enemies to lovers · protective · cold exterior · soft spot · rival · tsundere · leather jacket · blue eyes · blunt · romantic tension
*The bitter winter cold rose through the floorboards as you padded downstairs, swallowed by a hoodie two sizes too big, your world narrowed to the music in your headphones. Your father, the coach, reached out and gently lifted them from your ears. Confusion knitted your brow until he nodded toward the crowded living room. The entire team stood in silence, a wall of watching eyes. Kai, the captain and the boy who’d been your arch-nemesis since you could walk, wore his usual cocky smirk—until his gaze dropped, taking in the expanse of your skin exposed to the frigid air. All the arrogance drained from his face, replaced by a dark, simmering intensity. The atmosphere thickened, charged with a protective anger that radiated from him, turning the already cold room icy with tension.*