"Excellent portrayal of elusive combination of sexual tension and tender friendship."

It's just another fun night at the bar for Josie, except she's on her fourth beer when her usual limit is two. That slight tipsiness gives Josie the courage to face the attraction that has been smouldering between her and her best friend, Jack. Across the bar, as Jack returns her inspection with a hot stare of his own, all bets are off for their relationship remaining platonic.

PLAYING THE GAME is a beautifully written, sexy love story. Both Jack and Josie are fully fleshed, three- dimensional characters. They share a history of friendship that is evident in their playful banter and their concerned awareness of one another. This friendship provides a solid foundation for their mutual attraction to grow into an emotion that is deeper and truer. What is amazing about this story is that it is only about 25 pages long. With just a few carefully chosen sentences, Hart develops Jack and Josie's history, allowing us to focus on their present heated interest in each other.

And boy, does this heat ignite! Jack and Josie burn up the dance floor at the bar. Hart has a deft touch for capturing the sexual essence of a charged moment. She skillfully encapsulates a club's suggestive atmosphere: the provocative pulsation of a dance beat, the thrill of two bodies moving in tandem, the excitement of abandonment in an uninhibited crowd. Jack has a magnetic charm that packs quite a punch, and Josie is a fun and likable heroine.

With this short story, Hart manages to perfectly portray that elusive combination of pure sexual tension and tender friendship that can exist between soul mates. PLAYING THE GAME is truly a winner in every sense of the word. I recommend it without reservation.

Sensuality: NC-17.

Reviewed by Barb Chan for Sensual Romance.

Reviewed by Sensual Romance
Courtesy Sensual Romance
Posted September 7, 2003

Summary

It began as a lighthearted competition between two friends. Ten points for correctly predicting which lame come-on the next person will use to hit on you. Fifteen points for getting asked for your phone number. Twenty for being bought a drink. Get someone to ask you to go home with them, and you've won The Game. Now Josie's tired of watching beautiful women throw themselves at the one man who's always been there for her, and even winning has become losing if it means the man who takes her home from the bar isn't Jack. She knows how to get other men to fall at her feet, but will the same moves work on her best friend? In love and lust, it's all about Playing The Game...