Page 86 of The Head Game

Strange. There were a lot of things that weren’t quite adding up but he was too tired to try to solve the mystery now.

“Well, pick a drawer and shove my stuff into another one.” Nico flapped a hand dismissively. “I don’t care.”

August raised an eyebrow but he investigated a few of the dresser drawers before he found one he apparently liked, then moved the messy tangle of its content to the drawer below it.

Nico wasn’t surprised when August opened his suitcase to reveal neatly folded stacks of clothing arranged like file folders in packing cubes.

“God, you’re neurotic. Not that I expected anything else but it’s still funny to see.” Nico yawned. “Why does it feel weird to have you here in my condo though?”

August froze. “Well, I’ve never been here.”

Nico propped himself on one elbow and squinted at August. “We’re engaged and I’ve never been to your place and you’ve never been to mine? That’s fucking weird, right?”

“Well, uh …” A deep flush covered the back of August’s neck. “We were concerned about getting caught.”

“So we … what? Hooked up somewhere else? Do we have a secret apartment somewhere?” Nico had a weird, vague memory about teasing August about spy shit. Maybe that was what they’d been talking about.

“No. Just uh, a hotel room when we’re on the road.” August closed the drawer. He picked a toiletry kit up and carried it into the bathroom.

He set a few things on the nightstand, then carefully put the empty bag in the walk-in closet, his shoulders tense, his jaw tight.

“Why so secretive anyway?” Nico asked, yawning again. He kicked off the shoes his parents had made him wear—“it’s good for your balance,” he’d been told—and shifted onto the bed so his head was nearer the pillow.

Now that Auggie was here, he could take a nap.

“Well, our careers for one,” August said, staring down at him.

“Right. Yeah, I guess that probably won’t go over well. What were we going to do when we got married though?” Nico wiggled his sweats over his ass and kicked them off the bed.

August scooped the pants up, folding them and setting them on the nearby dresser.

“I don’t know.” His voice was tight.

“You don’t know?” Nico squinted. He sat up and pulled off his shirt. He threw it right at August who caught it and smoothed the fabric out, folding it too. “Huh. You seem like the kind of guy who’d have a plan about everything.”

“Nothing about being with you was planned.”

Nico snorted but the amusement faded quickly as another yawn took over. “I wish I could remember you better. Everything feels kinda funny. I remember a few things, like the fact that we didn’t like each other much at first. But I don’t remember the rest. Just a lot of us arguing and fucking in a hotel, then … nothing before the hospital.”

“Well.” August took a deep breath. “Nico, I—”

“Come to bed, Auggie,” Nico begged. “I’m tired and I couldn’t nap without you in the car.”

August hesitated but he stripped off his sweater and jeans, crawling in beside Nico in his boxer briefs and tee.

Nico flipped onto his left side, settling his head on August’s shoulder. He sighed with contentment when August curved an arm around him, the weight and warmth settling something restless inside Nico’s body.

“Missed this,” he mumbled.

“We slept in the same hospital bed last night,” August said, his voice a low rumble beneath Nico. But he ran his hand up and down Nico’s back, making the last of the tension bleed from Nico’s body.

“Don’ care, you make me feel ssafe,” Nico slurred, his eyelids growing heavy.

Under him, August froze, his hand on Nico’s ribs. “Nico, we really need to talk about something.”

“Later,” Nico muttered. “Shh. Sleep now. Brain hurts.”

August chuckled, pressing his lips carefully to Nico’s head. “Yeah, okay. You can sleep now.”

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