Kinley arrives a few minutes later, and after she stretches, we take off. We quickly fall into a set pace, working up a sweat. We both enjoy running and take advantage of being able to run outside in the summertime.
The coastal trail is a popular trail this time of year, and with today being so nice, it’s packed. We get in a good five-mile run, and by the time we make it back to where we started, we’re both exhausted, sweaty messes.
“What time do you want to meet up for dinner, and where are you thinking?” Kinley asks as we finish stretching, and she hands me my water bottle.
“How does The Brewhouse sound, around 7:30?” I suggest, after drinking down most of my water.
“Perfect, want to meet at the restaurant?” Kinley says as we start walking toward our cars.
“That works for me. I’ll see you then.” We part ways, and I decide to walk around and check out the activities taking place for Scott today. Once I make it the few blocks up to the park strip where the event is being held, I see it has already ended, and they’re cleaning up. Since I missed the activities, I walk over to where the street vendors are set up, to see if I can grab a small bite to eat since I didn’t eat much before our run. As I make my way over to the vendors, I hear someone calling my name.
“Becca! Hey, Becca!”
I turn and scan the area to see who is calling my name, and there is Scott, standing with a few other guys. Shit, I should have thought twice about this. I look like hell, having just run five miles. I can’t ignore him now, though, so I head toward him as he starts walking toward me.
“Hey, Scott, good to see you,” I say as we approach each other. He leans down to wrap me in a hug as soon as he’s within reach of me.
“It’s so great to see you,” Scott replies as he releases me from our hug, looking down with a huge smile on his face. “How have you been?”
“Good, busy as usual. Just got done with a run with Kinley,” I tell him, looking up at him. His damn blue eyes suck me in, like always.
“How is Kinley these days?” he asks, looking around for her.
“She’s good, she already headed home. We work the night shift in the ER together. How did your event go?”
“It was great. I haven’t been told the official attendance total, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we had over twenty thousand people show up.”
“Wow, that’s amazing!” I exclaim, as the guys he was standing with walk over.
“Well, hello there, sweetheart,” one of the guys says to me, as they approach us. I recognize him now as one of Scott’s teammates.
“Back. The. Fuck. Off. Brian!” Scott tells him as he punches him in the chest, over enunciating each word. “Becca, this is Brian Kelly, and this is Richard Murphy. Both of these guys are my teammates. Guys, this is Becca Phillips.”
“Nice to meet you both,” I say to them, reaching out to shake their hands.
“Nice to meet you, Becca,” Richard says to me. “You can call me Murph.”
“So, the infamous Becca does actually exist,” Brian muses as he punches Scott back.
“Shut it,” Scott growls.
“Come on, Brian, let’s give them space.” Murph grabs Brian by the arm and starts to pull him away from Scott and me. “We’re going to head back to your house unless you need us to do anything else here,” Murph says to Scott before they start to walk away from us, then turns his attention to me. “It was nice to meet you, Becca. Maybe we’ll see you again before we leave town.”
“Nice to meet you as well.” I wave at them as they start to walk away.
“Sounds good. Thanks for your help today, guys. I’ll meet you at my house,” Scott tells them and then turns back toward me. “Sorry about that.”
“No problem, I need to head home myself. I’m meeting Kinley for dinner in a few hours, and I need to shower and get ready. But it was great to see you.”
“What’s your work schedule? Maybe we can get together soon for dinner and catch up?”
“I have the next couple nights off. I go back to work Wednesday night for three nights, and then I’m off again for three.”
“The guys and I are headed out to my cabin tomorrow for the next few days. Can I call you when I’m back in town, and once the guys are gone? Then maybe we can set something up?”
I bite my bottom lip as I think quickly about what I want to do. Do I embrace this possible second chance to reconnect with Scott this summer? Or do I continue to regret my decision from eight years ago to break things off with him? Gah, Scott asking me to dinner is really tempting, and the butterfly feeling within me is strong. I guess dinner with him won’t hurt anything.
“Sure, dinner sounds great,” I tell him, smiling up at him.
Scott reaches out to hug me, wrapping me in his big strong arms again.
“Sounds perfect, Becca. I’ve missed you so much and can’t wait to catch up. I’ll call you next week. Is your number still the same?”
“Yes,” I reply as he releases me. Before our connection completely breaks, though, Scott leans down and places a kiss on my cheek, and I feel myself blush instantly. This man still affects me all these years later even with a simple kiss on my cheek. I can’t imagine what effect he would have on me if we rekindled our relationship.
“Talk to you soon,” Scott calls out as I walk away and back toward my car, food long forgotten. I make it back to my car and have a mini freak-out over seeing Scott, and the potential that this summer could bring him back into my life.
Chapter Three
Scott
Damn, seeing Becca today has put a little pep in my step. Even after seeing her for only a few minutes, it has completely renewed me and confirmed that I need to step up and get her back into my life. Hugging her, holding her close, and breathing her in opened the floodgates on years of memories, and the reminder of just how well we fit together. Just that one embrace has my blood pumping and my dick swelling in my jeans. I decide, right in this moment, that I will be pursuing Becca this summer. She’s the only woman I have ever loved, and I will do anything to show that to her. My life is perfect, except for the fact that she isn’t by my side every day.
I head toward my truck, so I can get back home, then the guys and I can figure out what we want to do tonight before heading out tomorrow morning for my cabin. I make it home to find them out on my back deck, drinking a beer.
“Hey, what do you guys want to do tonight?”
“Do we need to pack much before heading to your cabin?” Murph asks, handing me a beer from the cooler between him and Brian.
“A little. I figured we would stop by the store in the morning to load up on food. The cabin has all the bedding and fishing gear we’ll need for the week. All you need to pack from here is your clothes.”
“How early are we leaving tomorrow?” Brian asks.
“Whenever. It takes about three and a half to four hours to get to my cabin down on the Kenai. Since tomorrow is Sunday, most of the traffic will be headed back to Anchorage, so we shouldn’t have an issue with getting down there. Let’s plan to hit the road once we’re all awake and ready to roll. As for tonight, let’s head downtown and find dinner. After we eat, we can decide if we want to go out. There are multiple bars downtown we can easily walk to if that’s what we decide to do.”
“Sounds like a plan, man. I’m going to go shower and get ready. I’ll be waiting for you fuckers to get ready,” Brian replies, then chugs the remainder of his beer before heading inside.
“I need a shower as well. Let’s get cleaned up and then we can head out in an hour or so.”
Once we are ready, I order us an Uber to take us downtown, we get a hockey fan as our driver, so we talk shop the entire drive. I decided to take the guys to the Glacier Brewhouse, as it has fantastic food and great beers. It’s a popular restaurant, and with it being tourist season, I completely spaced on the possibility of needing a reservation. As soon as we walk in, we’re recognized and swarmed by people. I finally make my way to the hos
tess stand to get on a list for a table. The wait is a little long, so we head to the bar. As I turn to motion for Brian and Murph to follow me, I catch a beautiful sight in the waiting area. Becca is standing there, talking to Kinley, obviously waiting on a table and unaware that I’m standing a few feet away.
“Well, hello there, beautiful,” I whisper into Becca’s ear, watching as she shudders and goosebumps break out along her neck. God, she is stunning.
“Scott, hello. Nice to see you,” Kinley says as she stands, observing the interaction between Becca and me.
“Good to see you, Kinley. Are you ladies meeting anyone here tonight?” God, I hope not. If Becca has a date with another guy, I might go crazy being in the same restaurant.
“Nope, just us out for dinner and drinks,” Becca replies, obviously a little nervous. Thank fuck.
“Would you ladies care to join us for a drink at the bar, and for dinner? I can ask if they can merge our reservations?” I step back a bit to allow them to discuss. I catch Murph’s attention and wave him and Brian over. As they make their way through the crowd, Becca turns back to me.
“We would love to join you guys,” she says, smiling up at me. God, I could get lost in her beautiful brown eyes and gorgeous smile.
I head back over to the hostess stand, to ask if they can modify our table request. The manager is at the desk, trying to help the hostess with crowd control, due to the chaos caused by our entrance.
“Mr. Taylor, thank you so much for coming in tonight. I’m sorry for the wait. Can we offer you our small private room for the evening? The party that’s currently using it will be done within the next few minutes, and then we can take your party right in once it’s prepared. This will give you privacy, and allow you to enjoy your evening without unnecessary interruptions.”
“That would be appreciated. We’ll wait at the bar until it’s ready.” I leave the hostess stand, meeting back up with the group. “Let’s head over to the bar. They’re going to give us their small private room to use as soon as it’s cleaned from the party that’s leaving now.”
We make our way toward the bar, and I quickly get the attention of the bartender, ordering a round of drinks for everyone. Light conversation takes place while we wait for our private room. I’ve finished my beer when the manager approaches and tells us we can be seated. Thankfully, we easily make our way to the room and take our seats. Becca takes the seat to my left, Kinley sits to her left. Murph and Brian fill in the seats across from us.
“Murph, Brian, this is Kinley. She is Becca’s best friend and also grew up with both of us,” I inform them as our waitress finishes handing out the menus and filling our water glasses.
“Good evening. I’m Kara, and I’ll be your server tonight. The special tonight is the Peppercorn crusted Alaskan salmon served on a bed of rice pilaf, roasted butternut squash, and roasted green beans. We also have our herb-encrusted Prime Rib served with smashed baby potatoes and roasted carrots. The drink specials are listed on the insert in your menus. Can I get anyone a new drink to start?”
“I’ll have a Raspberry Mojito,” Kinley tells our server.
“I’ll have the same,” Becca replies.
“I’ll try your IPA sampler, please. And you can put everything on one check,” I inform our server.
“You don’t have to do that,” both Becca and Kinley tell me at the same time.
“Don’t worry about it. We crashed your ladies’ night out; the least I can do is pay for your dinner and drinks.”
Murph and Brian both order their drinks while our little side conversation takes place. We all take a few moments to look over the menus and decide what we want to order. Our server returns a few minutes later with our drinks, and I order a few of the appetizers to start us off for the evening before everyone orders their main course.
“So, are you guys looking forward to heading out to Scott’s cabin?” Becca asks Brian and Murph as she takes a sip of her mojito.
“Fuck yes!” Brian says. “I’m ready to kick it in the woods for a few days, do some fishing, and get unplugged.”
We all laugh at his enthusiasm. “What about you, Murph? Are you looking forward to some time away?” Becca asks as I place my arm on the back of her chair, allowing the tips of my fingers to rub small circles on her shoulder. I don’t miss the tiny shiver that her body makes at the contact or the goosebumps that pop up. She gives me a coy look and small smile, letting me know she’s onto me tonight.
“Yes, ma’am. Scott talks about it all the time, so I’m ready to get out and see and experience it myself. I love the outdoors, having grown up in Alberta. If I wasn’t playing hockey, I was out fishing and playing outside with my brothers.”
“Do you spend your summers back home?” Becca asks him.
“I try. My mom would appreciate me coming home more. But I also spend a decent amount of time in Indy, working with specialized coaches to keep me in game shape over the summer. I like to try and continue to improve as much as I can. Never know when the body is going to give out, and the career can be yanked out from under us,” he tells her.
“Are either of you married or do you have significant others?” Kinley asks.
“Nope,” Brian answers for them.
We continue the idle chitchat, waiting for the food to arrive, enjoying the company. I notice Brian is trying his damnedest to work his charm on Kinley, but it doesn’t appear as if she’s falling for any of it. Smart girl. That’s all I need while I’m trying to get Becca back in my life permanently-- Brian to fuck with her best friend and cause tension between any of us.
Our appetizers arrive, as well as a second round of drinks for everyone, and the conversation at the table continues smoothly between the five of us. Our food arrives a short time later, and a comfortable silence falls around the table as we eat.
“Thank you so much for inviting us to join you guys, it was great to get to know you all better,” Becca says, as we’re all getting ready to leave the restaurant.
“It was our pleasure. It’s great to put a face to the name and get to talk to the woman Scott talks about all the time,” Murph tells her. I notice her cheeks pink up a bit at his comment.
“Well, I hope it’s all good things,” she chuckles back at him. “Otherwise, don’t believe a word of it.”
“All good things, don’t worry,” Murph says, winking at her.
“Do you ladies have a ride home?” I ask them both, placing my hand on Becca’s lower back as we leave the private room.
“I took an Uber down, knowing we’d be drinking tonight,” Kinley replies.
“I did the same, we can share one going home,” Becca adds.
“We did that, too, so if you’re up for it, why don’t I just get an Uber XL, and we can drop you ladies off on our way back to my place,” I offer.
“If you’re sure. It’s no problem for us to get our own,” Becca replies.
“I’m positive. That way, I’ll know you both made it home safely, and I won’t have to worry about you.”
“Thanks, that’s very nice of you,” Kinley tells me.
We head outside and wait for our Uber to pick us up. Becca stays next to me while we wait, close enough for me to keep my hand on the small of her back. God, it feels amazing to have her so close to me again. Now if only I can convince her to stay there, my life would be complete. While we’re waiting, I notice that Brian and Kinley have walked a few steps away and are talking more intimately. I’m going to have to warn the fucker that Kinley is not the type of girl to be another notch in his bed post.
Our Uber arrives, and we all pile in. Kinley and Becca decide that Kinley will go to Becca’s house for the night, so I confirm with the driver that we’ll be dropping them off first, before heading back to my house. We make it to Becca’s condo a few minutes later, and I get out to help her out of the SUV and walk her to the door.
“Thanks for the wonderful evening. I had a great time getting to know your friends,” she tells me as she smil
es up at me. I wrap her in a hug, pulling her close to my chest. I tuck my head into her neck and take a deep breath in, filling my lungs with her scent. That might have been a bad idea, as my dick takes notice and I’m starting to get hard. Not the right fucking time for that to be happening.
“Anytime. And don’t forget, I’ll be calling you when I’m back from the cabin to set up that date.” I place a kiss on her cheek and step away to keep myself from sealing my lips to hers or, better yet, picking her up and carrying her into her condo, straight to her bed.
“Goodnight, ladies,” I call out to the both of them as I walk backwards toward the parking lot and the waiting Uber. As much as I’m looking forward to the time at my cabin with two of my best friends, I’m ready to be back home and working toward getting Becca back into my arms and hopefully the rest of my life.
Chapter Four
Becca
“Holy crap! What was that all about?” Kinley asks me, a shit-eating grin lighting up her face as we walk into my condo.
“I have no idea. I ran into him after our run this afternoon up by the park strip, and he asked if we could go out for a date when he’s back from the cabin, and the guys leave. But man, is he laying on the charm thick. I don’t know what to do, Kinley. On the one hand, I kick myself every day for breaking things off with him all those years ago, and on the other, I don’t know how I would deal with his lifestyle and travel schedule if we were to get back together.”
“Becca, the chemistry between the two of you is strong. I think you need to embrace it. It’s not like he’s going to be able to play hockey for the rest of his life. He has, what, maybe five to eight years left of playing, as long as he doesn’t suffer any major injuries? Isn’t it worth dealing with the crazy travel schedule for the next few years to be with your soulmate; the one person who makes you feel so alive and whole?”
Just Say Yes Page 2