Seconds Out: A Lesbian Romance (eBook)

Sometimes, the greatest victories happen outside the ring. That's what boxing coach Abs learns when she takes on troubled teenager Gracie as a student - and falls head-over-heels for Gracie's enigmatic mother, Hayley. But with Hayley still recovering from a painful divorce and Abs hiding the scars of her own past, their path to happily-ever-after is far from clear. And when a devastating accident forces them to confront their deepest fears, they'll have to fight for the future they both deserve. Seconds Out is an unforgettable lesbian romance about the battles we choose and the love we refuse to lose.

- Sports romance
- Age gap romance
- Single parent romance
- Opposites attract
- Secret relationship
- Slow burn romance
- Found family
- Coming out

The first time Abs saw the kid who lived across the hall from her mom, she thought nothing of her. Neighbors seemed to come and go, but her mom, who had lived here since Abs had left home twelve years ago, never seemed to mind. Abs and the girl just nodded to each other like how neighbors do and then went their separate ways. She barely even registered the full bag of groceries that hung in the girl's hand, but when she thought about it later, she realized it was another one of those signs that she should have picked up on much sooner.
But she didn't. She didn't pick up on the signs, no matter how glaringly obvious they should have been---to her, of all people. When she saw the girl coming home after dark on her own, Abs just assumed she was mature for her age. She just thought she was a 'good kid'. Quiet and respectful, and always willing to help her parents.
It wasn't until garbage day when Abs suspected something was up. She offered to take the trash out for her mom on her way out of the building, and that was when she spotted the girl from across the hall. Gracie, her mom had said her name was. She was coming out of her own apartment with a black garbage bag in her hands, practically dragging it along the floor because it was too heavy. Gracie closed the door behind her, and hoisted the bag up with both hands to carry it as she headed towards the stairs. As she did so, Abs heard a noise coming from inside the girl's bag.
The hollow sound of glass knocking against glass.
The sound caught Abs's attention as she followed behind the girl towards the stairwell---a gentle clink as the bag swayed with every footstep. It was unmistakable.
Sure, it could have been something else; it could have been jars of pasta sauce, or glass milk bottles, or a whole bunch of other things. It wasn't necessarily bottles of alcohol.
But it sure sounded like it. It sounded exactly like those bags Abs would haul out to the recycling late at night as a teenager, long after her father had passed out in an armchair with his mouth open in a snore.
Abs followed the teenager down to the garbage disposal. There wasn't a trash chute in her mom's building, so all the residents had to go to the first floor to dump their garbage in the dumpster by the alley. The two walked down the stairwell in silence, with Gracie leading the way until they reached the fire escape door that led outside.
"You want me to take that out for you?" Abs offered. She knew the dumpster was close enough so the girl could most likely just throw it in, but she felt bad for the kid. She knew how heavy those garbage bags could be when you were young, especially after lugging them down three flights of stairs.
Gracie looked around in surprise, as though she'd somehow forgotten that Abs was there. She looked her up and down, a little suspiciously, before finally nodding.
"Sure."
Abs bent down to grab the bag from Gracie's hand, lifting it up easily. It was heavy, but she managed to lift it as though it weighed nothing at all.
"Mind holding the door open for me?" Abs asked, before stepping out into the alleyway.
The chilly night air bit at her face as Abs stepped out into the darkness between the apartment building and the weak light that hung over the dumpster. With the ease and grace of someone who'd done this a hundred times before, Abs swung the first bag up and into the dumpster, closely followed by the second.
Before stepping back into the building, Abs looked up and down the dark alley. To her left, the alley led out onto the street where the distant lamps cast an orange glow. To her right, the alley came to an abrupt dead-end where the building stopped. She couldn't even tell how far back that was though, because none of the lights stretched that far. Beyond the circle of light that came from the open fire escape, the rest of the alley was an inky dark void.
Yeah, Abs decided. She definitely wouldn't have let her own teenage daughter, if she had one, down here to take out the trash at night. Hell, she didn't even feel that safe out here.
"You coming in?" Gracie called from the doorway. "Or should I just leave you out there?"
"I'm coming." Abs drew her gaze from the darkness of the alley and turned back to Gracie, who was waiting for her, half hanging out of the doorway. Abs stepped back inside, letting the door swing shut behind her, and double-checked that it had locked.
The two began walking back up the staircase towards their floor, side by side, in an uncomfortable silence. Gracie had her hands stuffed deep into the pockets of her jeans, with her head bent down low to avoid eye contact.

Abs, a former amateur boxer turned coach, never expected to find love in the most unlikely of places. When she agrees to train Gracie, a troubled teenager with a chip on her shoulder, Abs finds herself drawn into the lives of Gracie and her captivating mother, Hayley.
Hayley, a single mother struggling to make ends meet, is fiercely protective of her daughter and initially resistant to Abs's presence in their lives. But as Gracie begins to thrive under Abs's guidance, Hayley starts to see the boxing coach in a new light. Despite her reservations about the sport, she can't deny the undeniable chemistry that simmers between them.
As Abs and Hayley navigate their growing attraction, they're forced to confront the ghosts of their pasts and the challenges of their present. With Gracie's behavior becoming increasingly volatile and Hayley's ex-husband threatening to tear their world apart, pursuing a relationship could cost them both everything they hold dear.
But when a devastating accident lands Gracie in the hospital, Abs and Hayley must confront the depth of their feelings for each other. In a moment that will test their strength, their resolve, and their love, they'll discover that sometimes the greatest victories happen outside the ring.
Raw, honest, and unapologetically real, Seconds Out is a lesbian romance that will leave you breathless. With its complex characters, emotional depth, and heartfelt exploration of family, identity, and second chances, this unforgettable story is a knockout you won't want to miss.