Asking your ex-boyfriend’s rival to fake date you should have been easy. But things get complicated when real sparks start flying in totally fake scenarios. Ivy When my soccer captain ex dumped me for my younger sister my whole life shattered. What better way to get back at him than dating his rival? Okay… fake dating him. But the problem with Maximilan Aarons was that he wasn’t at all what I expected him to be. As I got to know him during our romantic dates and he showed me what a real boyfriend should look like, I broke my one and only rule. I started falling for him. Somewhere between all the dates and kisses I forgot that this was a mutually beneficial fake relationship and he had his own agenda. One that didn’t include me, just his soccer career. Rival soccer team’s captain? Check. Cocky playboy reputation? Check. Smile that has all the girl falling at his feet? Double check. Totally unexpected cinnamon roll hero personality? Triple check. Tropes: college sports romance soccer romance rival team captain's ex fake dating she falls first, he falls harder cinnamon roll hero

She lost her career to an injury. He's fighting to reclaim his. Falling for each other breaks every rule. Rosalie I lost my dream of becoming a professional ballerina at seventeen. Ever since, I've been trying to pick up the shattered pieces of my life and build something new. The last complication I need is Derek. My brother’s teammate, the star striker everyone loves to talk about, and the one man Aaron has made very clear is off-limits. But when Derek suffers a devastating injury that threatens his career, I can’t stop myself from stepping in. At first it’s just company and cupcakes. Then it becomes private Pilates sessions, late-night phone calls, and quiet moments where he lets me see the pieces he hides from everyone else. Two broken athletes. Two shattered dreams. One connection neither of us expected. And somewhere between the stretches, the teasing, the soft confessions, I fall for him. I know I shouldn’t want my brother’s teammate. But Derek sees me in a way no one else ever has and makes me believe that losing ballet wasn’t the end of my story. It was just the beginning of ours. A forbidden sports romance full of slow-burn tension, secret chemistry, emotional healing, and two athletes fighting for their second chance on and off the field. Perfect for fans of closed-door tenderness, open-door longing, and brother’s-teammate chaos.