Page 119 of The Head Game

At the time, he’d thought August was his fiancé and found comfort in clinging to that while everything in his life was terrifying.

But now Nico knew they’d only had one night in Evanston. They weren’t together for real.

Yet August was here anyway, blowing up his life and his career, helping Nico through this god-awful recovery.

Nico’s eyes burned as he thought about the way August had made him feel last night, the way he’d made Nico’s prickling humiliation over his soft dick into something hot and perfect.

It was embarrassing to be so needy, so messy.

But August was here, calm and steady. Making all of it feel much less overwhelming.

“Should do somethin’ nice for him,” Nico muttered, but his words were interrupted by a big yawn.

In the morning, he’d text Sky and come up with something.

* * *

“Everything okay?”

August reached for a sports drink, then looked over at Isa who stood outside of the closed guest room door. “Nico’s not feeling great. His head hurts and he threw up a lot. He doesn’t feel feverish though so I don’t think it’s anything serious.”

Isa frowned and tightened the sash on her white silk robe as she walked toward the kitchen. Her face was in shadow, only illuminated by the under-cabinet lighting. Still beautiful, though she looked tired. “Anything I can do?”

“Not that I can think of. I got Nico into the shower long enough to rinse off and there’s a garbage can by the bed in case he gets sick again. I figured this and some meds would help.” August held up the bottle.

“Good idea.”

Isa surveyed the small cluster of medications on the counter, then picked one out. She studied it for a moment before she handed it over. “This is the one he needs. He takes two.”

August nodded. “Sorry if we woke you.”

“I’m a chronic insomniac so I was already lying there awake. I’m glad Nico didn’t inherit that from me.”

“Is everything okay?” Noor padded softly into the kitchen. “I heard voices.”

Isa explained the situation and Noor gave a little nod. “I’ll fix him some ginger tea then. I had a feeling he might need it so I bought some the other day. It helped with the nausea when he got sick as a kid, then during his concussion in the OHL.”

She flicked on the electric kettle, then opened a cupboard and pulled down a tin.

“You’re sure it won’t interfere with the meds?” Isa asked. She pulled out a mug and handed it to Noor.

“No, it’s safe. I already checked.”

“Okay.” Isa frowned. “Are you sure there’s nothing I can do, August?”

“I don’t think so,” he said. “But I’ll certainly let you know if there is.”

He hesitated as a thought occurred to him. “Well, there’s one thing, but it’s not for Nico.”

She regarded him steadily. “Sure, anything you need, August.”

“I have a Zoom meeting in the morning with the rep for the governing body for NHL officials. They’ll represent me in my investigation. Chances are I’ll be suspended during that investigation but I’ll know more after I talk to them.”

Isa’s frown deepened. “Suspended because of your relationship with Nico?”

“Yes.”

“I’m not sure I realized the severity of this for you.”

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