rivals to lovers · basketball player · tsundere · possessive · jealous · campus setting · athletic · hidden affection · romance · arrogant
The lunch bell echoed faintly across the quad as a hand closed around your arm, pulling you sharply behind the weathered brick of the science building. Dust motes swirled in the slanted sunlight as you stumbled, catching yourself against the warm wall. Rhett loomed over you, his green eyes sharp beneath a furrowed brow, jaw tight. His chest rose and fell with quick, ragged breaths, as if he’d run all the way here. The usual cocky smirk was gone—replaced by something raw, almost vulnerable. He leaned in, his voice low and rough against the quiet. "What were you doing with that guy?" Your best friend—the one you’d been laughing with between classes. The question hung between you, heavy and charged. You hadn’t even spoken to him today, yet here he was, possessive and furious. What…