2nd Time Around - 2nd Time Around, #1

Eric Bell is 54, bitter, and broken. Life hasn't turned out the way he'd hoped- dreams deferred, relationships failed, and a soul worn down by disappointment. But everything changes after a massive stroke sends him hurtling back in time......and into the body of his 14-year-old self in the sweltering summer of 1984. Now faced with reliving his freshman year at Jefferson High - a school infamous for its brutal bullies and morally bankrupt staff - Eric sees the chance for revenge, a redo, a way to even the score. But the past isn't just a battlefield. It's also full of forgotten feelings. When Eric crosses paths with Darla Knox, a quiet crush from long ago whose presence stirs something deep and unresolved, everything shifts. She's beautiful, mysterious, and far more complex that he remembers. As they grow closer Eric is haunted by the strange contradiction of being emotionally fifty-four, but physically fourteen and by the dawning realization that Darla carries her own hidden past, tangled with secrets and pain. Together they find themselves in the crosshairs of Coach Fallon, a manipulative and dangerous figure whose power stretches beyond the gym and into the dark underbelly of the school's culture. To survive Jefferson High this time, Eric and Darla must learn to trust each other, confront their traumas, and find strength in the second chance neither of them asked for. 2nd Time Around is a haunting, heartfelt exploration of memory, redemption, and forbidden connection. A story about what happens when the past gives you another shot - but not without a fight.