“I’ll be right back.”
Étienne stares at me. “Where are you going?”
“I’ll be right back,” I say again as I head in the direction of Roman who is sitting by himself at a table.
I drop into the seat across from him, thinking about what he said about us not sitting together, but I see plenty of countries sitting with others. Roman gives me a confused look before recognition takes over and a slight smile graces his full lips.
“Hi,” I say.
“Hey.”
“Why are you alone?”
“Is there a rule against that?” he asks.
“No, but you’re usually with your hockey buddies.”
He shrugs, grabbing his water and taking a sip. “They all went to watch the next game.”
“And you didn’t want to go?”
“Not really, no.”
I nod, leaning my elbows on the table. “You played a good game today.”
He smirks. “Thank you.”
“I think I’m starting to memorize the rules.”
Huffing a laugh, he says, “Is that so?”
“Yep. Maybe… I don’t know. Probably not.”
He leans forward too, our hands almost brushing. “What don’t you understand?”
I shrug. “Any of it, really.”
“Well, the point of the game is to get the puck into the opposing team’s net.”
I grin. “Oh, you think you’re funny, huh?”
“Sometimes.”
“Next you’re going to tell me the goalie is supposed to keep the puck out of the net.”
“You really are catching on. Can you tell me what icing is?”
“Not a chance.”
“Off sides?”
“No clue.”
“Penalty?”
“Oh, I know that one. It’s when someone does something wrong.”
“Like…?”
