“You didn’tjusttalk, did you, Fabe?” Vanessa asked. “That would be tragic.”
Fabian couldn’t stop the smile that tugged at his lips, which made Vanessa shriek. “You totally banged him! Was it amazing?”
“Ididn’tactually. Technically. Depends on how you define such things.”
Vanessa set her waffle plate on the coffee table and sat back in her armchair. “You know I don’t think sex only counts if there’s penetration.”
“So we’re not being subtle, I guess,” Marcus muttered.
“Then by your definition,” Fabian said, “yes. We had sex. But...”
“Wait! Wait for me!” Tarek said, hustling back from the kitchen to join Marcus and Fabian on the futon. “The kettle is boiling. Spill.”
“Okay, so, he’s kind of anxious about sex. He has some...difficulty...getting off.”
“Sounds like a challenge,” Marcus joked.
Fabian narrowed his eyes at him, even though he had sort of thought the exact same thing.
“It’snota challenge,” Vanessa scolded. “Lots of people have difficulty with orgasms, for lots of different reasons. Sex doesn’t have to be all about coming, you know.”
“That’s right,” Fabian agreed primly. “We had a great time. He was...very sweet. He’s an incredible kisser. And so strong and sexy.” He sighed. “I’m smitten.”
Vanessa clapped her hands together. “I love him!”
“I thought you’d bring him to brunch,” Tarek said.
“I considered it, but he had a practice or something this morning, and besides. I wanted to gush about him with you guys.”
“So are you two a couple now?” Marcus asked. “Are you actually dating an NHL player?”
Fabian’s smile faded. “I don’t exactly know.”
“You didn’t talk about it?” Vanessa asked.
“No. But we’re going to see each other tomorrow night before he leaves for his road trip.”
“Road trip? Boo.”
“Yeah, it sucks, but...” Fabian shrugged. “I’ll be busy. I have an album to finish, a launch to book, and a mini-tour to plan.”
“When are you touring?” Vanessa asked.
“There’s a middle-of-winter music festival in Kingston that I’ve been invited to play. I thought I’d build a little tour around it. I could just take trains instead driving myself around Ontario in February.”
“Um, you’re not goingalone,” she said.
“I can be careful!”
“Fabian,” Tarek warned, “at least find another musician to tour with.”
Fabian wanted to argue, but he knew his friends were right to worry. “I’ll ask around,” he promised. “Maybe my label wants to pair me up with someone.”
“MaybeRyanwants to be your roadie,” Marcus said.
“Except he’ll be playinghockeyin February. Because that’s hisjob.”
Marcus threw up his hands. “How the fuck am I supposed to know when hockey is?”
