Page 107 of The Head Game

His parents had apparently all gone to bed already because the condo was dark and quiet except for the TV playing softly in the background.

“Yeah, okay, let’s go to bed, fiancé,” Nico said, standing and stretching.

“I hate you a little bit,” August muttered.

“Do you?” Nico teased, waggling his eyebrows. “Because rushing to the hospital seems like a pretty grand gesture to me, Auggie. I think maybe you like me more than you let on.”

“I like you less and less with every second that passes.”

“Hmm. You have a funny way of showing it.” He stepped forward, caressing August’s chest.

August grumbled, then turned off the TV and followed Nico into the bedroom.

“I have to say, Auggie,” Nico said as he stripped off his shirt, tossing it on the floor. “I never thought you had it in you to fake an engagement with a guy.”

“Do you think I did?”

“I don’t know. How many opportunities have you had over the years?” Nico asked, grinning at him.

“None, until you,” August said shortly. He scooped the shirt up.

Nico let his sweatpants fall to the floor too. “Aww, you make me feel so special.”

August closed his eyes and Nico felt a little jolt of pleasure go through him at the deep breath August took.

He was so tightly wound sometimes and maybe it made Nico an asshole but he enjoyed watching August struggle to keep a lid on his temper when Nico poked at him. Besides, he’d noticed all the squirming August had done on the couch earlier.

August might say he found Nico annoying, but he still wanted him. The sexual tension between them was as thick as it had been in the hotel room in Evanston.

This was definitely the most fun Nico’d had since his surgery.

Why not keep poking the bear and see if the tension built into a hot spark that ended with them both naked in bed?

“So tell me the full story.” Nico climbed into bed in his underwear. He stayed on top of the covers, lounging against the pillows, hoping it would give August ideas. “How exactly did this all go down?”

August sighed and dropped into a chair by the window. He looked down at the clothes still clutched in his hand, his breath hitching a little.

“I meant what I said earlier. I was terrified. Terrified I’d missed something on the first hit. Terrified you were dying of a brain bleed I could have prevented.” He glanced up, gaze stricken. “I drove around all night then walked by the falls. I couldn’t leave Buffalo until I saw for myself you were okay.”

“Turns out, I wasn’t.” Nico tapped his skull, near the incision, trying not to wince as that sent a weird zing of discomfort through him. Sometimes it felt like his nerves were doing a rhumba. Sometimes it felt like they were on fire.

Fun.

August’s gentle petting made that go away and Nico was going to enjoy it for as long as he could.

“No.” August looked up again. “But I had no idea until I got to the hospital. All I could think about was seeing you and proving to myself you were okay. I gave them your fake name and they let me up on the neuro floor but when they said they couldn’t give me any updates on how you were doing unless I was related to you I—I panicked and blurted out we were engaged and the nurse, or whoever she was, was a JockGossip reader so she didn’t ask for any more confirmation.”

August kept going like he was on a roll now, speaking so quickly Nico couldn’t get a word in edgewise. Nico had to hold back his laughter, digging his short nails into his palm to keep from cackling because it was a total comedy of errors, one stupid thing after another that had snowballed into this weird situation they were in now.

“Oh my God, Auggie. What a mess you got yourself into.” Nico’s stomach ached from the force of his held-in laughter.

August groaned. “And I’m going to be suspended. Tomorrow, I have a Zoom meeting with the NHLOA rep. The league is going to do an investigation and I’ll lose my career and you’re laughing at me.”

Nico sobered and sat up straight. “Wait, what?”

“Like I said, someone leaked it all,” August said, his expression growing miserable. “It’s all over the news. Kate hasn’t made an official statement but she wants us to go along with this fake engagement as a way to sell it to the NHLOA and the league. I don’t know what to do. I’ve been trying to work up the courage to tell you what a mess this is but I didn’t have the balls.”

He let out a heavy sigh and Nico frowned. “Hmm. Explain more of that.”

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