Five older men who should know better. Five younger women who make absolutely sure they don't.

One small town. One tangled friend group. Five forbidden first times:

The Mechanic's Forbidden Fix — Her car dies three blocks from his shop. It's Sunday. He's supposed to be closed. Two years of crushing, and now they're alone.

The Welder's Secret Spark — Her best friend's brother—scarred, silent, fifteen years older—keeps her up at night with his angle grinder. She marches over to complain and stays for something much louder.

The Plumber's Dirty Secret — She's been faking a leaky pipe to get the plumber back into her kitchen. Seventeen years older, keys to half the buildings in town, and done pretending not to notice.

The Electrician's Charged Touch — Her outlet explodes and the hottest electrician in the county shows up. She dares him to be her first.

The Carpenter's Forbidden Claim — Her dorm's closed for repairs, so she's crashing with a six-foot-four carpenter eighteen years older. His workshop bench never stood a chance.

Five couples, one friend group—the weddings, the babies, and the epilogues all overlap. Read them in order and watch the whole town fall.

Because he's my brother's best friend. Because he's fifteen, sixteen, eighteen years too old for me. Because his hands fix engines and pipes and broken bed frames all day, and when they finally land on me, they don't shake once. Men like these don't fool around—they claim you, first time to forever, and they don't stop until there's a ring on your finger and a baby on the way. All five of us found out the sweet way.