Page 101 of The Head Game

He popped the pills in his mouth and washed them down but when he glanced over at August, expecting him to answer, he looked frozen. His mouth was half-open and he looked very uncomfortable.

“Hey, did we break you or something?” Nico teased. “C’mon, tell the engagement story, Auggie. I want to hear it. Maybe it’ll trigger some memories for me.”

“Uh …” August cleared his throat. “Well—”

The door opening made them all pause and the sound of familiar voices filtering in made Nico sit up. Dad, Noor, and Anika were back.

“We have returned with dinner!” Pieter said triumphantly, holding up several bags. “We got your favorite, Nico, sushi.”

“Yum,” he said, stomach rumbling at the idea. “Thanks.”

“Omega-3s are good for brain health. You should go easy on the soy sauce though. It’s inflammatory and you want to keep swelling down,” Isa reminded him.

Nico made a face. It felt like everything he did now was for his stupid brain. But whatever, he wouldn’t look a gift tuna in the mouth.

He rose to his feet, walking toward the kitchen, August on his heels. “Hey, did you get me spicy tuna?”

“Son, I introduced you to spicy tuna rolls. What do you think?” Pieter grinned.

Nico grinned back. “What about you, Auggie?”

“I don’t like sushi. Well, not the raw stuff, anyway.”

“Sashimi,” Nico corrected absently.

Pieter smiled. “We got pork dumplings, eel rolls, cooked shrimp, and a really nice pickled radish roll for August.”

“Did you get it from that place we like?” Nico asked, although his brain was working overtime trying to make sense of what August had said.

What the fuck? How did I not know my fiancé dislikes raw fish? Why am I marrying someone who doesn’t like raw fish? Hell, why am I marrying anyone at all?

None of this made any fucking sense.

“Are you talking about the restaurant La Bouche recommended?” Pieter asked as he spread out the containers on the counter.

“Yes.” Nico leaned against the nearby wall.

“Then yes, that’s where we went. I wanted to hire the chef to come to us but apparently, he’s booked for the next three months for private events.”

“I told you he would be,” Isa said. “He’s in high demand.”

Pieter grumbled, frowning. “With what I was willing to pay, he should have done it anyway.”

Nico turned to August and rolled his eyes.

August didn’t respond though, too busy staring down at the floor.

Nico frowned.

Something was definitely weird. The strange feeling that had been nagging at him since he woke up in the hospital with a fiancé he didn’t remember, strengthened.

Memories kept trickling back in, moments from the weeks leading up to his last game. He remembered dragging August into a closet at the arena in Buffalo and arguing.

He could remember the red and white team colors on the walls and Willy, the funny security guard Nico always joked around with when they played there.

It had to be in Buffalo. Nico was sure of that.

So maybe it was from a different night? Maybe last season?

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