Finn
Monday, 9th February 2026
Finn lay in his extra-large king-size bed. He kicked the duvet off, swung his legs over the side and sat up. Shivering in the dark, he wished he’d put on a T-shirt before going to sleep, then he reached for his phone in the darkness—3:55 a.m. He didn’t have to get up for another hour, but he couldn’t sleep, especially knowing that Sam was competing in her first final that day. At least he had another day before his next qualie. He stretched his arms high above his head. Maybe she was awake too? Probably not. Hopefully not. She needed all the rest she could get.
Thumping his pillow into shape, he pictured Sam in bed. She was a messy sleeper—he knew that from Maya’s jokes. Arms and legs all over the place, farting and talking in her sleep too. He laughed out loud. He couldn’t help it. There was something adorable in that and he wished he could witness it. Lying back down he stared up at the ceiling.Waking up beside Sam would be magical. He sighed. He was a morning person; she wasn’t as much. If he ever got lucky enough to wake up with her, he’d bring her breakfast in bed. Coffee, black with two sugars. That was her wake-up drink. It was the only time she drank black coffee. She didn’t like to eat much but loved a croissant with chocolate spread and strawberries. Easy.
From the few times that he’d stayed in the same accommodation as Sam he also knew that she was mostly incoherent until she’d had a long hot shower too. Picturing her in the shower made him reach for himself. Stroking himself, he closed his eyes. He’d never had as many hard-ons in one day before. Idly he wondered if it was dangerous, then took his hand away, preferring to imagine what a perfect day with Sam would be like.
They’d get out on the slopes after her shower, and they’d do a glade run, and she’d be brilliant. He saw her sweep into the air, land perfectly, smiling at him as he led the way. Then they’d have some lunch, probably pasta in a cheesy sauce—steaming hot and peppered with paprika—it would warm them up and fill their hungry bellies. Then maybe they’d get another run in before picking up the kids …
Finn’s eyes burst open.Kids. What the? They had kids. How did that happen? What the…but…they’d be gorgeous kids—a girl and a boy of course.Throwing his hands behind his head he settled back, smiling as he imagined what their kids might be like. They’d be fair-haired, like Sam; hopefully they’d have her green eyes too. He hoped she wanted kids, despite what she had said earlier about not wanting babies. It would make his world complete if she did. Grinning in the dark, he pictured teaching his son how to ski. One thing was for sure, he wouldn’t be the kind of father Jake Harrington was, nope. He’d be there for his kids, not telling them what to do, who to do it with, and how to do it.
The conversation with Jake at the ski center came back to him, word for word. An icy shiver made him move, tuck his arms down and pull the duvet up over his bare shoulders. Jake Harrington—there’d be no kids with Sam if Jake Harrington had his way, but he could hardly stop them from having as much fun as possible in the meantime when the team was behind them. A sense of resolve settled into his chest and made him sit up and get out of bed.
There was no point in lying there dreaming about things that he wanted. He may as well get some training in, maybe catch some Z’s later if he needed to. Forgoing a shower, Finn pulled on his sweats and trainers, grabbed his backpack and tiptoed down to the lobby. The breakfast room was empty, but he grabbed a pot of yogurt, and a bottle of orange juice for after his workout before heading off.
Jogging along the snowy road, Finn pulled his neck gaiter over his face. It was freezing and, in the distance, he could see the groomers out already making sure the snow was perfect for later. The usual excitement he felt when he saw fresh powder sparked up inside him. He pushed all thoughts of Sam, Maya, Jake Harrington and the team out of his thoughts, and paused. He completed a few stretches then turned his attention toward the road. Running along the sparkling snow he concentrated on his breathing, letting the rhythm of his steps clear his mind. Sam’s face kept coming back to him no matter how fast he ran. Her worriedexpression as she ran to him after her qualie, then the anger in her voice as she’d called him out for not supporting her—and finally, the way she’d looked at him when she’d said goodnight. She’d looked as if she had a million things to say to him and like she didn’t know where to begin.
Rubbing his face, he slowed to a walk. What the hell would he say if she asked him how he was feeling? There was no way he could tell her about her dad warning him off. Things were bad enough between Jake and Sam already. He groaned. And then there was Maya and her social media posts—and the team’s official yet unofficial support of them. It couldn’t have come at a better time. Since he’d gotten up, he’d received what felt like hundreds of Instagram notifications from fans who shipped him and Sam so hard it felt like they’d hit an iceberg. It was exactly the attention they both needed—Sam with her sponsorship hopes, and his dreams of proving he could stand on his own two feet—it was a win for them both.
Finn smiled. Maya was unrivaled when it came to content creation. Her last posts of him and Sam had been so carefully orchestrated that he’d found himself wanting to congratulate her. He laughed, just as his phone buzzed again. This time it was Maya.
Where are you, lover boy? The team have asked for more content, and I’ve got a plan for some hot photos—get your tight buns to the gym pronto. I need you and my girl looking like you want to pump more than iron.
Finn couldn’t help but grin as he rounded the bend in the road, the gym just in sight.
The gym was just opening; yellow lights were flickering on all over the building. Pushing down his neck gaiter he squinted in the darkness. A shadowy figure stood outside the gym as if they weren’t sure about going in. He picked up his pace a little, sure that he knew who it was.
Maya must’ve really worked some magic to get Sam out of bed at this hour. They’d joked often enough about how she hated dragging herself out of bed early—even for fresh powder. Sam, looking like she was barely awake, hid a yawn as he hurried toward her.
The soft crunch of snow beneath his boots made her look around. Her eyes flickered over him before looking down and focusing on the travel mug she held in her hand. The heady coffee aroma cut through the icy air, inviting and warm. Sam’s expression changed from grumpy bear to sleepy bunny as Finn approached her.
“Hey,” she said, her voice still gritty from sleep. “You made it.”
“Maya sent me a text,” Finn said, his voice gruff from the cold air. “Shouldn’t you be in bed, resting for tonight?”
Sam sheepishly smiled, raising her eyes from her coffee. “I’ll rest later, I promise. Maya was awake at a crazy hour, plotting, scheming and developing ideas for us. She was fizzing with so much energy that I couldn’t stay in bed—this was really my idea, although the team jumped on it when Maya messaged them—I was hoping she’d save it for later though.” She stifled another yawn.
“Your idea?” Finn burst out laughing. “Who are you—and what have you done with my Sam?”
Sam’s eyes flicked to his, and his mouth went dry.MySam… had he really said that out loud? Her cheeks turned pink as he studied her, wondering what she was thinking.
A soft laugh escaped from her, breaking the tension. “I’m still me, just me. I swear.” She nudged him, the sleepiness in her eyes dissipating a little. “Just trying to keep the momentum going—that’s all.”
Finn smiled, feeling a rush of warmth at the sight of her flushed cheeks. “Well, if this is your idea, explain to me what exactly pumping more than iron means …”
“Oh God!” Sam squeaked. “Did she really say that? I was joking!”
“Oh, she did.” Finn grinned. “And I cannot wait to see how this plays out.”
“What can I say?” Sam pulled a face. “Maya thinks that more photos of us as a couple will sway it for us. Especially if we add some heat to the photos.”
The way she said,us as a couplemade Finn’s chest tighten. He could feel it, something igniting between them, something sparking and flaming up, ready to set them both alight.Did she feel it too?
He scratched the back of his neck. “I’m not complaining, if we’re gonna play this fake-dating thing, we might as well do it right—right?”
“Right,” Sam agreed, her voice suddenly more serious. She sipped her coffee, then said: “So …”
