How You Get The Girl - Lukas Dostal

three

Maddie woke up the next morning in Jamie Drysdale's bed. She didn't know it was him at first, who had his arms wrapped around her as he slept, but when she turned around, she couldn't be mistaken.

Her phone was dead, and she wasn't sure how she ended up here, all she knew is that she had the worst hangover ever and no clothes on.

As Maddie tried to piece together the events of the previous night, the sight of Jamie sleeping beside her kept confusing her. She carefully slipped out of bed, wincing at the throbbing headache that accompanied her every move. Searching for her clothes, she realized they were scattered across Jamie's apartment.

She didn't want to put on the little black dress again, it would just be making something bad even worse. So, she pushed open Jamie's closet door and took one of his Ducks t-shirts - It fit her like a comfy dress, so she didn't feel the need to wear anything underneath besides her underwear.

Maddie carefully crept to his side of the bed where a phone charger lay, and plugged in her phone, sitting on the floor while she waited for it to turn on. When her phone lit up, her phone was quickly flooded with texts from Trevor and Evie, and she told herself she would respond to them after calling herself an Uber.

Maddie found her shoes in the living room, and quickly threw them on before leaving Jamie's apartment, dress in hand, and fast. She dialed Evie's number while waiting for the elevator down.

Evie picks up almost immediately, sounding concerned. "Maddie? Where the hell are you, you were supposed to be here an hour ago."

"I know, I know," Maddie replies, stepping into her Uber, redirecting the driver straight to Newport Beach. "Is Carla pissed?"

Evie laugh, and Maddie swore she could hear Owen laughing too. "Pissed would be an understatement, let's just say you better be here within the next thirty minutes or you're getting fired."

Maddie let out an exasperated sigh, annoyance bubbling up within her as she listened to Evie, "I'm in fucking Anaheim!" she scowled, a little too loudly, so she turned to her driver and apologized before turning her attention to Evie again. "I'm in Anaheim. If I get there within 30, God is on my side... and traffic." She hissed.

On the other end of the line, Evie raised an eyebrow. "Why are you in Anaheim?"

Maddie winced at Evie's words, not wanting to admit that she had ended up sleeping with Jamie Drysdale, but the headache she was still sporting definitely didn't help. "I'll talk to you about it when I get there." She said quickly, not wanting Evie to ask more questions. Evie didn't have time to put together her thoughts, only getting a "Wait wha-" out before Maddie hung up.

***

It was hot. October usually wasn't this burning, and Californians usually deemed beach season over at this point, but with the lack of tourists and warm weather, the water had a sea within it, a sea of people that is. Traffic was on her side today, and Maddie's sneakers filled with sand as she tried to run to the lifeguard tower as fast as possible. She was still only sporting the Ducks t-shirt with nothing besides her bra and underwear underneath, but she didn't stand out from most beachgoers.

As Maddie reached the lifeguard tower, she spotted her boss, Carla pacing back and forth with a stern expression. Evie and Owen were sitting nearby, exchanging amused glances. Maddie approached them, trying to maintain composure despite her obvious walk of shame look she had going on.

Carla crossed her arms, a disapproving look on her face. "Maddie, you're late again. You know how important it is to be on time."

Maddie winced, feeling the weight of her boss' disappointment while she ran a hand through her hair. "I'm sorry, Carla, something came up. It won't happen again."

Carla sighed, relenting slightly. "Fine, just get yourself together and start your shift. We can talk about this later."

Maddie nodded, grateful that she didn't lose her job, but when she directed her attention to Evie and Owen, they were snickering.

"Damn, girl, was it that good?" Evie smirked, scanning Maddie up and down, "Who was it? Was it that hot guy we saw who was in that one movie?"

A part of Maddie was grateful that Evie didn't remember who she left with, and she wasn't about to let the secret out. "It's none of your business," She shrugged, putting her phone on a table as she rummaged through the closet of spare bathing suits.

Owen grinned, mimicking Evie. "Is that a Ducks t-shirt?"

Maddie shot a look at Owen, her patience wearing thin. "It's my brother's," She lied, continuing her search through the closet.

"Oh yeah, suuureee," Evie laughed, still looking directly at Maddie, "So it was a Duck? Which one? Oh my God, was it Dostal? I knew-"

Right then, almost as if it was planned, Maddie's phone buzzed on the table, and Evie was quick to grab it even if it was much to Maddie's dismay. Evie's eyes widened as she read the name of the person who just texted her best friend. "Jamie?" She yelled, shooting up from her seat, "As in, insanely hot defenceman and your brother's best friend Jamie?"

Maddie's cheeks burned with embarrassment as she tried to come up with a response. She knew she couldn't deny it now that Evie had seen the text. Taking a deep breath, she decided to rip off the band-aid

"Yeah, it was Jamie," Maddie admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. She avoided making eye contact with Evie and Owen, feeling their curious gazes burning into her.

Evie's eyes widened even further, a mischievous grin spreading across her face. "Oh my God, this is juicy! You hooked up with Jamie Drysdale! Your brother is going to freak out."

Maddie's stomach churned with anxiety at the thought of facing Trevor. She knew he would be furious if he found out about her and Jamie. But right now, she had to focus on getting through her shift with this awful hangover. The text, in question, read: "Why leave so soon, beautiful?" Maddie hadn't read it, and decided to live in blissful ignorance for the rest of her shift.

Carla cleared her throat, interrupting the conversation. "Enough gossip, Maddie. Get your gear on and start your patrol."

Maddie nodded, grateful for the distraction. She quickly grabbed a spare bathing suit and her lifeguard equipment and headed down to the beach, trying to push aside the lingering embarrassment and guilt.