Book 1,079: Between the Pipes (Offsides #3) – J.J. Mulder

FINALLY, I got to the book that I’ve wanted to read since I started Shots on Net (SCU Hockey #1)—five books ago! After finding out that the head coach of the SCU team was gay and may or may not have been dating an NHL player, I was like “WAIT, WHAT!?,” so I sought out the book and read the series to get to it and here we are.

Between the Pipes tells us that story. It’s the story of Nico, a grumpy former pro hockey player who retired due to an injury that all but blinded him turned college hockey coach, and Tony, an all around happy go lucky smart ass goaltender we got to know as a friend of Troy (from Changing the Game) and Corwen (from Square to the Puck).

I wasn’t 100% sure where this book would go with the first being so easy and perfect and the second being so hurt/comfort. Ultimately, this fell somewhere between. Nico definitely had a lot of trauma and baggage he was carrying and Tony did his best to not overwhelm him, but there were definite moments I stopped reading for a few hours or overnight because I was so annoyed with them. There were also moments, like when Nico got sick or when Tony saw his artwork hanging in Nico’s house that just broke me a little bit.

On my way out the door, I stop dead as I notice something hanging on the wall. Above his dresser, in a spot he’d see it every day, is the quick sketch I’d done and given him. It’s framed, and is the only piece of artwork he has hung up in the entire house. My eyes burn as I stare at it. He wouldn’t have kept it if I—we—didn’t mean anything to him. (215)

Tony was by far my favorite, I think because we knew so much about him and his smart-ass ways and just that he was happy to be alive and around other people. There were so many great one-liners in all the novels so far that he’s delivered, but this one took the cake for me:

I swear to god, if you ask me if I’ve got a problem with queer people again I’m going to pull over and beat the shit out of you. Not because you’re gay, but because you’re an asshole. (24)

And then there were his observations about Carter, one of the Shots on Net protagonists that legit had me holding my laughter in while reading late at night:

If nothing else is accomplished this summer, please let me at least leave Carter Morgan with a fucking friend. (117)

Carter Morgan is like a walking form of birth control. If ever I wanted kids, I would have rethought that stance after meeting him. (188)

This relationship definitely felt like more work and maybe it was more “adult” than the first two novels in the series because both Nico and Tony had reservations and had their own full adult lives that weren’t immediately intertwined and connected. It was great to see Mulder stretch her writing muscles with a different scenario and issues outside of hockey that both hindered and helped their budding relationship.

Recommendation: Read it, but be forewarned if you really want to appreciate the full novel you’ll need to read the two preceding in this series  and then follow up with the SCU series. I’m glad I sought this series out to learn more about Coach Nico and his backstory. It added a lot of depth to each of the SCU Hockey series novels and reading the other novels in Mulder’s Offsides series added depth to Tony’s story. It’s a commitment to get their full story, but it’s 100% worth it.

Opening Line: “It’s barely eight o’clock in the morning, and I have the makings of a headache forming behind my eyes.”

Closing Line: “I tighten my grip on his hair and close my eyes, holding tight to my happiness.” (Whited out to avoid spoilers, highlight to read.)

Additional Quotes from Between the Pipes
“Rule #1 of being a gay man: do not develop a crush on your straight acquaintances.” (28)

“He blushes. Actually blushes: a sudden bloom of color over his cheeks. Jesus Christ that’s fucking adorable.” (101)

“It burns me how much I like him. I like him so fucking much I hate him.” (118)

“Troy just got home. He had fun and also told me that he thinks you and Nico are fucking. I’ll go ahead and leave that conversation for you, shall I?” (138)

“Please, please, rely on me. Rely on me so much that you never ask me to leave.” (151)

“You’d be easy to fall in love with, if I didn’t know what a spectacularly bad idea that would be.” (220)