Heated Rivalry took the world by storm, and had everyone falling in love with Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov, but now that the first season is over, the countdown has begun for the premiere of season two.
The first season of the show followed the plot of Rachel Reid’s rival-to-lovers hockey romance, and stars both the series' stars (Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie) and director Jacob Tierney have confirmed that the second season will be an adaptation of Shane and Ilya’s sequel novel, The Long Game.
The Long Game picks up a few years after the events of Heated Rivalry and while there is more emotional turmoil as Ilya struggles with his mental health, they rarely get to see each other, and the weight of their secret relationship becomes more than either can bear, the book is also filled with pages and pages of sinfully hot sex scenes just like the first novel.
So if you loved the first season of Heated Rivalry for the intense yearning, emotional love story, and hot gay sex, you’re in for a treat because season 2 is sure to gift you with more of all of that if the book is anything to go by.
There are scenes in The Long Game that are just as moving and tender as when they have sex after saying “I love you” for the first time, and as hot and wild as the post-tuna melt frotting or the Hayden phone call sex. The only thing we don't want to see in season 2? Shane's manbun. The Long Game can keep that.
But which sex scenes are we dying to see brought to screen, and which sweet moments are we keeping our fingers crossed don’t get cut for time?
Major spoiler warning for the book, and potentially the series below, so proceed accordingly!
1. Sex after Shane's mom leaves
Christina Chang in 'Heated Rivalry'
Crave
The book starts with Shane and Ilya coaching hockey at their charity summer camp while Shane’s mom stays at his house to help run it. This puts a damper on their sex life, but when they are finally alone again, Ilya forces Shane to tell him what he wants and then gives Shane a blow job before Shane takes control and rides Ilya until things get too intense and Ilya flips him over and has his way with Shane.
2. Ilya stuck in traffic
When Ilya gets stuck in traffic trying to make his way home to Shane, who is already getting himself ready for him, he tells Shane to get himself as close to the finish line as possible without going over and then has him repeat the process while Ilya tries to stay calm in the back of a taxi. As if that wasn’t hot enough, the scene keeps going when Ilya arrives and calls Shane his “impatient slut” before finally taking over.
3. Shane and Ilya's first wedding
Shane and Ilya may still be keeping their relationship a secret at this point, but when Hayden’s wife Jackie sprains her ankle, and they are asked to step in as babysitters, they get the wedding of their dreams. Hayden’s kids decide to throw Shane and Ilya an impromptu ceremony with plastic rings that is full of so much real emotion between the men that we’re sure our hearts will melt into a muddle of goo when we see it play out on our TV screens.
4. Halloween sex
Shane and Ilya in 'Heated Rivalry' season 1.
Crave
When Ilya sends Shane a photo of himself dressed up like a gladiator for the Halloween party he threw for his teammates, Shane gets so turned on he drives two hours to Ottawa to jump Ilya’s bones, while wearing a butt plug during the entire drive. Not only is the scene hot as hell, but it’s a reminder of how much more confident Shane has gotten in the bedroom over the years.
5. Sex in front of mirrors
The night after Halloween, Shane finds Ilya looking gorgeous while working out in his home gym, and Ilya makes Shane watch himself while he comes as Ilya jerks him off from behind. The sex is hot, but Shane and Ilya’s obsession with each other and how sexy they still find each other takes the cake.
6. The proposal
In the Heated Rivalry novel, Ilya tells Shane that one day he’s going to cover Shane’s dock at the cottage in candles, get down on one knee, and ask him to marry him. But after Ilya almost dies in a plane crash, Shane can’t wait any longer, so he surprises Ilya with a room full of candles. Shane gets down on one knee and tells Ilya, “I choose you, Ilya. I promise I will always, always choose you,” in a beautiful reference to a fight the two men had earlier in the book.
7. More frotting
7 beginner frotting tips from gay sex expertsCrave CanadaIf you thought Shane and Ilya frotting on the couch at the end of the “tuna melt” scene was melt your brain hot, just wait until we hopefully get to see Ilya lay Shane out on his rug after the proposal and the two men bump and grind their way to amazing orgasms.
8. Shane and Ilya's 'real' wedding
While the wedding that Hayden’s kids officiated will remain the “real wedding” in the minds of many fans, Shane and Ilya do eventually have a real wedding in their backyard with all of their friends and Shane's parents. Not only are we hoping to see the wedding, but the moment when Shane’s dad, David, helps Ilya put on his cuff links and get ready for his big day while explaining that he loves Ilya as a son.
9. Ryan and Fabian
Tough Guy by Rachel Reid
Carina Press
Ilya’s former teammate Ryan and his boyfriend Fabian play a pivotal role in The Long Game. Shane and Ilya go on a semi-secret double date with the two men, where Shane starts to realize that by hiding his relationship, he’s also missed out on opportunities to connect with other gay people and embrace his own queerness. There is also a scene where Ilya and Shane attend one of Fabian’s concerts, which makes them both realize how much it’s killing them to keep their love in the shadows. This makes us wonder if season two might include some of Ryan and Fabian’s love story, which is detailed in Reid’s novel Tough Guy, the same way that we got Scott and Kip’s story in the first season of Heated Rivalry.
10. Troy and Harris
Role Model by Rachel Reid
Carina Press
Troy and Harris’ love story takes place in book five of the Game Changer series, but both men play an incredibly important role in The Long Game, so we suspect they’ll show up in season two of Heated Rivalry. Ilya befriends new player Troy and then becomes the first person Troy comes out to before encouraging Troy to pursue a relationship with the team’s social media manager, Harris. When Troy comes out publicly, it makes Ilya realize how much he wants to do that himself and how much he craves being able to claim Shane as his in the light of day.
11. Shane explore Ilya's butt
When Ilya is struggling and needs to get out of his own head, Shane helps him by taking over in the bedroom and adding a little anal play into their sex life. Shane and Ilya always stick to their roles in the bedroom, but while Ilya doesn’t like to bottom, Shane says that sometimes he needs a little something extra when he’s having a hard time mentally.
12. All-Star Weekend hookup
Shane and Ilya may be able to have sex in their homes at this point, but things get extra spicy when they are forced to have hotel sex again, like they used to. During All-Star Weekend, Shane sneaks into Ilya’s hotel room, where Ilya proceeds to very slowly and torturously take Shane apart while they can hear their teammates right outside the door. It’s secret and illicit and extremely hot.
13. Trophy room sex
Trophies.
Nokuro/Shutterstock
Much like the “tuna melt” scene in the first book, the trophy room scene is one that fans always talk about, and for good reason. It’s one of the hottest sex scenes in the book where Ilya takes it upon himself to remind Shane “who the fuck you are” by bending Shane over in front of all of his trophies and awards, taking him from behind while he uses a vibrating cock ring on him. Then, when Ilya asks him if he’s turned on by “his many accomplishments,” Shane tells Ilya, “It’s you. It’s only you.”
Shane dancing with Rose and Miles in 'Heated Rivalry.'
Heated Rivalry's book cover and a scene from the adaptation. 'Heated Rivalry'; Crave
