Page 110 of The Head Game

“I got dizzy when I got off the bed,” Nico said truthfully. “What if I fell and hit my head again? We wouldn’t want that, would we, Auggie? People would think you were a terrible fiancé.”

“I lied last night. You are a monster. But it’s what’s on the inside, not the outside,” August said. His eyes were beginning to crinkle at the corners like he was secretly amused. He reached into the shower and flipped it on.

Nico grinned and stepped inside, crooking a finger. “C’mon, fiancé. Let’s get naked and soapy together.”

August muttered something under his breath Nico couldn’t hear, but he stripped off his clothes and didn’t protest when Nico pulled him inside.

Nico reached for the body wash, lathering it into a white foam on an exfoliating cloth and rubbing it over his chest. “Mmm, this feels so good. Auggie, I think you need to get my back for me. I can’t quite reach.”

August raised an eyebrow but he took the cloth from his hand and dragged it across Nico’s shoulders. “Here?”

“Lower.” Nico licked his lips.

August moved to his mid-back. “Here?” August’s voice had dipped a little lower too.

“No, definitely lower.”

“Why are you like this?” August said gruffly, but he obediently moved to Nico’s low back. “I know very well you can reach these spots.”

Nico felt a pleasurable tingle go through him at August’s touch and when he was done, Nico turned in his arms, pressing the fronts of their bodies together from chest to thigh.

The cloth dropped to the floor with a wet splat.

August was backed against the glass shower wall, gaze wary. “I have reservations about this, Nico.”

“Gah. Why are you all stiff now?” Nico shot him a sly grin. “I mean, stiff can be good if we’re talking about dicks but you’re acting all uptight and shit. I liked the other Auggie better.”

“I’m the same person.”

“You were a lot sweeter to me when you thought I didn’t know the truth.”

“You knowing changes the situation!”

“Does it have to?”

“Yes!” August sighed heavily, but a little of the wariness on his face disappeared and he wrapped his arms around Nico’s body. “I don’t know.”

“Look, if we’re going with the story we’re engaged, we might as well be having sex,” Nico pointed out. “Sure, the relationship is fake but the sex part can be real. Unless you’re worried you’ll accidentally fall in love with me.”

August snorted. “Not likely.”

“Are you sure?”

“Quite.” His tone was dry. “You’re not at all my type and you’re much too annoying.”

“But I am your type in the sack, right?”

August shrugged. “Not really, but …”

“Ouch.” Nico slid away.

“No.” August gently grabbed his arm. “No, I didn’t mean it like that. I just meant you’re nothing at all like the guys I usually have sex with. But at the risk of stroking your already overly inflated ego, I’m attracted to you. When we hooked up in Evanston, that was … well, I wasn’t in a good place that night but I have to admit we had good chemistry.”

“Wait, why weren’t you in a good place?”

August licked his lips. “Uhh, well, I was a mess because that night, my ex-boyfriend—the man I thought I was going to marry—married someone else.”

Nico stared, mouth half-open. He had no idea what to say to that. Oh, that comment on the ice about August’s ex-boyfriend suddenly made a lot of sense now. So did the one he’d flung at Nico on the street about not having anyone to go home to anymore.

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