Fabian only answered with a sly smile.
“Holy shit,” Leo said. “I am such a huge fan.” He pressed a hand briefly over his mouth, then removed it just as quickly. “Sorry. I’m going to your show on Friday. I booked the night off weeks ago.”
“That’s lovely,” Fabian said. “Thank you. I’ll try to make it worth it.”
“Everything you do is incredible. I saw you play in Toronto once and I am just so...wow. Sorry. Okay, I’m cool. What can I get you to drink?”
Shane heard Ilya snicker beside him. Across the table, Ryan was beaming with pride.
“I’d love one of your mojitos,” Fabian said. “I see other tables with them and I’m jealous.”
“Of course,” Leo said, smiling dopily as if Fabian had him in a trance.
“I will have this one,” Ilya said, pointing to a card on the table advertising a local brewery’s products. “The pilsner.”
“Right! Yes,” Leo said, snapping back to attention. “Good choice.”
“I’ll have the same,” Ryan said quietly.
“Do you have unsweetened iced tea?” Shane asked. He saw the panic creep into Leo’s face right away. “Never mind. I’ll just have a sparkling water with lime. Or lemon. Whichever.”
Leo gave Fabian one last nervous, giddy smile, then darted off to get their drinks. Ilya poked Ryan’s forearm, which was resting on the table. “Leo is in love with your boyfriend.”
Ryan smiled. “I’m used to that sort of thing happening. Still nice, though.”
“Ryan gets plenty of attention too,” Fabian said. “But we rarely get recognized by the same people.”
“Very different fan bases,” Ryan agreed.
“Except the queer hockey fans who think it’s, like, the best that we’re a couple.”
“Oh yeah?” Shane asked, suddenly very interested in the conversation. “What do they say?”
“They’re happy for me,” Ryan said quietly.
“And jealous of me, I’m sure,” Fabian said.
“As if,” Ryan huffed.
“Do you ever get the other side of it?” Shane asked. “From hockey fans?”
“Maybe,” Ryan said. “I stay offline and I don’t play hockey anymore, so I guess I don’t hear it if it’s out there.”
Well. Shanedidplay hockey still, and while he wasn’t very active online, he’d been doing more with his Instagram account since he and Ilya had started the charity. And also he was, y’know, in a committed relationship with his archrival. That was a bit different from Ryan’s situation.
Leo returned with their drinks. He gave Fabian his mojito first, which was packed with mint leaves and looked very refreshing.
“You’re a lifesaver, darling,” Fabian told him. “This is exactly what I need.”
Leo smiled widely as he handed out the rest of the drinks. He placed a tall glass of sparkling water in front of Shane with both lime and lemon wedges decorating the rim. “Have you decided what you want to eat?”
Shane hadn’t even looked at the menu. Fabian ordered a fancy-sounding pizza for him and Ryan to share, Ilya ordered a less fancy pizza to eat by himself, and Shane frantically read the menu’s salad selection.
“Um.”
“Look,” Ilya said, pointing to something lower down the menu. Shane quickly read the description of the grilled salmon with sauteed vegetables and roasted potato and almost kissed him.
“I’ll have the salmon with no sauce, and could I get the vegetables with no butter? If that’s a problem, maybe a side garden salad instead of the vegetables?”
