“Yeah. Thank God for my parents. Hockey parents are amazing.”
“Oh, yeah.”
“I hear your brother plays hockey.”
“Yes. I played, too.”
“You did?” His eyebrows launch upward.
“I really liked it. But I had to decide between music and hockey.”
“Amazing.” He seems fascinated by this.
“I’m going to skate with you guys in warmup tomorrow.”
His smile displays a set of perfect teeth. “That’s fantastic.”
“It’ll be fun.”
“And you’re performing at the game, too, right?”
“Yeah. I’m doing a set during the intermission.”
“I can’t wait for that.”
Aw. He seems sincere. My heart trips over a beat.
The waitress arrives with our drinks.
“You know what?” I say to Marek. “I’m hungry.”
“Yeah?” He looks up at the waitress. “Could we get a couple of food menus?”
“Of course.” She looks at both of us and I know she recognizes me. But she’s not being all fan-girly.
I look back at Marek. “Have you ever been to one of my concerts?”
“No, sadly.” He shakes his head. “I should take my sister to one. She’s a fan, too.”
“Oh, yeah? You have a sister?” I sip my cocktail.
“Mabel. We’re twins, actually.”
“That’s cool. Where is she? Where are you from originally?”
“We grew up in Pennsylvania. She lives in New Jersey, now, too. She’s dating one of my teammates, Ben Antonov.”
“Oooh, the team captain.”
He grins. “Yeah.”
The menus are delivered and we look over them. They’re from the Chinese restaurant next door, so we end up ordering things to share—pot stickers, kung pao chicken, jian bo beef, and fried rice.
I tilt my head. “And how do you feel about your sister dating a hockey player?”
He rubs his chin. “To be honest, I wasn’t happy at first. But it was more because they hid it from me.”
“Woof.” I purse my lips. “That’s not good.”
