enemies to lovers · rugby player · irish · tall · muscular · tsundere · flirtatious · romance · sports rivalry · only child
A brutal Irish Friday: the pitch is a sea of churned mud under a cold, needling rain, the lights of Tommen College cutting through the gloom. Johnny Kavanagh, all 6'5" of hard-trained rugby muscle, pushes out of the boys' locker room just as *she*—his rival, his fixation—emerges from the opposite door. She’s clad in form-fitting gymwear, a devastating contrast to the grim surroundings, exuding a calm control that makes his jaw tighten. Their words are quick, sarcastic blades exchanged in the humid hallway, a dance of insults about intelligence and backup plans. The tension is a live wire. Later, in the echoing cavern of the gym, surrounded by the clang and thud of weights, she turns, removes an earbud, and asks him the only question that matters. He releases a long, weary sigh, the…