Who Are The Main Characters In Jogo Bonito: Pelé, Neymar And Brazil'S Beautiful Game?

I didn’t come to Westbridge High to make enemies. I came to survive. New school. New city. Just me and my best friend, Joe, trying not to get crushed by a place ruled by rich athletes and their unspoken rules. That plan lasted exactly one day. Because Joe got targeted. And I made the mistake of stepping in. Now, I’m caught between the two most dangerous boys at Westbridge: Jay Vale the untouchable hockey captain who looks at everyone like they don’t matter. Liam Knox the former best friend who used to stand beside him... until a bitter confession broke them apart. Jay says he wants to help me. He offers to tutor me, to protect me. But the way he watches me doesn't feel like kindness. It feels like obsession. Liam notices. And suddenly, I’m the prize in a war between two rivals ready to destroy each other. At Westbridge High, hockey isn’t the most dangerous game. Love is. And boys like Jay and Liam? They don’t play fair.

When the Kiss Cam lights up the stadium, Taylor expects to see strangers caught in awkward kisses—not her boyfriend, Dylan, locking lips with another woman. To revenge, Taylor also kisses the handsome stanger sitting next to her when the Kiss Cam swings to her. To her shock, he’s not just any stranger, but Aiden Kincaid—a billionaire, football star, and the soon-to-be ex-husband of the woman Dylan’s been seeing. Taylor thought she’d never cross paths with Aiden again, but fate has other plans. Not only does she become Aiden’s intern sports therapist, but he also offers her a deal: pretend to be his girlfriend.

I’m Oliver Lance. Yes, the Oliver Lance. The one that all men want to be and all women want to be with. Every Sunday a million fans watch me throw a ball down a field, win games, and sign huge endorsement deals. Everything was going perfectly, until a car accident tore it all away from me. I want it back, and only she can help me. At first, I think about ‘Doc’ Elsie the same way I think of every other woman. Just another possible conquest, another notch on my bedpost. Only Elsie is different. She’s not starstruck by me. She’s not interested in my money. She’s the most real woman I’ve ever met, and those tempting curves are making it hard to stay focused on my recovery. Now, I’ll do anything to keep her by my side. I’ll defy my manager, my coach, even lay down my career as quarterback to stay with her. It’s third and long, and I’m gonna make my play Hard and Deep. From New York Times bestselling author Krista Lakes comes this sexy story of sports romance!

My name is Christian Thompson, and once upon a time, I was the best striker in European football. That was until he came along—Ashford Ryder, young and carefree, 10 years my junior and the new shining star. I hate him. At least that's what I tell myself. Not just because he's taken my spot, but because he's everything I've struggled all my life to be, and not to be. He's vibrant, he's happy, and the worst of all, he's openly gay. I'm not homophobic, quite the opposite—I've lived in the closet all my life. All my life, I've had to hide who I am to please the people around me. European football hasn't always been this accepting of gay men, and I'd squeezed myself into a box to fit in with what they wanted of me. It isn’t that hard when you think about my family who'd rather disown me than have an openly gay son. So imagine how I feel when the world decides to be more accommodating to people like Ashford Ryder when they shoved me in a box. It's not so easy to hate the happy-go-lucky striker, when he does everything to get close to me, despite my insistent hatred for him. He's like a thorn in my side—a hot, sexy, blonde, 5ft9 thorn I can't stop thinking about. But when one day I lose my cool around the popular striker and land myself in bad press, I end up needing his help. It's supposed to be easy. Spend some time with Ashford Ryder, and show our fans that we can work together—it's what I need to do to save my career. But no one tells you how hard it is to hate someone you spend every waking hour dreaming about.

Callum Harris is famous on and off the pitch. His club stays near the top of the table season after season. He’s wealthy beyond a normal person’s wildest dreams. He’s got a beautiful house in Alexandria that’s a short drive to the training centre his football club owns. He’s the apple of his family’s eye, with an older sister who dotes on him and a baby brother who looks up to him. He’s even got a best mate, Isaac Martin, that he spends all of his very limited free time with. The only problem is that he’s keeping a massive secret from his club, his friends, his family, and even Isaac. Especially Isaac. Callum is in love with Isaac. He plays in the Premier League, though, so he has to keep it a secret. There’s no such thing as an openly gay player at their level. It’s got to stay secret if he wants to keep playing the sport he loves. It’s got to stay secret if he wants to keep playing for one of the best clubs in the league. It’s got to stay secret if he wants to keep his family’s approval. It’s got to stay secret if he wants to keep his best mate…

The night before the World Cup, Reid Callister made a post on social media. In the photo, he wore a Portugal jersey and was smiling at the woman beside him. He had written something sweet: [Officially done with Argentina. It's all Ronaldo from here.] Our mutual friends all went quiet. Everyone knew that the night Argentina won the championship four years ago, he had cried in my arms until dawn. That was also the night he slipped a ring onto my finger. He said, "Messi got his fairy tale. Let's go get ours." Someone in the comments section asked what happened to his Messi obsession. He replied, "I was young and stupid back then. Now, I know who's worth rooting for." I stared at the post for a long time. I did not comment. I just set down the divorce papers on the coffee table. Before I left for my flight, I tucked the ring into the pocket of his blue-and-white jersey. This time, I would not be watching the game with him.