“What?”
“Press reply on three or after three?”
“On.”
“Okay, let’s do it. One, two …”
“Reply!” Finn pressed the screen and instantly his reply popped up alongside Sam’s. The words #MeltingPoint jumped out at him and his chest buzzed with a strange mixture of adrenaline and dread. There was no backing out now. They’d done it already. All he could do was pray it worked, because he couldn’t bear to think of the disaster his life would be if it went wrong, and he lost Sam.
6
Sam
Later that day Sam lay on the thin mattress, her hands jammed over her ears and her eyes closed tightly. The big air snowboarding qualie was that evening and she was trying to take a nap and had been since she’d gotten back from lunch with Finn. Wondering where Maya was, she rolled over and pulled her pillow over her head. Leo and Becky were in the next room and from the sounds of it, their enthusiasm for bedroom cardio was nothing short of Olympic level. It sounded as if they were giving a spirited performance ofPassionin surround sound.
A loud creak and a crash made her bolt upright and laugh. Had something broken in there? The groaning and cries ofOh God, yes! Harder! Faster!stopped. Silence filled the air. Then Becky’s bathroom door squeaked open. Footsteps traveled across the room and into the bathroom where the sound of running water and the turn of the key in a lock made Sam roll her eyes. This was hard to take. They’d been like rabbits since the engagement. And it was drivingher insane. If they weren’t having sex, they were all lovey-dovey—sharing morsels of food, laughing over memes and snuggling together on the same chair beside the fire in the lobby, sickeningly feeding each other.
Maya had rolled her eyes earlier and dubbed their feeding each other “energy food”, which Leo had taken offence to. Not to mention that Leo had been quite cool with Sam since last night, even though she’d apologized. She hadn’t offered an excuse; there wasn’t one he’d accept anyway. Instead, she’d bought them a congratulations card and a small gift of matching His and Hers towels with the Olympic rings embroidered on them that she’d picked up early that morning when she hadn’t been able to find Finn. But she hadn’t had the chance to give the gift to them as they were otherwise engaged. Now she wondered if she could get them matching fake medals and have them engraved with the wordsOutstanding Achievement in Loud Applause Without an Audiencebut wasn’t sure if Leo would see the joke in it. Becky would, but it wasn’t worth the risk.
Maya came into the room as the cries ofOh Godstarted up again. She rolled her eyes and flopped onto her bed, exhaling hard as she hit the thin mattress.
“Ooof! I forgot this bed was like a rock,” she said. “Have they been at it since I left?”
“Well, I got back an hour ago,” Sam said. “And they were busy. So, who knows?”
“They sound like they’re having fun,” Maya said wistfully.
“Want me to knock and see if you can join them?” Sam laughed.
“No!” Maya stuck out her tongue. “It’s just been a while. Like you might I add.”
“Ugh.”
Maya sat up. “Genius move, by the way—you and Finn—on Instagram. Everyone is screaming about it!”
“You saw our replies?” Sam twisted her hair into a braid.
“The real question is who hasn’t.” Maya got up and finished the braid, securing it at the bottom with an elastic. “Is there something going on that I should know about?”
“What? No! Nothing at all. We just thought that we might get some attention if we played up the wholepartnershipthing.”
“Ah, I see.” Maya sat down and picked up her phone. “Sounds sneaky—can I help?”
Sam twisted the end of the braid with her fingers. “Maybe—I don’t want to get you in any trouble though.”
“Honey, Iamtrouble, and you know it. I can more than handle whatever comes my way.” Maya put her phone down. “Now spill the tea.”
“Maya, have any DMs come in from anyone, offering a partnership or sponsorship?”
“No, not yet.”
“And you’re the only one with access to that account?”
Maya nodded. “I think so. Why?”
“If I tell you this you can’t tell anyone.”
“You know I won’t.”
