Crossing Lines
Blair Donovan has spent four years building a reputation no one dares question.
Captain of Ashford University's nationally ranked women's soccer team. Future professional. The defender every striker hates playing against.
Cold. Disciplined. Untouchable.
At least, that's what everyone believes.
When Coach Ramirez recruits junior transfer Avery Bennett-the same striker Blair specifically begged her not to bring to Ashford-it feels like the beginning of Blair's worst nightmare.
Avery is everything Blair can't stand.
Loud where Blair is quiet.
Carefree where Blair is controlled.
Infuriatingly talented.
And somehow always smiling.
From the first practice, they're at each other's throats. Hard tackles become personal. Every argument ends with someone pulling them apart. Teammates start placing bets on who will throw the first punch, while reporters can't stop asking why the captain and the team's newest star seem to hate each other so much.
Neither of them expected to become roommates on away trips.
Neither of them expected the rivalry to turn into something neither one knows how to handle.
Because somewhere between the screaming matches, the late-night bus rides, the brutal practices, and the moments no one else sees... hatred starts looking a lot like attraction.
But falling in love doesn't erase years of walls.
Blair has spent her entire life believing that letting people in only gives them the chance to leave. Avery refuses to give up on someone who keeps pushing her away, but loving Blair means fighting battles she can't even see.
As the pressure of chasing a national championship collides with buried secrets, old wounds, and a relationship neither of them knows how to navigate, they'll have to decide whether love is worth risking everything they've spent years protecting.
Some games are won in ninety minutes.
The hardest ones are fought off the field.