"We'll protect him." "I don't want to be the poster boy." Hockey player Kevin Shaw, fresh out of university, just signed onto a Toronto team for a year. He knows he isn't innately gifted, but he works damn hard to make up for it. The last thing he needs during his first season of pro hockey is a distraction... but he can't say no when he's asked to train with a sexy friend of a friend. He wants to get better, grab a spot on the third or fourth line, and not let slip any hint of attraction to his new buddy. "If they see, they see." Called up from the minor league to the major league at the end of last season, hockey player Matty O'Brien is secretly terrified he won't hack it. He's quick on his feet on the ice, and he loves living with his buddies and his dog after practice ends. One thing's missing: a relationship. He plays center forward, but he's always the wingman and never the center of attention. The way Kevin watches him makes him feel like the star player. "He's just jealous of what you and I have." A spontaneous kiss sends them both scurrying for shelter, deciding whether they have room in their life for more than friendship. Just as they start to get comfortable, before they can decide what they are, someone finds out their secret. Locker room gossip is annoying for Matty, but fatal for Kevin's career if the guys on the team don't shut it down. Will Kevin gain the maturity and strength to stand up for himself without plunging deep into the closet or risking his career all over again? And can they trust their friends to hold their secrets close? Slam is a steamy, stand-alone gay romance novel with a HEA ending and no cliffhanger.