Chapter 6
August
When there was a knock on his door, August grabbed a frying pan and ran to the entryway.
His heart was hammering so fast he was sure it would burst, but he unlocked the door and threw it open, weapon brandished and prepared to fight his stalker.
He met a pair of green eyes, but they weren’t the right shade.
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 we going?” 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 was jarring. 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?”
August should have said no because socializing wasn’t his style, but it took less than an hour to fill his suitcase with clothes and drive to the crowded airport. And that’s how he found himself on a first-class flight to the Canadian province of Nova Scotia alongside Niko Cote.
August had never been to Nova Scotia. He had heard plenty about it recently since a new team was being formed in the city of Halifax, but that was it.
Lobster fishing and small-town charm, that was the only thing he could picture when he thought of the place. So, he was surprised when they landed in an airport that looked normal and was filled with normal people, but what the fuck had he been expecting?
He still towered over everyone, even with Niko standing beside him, who was 6’0. But one person was approaching them who almost matched his height, and August would recognize those blue eyes and that scowl anywhere.
Harrison Killinger.
Niko waved the Toronto coach over and took August’s hand, pulling him through the hubbub and chaos of the airport crowd to meet up with their entourage. It wasn’t until they were standing a few feet away that he saw Jett Fraser beside Harrison, his arm secured tightly around his husband’s torso.
“Christmas crowd,” Jett shouted, smiling at them so brightly it was like the ceiling had opened up to reveal the sun. “We figured you would need help escaping.”
They were drawing a crowd; there was no doubt about that. Wide eyes watched them from every corner of the room, all of them excited to see four NHL stars meeting up in a public space. Some were pointing phones at them, while others began scrambling for something to sign.
The crowd was about to turn into a mob.
“I don’t think you showing up was a good idea,” said Niko, and August felt the grip on his hand tighten. “They wouldn’t recognize us, but you—”
“We’re here for PR,” said Harrison. He tipped his head to the left, and August’s gaze snapped to the older man standing beside him. “Robert is going to take you to our Jeep and keep you entertained while we sign some shit. Jett made me promise to do this, so enjoy your freedom.”
Robert gestured for them to follow, and August was dragged forward by Niko, who didn’t seem bothered by the fact that they were leaving his friends to die.
“Shouldn’t we stay?” he asked, turning to watch the crowd close in on Jett and Harrison. “I feel bad for leaving them.”
Niko tugged, like he was yanking a misbehaving dog on a leash. “No, Jetty loves doing this shit. Let him handle the fans. We have hot chocolate to enjoy.”
“Yes, you do, ma’ boy.” Robert clapped Niko on the back hard enough to make him stumble. “I got you the candy cane one since you liked it so much last time.”
Niko was a stoic kid in any other environment, but around Robert, something loosened inside him. He seemed totally at ease following this strange man that August didn’t know, but they had to be close if Robert knew Niko’s drink preferences.
As it turned out, leaving Jett and Harrison to do their thing made the trip to the parkade an easy one. August took the job of loading suitcases in the back of the Jeep while Robert and Niko got in out of the cold.
It was snowing in Nova Scotia, making everything look and sound ten times more hectic as people slipped in the snow and plows drove by. But the moment August was in the backseat with the door shut, things got quiet again.
Robert was sitting in the front, and he twisted around in his seat so he could talk to them.
He was a handsome older gentleman with a bushy mustache and a smile that felt familiar, but August was struggling to place where he’d seen it.
His red nose and blue eyes made him look like a modern-day Santa, so maybe that’s where he was getting the feeling.
“Gusty, this is Robert Fraser, Jett’s dad,” said Niko, grinning at the man.
Oh. That was it. He recognized the Fraser smile.
“It’s nice to meet you, son.” Robert held out a hand, and August took it, shaking it firmly. “I watched you in the playoffs last season. You were on Jetty like a barnacle on a whale.”
August…didn’t know what to say to that.
Niko started laughing into his hand, leaving August no choice but to handle this himself.
“Am I the whale or the barnacle?”
Robert let go of his hand and burst into joyous laughter, reaching out so he could smack August’s leg.
“You’re a good kid,” Robert said, patting his leg gentler this time. “I can see why you’re here now.”
August wished someone would enlighten him on why he was there, but he was going with the flow at this point.
Robert paused the conversation so he could fetch them their hot chocolate, and Niko took his with a thanks before sucking it back like it was fucking ambrosia.
August was more timid with his, but he had never tried hot chocolate, especially not with a candy cane flavour. It was sweet, but delicious, and it was the perfect thing to warm them up while the snow fell in waves outside the parkade.
“How’s your nan?” Robert asked, his expression falling into something more serious when Niko’s head shot up. “She still doin’ okay?”
Niko nodded rapidly, like the motion would shake the tears away before they had a chance to fall. “I was going to stay with her over break, but she wanted me to come here. She told me that she was fine, and that I was needed elsewhere.”
Robert knocked his knuckles on the center console, his weathered face showing so much grief it was palpable. “Mommas know best, Neeks. Don’t beat yourself up too much.”