Chapter 2

School, work, hockey.

Repeat.

Again and again until I'm chewed up and spit out on the other side of hockey season, unsure of who I am or what day it is. The chaos doesn't end with hockey season. It slows down just enough for me to feel like I'm finally beginning to catch up, and then the carpet is ripped out from under me when pre-season practices start back up.

I fell into this cycle the day I turned sixteen. The local animal clinic brought me on as a volunteer as soon as I was old enough to drive myself there, and as a result, most of my free time was spent volunteering, learning the ins and outs of the clinic in preparation for my lifelong goal, to be a veterinarian. Nowadays, I work at the clinic as a vet tech while attending the vet-med program at New York University.

My older brother, Ace, has spent the majority of his life slapping a hockey puck around on the ice, so naturally, my childhood was spent doing homework at hockey tournaments while my dad coached my brother's teams. He's the head coach of the Boston University Knights, and it's no surprise my big brother landed himself in the captain's seat once he was old enough.

The NYU hockey team is my brother's biggest competitor, and he's constantly giving me shit for choosing here of all places to attend college. I'm in my third year now, and I've finally broken free of dorm life.

"We need to go out and celebrate our newfound freedom! No more dorm advisors, no more rules, and no more sneaking around with the guys we bring home. I don't know about you, but I'd like to break in the rental this evening, if you know what I mean," Ashley says, nonchalantly raising an eyebrow as she watches me unpack a box full of clothes.

Glancing up at her while continuing to remove clothes from the box, I give her a once-over, assessing how serious she is, but I already know she's probably dead set on bringing home another hockey player tonight. She's obsessed with the hockey player persona, relentlessly chasing and fucking them because that's her kink. Most of the teams recognize her by now, and she's a well-known puck bunny amongst the players, but she's my best friend. We've been friends for as long as I can remember, and we've done just about everything together. She sleeps around with hockey players and I'm more tightly bound, so we balance each other out perfectly.

One positive of moving out of the dorms is thatI have my own bedroom now, and I won't be locked out of my dorm every time she sneaks someone new in for a few hours of fucking. I can actually hide in my room and focus on the hours of homework I need to complete.

"I'd rather stay home and unpack tonight. I have a lot of schoolwork to get done later this week, and I really need to get this done instead of putting it off like I know you're going to do. If I don't unpack now, I'll never get around to it."

Ashley scoffs, rolling her eyes. "We both know that's not true. You're too type-A to let it sit for more than a day or two. You'll find the time, trust me," she smiles, clasping her hands together as she bends at the knees. "Please come with me tonight. We need to get out and have some fun, and I just heard about a bar where a few of the local teams hang out… I heard the Knights and the Makos will be there. I don't know, maybe there'll be a fight tonight. We can't miss it, Aspen!"

Of course, she'd want to go where the Knights are. She's been obsessed with fucking every member of my brother's team since he joined. Some days I'm worried she'll go as far as sleeping with my brother, but I try to shake the thought away, knowing she's a better friend than that.

She may have an unhealthy obsession with hockey players, but she wouldn't fuck her best friend's brother, right?

"You think I want to go drinking where we already know my brother will be?" I laugh, neatly folding the last pair of jeans from the box.

"Pints of the cheap beer are half off today."

That piques my interest, and I don't hesitate in my response. "Sold."

She's silent for a moment, caught off guard. She hadn't expected it would be so easy to persuade me, but she knows how much I like a good sale, especially on beer. I may come from a little bit of money, but my parents didn't build their wealth by recklessly spending it. I've picked up on their habits over the years. I'm even more frugal than they are, but I can't pass up a cold, discounted beer after a long day of moving.

"I'll get my bag," she squeals once she comes out of shock.

"I'm only going for a couple of beers, then you need to leave me alone for the rest of the week and let me study. I can't loosen up on school now just because we're in our own place."

"Yeah, sure," she says, skipping away in search of her bag. "Brynne!!"

Brynne answers her from across the house, yelling back at her. "WHAT?"

"We're going out tonight!" Ashley beams, announcing the news to our roommate.

We met Brynne freshman year and have been friends ever since. She was the missing piece of our trio, creating a balance that we didn"t know we needed. Ashley and I are two very different extremes, and Brynne falls somewhere in the middle. She's good at mediating when Ashley and I are too far off from one another.

"Is Aspen coming?" Brynne asks with a hint of disbelief in her voice.

"Yes!" I holler through the doorway, joining in on the conversation. "Just this once!"

"We all know that's a lie," Ashley says, returning to my room with her bag thrown over her shoulder. "Change into something else, then we're leaving."

I look down, furrowing my eyebrows as I survey my attire. "What's wrong with this?"

"You look like you just walked out of the gym," Brynne laughs as she enters my room.

"We were moving all day, and someone had to do the heavy lifting around here. What do you expect?"

There are sweat stains under the armpits of my shirt and I can smell the body odor coming off of myself, but it isn't anything some perfume and a new shirt can't fix. She's being dramatic.

"Just go change and freshen up a little." Ashley pushes me toward the bathroom, then begins rifling through my neatly folded clothes. "Here," she says, holding up a tightly fitting pair of jeans and a baby-blue top with a low-cut front. "This is perfect."

"Okay," I sigh, rolling my eyes as I take them from her.

I change quickly, slipping into the clothes before I have the desire to change my mind. The jeans cup my ass nicely, showing off my curves in the most flattering way. I brush through my long blonde hair, untangling a few knots before throwing on a little bit of makeup. I don't normally wear many cosmetics. I have a quick five-minute routine I've stuck with for years, and it's never done me wrong.

"Ready," I say as I exit the bathroom, finding my roommates waiting for me on my bed.

"Let's get fucked up," Brynne says as she jumps to her feet.

Ashley's voice is quiet as she mumbles through a laugh, "Or get fucked."

"Or that," I add, making all of us laugh. "I'd rather stick to beer tonight. You do you, though."

The three of us walk out the door together, laughing and chatting as we head toward a bar full of horny hockey players.