Sometimes you have to pretend to be a boy in order to compete with them in Just One of the Boys by Leah and Kate Rooper. Check out this exclusive excerpt!

About ‘Just One of the Boys’ by Leah and Kate Rooper:

Alice Bell has one goal: to play for the elite junior hockey team the Chicago Falcons.But when she’s passed over at tryouts for being a girl, she’ll do anything to make her dream a reality…even disguising herself as her twin brother. With her amazing skills on the ice, Alice is sure she’ll fit in easily. That is, until she starts falling for one of her teammates…

Hayden Tremblay, star of the Falcons, can’t keep himself out of the penalty box. Constantly living in the shadow of his older brother, Hayden’s losing his passion for hockey. But when he gets shown up on the ice by the Falcons’ new rookie, Hayden’s determined to teach the kid a thing or two. Little does he guess that “Al’s” surprises on the ice are just the beginning…

‘Just One of the Boys’ by Leah and Kate Rooper exclusive excerpt:

Hayden

I pull up in front of the rink. When I can’t sleep, when my brain feels too foggy to think, or when everything seems to be crushing down on me, I come here.

The janitors have gotten used to me being here. As long as I stay out of their way, I can use the rink as much as I want.

I like coming here late at night. It’s so quiet, all I can hear is my own breath and the slice of my blades against the ice. I can really concentrate when I’m alone, when no one’s watching or judging.

But my heart sinks when I walk into the arena. I’m not alone. The rink was only supposed to be booked until 11:00 p.m. tonight, and it’s almost midnight.

There’s a girl out there: a figure skater, twirling around and taking up the whole rink. She wears tight black pants, and a loose T-shirt. Her face is red and glistening: she must have been out here a while. Long brown hair flows down her back.

I just can’t catch a break today. I lace up my skates, grab my stick and puck, and head onto the ice. Maybe I’ll scare her away.

I take a couple shots at the net but can’t get into the rhythm. It’s not like it should be. The scrape of her skates is deafening. I turn to glare at her. She flies on the ice, jumping, skating backward, twirling, and whipping right by me. How am I supposed to concentrate with this nonsense going on?

“Hey,” I say. “This side of the rink is mine, okay? So just keep your twirling over there.”

She skids to a hard stop, shooting up ice. And then she skates toward me.

I find myself inching away as she approaches. She’s actually beautiful—but not in a typical way. She’s more striking, having the kind of face you remember. Angled cheekbones, straight firm brows, and big autumn gray eyes that seem to capture me in a single glance—or glare, which is how she’s looking at me now.

Okay, maybe I deserve that.

She’s flushed and breathing heavy, gathering her long hair around her shoulder. “Excuse me?”

And her face turns into a familiar evil cocky grin.

I’ve seen this face before. I saw this face this morning. “Do I know you?”

She comes even closer with a little twirl. “Do you play for the Falcons?”

“Yeah.”

“You probably know my twin brother, Al. I’m Alice.”

“Yeah well, I haven’t got too familiar,” I say. “Rookies get cut all the time, so tell your brother not to get comfortable.’ Twin brother. That makes sense. A wave of hate flows through my body now, and I’m angry I ever thought this girl was pretty.

“You know,” Alice says, grabbing my stick from me, “I heard people say that he might break the scoring record this year.”

I cross my arms. “Yeah, what people?”

“Just people.” She smirks the same smirk that punk gave me earlier. She pulls the stick back and shoots the puck. It misses the net by a mile, but she’s not even holding the stick properly. She shrugs. “I’ve never been good at hockey.”

“Must run in the fam—”

“Not like my brother.” She interrupts me. “They say he might even be better than Tremblay. That Hayden’s all hype, no actual follow through.”

She drops the stick and it clatters to the ice. A dark shadow trails her as she circles me then skates off the ice. “See you around. Maybe at one of my brother’s games.”

I don’t say anything, just watch as she sashays away. Finally, I find the words and shout: “Not if I see you first!”

But she’s already gone.

Just One of the Boys by Leah and Kate Rooper will be released on October 2! Pre-order now from Amazon, Kobo, or Barnes & Noble. And don’t forget to add it to your Goodreads!