The Return Play by Mariah Dietz

Oleander Springs, North Carolina was my second home, but my first love.
The humid days and warm nights provided the perfect backdrop for discovering the magical bliss that comes without expectations or routines. Secrets with my best friend, Hudson McKinley, were shared. sewn together with promises, one summer after another.
I never thought we’d grow up and grow apart.
Now four years later, I’m back in Oleander Springs out of obligation, convinced nothing could be the way I remembered. My first sight of Hudson confirms it. He’s no longer a gangly boy who barely reaches my brow but several inches taller than me, built like Thor, and the starting quarterback of the Knights.
As I focus on how much has changed, Hudson is determined to prove that not everything is different, including the quick smiles, ease, and banter we’ve always shared. Only now, the jokes and innuendos keep pushing the limits of our … friendship, dipping into honesty and an attraction that has me forgetting why I returned to Oleander Springs.
A temporary return.
Now the end of summer is looming and I don’t know if I can leave.
Or if I dare to stay.
Three months, one book of records, and a lifelong friendship is about to prove the ultimate sacrifice.