Page 83 of The Head Game

“Huh.” August shook his head. “Wild. I swear it’s a compliment though. He was one of my favorite players growing up. It’s why I picked the number forty-nine.”

Her gaze warmed. “Well, if I’d known you were such a fan of his, I could have introduced you. He lives here in Buffalo, you know.”

“Huh. No, I didn’t realize that either.”

“Some fan you are,” Nico teased.

August sputtered but when he saw Nico’s grin waver and droop a little, he didn’t push back.

Nico was tired. There were still dark circles under his eyes and he leaned a little more heavily against August.

“Hey, you should get going. You need to get home and rest,” August urged.

“Yeah, okay,” Nico agreed, leaning in and wrapping his arms around August’s waist. “Bye, Auggie. See you in a bit.”

“I’ll see you soon, uh, muffin,” August managed, giving him an awkward hug back.

Nico paused, shooting him a weird look, and behind him Skylar coughed into her ever-present decaf iced latte with oat milk.

When August gently kissed Nico’s cheek, Nico turned his head, capturing August’s lips.

He froze but Nico’s mouth was soft against his, palm warm as he cupped it around the back of August’s neck, coaxing him to respond.

August did for a brief moment before he remembered they were in a public place.

He felt a little flushed as he pulled away.

Nico smiled and stepped back, putting some space between their bodies.

With the toque on, and the scars and shorn hair hidden, he looked more like his old self, his eyes brighter than they’d been since before his injury.

A palpable wave of relief washed through August at the reminder Nico would be okay. It would be slow going for a while, but he’d heal.

“See you soon, Auggie.” Nico winked and turned away. “Don’t take too long. I’m looking forward to sleeping in a real bed with you tonight, fiancé.”

August froze, a frisson of worry shivering across his skin as he wondered if Nico had started to remember more about their relationship. Was he being flirty Nico like usual or had he figured out August had been lying?

A little numb, August helped Nico into the SUV and robotically said goodbye to everyone else. He’d see them all soon enough, he supposed.

Twenty minutes later, August was on the road, his car pointed toward the Canadian border.

There, the line of cars waiting to get through was long and moving slowly. He was grateful for the NEXUS card that allowed him to skip those lines. He waved his card at the card reader and a border patrol officer’s disembodied voice came through the speaker, telling him he was allowed to proceed into Canada.

He’d applied for the expedited border clearance several years ago and it was the smartest decision he’d ever made. He’d had to go through a whole application and interview process, but it had saved him so much time getting through the border and checking in for flights since.

Now, he had roughly an hour drive to Hamilton and he clicked on the radio to keep himself awake, rather than be lulled to sleep by the monotony of the road.

The radio was already tuned to his favorite sports station and for a while, he listened to the guys discuss last night’s game between Montreal and Edmonton.

Even hockey failed to keep his mind from wandering, despite the large quantity of coffee he’d downed this morning.

But his eyes flew wide open when he heard his name. “Neither Augustus Manning, the Fisher Cats team, or one of Nico Arents’ representatives have officially confirmed the relationship—”

Heart pounding as adrenaline flooded his body, August stabbed at the button to turn off the audio. Nope, he wasn’t listening to that.

He was wide awake now though.

He felt vaguely sick as he navigated the familiar route along the QEW, his mind whirling with what his future held. He was glad his body had muscle memory of the drive so he didn’t have to pay much attention to his GPS.

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