Guarded (Kensley Panthers Book 2) by Nicole Dykes ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

Since an incident in kindergarten, Jameson Bates has always disliked Garrison Dixon. Bates does his best to avoid and ignore Dixon when he can, but being on the same Football team means it's not always possible. Dixon seems to enjoy pushing Bates's buttons and riling him up, however, deep down he dislikes their conflict and wishes to be more than the guy Bates hates.

Dixon is known for his loud, larger than life personality, he acts before he thinks and throws caution to the wind, putting on a carefree persona. Bates is his complete opposite, he over-thinks everything in his life. He's reserved, stoic and calculated and he knows his responsibilities come first and everything else second.

After Dixon finds out Bates's biggest secret, things start to change between them. They strike a deal which in turn pushes them to spend more time together and eventually re-evaluate their relationship.

Dixon and Bates were such opposites in the beginning but managed to find common ground and ended up forging a soul deep connection. Their whole relationship was so sweet and I loved all of their stolen moments and how in the end they were both willing to put everything else aside to be together.

This story had a great balance between the focus on their relationship but also their individual problems and struggles. I'm so glad I decided to keep reading this series as I really enjoyed this book and will definitely be reading the next one!