“No concealer. Of course you don’t. Ugh!” Ali rolled her eyes. She dropped her head into her hands.
“Ali, you just had a baby a few months ago. You look amazing. So, don’t give me that shit. Baby pouch? Where exactly is this baby pouch you speak of?” Kassie looked over the table, trying to find this mystery excess weight. Her sister-in-law looked great for a new mom. There was no proof of baby weight anywhere on that girl.
“It’s all the layers. I hide it.” Ali snickered and pulled at her t-shirt and jersey.
Ali was the only one who thought she still had a baby pouch; no one else thought she did. The girl was gorgeous. Kassie couldn’t hold in her laugh and almost spit out her pizza. “Layers, my ass. That’s a ladies’ jersey, sis. What is it? A small? Try again. Not like you’re swimming in a men’s jersey over there. And look at your hair. I don’t think it’s ever been so shiny and full. I’m telling you, those baby hormones are a blessing in disguise. You’re beautiful, so shut up.”
A loud slap on the glass from behind the net, amplified by the plexiglass that separated the café area from the ice rink, shook their table and made Kassie jump. “What the heck?”
Kassie whipped her face back to the rink to see which player had done it, and her brother’s smug mug peered from behind the net. His goalie helmet was pushed up onto the top of his head, and his big goofy grin spread across his face. He winked at Ali and blew her a kiss before dropping his helmet back in place and hurrying back into his goal.
“Shouldn’t your husband be worrying more about protecting his net than making lovey eyes at you?” Kassie joked. She knew her brother, and he liked to goof off. He took amusing liberties in practice, all the while stopping shots.
She picked at the crust of her pizza. Looking towards the counter, she voiced her thoughts. “I kind of want another slice.”
“What is it with you O’Conners and your pizza? Don’t you ever want a nice salad, or a burger?”
Kassie shrugged her shoulders. “Dunno. We just like it.” Kaden and Kassie’s favorite food was pizza. It had always been. They weren’t picky; they just liked pizza.
“Oh, I know you do, trust me.” Ali shook her head with a laugh. She nodded towards the rink and all the noise echoing off the glass. “Listen to him in there, chirping at the guys.”
Kassie balled up her napkin and tossed it onto her empty plate. “He’s such a goofball.”
Kaden was known for being the class clown and joker of the team. Even as a kid, he needed to have all eyes on him.
Ali picked at her salad as if she’d prefer to be eating something else. “So, how do you like your new job with Triangle Health Care?”
“I love it.” Ironically, Kassie’s job wasn’t far from the practice rink, the Three Rivers Practice Facility. “Maybe some time I can come over for lunch and watch practice.” She glanced up at the stands and immediately regretted her words. She hated sitting in the stands with all the screaming girls. She wasn’t here to fangirl, or with the hopes of going home with one of the guys. She was here because she liked hockey and to cheer on her bother.
“Really? Yay! We’ll have to coordinate and meet up.”
Eating her lunch hanging out with the puck bunnies was not Kassie’s idea of an ideal work break, but now that she had mentioned it to Ali, the excited look on her sister-in-law’s face told her that the possibility was set in stone.
Ali already had her calendar pulled up on her phone and was pointing out good days for them to meet up. Pushing her dish away, Ali shook her head. “I’m done with this salad. Ugh.”
She said the word salad with such disdain, it was evident to Kassie that Ali wasn’t eating it because she enjoyed it. Must’ve been the whole “baby weight” thing again.
“C’mon, Kass.” Ali tossed her trash into the bin and waved Kassie towards the ice rink.
Kassie didn’t plan on sitting in the stands with the bunnies; the café table was just fine for her. But Ali loved any chance she got to watch Kaden play, and Kassie knew there was no getting out of this now. Agreeing with a nod, she forced a smile. “Great. Let’s go.”
Ali led her into the rink area and down onto the bleachers. A group of reporters stood in the corner of the rink, taking photos and waiting for practice to be over. Paige was there with her boss Melanie and the rest of the Public Relations team. Kassie couldn’t help but notice the male photographers eye up Ali. Baby fat, my ass. Those guys are ogling her!
Kassie almost missed Paige waving at her. “Hey, ladies!”
Before Kassie could answer, Paige’s attention was pulled to a reporter trying to enter a restricted area. Must be a new guy. The seasoned reporters knew not to cross Paige. She was cute and sweet, but could cut you down with a smile.
“Kassie, over here.” Ali was making herself comfortable in the top row of bleachers closest to Kaden.
Lucky for Kassie, that was the seating on the opposite side of the young fangirls. Maybe they weren’t as young as she assumed, because if they were, then why weren’t they in school?
Half of the players were shooting at Kaden’s net and the other half at Dominic’s net. It was like rapid-fire, and the missed shots smashed off the glass, one after another, the earth-shattering sound loud enough to make her jump. It was surprising that they didn’t break the plexiglass. The guys were concentrating and focused on one thing, scoring.
Most of them circled the ice collecting the pucks, while Kaden slid them out of the net. Ali waved as Kaden took a moment and looked up in their direction. Once the pucks were all collected, Coach Walker blew his whistle, and all the guys fell into place, taking a knee and huddling at center ice for a meeting.
“So, Ali, how’s motherhood?” Kassie asked, and focused on Alison while there was a lull on the ice.
“I love it! Kaleb is the best baby. I kind of feel bad being away from him right now. But he’s with your mom, and he just adores her.”
“So, he’s not keeping you up nights anymore?”
“No, no. The other O’Conner is who keeps me up at night.” Alison winked at her, but Kassie didn’t find it as cute as Ali intended.
“Ew.” Kassie shook her head, somewhat grossed out.
“Oh, stop. Grow up, silly girl. Like you don’t have sex, too.”
“I don’t talk about it with my brother though!” Having Ali talk to her about sex with Kaden was not high on her list.
“All right. I’ll stop. What about you? Anyone special in your life yet?”
Practice started back up. It appeared to be a scrimmage. Kassie kept her attention on the ice as she spoke, not really wanting to get into this topic. A heavy sigh led into her words. “Nope. No one right now.”
“Maybe I can help.”