay after the fun we’d had.
Missy’s dark eyes are filled with disappointment as she observes the situation. She crosses her arms and raises a perfectly shaped dark brow, as if silently scolding me for the predicament I've found myself in. “So I didn’t see you flirting your ass off last night at the bar and being all seductive with her before taking her home?”
I snort. “Well no? I was just trying to be nice to her when she came up to me and started gushing about the band and shit.”
Missy sighs, leaning against my desk. “I thought you said you were done with meaningless encounters. Remember what happened last spring?”
I cringe. Of course I remember what happened last spring, that's the entire reason I’m five thousand miles away from home.
“Don’t remind me. But hey, maybe this is not a casual hookup?” A flutter of hope sparkles somewhere, maybe I can work something out with her, she seemed okay yesterday.
“Yes, this just screams potential relationship candidate.”
I can just feel the sarcasm drip off of her.
She’s right. I did say I was done with casual, and have good reason for it. But last night–when I went out for drinks with my band after our gig–my fellow members all quickly disappeared to their respective partners. Leaving me alone. Again. Turns out that I’m not making the best choices when I’m feeling particularly alone.
And who can blame me? I’m in a new country, have few friends here, not to mention any family–not that I had any at home, not really–and the people who do start a convo with me usually only love the band's music and want the attention of the new lead singer.
It’s just easy to get lost in. And it makes it easy to forget.
“Let me guess, you put your flirt on like you always do because you just can’t help yourself. But now you are trying to figure out if you want to take her on a date to see if there’s something there, so you didn’t completely lie to yourself last night. Or if you should get rid of her because she maybe only wanted you because of our popularity?”
“You know me so well,” I deadpan, taking up the spot beside her. “She was actually kind of nice.”
“Was she? Or was she a groupie who just wanted a night with you?”
“I hate you.” I nudge her.
“You don’t, you love me. But you know I’m right.”
“Don’t flatter yourself, Missy. We’re not that big yet, we don’t have groupies.”
“Says you. You just joined us a month ago. We are big here on campus and with you we’re becoming even bigger. The buzz is happening already now people are coming back for classes.”
And I know that. But knowing it and experiencing it is quite different.
I sigh as I take in the girl again. When she came up to me I was just happy to make some small talk, maybe hoping for a sliver of a second that she was interested in me. But I found out very quickly that she was mostly interested in the guy she saw on stage minutes before–the performer. Which is okay, I get it. It used to happen back home with my old band as well, so it’s nothing new. I just kind of hoped it would be different here. Turns out it isn’t.
So yes, she was being all pretty and flirty and I totally took her home and took her up on her offer, happy to have some fun last night. Shame on me.
It only makes me feel like shit afterwards, not during.
“So, what are you going to do?” Missy asks after a minute where we were both staring at the girl as a couple of creepers.
“Well, I did say that I had to get up early in the morning, so that she couldn’t sleep in.”
Missy’s brown eyes flick to my alarm clock which mocks my excuse because it’s almost noon. “You obviously lied.”
“I know I lied, but she doesn’t know I lied.” I groan, not liking that I have to face her. Which is cowardly, I know. I gesture at the naked woman again. “How was I supposed to know that she wouldn’t leave? I could ask her if she wants to hang out later?”
“You’re so dumb.” Missy rolls her eyes at me before straightening her black and bright orange football jersey from the Summerset Shore Tigers–which is a totally cliché name for a team if you ask me–in the mirror on my closet door. “You can sort this shit out yourself. I’m going, Ava is waiting.”
“You’re dumb yourself,” I mutter.
According to the indignant huff she gives me before she leaves my room, she really doesn’t give a shit what I think.
“Please, I’m sorry. I love you! Can’t you at least help me with this?” I plead, desperation seeping into my voice when I raise it. “How do I know if there isn’t something there? What if I make the wrong choice and she turns out to be great?” It’s a stretch, I know. I also know what this was, she was clear about it, but the fact that I’m just a conquest doesn’t sit right with me. Which is stupid because I never had a problem with hookups before.
But that was before.
She pops back in the doorway with an evil smirk. “See, I told you you’re dumb. Because I think you don’t have a choice. This is obviously just a hookup.”
“Please, Missy,” I whine. “I’ll do the dishes for a week.”
Those stupid eyebrows rise mischievously. “A month,” she counters.
“Two weeks.”
A devilish smile appears on her glossy red lips. “Deal.” Without warning, she grabs an old bottle of water from my desk and pours its meager contents onto the woman's behind.
Startled, the woman springs out of bed, clutching the sheets in front of her. Finally awake, she directs her bewildered gaze at Missy, who holds the empty bottle in her hands. “What are you doing?”
As the woman approaches me, attempting to dry herself with the sheets, I notice her confusion. “What’s she doing?” she asks again, this time aimed at me, blinking like an owl.
“Sorry,” Missy states, lifting her shoulders in a short shrug. “I tripped.”
The girl frowns at Missy, concern in her eyes. “How? Have you hurt yourself?” When Missy shakes her head that no, she didn’t, the girl focuses back on me and immediately gives me a small smile. “Hey, you.”
“Hey,” I say, barely containing my smirk at Missy’s stupid solution. “Sorry for waking you, but we need to go.” I gesture at me and Missy, while simultaneously trying to find if there’s something there in this girl's eyes which could mean there is potential for something more.
But she just shrugs and starts collecting her belongings, obviously having had her fill of me and that’s that, squelching any hope I had in a second.
Missy notices, and taps me shortly on the arm in comfort, which is a lot for her because that woman has some serious Morticia Addams vibes sometimes.
I sigh at the contact, I’m such an idiot. She was upfront with me last night, so the shitty feeling I have now is purely on myself, and I never should’ve taken her home. Not without properly dating first. My dick just got the best of me, like usually happens. Because she is hot.
But really. No more one-time-girls.
Or boys for that matter.
Lately it leaves me more drained while it’s supposed to give some satisfaction, and it’s just not worth it. Well at least I will have more time for the band if I forgo any interaction with both the female and male population on campus.
Which reminds me. “Exactly how popular are we?” I ask Missy, knowing I should've asked this before, but hey, I’m fairly new here. I’ve only gotten here in Summerset Shore, Southern California a month ago, moving halfway across the world from The Netherlands to attend this college.
And moving around the world and attending a foreign college is hard. I was very busy with all the paperwork, trying to find my way around the campus, and moving in with my long time friend, Missy, who fortunately had a spare room in her apartment.
It’s thanks to her that I got in in the first place. Being the Dean’s daughter might have helped with that, I know her dad my whole life.
But she also made me audition for her band. Which is plain stupid because she’s the one who told me to move here so I could join said band while finishing up my degree at the same time.
But with Missy being Missy, she made me do it anyway just because she could. Just like she made me do a lot of things when we were younger. With her Dutch grandparents being our neighbors and all, we spent quite a few summers together.
“Well…” With a pair of black heels dangling from her fingers, Missy smiles sweetly at me. “You do check your socials sometimes, right? I know I’ve tagged you a few times when I was posting photos from our rehearsals, but you never reply.”
I blink at her mutely. Yeah, of course I use social media. You kind of have to if you want to hit off your music career. But I handed the managing of it over to our bassist, Ava, who’s a genius with everything social media related. I just haven't really paid much attention after that, too busy with everything else.
I grab my phone, but before I can open Instagram and figure out why the hell I’ve been missing these notifications, my hookup pops up in front of me–fully dressed this time–and smiles at me.
“Missy is right, you are a trending topic right now. Didn’t you know that? Thank you for last night.” She kisses me swiftly on my cheek, pulls her shoes out of Missy’s hands and slams the door behind her when she leaves, never even giving me a chance to reply.
Well, that’s that I guess. But trending? I take a peek in the app and am stunned to find that I’ve gotten a fuck ton of tags, followers and messages. “Well, this is just weird. How does everybody know who I am this quickly?”
Missy sighs, irritated at me for what feels like the dozenth time today. And my day just started. “Ever heard of the power of social media? This isn’t a new band you're singing in, we’re not newbies. You also don’t seem to realize exactly how good Ava is with marketing. But come on, we have to go. Don’t look at that crap.” She takes my phone and drops it in her way too big of a purse.
“Hey, I need that!” I protest but she ignores me, messing around in her enormous big bag.
She pulls another black and orange jersey out and throws it at me. “Put that on.”
I comply with a lot of grumbling and take a look at the back before throwing it on over my white tee and grabbing my keys and wallet. “Which player is number twelve? Is his name really King? Is he hot?”
If looks could kill, I would spontaneously combust right there. “You really need to look at that wonderful thing called the internet and get up to speed. But not right now, because we’re late thanks to you. The game starts in thirty minutes.” She pulls me along with way more strength than I thought possible and I follow obediently.
A ten minute walk later, we arrive at the stadium to watch the game. My very first football game to be exact. American football that is. I’ve never watched this stupid sport before. It isn’t a big thing back in the Netherlands, so I didn’t come across it very often.
But here? Everywhere I seem to go there’s football on tv or there are students wandering around wearing orange and black jerseys when there isn’t even a game. I’ve been here for the entire summer and it was one of the first things I noticed. The football-love. But the game looks just weird to me. Probably because of the ball that isn’t even a ball, in my opinion they’re supposed to be round. If balls aren’t round, I don’t like them.
Yes. Give me perfectly round balls anytime and I’m a happy man. Pun intended.
“There you two are. Hurry up, we’re late.” Ava–our bassist–stomps our way in front of the entrance, barging her way through some last stragglers who also wear the team colors. “I’ve been waiting forever. What was the holdup?”
Missy throws a look my way and gives Ava a short hug before we follow her into the busy stadium. “He had to get rid of the trash.”
“The trash?” Ava frowns to me over her shoulder where I dutifully follow her, her pink hair clashing horribly with the black and orange of the shirt. “Don’t you guys have that container thingy in the hallway for trash?”
Missy huffs. “Well that’s not the kind of trash that I’m talking about.”
Ava shakes her head. “Really? Again? Didn’t you say last week that you wouldn’t hook up anymore?”
Missy snickers quietly beside me, and I elbow her before replying to Ava.
“Yes, I know but–”
“But you just couldn’t help yourself?” Ava interrupts. “I get that flirting is your way of communicating, but honey, can’t you start a conversation with people without them ending up practicing their kegels on your stick?”
“You know it doesn’t work that way with guys right? I don’t think you can kegel your ass,” I state with a grin, which rewards me a glare from my pink haired friend.
“So annoying,” Missy mutters, but I ignore her.
“At least you confirm the rumors about you,” Ava states, worming her way through some guys who painted their entire faces orange and are singing along to the music that’s blaring through the stadium speakers.
“Which rumors?” I ask loudly, feeling dumb for not noticing this before. I follow her up some steps to our seats and am glad that we’re apparently not all the way to the top. The stadium is huge, way bigger than what I expected from college football. But hey, in America everything’s bigger right? I thought that it wouldn’t be this crowded, this being a practice game and all, but the stadium is packed with students that all returned to campus for the fall semester that starts come Monday.
“That you’re a gigantic flirt and like to fool around.” She shakes her head and pushes past the last people in our way before plopping down. I sit beside her, and find myself sandwiched between the two striking women who I consider my close friends. I throw my arms around their slim shoulders and sigh.
