How To Ruin A Friendship

Saturday, March 16, 2013.

The win over the Winnipeg Jets was what it took for the team to go out to McFlannigans bar to celebrate. It was their favourite place in their home city to visit, and they did it often---as long as their coach and PR team didn't know. As the air got cooler, and the night grew older, they continued drinking. Toasting to another great game as the Leafs held onto their winning streak, inching so close to the playoffs.

"Keep on keepin' on, kid," Dion Phaneuf lifted his 6th shot glass up. He tipped it towards Nazem Kadri.

"After you, captain," Nazem and Dion both took fast one-timers and drank it down at the same time. They laughed hysterically once their drunk eyes met again.

Naz sat across from James van Riemsdyk, Dion Phaneuf, Tyler Bozak, Cody Franson, while sitting between Phil Kessel, Joffrey Lupul.

"How 'bout a game of Truth Or Dare?" Tyler slapped his hand on Nazem's shoulder, while holding a beer in his other.

"Now there's how to bring some fucking excitement!" James patted the table. He had drank more than usual.

Everyone jokingly glared at JvR, and he shrugged, feeling innocent. Since he was still relatively new to the team, it almost being a year since the trade, he had never played under Tyler's game. Since the trade from Philadelphia, he'd settled in, and was loving it. He had yet to discover that Truth or Dare isn't the same when it's with Tyler.

"Who wants to start?" Bozie smirked. The devilish look on his face made everyone unsteady with their eye-contact. No one liked to be first, of course, especially with the pranks and dares he always pulled. He always turned truths into dares.

"Nazem does." Joffrey laughed and flinched when Nazem glanced at him. He spit beer out of his mouth.

"No I don't!" Naz jumped.

"Ah, my child," Tyler said. "Nifty mittens.. the killer.. the dream." he added calmly. The rest of the boys snickered loudly and Naz rolled his eyes at the nicknames he'd been given over the short season.

"The dream!" Dion hollered. It was the name he had first given to Naz just a few months before, during a live post-game interview. Since then, the Leafs fanbase used it most. He slouched back in his seat in the booth and placed his hand on his head. The captain was getting a little tipsy and it showed.

"Dare.. or dare?" Tyler cocked his head to the side and smiled.

"Truth."

"That's not the way it goes, dream boy. You know that." Bozie chuckled.

"Dare.." Naz gulped. He knew he wouldn't take Truth for an answer, that's not how this went. He gave in and waited for Tyler to think of something.

"Atta boy." he winked. "Now, what shall we make you do?" he got up from his seat and stood by the table. He leaned back against it and his teammates looked at him. Tyler looked around the bar, glancing, watching, and staring at the people. Tyler noticed a group of 3 girls who were sitting in a booth by the far corner. Nazem saw the direction his eyes were going, and soon knew what Tyler was staring at.

He turned his head and faced Nazem. "You see the pretty brunette in the middle?" Bozie pointed with his beer back at the girls.

"Yeah." Nazem smiled lightly. He could see her body and the black tight short dress she was wearing, but with his blurry drunk vision from a far distance, her face was unclear.

"You're gonna ask her out," Tyler turned to him.

"That's it?" Cody laughed along with Phil.

"Oh, that's not it," Tyler smirked. "That's definitely not it."

"Well..?" Dion leaned in closer to the table, waiting for a further explanation.

"You're gonna take your phone, record the conversation," Bozie drank the rest of his rum and coke. "I need the proof you're not just telling her to pretend." He continued, looking at all of his teammates. "You're gonna smooth talk her in. Take her home. Fuck her, make her leave by 7am."

"Oh this isn't bad," James laughed. "Why 7?"

Bozie shrugged. "I don't want you to sleep."

Phil laughed. "Brutal."

"What else?" Naz fiddled with his thumbs, not wanting to lose and embarrass himself in front of his boys.

"You haven't heard the rules, yet," Tyler wagged his finger. The worst part about playing Truth or Dare with him? The circumstances. "If she declines to go to your place, you lose a hundred. If you fail to sleep with her, you lose five hundred. If she doesn't leave in the morning or before, you lose two grand. If you lie to us about any of it, we will make you run down Bay Street naked." he grinned. "Are we clear?"

"Naked rookie on the run," Dion laughed, patting the table.

"Piece of fuckin' cake," Nazem sat back. He stared at him, wanting to accept the challenge but not wanting to lose. He didn't care about the rules, as much as he was nervous about something going wrong. He couldn't admit it though. "You're so fucking on."

"Oh, and one very important last thing." Tyler stopped. "You can't see her again after the one-night stand."

Nazem swallowed hard, but feeling confident. He shook hands with Tyler.

Nazem stood up and made his way over to the booth. The one with black hair and big green eyes looked the other way at the bartender. The brunette wearing the black dress smiled lightly at him. Her brown hair rested on her back and shoulder. Her deep brown eyes managed to sparkle under the dim bar lights.

"Hey there," Nazem smirked at her.

"Hey," she bit her bottom lip.

"Can I buy you a drink?" he said casually.

"I'm here with my sister." she glanced at the one with dark hair sitting beside her. "I wouldn't want to leave her alone."

"It's okay, you can go," the girl with black hair spoke nicely, looking disinterested in the scene of the bar.

"What's your name?" Nazem asked her after the bartender placed drinks on the counter for them. They sat on the bar stools and talked.

She flipped a piece of hair behind her ear and replied, "Olivia Matthews."

"Nice to meet you, Olivia." Naz nodded slightly. She looked at him, waiting for an introduction of his own. He stared at her and said, "You seriously don't know who I am?"

"Uh, no," she laughed.

"Nazem Kadri," he smiled. She still looked confused so he added, "You don't watch hockey?"

"Well, my boyfriend is a hockey player." she drank some of her Heineken. "But I don't really follow it."

"Oh, boyfriend?" he exaggerated the last word. "How come you agreed to letting me buy you a drink if you're taken?"

She chuckled, "You really think I meant it in that way? I thought you were just being friendly."

With a small smirk he replied, "You must be new."

"I've been dating him for like a week, it's not serious."

Nazem took that in the easiest way, without bothering to ask who he plays for. He assumed he was an OHLer, or something. Despite his morals, he wanted to get this bet over with. He still had his phone recording in his pocket.

"So.." he leaned closer to her ear. "You wouldn't mind someone else keeping you company tonight?"

"One-night stand?" she knew what he meant. It was the main reason she had come here, anyway. Her relationship didn't feel major and she needed an escape from her boyfriend. He was too sweet. It wasn't what she was into. She felt bad, but, it was in the moment and she didn't care.

"Well, when you say it so harshly..."

"Nah, I'm in." Olivia pulled her purse over her shoulder.

"Actually?" he stared her down.

"Yeah?" she gave him a weird look.

"Okay," he grinned.

Less than half an hour had passed. Nazem pulled her closer to his body and kissed her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and then her feet met behind his back as he lifted her up.

They walked down the hall in his big apartment, unaware of their surroundings as they struggled to open his bedroom door, while their lips were sealed in tight kisses.

They stumbled onto his bed and climbed under the covers. They quickly began removing each other's clothes and breathing heavily. Once she was left in only her bra and thong, he kissed her neck.

He moved his way down slowly, leaving a trail of kisses from her jaw to her stomach.

She moaned and groaned and ran her fingers through his hair as he ate her out. He then met his lips with hers again.

With a thrust, he pounded his body on hers, cursing loudly. He went faster, this time, and she could feel the sweat dripping down her forehead. It was getting more and more heated.

"Can your boyfriend give it to you like this?" he whispered, and pulled her legs over on top of his shoulders and slammed into her faster.

"N-" she breathed, smirking. "No."

She pushed him onto his back and went on top. She twirled around and he lifted himself up, placing his dick inside of her again. They kept kissing and taking deep quick breaths in between.

She screamed hard, signaling her orgasm and he slowed down before coming to a complete stop.

They both crashed on their backs on his bed. He shifted and disposed the condom. He sighed, feeling tired. At the moment, Nazem was too exhausted to remember the plan. It was almost 3am. The rule was to have her leave by the morning, but he didn't have time to concentrate on that at this point.

Sunday, March 17, 2013.

Nazem rubbed his eyes gently and squinted at the light that beamed through the blinds. He had the biggest headache of his life. He turned to the bottle of water on his nightstand, not knowing where it came from, and drank it down with an Advil.

He stretched his arms out and looked over to his left. He blinked twice at the sight of an empty space beside him.

He sat up and looked around his room. He was sure he had someone over last night. "Olivia..?" Her clothes were no where to be found.

Nazem walked out into his living room and then into his kitchen. He searched the guest room and even the storage room. Damn, did she leave? He asked himself.

After 5 minutes of looking at the same places again, he saw that her shoes were not by the door, either.

He sighed and shook his head lightly. He felt weird since he hadn't even told her to leave. He was used to having puck bunnies lay beside him, and having to come up with excuses. But he figured it was better that she left, since it made the plan easier. This time he didn't have to fake a fire alarm. Deep down he still wished he at least got her number, it was the best sex he'd had in months. But he had to remember he could not see her again.

Just as the thoughts trailed off, his cell phone rang. He picked it up once he saw that Tyler was calling. "Hey," he rubbed his forehead.

"Hey, playboy." Bozie laughed. "My place? The boys are here too."

"Yeah, I'll see you soon." Naz agreed. He knew they were going to ask questions.

Nazem drove to his and Phil's apartment, which was only a short 10 minutes away. He parked inside the indoor parking lot and saw that Jake Gardiner's car was there, along with Dion Phaneuf, Joffrey Lupul, Cody Franson, James van Riemsdyk, Phil Kessel's.

He sighed and knocked on his door on one of the top floors.

"Hey!" Tyler greeted him. "Come in."

Naz stepped inside and grinned at his teammates who were playing NHL 13. "Good morning fellas."

"What are you smiling about?" Dion chewed on his bottom lip but kept his eyes on the TV. Phil was getting dominated, as usual, on Xbox. They were sitting down on the rug in front of the TV like kids. The blinds on the windows were pulled down--everyone was hungover.

"I did it." Nazem sat down beside JvR and Joffrey on the couch.

"The dare?" Phil looked up.

"The dare." Nazem confirmed.

"The dream!" Dion held up his iced tea, and went back to looking at the TV.

"Did you do all of it?" Tyler asked and threw a potato chip in his mouth.

"Yup," Nazem smirked.

"I'm impressed." Tyler nodded. "You're growing up."

"Glad I don't owe you money, that's all." Naz took a chip out of the bag.

"I hate you guys for doing this when I wasn't there." Jake Gardiner frowned. "Everything interesting happens when I'm not at the bar."

"Shoulda came." Dion said to Gards. Dion lifted his controller up and then scored with his player on Phil's team. "Suck it, Kessel!" he looked at Phil and fist pumped.

"Ah fuck off," Phil pushed him.

"How'd you get her to leave, anyway?" James took a sip of his iced tea.

"She left on her own, actually," Naz scratched his head.

"The fuck?" Joffrey furrowed his eyebrows and chuckled. "Is that against the rules?"

"Hmm," Bozie replied. "Never thought that would happen. I'll accept it."

"Whatever," Nazem shrugged. "Just made it easier for me."

"True." Cody nodded.

They sat and watched as Dion kicked Phil's ass in the game. Jake stood up and went to the fridge to take out some more cans of Iced Tea for everyone.

"By the way," Jake cracked open his can. "I kinda want you guys to meet my girlfriend."

"Woah there," Tyler joked. "When did Baby Gards get a girl?"

He laughed back and said, "Only like a week ago. I don't want you guys to act dumb, though."

"When have we ever acted dumb?" Dion looked up from the screen. Just as he moved his elbow, he spilled Phil's drink all over the rug.

"Smooth." Joffrey grinned.

"Shit." Dion glanced at his friends, Phil and Tyler. "Sorry."

"All good." Tyler shrugged and grinned. "You're cleaning it though dipshit."

"Yeah, you've never acted dumb before.." Jake said sarcastically.

"Jake shouldn't you be registering for high school or something?" James threw some chips into his mouth, high-fiving Cody Franson, cracking a laugh out of everyone.

"Nice, guys," Jake shook his head at JvR and Franny.

They all laughed for a moment before Nazem asked one of his closest friends, "What's her name, anyway?"

Gards put another potato chip in his mouth and said, "Olivia."