And they belonged to his teammate, not his stalker.
“Dude, what are you doing?” Niko asked, gaze flicking to the frying pan that August had raised over his head. “Are you…expecting someone?”
“No.”
Yes.
They stood in awkward tension until August realized how fucking stupid he looked, and he lowered the weapon. “What are you doing here? How did you know where I live?”
It was cold out. August didn’t feel it because the adrenaline was rushing through him, but Niko looked uncomfortable as he stared longingly past August to the warmth that awaited inside.
“Can I come in? I don’t want to wait while you pack.”
“Pack?” August moved out of the way and gestured him inside. “Pack for what? We just got home an hour ago.”
August barely had time to order pizza before Niko showed up unannounced. He didn’t think there was a team dinner or anything, and if there was, he hadn’t been invited.
“We’re going to the airport,” said Niko, kicking the snow off his boots and closing the door behind him. “Our flight leaves in like, three hours, so please don’t take long. Just bring your clothes and—”
“Where are wegoing?” August asked before the kid could keep rambling. “You haven’t stopped to tell me what’s happening.”
Niko crossed his arms, and the corners of his mouth fell, tugging the scar in a way that made him look angrier than he was. “I warned you—I told you what the Toronto guys are like.”
“We haven’t played Toronto yet,” said August.
“No,” said Niko, mimicking the attitude August was giving him. “But we’ve played Calgary twice, who has Bash. We’ve played Montreal, who have Étienne and Arlo, and even the New York guys had something to say about you. Which all cumulates into the fact that word has gotten back to Jett, and now you’ve been summoned.”
Summoned by Jett Fraser? Why the hell would someone like Fraser care about someone like August?
He wanted to ask the question, but Niko’s expression pinched, like he could read his mind.
“You made an impression on him last year,” said Niko. “I’m not sure what you said to him, and before you ask, I haven’t told him anything, but Jett is perceptive like that. He probably heard stories after I mentioned you were struggling, and he’s been watching you.”
Him and everyone else. Especially that green-eyed fiend trailing him.
“You don’t have anyone, right?” Niko asked, keeping his tone soft but not pitying. “Cap told us you never make plans, so I figured since I’m going to visit Jett, and you’re not busy, this might be a good opportunity to chill and get to know each other.”
August’s brows were so furrowed he was worried they might get stuck in that position. “Christmas with Fraser…in Toronto?”
“Nova Scotia,” Niko corrected.
Niko’s posture shifted, and August wouldn’t have spotted the tension had he not been playing hockey with the guy for nearly four months, but it was there.
“Last year, Jett and Harrison were attacked in their home by a past friend of Jett’s, and both of them came pretty close to getting murdered.”
August suspected an attack had happened, but hearing it said out loud wasjarring. He flinched like the words landed a physical blow, his breath catching in his lungs.
“I’m not going to talk about details because it’s not my story to share, but it was brutal, and they’re still dealing with trauma. But since the two of them are the most stubborn people on the planet, they want to have Christmas in their home, even though it holds those horrible memories. We have all been invited, so they don’t have to be alone, and yes, that includes you.”
August’s tongue refused to work because none of this was making any sense.
Niko took his silence as a refusal and held up his hands like he was scared he’d offended him.
“If you have plans—”
“I don’t,” August said, forcing the words out. “I just—I’m not gay, so why am I invited?”
“Gay?” Niko flushed, as if August had just come out to him in some grand gesture. “I mean, you’ll be the only one there who strictly likes girls, but gender preferences have nothing to do with it. You’re my teammate, and Jetty likes you. Are you coming?”
