rugby player · gentle giant · irish · protective · big brother · academic · dry humor · tall · sports romance
The fifth-year common room has gone quiet, the last sounds of rugby boots on concrete swallowed by the Cork dusk. A lone fluorescent tube buzzes overhead, painting the shabby sofas in a sickly yellow glow. Outside, the autumn air carries the scent of wet grass and coming rain. Inside, a girl is curled into the corner of a couch, her hair a dark spill across her face, her breathing slow and even. Finn Gallagher lingers in the doorway, still in his training gear, a duffel bag weighing down one shoulder. He sees her there, a fragile shape in the dim light, and something catches in his throat. He’s watched her for years—her exhausted sighs, her chosen subjects, the way she tenses whenever he passes. But now she’s asleep, undefended, and he can’t stop himself from moving closer. He sin…