Breakaway

Grace Reilly's Breakaway is a contemporary sports romance set at McKee University. The story alternates between the perspectives of Cooper Callahan, a junior defenseman on the men's hockey team, and Penny Ryder, the coach's sophomore daughter and a former competitive figure skater.

Cooper arrives late to the season-opening exhibition game, already under pressure after a fighting penalty ended the previous season. His dream is to play in the National Hockey League (NHL). His father, Richard Callahan, a famous former National Football League (NFL) quarterback, insisted Cooper attend college instead of entering the draft. Cooper's uncle Blake, Richard's younger brother who struggles with addiction, introduced Cooper to hockey as a child, placing him at odds with his football-oriented family. When a UConn player taunts Cooper's best friend, Evan Bell, about Evan's recently deceased mother, Cooper punches the player, repeating the exact mistake that cost him a suspension. Coach Lawrence Ryder tells Cooper he wants to make him team captain but cannot if the fighting continues, and orders him to volunteer at the Moorbridge Skating Center, teaching children's ice skating lessons.

Penny is dealing with her own crisis. Her mother, Evelyn, a former professional figure skater, died of ovarian cancer when Penny was fourteen, and her relationship with her father has been strained ever since. Memories of her ex-boyfriend, Preston Biller, have invaded her fantasies, making it impossible for her to orgasm. She keeps a journal containing "The List," a catalog of sexual experiences she wants to have to reclaim control over her body. Her roommate and best friend, Mia di Angelo, suggests Cooper as the ideal partner: His reputation guarantees a good experience with no risk of emotional entanglement.

When Cooper and Penny meet at the rink, he proves surprisingly good with the children. Cooper is immediately attracted to Penny but does not realize she is Coach Ryder's daughter. After the lesson, Penny impulsively asks him to hook up, and they go to a supply closet, where he performs oral sex on her, the first item on The List. Only afterward does Cooper discover her last name and panic about the consequences for his captaincy, vowing it will not happen again.

Cooper plays an excellent next game, scoring the winning goal, and attributes his renewed focus to the hookup. He calls Richard to share the news, but his father responds with critical feedback about the fight, leaving Cooper feeling overlooked compared to his older brother James, a quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles. At a party that night, Cooper runs into Penny while retrieving his drunk younger sister, Izzy. Penny shows him The List and proposes he take her through all the items. He refuses, but she reframes the proposal the next day, emphasizing mutual benefit, and Cooper agrees to an exclusive friends-with-benefits arrangement.

Over the following weeks, they work through multiple items on The List. Cooper is attentive to Penny's boundaries, stopping immediately when she reacts with distress to his suggestion of vaginal sex, which remains last on The List for reasons she has not disclosed. Between hookups, they watch the Lord of the Rings trilogy, exchange books, and develop a genuine friendship that deepens beyond what either anticipated. Cooper takes Penny to New York City for lunch with James and James's fiancée, Bex, and James privately tells Cooper he clearly has feelings for Penny.

Tensions build as Cooper clashes with Brandon Finau, a senior center who also wants the captaincy. Penny fails chemistry, a required course for the physical therapy track her father chose for her, and confides in Cooper that she wants to write romance novels instead. Coach Ryder names Cooper team captain. Penny, believing Cooper no longer needs their arrangement, tries to end things, but Cooper refuses. That night, they adopt a stray orange kitten they name Tangerine, and their relationship deepens into dating in all but name.

During an away game at Vermont, Penny deliberately provokes Cooper by wearing another player's sweater, and he tells her he wants to be with her fully. Coach Ryder discovers the relationship after Brandon tips him off. Cooper tells Coach he wants a real chance with Penny and does not care about the consequences. Coach, moved to tears, gives his blessing, and Penny declares they are officially dating.

Over winter break, Penny tells her father she is failing her science courses, and they discuss alternative paths. She declares English as her new major and begins attending a creative writing group. Cooper, defying his father's warnings, calls Uncle Blake and leaves a voicemail.

At Cooper's twenty-first birthday party, Brandon approaches Penny to apologize, but his cologne, the same scent Preston wore, triggers a severe panic attack. When Cooper finds her hiding in his closet, she tells him the truth: At sixteen, Preston filmed them having sex without her knowledge and shared the video with their entire school as part of a dare. The exposure caused a panic attack during a skating competition, leading to a fall that tore her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and ended her career. Her father's coaching position was also affected, forcing the family to relocate. Cooper tells Penny he loves her for the first time. She says she wants to reciprocate but cannot form the words, and he tells her to take her time.

The next day, Penny tells Cooper she is ready for vaginal sex. He prepares his room carefully and makes sure their phones are off, directly addressing her trauma around being filmed. Penny describes the experience as reclaiming the intimacy Preston stole. Around this time, Uncle Blake resurfaces claiming sobriety and asks Cooper for money from his trust fund. Cooper gives him a quarter of a million dollars despite warnings from his adopted brother, Sebastian.

McKee wins the Hockey East conference championship. At the celebration, a stranger records Penny and Mia on his phone. Mia smashes the phone; when the man retaliates by hitting Cooper with a beer glass, Cooper punches him. Richard arrives, furious about the fight and Blake's influence. Cooper accuses his father of always favoring James and storms out.

At the Callahan Family Foundation Gala, Cooper brings Blake in defiance of his parents. Richard catches Blake drinking, disproving his sobriety, and reveals that Blake nearly killed Cooper in a drunk-driving accident when Cooper was seven. James confirms Blake targeted Cooper for money after James refused; the funds were for gambling and drug debts. Cooper, devastated, flees into Central Park. Penny confronts Richard, telling him he has failed Cooper by withholding his love, then runs through the freezing streets to find him.

Penny locates Cooper at the Wollman Rink in Central Park and tells him she loves him. He tries to push her away, believing he is never anyone's first choice, but Penny insists she is choosing him first. They rent skates and glide together under the stars. The next morning, Richard apologizes for failing to express his pride, and father and son begin to repair their relationship.

McKee advances to the Frozen Four, the national championship tournament for Division I men's hockey. On the morning of the tournament, Cooper and Penny discover Sebastian and Mia together, hinting at a future romance. McKee wins the championship. In an extended epilogue, Cooper and Penny take a cross-country road trip to Arizona. At the Grand Canyon, Penny suggests matching tattoos instead of an engagement, and they get "I love you" in Tolkien's Elvish script inked on their wrists. In Tempe, Penny visits her mother's grave for the first time in years and reads a poem she wrote for Evelyn. She declares she would not trade Cooper for even five more minutes with her mother, affirming that she has fully moved forward.