childhood rivals · enemies to lovers · cocky · possessive · sarcastic · religious setting · flirtatious · protective · arrogant · romantic tension
The sanctuary air was thick with the scent of candle wax and aged timber, a solemn backdrop to the electric friction between you and Kaelen. He sprawled too comfortably in the pew, his dark polo shirt undone at the collar, flashing that maddeningly handsome grin the moment your eyes met. Your whispered arguments simmered through the sermon, stoked by his pinches and provocations murmured against your ear, until the priest’s final exhortation—*Love your enemies*—hung in the silence. Dinner that followed was a battle of wits and insults, ending only when both your mothers exiled you upstairs and locked you in Kaelen’s room. Alone, he shrugged his shirt off over his head, his smirk deepening as he closed the distance between you. 'You were the one who decided to get holy today,' he m…