Offsides: A Standalone Sports Romantic Comedy

By Kristen Hope Mazzola

From Wall Street Journal & USA Today bestselling romance author, Kristen Hope Mazzola, comes a heart-warming, quirky romantic comedy standalone that will leave you with side-slitting laughter and swooning for this adorable couple.


There's always love in the air at weddings. Or is it just lust? Yea, it's probably just lust.

Ari & Logan don't know each other. Yet. They're thrown together at the singles table by the sheer misfortune of not having a plus one and quickly discover that champagne and tequila shots are just the excuse they needed to find themselves on the brink of the best – or worst – idea ever.

Logan's a running back for the North Carolina Hogs and isn't looking for a relationship.
Ari totally agrees as she doesn't have time to integrate his busy schedule with her own.
F*ck buddies it is. Simple and easy – no strings.

Sounds perfect, right? Or is it too good to be true?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kristen Hope Mazzola
• Release date: Feb 23, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393630531

Book preview

Prologue

The North Carolina Hogs Win First Super Bowl with Minutes to Spare

Over the years, the North Carolina Hogs have fought their way to close-but-no-cigar spots in the playoffs with their eye on the prize of being in the Super Bowl. This year, that finally changed. Few football franchises have as many notable players, and this year their roster came together to finally get their hands on those coveted Super Bowl rings.

With Logan Turner, the great NC Hogs running back and now their new most valuable player, a hunger for victory right before kickoff on Sunday predicted that the offensive line would go down in history, just like he promised his team they would in the locker room only minutes before taking the field, sources say.

This underdog team can finally add their very own Vince Lombardi Trophy to their collection, and history gained new heroes for the franchise including Logan Turner, Bo Briggs, Thomas Whyte, and Roger Wilson. After a chaotic finish, the Hogs won their first ever Super Bowl title not because of their fearless defense, but because an intensely determined offense allowed them to defeat the New York Giants 27 to 23.

After the Hogs lost a lead they had held since after the first possession of the game, one which ballooned to 10 points at one point, quarterback Bo Briggs and running back Logan Turner connected for a 6-yard touchdown that Turner grabbed as he was falling out of bounds behind three untiring defenders.

The touchdown came with 26 seconds lingering and just two minutes after the Giants moved ahead on a 64-yard touchdown reception. The victory capped a season that began with a questionable onset that had many feeling skeptical about whether the Hogs franchise had what it takes to go all the way.

North Carolina reached the Super Bowl limelight chiefly on the backs of a defense that was resolute in their guard through gritty persistence and determination. For most of the game, this defense played up to billing, thwarting one of the NFL’s most explosive offenses.

It was the defense that gave the Hogs a 10-point advantage when the Giants were threatening to sneak into halftime with a lead despite being dominated in the first half. Mick Kalanick, the defensive coordinator for the Hogs, is in his 38th year of pro football and called it the most paramount defensive play he has seen in his career.

I have to say I am proud of how hard these men played to secure their victory, Kalanick mentioned in his interview after the game.

The North Carolina defense spent the majority of the night responding to deep plays and savvy footwork. In the fourth quarter, Davies mined the open middle of the field on hurry-up drives.

The Super Bowl crowd of over seventy thousand, fiercely tilted toward the Hogs, fell deathly silent as the end result seemed bound to sway in favor of New York. On the sideline, Coach Billie B. Browns was notably relieved that the Hogs had not taken more time off the clock than necessary, a feat that seemed to be the driving force toward the team’s ultimate success.

This is the perfect definition of our team’s history, Browns remarked. Hogs football is not going to be predictable until the end, when they always come through for each other.

Disbelief is the major feeling right now, Ross Taylor, owner of the North Carolina Hogs, commented. They won us the game. The offense came through when we really needed it. After going out there and giving up what could have been a game-ending touchdown, the offense came through in the end. I couldn’t have predicted them playing like that, and I am pleasantly surprised and proud of my team.

Few would have thought the fearsome defense would ever have given way, but even with the minor errors and opposing yards being stolen, the North Carolina Hogs still won in an extraordinary triumph.

As fans and team members alike celebrated this unlikely win, reporters interviewed the smiling players.

I can’t believe how amazing this feels. It all turned around within a matter of seconds. You could have easily seen me crying in the locker room and the other team cheering out here, running back Logan Turner answered honestly. This game here tonight just proves that it isn’t over until it’s really over. That’s how wonderful American football truly is.

Chapter 1

Blame the Tequila

Ari

Awful dress that made me look like an over-ripened eggplant— check!

Shoes that made my feet want to mutiny—check!

The overwhelming feeling that I was going to puke at any moment—check!

Shaking knees—check!

Sweating palms and pits—check!

Standing in front of my entire family, all of my sister’s friends, and way too many people I didn’t know, I locked eyes with my little sister where she sat at a lavish sweetheart table with her new hubby. She was glowing in her sparkly, blush pink Disney princess-style wedding gown. The twinkle in her eye as she gazed at her better half melted my heart.

With a deep breath and a tap on the mic, I dove head first into my maid of honor speech. Good evening everyone. For those of you who don’t know who I am, I’m Ari, Josie’s older sister. When Josie asked me to be her maid of honor, I knew it was completely out of obligation since I am her only sister.

As I took another deep breath, people laughed at my half-assed attempt at being funny. Thank goodness it was working.

Three years ago when she called me in the middle of the night, I thought she was calling to tell me there was some kind of catastrophe I was going to have to help her with. Actually, it was to inform me that she had drunkenly kissed a football player at a bar and wasn’t sure if he was attractive or not. Thankfully, I can say we were pleasantly surprised when he texted her a few hours later with a decent selfie of a shirtless guy with a scruffy beard and a crooked smile. Good job on shaving for the big day, by the way.

I pointed to my new