When I'd first seen Ryan's message about his friends having popped into town unexpectedly, I hadn't known what to expect. Had a group of his teammates drove to town? Did he need me to babysit Bowen while he went out with the boys? After a bit of back and forth though, it was revealed Derrick—who I knew was one of Ryan's closest friends—and his girlfriend, Lia, had stopped into Neptune Bay before flying back to Los Angeles tomorrow night.

And they wanted to meet me. No big deal or anything.

Which meant that instead of a chilled night at his house, Ryan had asked his parents to watch over Bowen for the evening while the four of us went out to dinner. Seated in a booth at The Watering Hole—Ryan and I on one side and Derrick and Lia on the other—I was a lot less stressed than I thought I'd be. In fact, I was enjoying getting to know the two of them and liked seeing how at ease Ryan was, especially as Derrick was regaling me with a story from their past at Ryan's expense.

"And that's how Ryan ended up playing a whole game with his face painted like a tiger," Derrick drawled with amusement before taking a swig from his beer.

I snorted with laughter, glancing over at Ryan with a bemused smile. "You really did that?"

"Of course," he replied. "What was I going to do, tell the kid from Make a Wish no? He wanted to see us beat the Tigers while I looked like one, so once I gave the front office a heads up about the request, they brought in some face paint for me, and the rest was history."

"That's really sweet," I said, knocking my knee against his gently.

"Did the Tigers players get pissed at you for it?" Lia jumped in.

He lifted a shoulder with nonchalance. "At first, when they thought it was an attempt at taunting them, but after the first period, the Knights' PR team had gotten the word out that it was at the request of a little boy with cancer. They couldn't really be mad about that. But it wouldn't have mattered either way, because that game still ended in a shutout for me."

"Impressive."

"Your boy here really is a great goalie," Derrick said towards me. "One of the best in the league."

"As much as I appreciate the compliment, considering I don't play for your team," Ryan cut in teasingly, "it's not exactly needed. Sloane follows hockey."

Derrick lifted a brow. "You do?"

I nodded as I took a sip of my cocktail. "Yeah, along with most of the town. It's kind of hard not to when everyone you know is cheering for the hometown sports star."

"Aww, Nyberg, you have your own little fan club out here."

Ryan rolled his eyes at his friend while Lia nudged her boyfriend. "Stop embarrassing him."

"You're right. You're right." He then looked back at me and raised a brow. "Why don't we let Sloane take the reins. Ryan mentioned the two of you grew up together. Any fun stories from Ryan's younger years you feel like sharing. I promise I won't use anything against him ever."

The wink he sent my way had me thinking that was definitely a lie, but knowing how close these guys were, I didn't see the harm in disclosing a small story. One that was only marginally mortifying for Ryan. At least it had been nearly twenty years ago.

I hummed for a moment as though I was thinking about it, glancing Ryan's way quickly so he could see the glint in my eye before turning back to face Derrick. "There was this one day when our fifth-grade class went on a field trip to the beach," I started. "It was a beautiful, sunny day. Everyone was building sandcastles and swimming in the ocean, and then, out of nowhere, this huge wave rolled into shore. A lot of kids ran out of the water, but Ryan and a few other guys thought they were so smart in running towards it. It knocked every one of them down, but somehow, Ryan got it worse than the rest of the guys because the force of the wave against his body ended up pulling his shorts down and succeeded in giving all of our innocent eyes a shock."

A loud laugh burst from Derrick, and I saw Lia holding in her amusement.

"Nice," Derrick mused. "You know, by fifth-grade most people realize flashing the class isn't a good idea."

"Hey, it's not like I did it on purpose," Ryan said. "That wave was large, and I was a lot smaller than I am now. It could've happened to anyone."

"It could've," I replied, "but I always thought it was funny that it happened to you."

Ryan's hand dropped from where it'd been resting on the top of the booth seat to my shoulder, pulling me closer to his side. "Mmm, of course you did," he whispered, kissing the corner of my mouth.

For the next half an hour or so, the four of us continued chatting as we finished our drinks and I got to learn a bit more about Lia and Derrick, their relationship, and how the former, amazingly, was both a researcher and professor out west. It was inspiring meeting and talking to someone who, theoretically, if she wanted, probably could've relied on her boyfriend in terms of financial support but chose to be independent and a whiz in her industry while also being in love with someone who played professional hockey.

Not that I would've thought any less of her otherwise, but it was reassuring to know that Ryan kept such good company.

"Alright, are we about ready to head out?" Ryan asked as it neared eight thirty. "I can settle out the tab, grab the blankets from the car, and meet you guys outside in a few."

"Sounds good, man," Derrick said as Lia and I nodded. "Though don't think you're getting away with footing the whole bill. I'll transfer you the money for Lia and I."

There was no argument on Ryan's end and the two of them did a quick handshake as Ryan slid out of the booth and headed towards the bar to pay.

Five minutes later, after dipping into the restroom, the four of us left The Watering Hole's parking lot by foot and made our way onto the boardwalk as the sun began to set, heading towards the town's movie night on the beach about half a mile away. Where a giant projector screen had been erected and a fair number of people had turned up to watch this weekend's movie.

Wonder Woman.

The sand was still warm from the heat of the day as we found spots near the back of the gathered crowd, laying out our blankets before the focus turned to snacks. No matter the fact we had just come from a late dinner at the bar.

"Would you rather popcorn, or candy?" Ryan asked, crouched down in front of me as I sat on the blanket designated for the two of us.

"Popcorn," I replied, toeing my sandals off before bringing my knees into my chest. "And a Sprite, if they have it. Otherwise, a water is fine."

"And you?" Derrick asked Lia as Ryan nodded.

"Same as her."

"Okay," Ryan said, standing along with Derrick, but not before kissing me quickly. "Back in a few."

For a few moments there was nothing said between Lia and I, as I saw her gaze follow her boyfriend off toward the snack cart and I listened to the soothing sound of the waves rolling up on the shore. But soon enough Lia's attention turned to me, scooting to the edge of her own blanket with a friendly smile.

"So, is it corny if I ask how you two met?" she asked, an inkling of curiosity in her expression. "I know you both mentioned you knew each other as kids, but have you kept in touch all these years, or was this whole thing kind of a recent reconnection."

"Not corny at all," I replied, huffing out a laugh. "And it's the latter. We were friends growing up but more or less lost touch, other than social media, after he left to pursue hockey. I've seen him around town over the years in the summer months with his family, but it was only him coming back this summer and dealing with... you know, losing Liam and Thea, that brought us closer again." I saw her eyebrow quirk, as though she didn't understand. "I lost my mom a little over a year ago, so on some level, I could relate to what he was going through."

"Ah, I'm sorry."

I waved her off. "Don't worry about it."

"Well—" She paused briefly. "—despite the sadder circumstances that brought you guys back together, I've gotta say, I'm happy for you both. I haven't seen him this into someone since I've known him, and Derrick and I have been together over three years now."

I felt my cheeks warm and looked over my shoulder to where the men were grabbing snacks. As though he could feel my eyes on him, Ryan's gaze shifted to connect with mine and he sent me a goofy grin.

Cue the butterflies in my stomach.

"Thanks," I said, suddenly sounding shy. "Though I don't really know what else to say to that."

She laughed. "Honestly, I don't think there's a right response to it."

"Then how about I turn the tables back to you," I suggested. "What brought on the impromptu visit for you and Derrick?"

"We'd always planned to come to Boston this week, as I was visiting with some friends and Derrick wanted to see some old teammates that were still in the city for the offseason, but since he also knew Ryan had a lot on his plate out here and wasn't talking much over the phone, he wanted to come out and make sure everything was okay."

"That's really sweet."

"It is, which is why I was all for it. I'm glad the two of them could talk things out and Ryan had the chance to get all the worries he had about returning to hockey next season off his chest." At the mention of Ryan returning hockey—to Boston—I must've shown some kind of shock as Lia immediately looked panic-stricken. "Oh my god. Did you not know he was planning on heading back? Or at least thinking about it?

I shook my head. "I did, I did. Don't worry." She exhaled in relief, and I shrugged my shoulders. "It's just easy to forget when I'm actually with him that he isn't planning on sticking around, but I knew going into this that he likely was headed back to Boston at the end of the summer."

"Thank god. I thought I spilled some giant secret he'd been keeping from you or something."

A reluctant smile pulled at the corners of my lips. "Like I said, no worries. You're all good. Besides, he's a hockey player, and while a lot of things have changed in his life recently, I never expected his career to change too."

Lia nodded in understanding. "For what it's worth, I can say from experience that just because his job takes him away from here, that doesn't mean you have to break it off. The first two years of Derrick and I's relationship was long distance, and he was based on the other side of the country."

"I know," I said softly, "but right now, I don't really want to think too far ahead, you know? I just want to go with the flow. Enjoy things."

"I get it," she replied. "But if you did ever want to talk, about dealing with the possibility of long distance, or anything else, feel free to reach out. I'm happy to chat."

"Will do."

Suddenly, I felt someone drop down behind me and chuckle as I jumped in surprise, yelping as I brought a hand to my chest.

"What are you two talking about?" Ryan asked with amusement, ignoring the look of mock-annoyance I shot him as I accepted the popcorn and drink he passed to me.

As I turned back around, I subtly shook my head at Lia, and she got the silent queue.

Sending a teasing smile to her boyfriend. "Oh, nothing. Just talking about how long the two of you were taking."

"Long? We were barely gone five minutes."

"Mmm," Lia responded, grabbing a kernel from the popcorn in Derrick's hand and plopping it in her mouth. "Maybe I was just hungry."

Derrick rolled his eyes, handing her the food as he settled down behind her to pull her close.

"Now remember, we're on a public beach with tons of people around, so no funny business," Ryan whispered teasingly against my neck after we'd snuggled into the blanket, wrapping it around us to ward off the breeze.

I pinned my lips together to stifle the giggle that would've otherwise escaped. Turning my head to see him smirking, I leaned in to peck his lips quickly. "Don't worry—" I squeezed his thigh under the blanket. "—I can contain myself."

"That makes one of us," he replied, and this time I couldn't help the laugh that spilled from my lips. As the projection screen booted up though, my laughter trailed off as a hush fell over the small crowd. Instead, I sank back into him—my back pressed against his chest—and, with his arms cocooning me, I intertwined our fingers in my lap next to the popcorn as the movie started up.

Because like I'd told Lia, if he was headed back to Boston at the end of the summer—or rather, when he headed back to Boston—I wanted to enjoy the time I had left with him in Neptune Bay. And tonight, with his friends around, the fun-loving, carefree guy that I knew him to be had come out in full force. A part of him that had been peeking through as of late but was overshadowed by the grief in his life and pressure of responsibility.

It was a tell that, after the whirlwind he'd been through, he was on the mend. Building himself back up before returning to where he belonged—on the ice, in Boston.

I just had to be okay with that. And I would be, when the time came. Hopefully.

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