Ryan’s mouth hung open for a second, and then he said, “Distract me how?”
“Well, we could walk off this ramen. I could show you the neighborhood. You probably don’t get enough exercise, right?” Fabian teased. He had no idea why he was doing this. He should let Ryan get back to his own life, and Fabian should go home and figure out these songs. He had already taken up far too much of Ryan’s time.
“Sure,” Ryan said, lips curving into one of his adorable shy smiles. “A walk sounds good.”
The sun was low in the sky when Ryan and Fabian left the restaurant. They walked north, up Church Street together, both with their hands in their coat pockets. Ryan knew this thing wasn’t a date, but if it was it would be the best one he’d ever been on.
“How’s your family?” he asked. “God, Amy must be grown up now.”
“She’s eighteen,” Fabian confirmed. “Just started university.”
“That’s wild,” Ryan said. “I can only picture her as a five-year-old. How about Sonia?” Fabian’s older sister had been the hockey star of the family. She hadn’t been living at home when Ryan had been there, but she’d joined the family for dinners, and came by the house to do her laundry sometimes. Most people would say that she and Fabian were total opposites, but Ryan thought they were actually pretty similar, just into different things. Both were confident, opinionated, and extremely talented. Unfortunately for Fabian, Sonia was the one whose talents were celebrated in the Salah household.
“Are you ready for this? Sonia is married andpregnant.”
“Wow, really?”
“Yep. She announced it last month. She’s also a hockey coach now, which is kind of badass: a pregnant woman behind the bench.”
Ryan smiled at that. It did sound pretty awesome. And he could imagine Sonia daring anyone to suggest she shouldn’t be there. “That’s cool. What about your parents?”
“They’re fine. Dad is still coaching. Mom is still working. I don’t talk to them very often. There’s no rift or anything. We just...don’t have that much to say to each other, I guess.”
Ryan wasn’t surprised by this. Joe and Maya Salah had always seemed a little bewildered by their only son. Ryan was sure that they had expected to be raising a future NHL star and instead had gotten...Fabian.
“Are your parents cool?” Fabian asked. “Do you get along with them, I mean? I’ve never met them.”
“They’re great,” Ryan said sincerely. “I don’t get home as much as they’d like, but we talk all the time.”
“That’s good. Do they know you’re gay, then?”
“Yeah, they know. I think they were pretty surprised when I told them, but they were good with it. I mean, Dad never says much, but...”
“Are you telling me your father is a quiet man, Ryan? I’m shocked.”
Ryan laughed. “Dad makesmeseem chatty. Colleen, my sister, was maybetooexcited. It’s like having a gay brother is the most interesting thing that’s ever happened to her or something.”
“That’s kind of sweet, though, I guess,” Fabian said. “Was your dad a hockey player too?”
“No. He played a bit, I think, but he was a boxer. A good one. One of the top-ranked boxers in Canada back in his day. He has a little gym back in Ross Harbour where he teaches kids.”
“Is that where you learned how to fight?”
Ryan shrugged. “He taught me the basics. My heart was never really in it, and I think he knew it. The skills have come in handy, though.”
They were silent a moment, and then Fabian said, “I’m going home for Christmas this year. I don’t always, but I thought with the pregnancy and all, I should probably go.”
“I don’t usually make it home for Christmas,” Ryan said. “I feel bad about it, but it’s a lot of travel for two days, y’know?”
“Especially when you hate flying.”
“Yeah.” Ryan didn’t want to talk about flying. At the moment, he was the most at ease he’d ever been the evening before a flight. He wanted to keep it that way. “So where are you taking me?”
“What do you want to see? There’s a cool bookstore on the next block, and a record store. On the next block there’s a great little cocktail bar, not that I am trying to be a bad influence.”
Ryan chuckled. “Idohave to play a game tomorrow night.”
“Next time.”
