Our week at Scott’s cabin is perfection. It has been nice to just get away and disconnect from the hustle and bustle of my normal life. We fished, hiked, and just enjoyed the downtime. Kinley and I texted a few times since we’ve been here, but she had to work most of the nights, so our texts were short and mainly just pleasantries.

We drove back to Scott’s house in Anchorage this morning, and my date with Kinley is tonight. I’m looking forward to seeing her again, and getting to spend time with her. Scott also has a date with Becca tonight, so Murph is on his own, but said he’s just staying in and hanging here at Scott’s house.

After we get Scott’s truck unpacked and the fish all packed up for Murph and I to take home with us, I shower and get dressed, so I’m ready when Kinley is. I know she worked last night, but I’m not sure how late she sleeps when she doesn’t have to work. I send her a quick text.

Brian: Hey, just wanted to let you know we made it back and I’m ready whenever you are. Just let me know if you want me to Uber over to your place or if you want to drive and come pick me up.

I head out to the living room to relax until she gets back to me. Murph is kicked back, watching sports highlights before a baseball game starts, so I plop myself down on the couch.

A few minutes later, Scott comes into the living room, showered and ready for his date with Becca. “Any plans yet for you two?” Scott asks.

“I’m waiting on Kinley to text me back. We already decided to head to a sushi restaurant and then to just wing it,” I reply.

Scott walks toward the kitchen. “Do you guys want anything to drink?”

“I’ll take an Alaskan Amber,” Murph responds.

“Grab one for me, too!” I yell, just as my phone vibrates in my pocket. Pulling it out, I see it’s Kinley getting back to me.

Kinley: Hey! I’m up and getting ready. Last night was hectic and kicked my ass. I slept a little later than I had planned, so I’m running a little behind. I can just drive over and pick you up. Does 45 minutes work for you?

Brian: I’m ready when you are, sweetheart. I’ll see you when you get here, take your time.

Scott returns from the kitchen and hands us our beers. We spend the next few minutes shooting the shit, pausing our conversation when our attention is pulled to the TV, as the announcers’ voices shout in excitement about the play that just took place. We get sucked into watching the game for a few more minutes, until Scott heads out to meet Becca.

“I’ll see the two of you later,” Scott says, as he stands up to head to his truck. “Murph, I left my address for you on the counter in case you need it when ordering food. Don’t worry about waiting up for me.”

I start hooting after that comment. “Scott is on the prowl tonight!” I shout to Scott's retreating back. He just chuckles at my antics and continues walking out to his truck.

After Scott leaves, Murph and I chill, watching the game until Kinley shows up. I answer the door and stand there, frozen in place, simply taking in her beauty. She takes my breath away and makes my cock twitch at the same time. The summer dress she’s wearing hugs her curves and leaves little to the imagination. Her cleavage is calling to me, as are her long tan and toned legs. She’s got on some strappy sandals with a heel to them, bringing her a little closer to my height, but I still tower over her by at least a foot.

Before I allow my dick to take control, I rein myself in. I’m not the playboy womanizer tonight. Tonight, I’m going to show her a side of me I don’t usually show to women. I can’t explain why I want this to be different – why she’s different – but I felt this instant connection when we first met last week, and fuck if I’m going to let that go away without exploring it.

“Hey sweetheart,” I greet her, as I lean down to place a kiss on her cheek. “Ready to go?”

“Yes, are you ready?”

“Yep. See ya later, Murph,” I call out over my shoulder before I close the door and we walk toward her car.

After folding myself into the passenger seat, we take off for the restaurant.

“How was your string of nights?” I ask her.

“Stressful. We’ve been short-staffed lately, so they’re always calling down float nurses to come help us. Sometimes that hinders us, depending on who we get, as some of them don’t really know the flow of the ER or where everything is kept. So, it slows us down as the regular nurses are always being pulled to help the floaters find things or instruct them on what to do.”

“What’s a float nurse?”

“It’s a nurse that isn’t assigned to one department; they get their assignment when they arrive at work for the day. Sometimes, if not enough float nurses are on, and multiple departments are short, they will pull nurses from other departments to help cover, if needed.”

“That does sound like a pain in the ass,” I murmur. “Well, tonight, I want you to forget all about work and just relax. Did you have anything in mind for after dinner?”

“Not really. I’m so worn out from these past few nights that I was kind of hoping we could just go chill at my house, or Scott’s.”

“We can head back to your house. That way, you can fully relax.”

We arrive at the restaurant and check in with the hostess. The wait is going to be a little bit, so we take a seat in their waiting area, sitting side by side. I place my arm around Kinley’s shoulders and pull her a little closer to me. I’m immediately overcome with a sweet fruitlike smell; I’m guessing either from her shampoo or body wash. I feel Kinley relaxing into my side as we sit here, waiting for our pager to go off.

“How was Scott’s cabin?”

“It was amazing. Almost makes me want to buy one of my own and spend my summers here.”

“I’m glad you had a good time. I love going down to that area.”

“Have you ever been to his place?”

“Nope, he bought it after he and Becca broke up years ago. I knew he’d bought it, as I’ve run into him a few times over the years, when he comes home in the summer. Plus, his parents are still friends with mine and Becca’s parents. They all still live in the houses we grew up in, all on the same street.”

“What do you usually do on your time off?”

“Now that it’s summer, Becca and I try and get out for a run or hike, if it’s nice out. Otherwise, I just catch up on normal things, like laundry, grocery shopping, errands, etc. What do you usually do during your off-season?”

“I tend to head back to Minneapolis, so I can hang out with my mom, sister, and their husbands. Sometimes I take a vacation with a few teammates, like I did coming here. I help with a kids’ hockey camp for a couple of weeks every July back home as well. I also work with some conditioning trainers every summer, to help keep me in game shape, and work on things like speed on the ice and a variety of other skills.”

“I think that’s great that you help out with the kids’ camps. I bet they love having a professional player there.”

I chuckle. “Oh yes. I always love seeing the reaction of some of the first-year kids. Some of them are so star-struck, they either become speechless, or go kind of wild. But thankfully, as the week of camp goes on, they get used to me being around and actually pay attention and learn what we’re trying to teach them.”

Kinley looks up at me with a huge smile on her face. “Sounds like a fun time! And I can tell you enjoy helping the kids. You light up when talking about it.”

“Yeah, it’s a pretty fun time. I just like giving back when and where I can. I grew up going to camps just like the one I help out with, and I remember what it was like being one of the campers, and how excited we got when we had a professional player come and help out.”

Just then, our pager starts buzzing. I stand and offer my hand to Kinley to help her up. She places her hand in mine, and I realize just how tiny she is compared to me. I pull her up and then shift to interlock our fingers together as the hostess shows us to our table. I pull out Kinley’s chair for her before taking a seat across from her. The hostess hands us our menus and informs us our waiter will be with us shortly.

I take a look at the menu, seeing a few things that stand out to me. “Do you have any favorites you want to order? I was thinking we could just order a bunch of stuff and share everything, if that’s okay with you?”

“I usually order a California roll and the Shrimp Tempura Roll, but I’m not too picky. Sharing everything sounds great to me. What do you prefer?”

“The Philly roll and Spider roll sound good. How about we order the two you like and these two for now, and see if we want anything else later.”

“Works for me,” Kinley says, smiling at me.

Our server approaches and takes our drink orders. Kinley orders a Mai Tai and I stick with a beer. We also go ahead and place our order since we had already decided what to eat.

“Tell me more about your family.”

“My sister Jenn is two years older than me. She married her high school sweetheart, Drew. They got married after they graduated college, and before he started med school. He’s finally done with school now, and I think I’ve mentioned it before, but they are expecting their first baby in just a few weeks. My sister works in hospital administration at one of the big hospitals in Minneapolis.”

“Aww, the first grandbaby. I bet your mom is excited!” Kinley says, breaking out into a big smile.

Before I answer her, our server approaches to deliver our drinks, and let us know our food should be out shortly.

“She is definitely excited!” I chuckle, thinking just how excited both my sister and mom are for the baby’s arrival. “She has hounded us both for years to give her some grandkids, and it’s finally happening. I didn’t ask many questions, but from a few comments Jenn made, I know they had some issues getting pregnant. So, not only is my mom ecstatic, but my sister is over the moon excited for this baby.”

“I can only imagine. Will you be home when the baby arrives?” Kinley asks, as she takes a drink.

“Yep. She’s not due for another couple of weeks, so I will get to see my new nephew as soon as he’s here.”

Kinley sighs. “I would pay big bucks to see you holding a newborn. Talk about ovaries exploding,” she giggles.

“I’m sure you could talk me into texting you a picture of me holding him once he’s born.” I wink at her as I reach for my beer.

“Hmmm…now that’s an idea!” she exclaims excitedly.

I just laugh and shake my head at her antics.

Our conversation continues to flow as we devour our food. We finish up dinner, and a second round of drinks, then decide to pick up some dessert on our way back to Kinley’s place.