Page 183 of The Head Game

“I’ve heard rumors it’s a great starting point for long-term relationships.”

“Yeah, but he’d have to love me back.” August’s breath hitched. “And he doesn’t.”

“Has he said that?”

“No.”

“So you’re … assuming things.”

“Oh, come on, you said it yourself,” August said, a touch of bitterness in his tone. “I’m not cool enough to get a guy like that.”

“Okay, first of all, what I say when I’m making fun of you cannot be used against yourself in a later conversation. And second, I was joking. I didn’t mean it. Besides, that was before the whole brain tumor thing.”

“It’s true though, right?”

Julius scoffed. “Of course not. You two are so good together it’s sickening.”

“C’mon. He’s … Nico Arents. NHL player, international model, part-time DJ. I’m a former ref with no future. It makes no sense for us to be together.”

Julius scoffed. “Do you think it makes any sense that I spent the best seventy-two hours of my life in bed with Skylar Hanley? Her family are actual, literal billionaires and she’s the smartest, funniest, and most gorgeous woman on the planet. How does it make any sense that she wants me? But she does and I’m not gonna just let that go. I’m going to keep making her nachos and rubbing her lower back and praying she never fucking realizes I’m some shlub who works for a non-profit and has twelve dollars to his name.”

“I’m happy for you.”

August was.

Or he would be, eventually.

If Skylar and Jules made it work and someday, August had to stand up at their wedding, with Nico there as Skylar’s best man or bride’s man or whatever he called himself, he’d do it.

August would grit his teeth and be thrilled for his brother, even if he had to see Nico there with someone else.

“You’re missing my point!” Julius said, and some detached part of August was amused at how worked up Jules was. “You need to talk to Nico about this. You can’t up and leave before he has a chance to tell you how he feels.”

“I’m not going to walk out without talking to him,” August protested. “But we’ve been together 24/7 for over a month now and I just think it makes sense to get some space and start … figuring out how we end this fake engagement. It was a stupid idea in the first place.”

“I swear to God if you fuck this up, I will never forgive you,” Julius grumbled.

“Why? You already got what you wanted. You got Skylar.”

The hiss of indrawn breath made August wince. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.”

“No, you fucking shouldn’t have.” Jules sounded pissed now. “And if you think for one fucking moment that I’d choose that over my twin brother’s happiness, then fuck you. I would marry Skylar right now if I thought she’d say yes. I’d deal with her completely deranged money-hungry family and raise another dude’s baby in a heartbeat, but don’t you ever fucking say I got what I wanted at your expense. Because what I want is for you to be with Nico because he makes you happy.”

“Jules … I …”

“No, let me fucking finish, August. Daniel was fine. He was perfectly fine. Boring and bland and okay enough that if he was who you wanted, I was going to be happy for you. But Nico makes you happy. He makes you more … you, somehow. He shakes you up and turns you inside out and you fucking need that. And I will be so fucking pissed at you if you let what happened with Daniel convince you that you aren’t good enough for Nico. Because you are. It’s clear as fucking day that you are so fucking good together and I don’t understand why you wouldn’t fight for that.”

“I can’t …” August’s voice cracked.

“You fucking can. So put it out of your head that you don’t deserve him. You do. You deserve to have someone who is going to drive you nuts for the rest of your fucking life and make you laugh and challenge you and … argh. Get your shit together, August, or so help me God, I will do it for you!”

The call ended abruptly and August stared down at his phone blankly, wondering what the hell to do now.

* * *

Nico’s heart nearly cracked wide-open at the sight of August sitting forlornly on the couch, staring down at his hands.

Oh, Auggie.

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