1. Ash

My head pounds as something buzzes. I reach out my hand to try and hit whatever is making the noise, but I feel someone’s skin. I suddenly realize I have no idea where I am.

I try opening my eyes, but everything hurts. I should be used to this by now.

The girl who’s in bed next to me groans as the buzzing continues.

My hand finally finds the source of the noise and I open one eye to look at it.

Oh, no. I have about fifty missed calls from Coach Mac, and a voicemail from the PR team.

I press play on the voicemail and hear Natalie’s voice. She’s the head of the PR team and a lot scarier than Coach Mac. That’s saying a lot, considering Coach scares grown men for a living.

As Natalie’s angry voice screams profanities through the phone, memories of last night’s party come flooding back. I vaguely remember making a bet with the douchebag actor Chase Bowan. I told him it would end badly, but he felt the need to prove himself.

It’s not the first time I’ve had an A-lister want to go up against me. They just want to be able to say they beat an NHL player at something. It’s fun watching them lose.

The bet with Chase got out of control, which is why Natalie is so angry. It’s not my fault his precious car collection ended up in the pool — that was all him.

I roll my eyes as Natalie’s voicemail goes on and on. She’s glad no one was hurt, but I’m being charged with millions of dollars’ worth of damage. I’m not surprised Chase is trying to pin this whole thing on me.

I entered the party, and all the ladies swarmed me, as per usual. I guess Chase got his ego bruised as he’s used to being the center of attention.

I started getting female attention at a young age, due to my being a hockey player. It basically guaranteed my popularity in high school. If you were a football or hockey player, the girls all wanted you. It was the same in college.

Some of the guys had steady girlfriends, but I was never one to commit.

The steady girlfriends used to try and set me up with their friends, but they all wanted something serious. It always ended badly. Eventually they accepted that I wasn’t going to be tied down and stopped trying to set me up.

Last night a bunch of girls were hanging around me. Chase marched over and tried to pick a fight over nothing. I suggested we channel our energy into something more productive.

It started with a small bet on a darts game and somehow ended in chaos. It was Chase who kept upping the stakes and making the next game harder and more elaborate.

My phone buzzes and it’s Coach Mac again. I sit up and take a deep breath.

The second I answer, his angry voice bangs against my skull like a hammer.

“You better get in here now, boy.”

His voice sends a shiver up my spine. Coach isn’t someone you want to piss off.

I groan. I don’t even know where I ended up or how far I am from our arena.

The end of the night is a bit of a blur. All I remember are celebratory shots after beating Chase and laughing at his cars in the pool.

I look over at the naked blonde in the bed and I don’t recognize her.

I sigh as Coach continues to yell. “Okay,” I tell him. “I’ll be there as soon as I figure out where I am.”

I hold the phone further away from my ear as he yells at me for being an idiot.

He hangs up and I fall back onto the bed. This is not how I wanted to spend my day off.