As the days passed, I found myself thinking long and hard about returning to hockey when I was alone. Like I'd told Derrick, it was something I wanted—if I could figure out how to balance my responsibilities with Bowen—and I knew if I had some of the logistics figured out, or hell, even a rough idea of how things would work, I'd feel better broaching the topic with my parents.

And after some preliminary calls to teammates and my agent to suss out information, I'd built together some semblance of a path forward. Though I wanted to run it by Sloane first.

On Thursday morning, as I pulled into her father's driveway to pick her up sans Bowen, internally I was psyching myself up to talk to her. Before I even stepped out of the car though, she came bounding down the steps and climbed into the passenger's seat, leaning over to give me a quick kiss.

"In a hurry?" I mused, throwing a wave to her dad, who sat out on his front porch, as I backed out of the driveway.

We were going on a hike. A way to get out of the bustling, tourist-filled small town and exchange it for a bit of forested isolation. And while her energy would definitely come in handy, she hadn't exactly been chock-full of excitement when I'd suggested the date idea.

She rolled her eyes. "No, just happy to see you," she said, before glancing into the back and lifting a brow as her gaze fell back to me. "No Scout today either?"

I reached over to grab her hand and squeezed gently. "Nope. Just us today."

Seemingly satisfied with my response, we lapsed into a comfortable silence, the radio providing background noise and our surroundings giving us a picturesque view as I drove us about ten minutes outside the town line. When I pulled into the gravel lot at the start of the hiking trail I frequented over the years, where only two other vehicles were parked, I turned off the ignition and glanced sideways to see Sloane shake her head in amusement.

"What?" I asked, a mix of wariness and mirth.

"Remember the night I went out to The Watering Hole with my friends and ended up coming over to talk to you at the bar?"

"Yes." I quirked a brow, wondering where this was going. "What about it?"

"Well right before I walked over to you, Jenny had told us she'd gone on a hiking date with a guy and the rest of us ended up laughing at the fact it ended up being a lot more difficult than she'd hoped," she mused. Waving a hand out towards the trail, she continued, "And now a mere month later, here I am, on a hiking date."

I chuckled. "I can promise you we're taking the easy trail," I said, leaning over the center console to kiss her cheek. "But if you get tired, let me know. I'll give you a piggyback the rest of the way."

"You think you can carry me while hiking?"

I flashed her a smug look, noticeably flexing my biceps in the sleeveless shirt I wore. "You think I can't?" I drawled in return.

Her gaze was immediately drawn to my arms. "Fair point."

Grabbing the large water bottle I'd brought for the both of us, we clambered out of the car and strode toward the trail entrance. Walking side by side, I couldn't help the fact my free hand seemed to gravitate to her lower back. It was a comfort, just being able to reach out and touch her, and I felt my chest warm as she turned sideways to flash me a smile.

Because while the scenery around us was beautiful—the lush greenery, the blue sky and clouds peeking through the trees, the rocks and hills towering over us—seeing her happy was far superior.

And I hoped what I wanted to talk about today didn't put a damper on that.

Being that it was a weekday, we were more or less alone as we hiked one of the lighter trails, a mix of dirt, sticks, and rocks beneath our feet as we weaved along the man-made path. The farther we got, the tighter the path became, making it an easy decision to move in front of her to give her some space, but it became apparent fairly quickly that while I'd considered this an easy climb, Sloane might have had a different opinion as she began to fall behind.

"Was there any particular reason you were intent on hiking today?" she asked, pausing for a moment to catch her breath. I backtracked and handed her the water, waiting for her to take a sip. "I'm all for exercise, but I'm more of a 'walk along the beach' or 'bike around town' type of woman. You know, without the rough terrain and inclines."

The corners of my lips pulled into an amused smile and as she passed the water bottle back to me, I wordlessly motioned for her to continue in front of me. After all, we were nearly at the lookout where I'd planned to take a break before heading back.

"Duly noted," I said, "though if I'm being honest, with Bowen at my parents, I wanted to use the time to make sure I was still in shape. You know, test out how much work I'll need to do in terms of my fitness in the lead up to the hockey season."

I tried to gauge her reaction to my words, but it was difficult seeing that she was turned away from me. Though the fact there wasn't a pause in her step or a flinch of surprise in her shoulder was a good sign.

"And I needed to be here for that?" she asked, tossing a curious look over her shoulder.

"You didn't need to be," I drawled, taking a few long strides to catch up to her, "but I wanted you to be." We'd made it to the lookout—an area atop a large rock face that was relatively flat and cleared of trees—giving those who stood upon it a gorgeous look at the ocean and the town of Neptune Bay. Wrapping my arms around her from behind, I motioned in front of us and said, "Plus, considering you said you'd never been here before, so I thought you'd enjoy the view."

"Wow," she said in awe, leaning back into my chest. "It's beautiful."

"It is." For a few moments, I solely let myself enjoy the moment. The view. But I couldn't stay in that majestic frame of mind forever. Not if I wanted to move forward. "Another reason I wanted to come out here today was to be away from prying eyes though, since I actually have something I want to talk to you about."

"Oh?" She turned in my arms and looked up at me, a furrow between her brows. "What is it?"

I moved my hands slowly up and down her arms in a calming and reassuring motion. "You know," I started hesitantly, "about me heading back to Boston in a month."

Understanding filled her gaze and she took a step back. "Oh." I didn't try to reach out for her or didn't immediately try and back pedal. Instead, I let her take a few moments to digest what I'd said and watched as she took a seat on the slightly slanted metal bench a couple feet away. "I mean, we talked about this on our first date. I know how much you love hockey, so I always expected you to go back, even if you were on the fence at the time." She pulled her bottom lip in between her teeth sheepishly. "Plus, Lia might have mentioned something about it last weekend."

"Of course she did." I kicked one of my feet in the dirt as I huffed out a chuckle. "But remember how you told me to talk to the people around me to figure things out?" She nodded. "Well, even though it was the right advice, I didn't actually take it."

This was news to her, clearly, as her brows shot up with surprise. "Really?"

I nodded and took a seat next to her. "Yeah," I admitted. "I've kind of been dodging some calls from my agent about it for the last month. He's one of the few people that know about my situation, and understood I needed time, but I guess I couldn't see a path forward—a clear one, at least—with hockey while taking care of Bowen. He's lived here his whole life, you know? And my parents are here. It just felt wrong to leave. Until recently."

Her head tilted with curiosity. "What changed?"

"Nothing really, I guess, but with training camp now only a month away, the timeline for making a decision felt like it was sneaking up on me." I extended an arm along the back of the bench. "And it's like you said, I love hockey, and while I could give it all up to stay in Neptune Bay and raise Bowen here, I know I'd regret not trying to make it work while I still had a few years left in me."

"Did you think that people would judge you for not sticking around?" she asked, before widening her eyes. "Did I give you the impression that I would? Because—"

"No, no," I was quick to say, cutting off her train of thought. "Don't worry, this was all on me. I thought I could just ignore the issue for a while. Turns out I couldn't, and as Lia probably mentioned, that was why Derrick and her made the trip out here. So he could help pull my head out of my ass and get me thinking clearly about things."

"And are you?" Her features softened. "Thinking clearly now?"

"I think so," I said, offering her a smile. I raised a hand to tuck a few flyaway strands of hair behind her ear. "I've talked to a few teammates with young kids and asked around about childcare agencies, and I have a few interviews in the coming weeks. I'm hopeful something will pan out, and then considering my apartment already has two bedrooms, I'll redecorate the spare into a space for Bowen. I'm just worried about how this will sound to my parents, who I'm telling later this afternoon."

"They're going to be supportive," she replied adamantly, trying to stomp any negative thoughts from my mind. "They love watching you shine on the ice, and yes, while they might be sad to have Bowen a few hours away, that's not an insurmountable distance." She squeezed my thigh gently. "You guys will make it work."

"And will we? Make it work?"

The question seemed to shock her, and admittedly, it shocked me as well. I hadn't known what had compelled those words to leave my mouth, but now that they had, I was keen on her answer.

"I... would love to make it work," she said timidly, before sighing and nestling her head into the crook of my neck. "I just don't know if it'll be realistic. What with the store and me working every single day. You'll be trotting across the country and our schedules are always going to clash."

"They don't have to, though."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you mentioned I brought up deciding what to do come summer's end on our first date, but I also remember asking you about the obligation of taking on working at Wilma's, and never really got an answer," I said gently. "I see how you are with Bowen, how much he loves you, and I can't imagine it was easy stepping away from teaching after your mom's death, but I doubt she ever expected the store—something that was her dream—to fall to you."

She lifted her head and turned to face me, a clear frown on her lips. "If you're trying to suggest I should consider that deal from the condo developer—"

"That's definitely not what I'm saying," I stressed. "The condo developer can go fuck himself for all I care—" That got a ghost of a smile to twitch through her expression. "—but Wilma's is a staple in town. It's been around for years. And while I may not the best person to give this opinion seeing as I technically don't live here, I don't think the business would suffer at all if you stepped away from it. If you gave June more responsibility or hired another worker. Hell, even a full-time manager. Because, babe, when you think about your future, do you see yourself working at the store for the next thirty or forty years?"

The silence that followed my question seemed like it lasted an eternity, but it was likely no more than twenty seconds before she released a slow breath, dropping her gaze to her lap. "Honestly? No, I don't," she admitted. "I don't regret taking over, because with my mom's passing and my dad's cancer, there were a lot of uncertainties and it felt like something I could do to level the storm, but you're right." A pause. "I love teaching." Just saying that phrase brought joy to her features as she looked my way. "I want to do right by Wilma's though. I'm not saying I'm going to just walk away, but I'll take some time to think about what's next. For the store and for me."

I reached out, brushing the backs of my fingers over her cheek. "And if you need help? Or come to a decision?"

"You'll be the first to know," she said, combing her fingers through my hair. "Or maybe the second, after my dad."

I grinned. "I'll take it."

She leaned forward, capturing my waiting mouth with her own, and there was no delay on my end. My tongue touched hers and my arms clasped around her, pulling her impossibly close so not even the breeze could find a way through. That didn't seem to be enough though, as she made a move to straddle my lap, and not one to complain, my hands fell to her ass. A globe in each hand as she slowly began grinding on me.

"You know we're out in the open, right?" I whispered, pulling back a small degree so that our lips still brushed as we each caught our breath.

She leaned back a bit further, tapping her fingers on my chest. "Are we?" She quirked an eyebrow and hummed suggestively. "I don't see anyone around, so really, it's kind of like we're in our own little bubble up here."

A kick of adrenaline and pure, unadulterated lust flowed through me. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

Sloane must've been trying to kill me, because one of her hands trailed down to the waistband of my shorts, slipping inside as her teeth snagged my bottom lip and pulled gently. "If you have a condom on you I am."

Thank god for the condom in my wallet.

A growl escaped me as my lips met hers again, yanking her closer before my hands began to roam her body, as if I couldn't believe this was happening. A part of me didn't believe it, to be honest, but there was no way I was pumping the brakes on this.

Her lips parted easily and our tongues danced for dominance, the passion of it all fueling my movements as I inched my hand into her shorts and found her wet. Circling her clit a couple of times drew a moan from her lips as she began trailing kisses down my neck, then I slid a finger inside her. Then another. Pumping in and out as she clenched around me.

"Is this okay?" I asked, sucking hard against the pulse point on her neck.

"Yes," she gasped, clenching the material of my shirt in one hand as her other slowly worked me over. "Definitely."

I hissed with pleasure as her grip tightened on me and her movements became more erratic the closure she got to an orgasm. Because while I would've loved to draw this out—to fuck her with my fingers until she came before repeating the process with my cock—I also didn't want to risk having an unsuspecting hiker stumble upon us.

Instead, I pulled my hand from her shorts and inched her back on my thighs as I began to shimmy my shorts down just enough. My intention must've been clear to her—or both our minds were taking the same one track train—as she stood for a moment and shimmied her shorts all the way off as I quickly pulled my wallet from my pocket, grabbed the condom from it and sheathed myself.

Almost immediately Sloane was back where she needed to be. My lap. Her arms went around my neck while my hands fell to her hips as she sunk down onto me, both our breathy moans colliding in the air between us.

This wasn't a slow coming together. No. It was the result of impulse and was hard and fast—my hips thrusting up into her as she ground down onto me. Totally in tune, both of us chasing our release. I could feel mine coming, as though it was rushing fast towards the finish line, but I needed to hold on. To make sure she got off as well.

"Come on, baby," I whispered, sneaking my hands up under her shirt to pinch her nipples. "Let go for me."

And she did. Her walls tightened around me as I continued to punch my hips upward, swallowing the sounds that left her mouth with my own. Not a few seconds later though, I was following her over the edge.

Spent, I let myself slump back against the bench. Encircling my arms around Sloane's hips, I yanked her close, loving the feel of our chests heaving against one another as we caught our breath.

"You know, that wasn't exactly how I imagined this day going," I mumbled against her shoulder.

A tired laugh left her lips. When she lifted her head a few seconds later, there was a twinkle in her gaze as her arms hung loosely around my neck. "Me neither," she mused. "But I'm not complaining." She pecked me on the lips before scrambling off my lap to pull her shorts back on. "Not one bit."