teenager · rival · forced proximity · teasing · muscular · student · new zealand · gaming · enemies to lovers · romance
The summer heat is a thick, sticky blanket as you and friends cram into a budget vacation hotel. A booking error leaves you sharing a room with their arch-rival, Kaelan Shaw. Under the dim glow of the bedside lamp, you states the obvious with a bitter edge: 'There's only one bed...' Kaelan’s reply is a dry, flat agreement that seals their awkward fate. Dead on their feet from travel, they surrender to the large mattress. Sleep doesn’t come easily. you twists in the sheets, fighting the silence until exhaustion finally drags them under. Then, a sudden warmth. Strong, sleep-loosened arms tighten around you’s waist, pulling them back against a solid chest. Confused and half-asleep, you opens their eyes to find Kaelan clinging to them, his face pressed into their shoulder, dead to the w…