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Chapter Ten – Off the Clock
Last Updated:
2025-09-12 01:36:39
Latest chapter
Play Me Like You Mean It CHAPTER 68 – Keeping Score
Lately, I’d noticed Jesse had been dull, so I cornered him early in the kitchen before he left for school.After a few minutes of mumbling and sighing, he finally confessed that his crush had been asked out by another guy, and she’d told him she’d “think about it.”In Jesse’s mind, that already meant heartbreak.I teased him about already catching feelings this deep in high school. He rolled his eyes and shot back, “Like you’re exempted from heartbreak.”I laughed. “I didn’t have mine in high school, thank you very much.”We were still going back and forth when my phone started vibrating on the counter. I hadn’t even noticed until Jesse pointed it out.“Check your phone, Mira. Leave me to get ready for school,” he said, rolling his eyes again.“Go ahead and escape for now,” I said. “But just so you know, we’re not done.”He smirked and disappeared down the hall.I grabbed my phone and saw three missed calls from Drew, one from Lauren, and a string of notifications still multiplying wh
Play Me Like You Mean It CHAPTER 67 – Strings of Power
When I got home, I didn’t bother with the card. There was no way I was calling Mice Arnold for any favors. That much I’d decided.I didn’t want to get myself tangled in invisible debt waiting to be collected. The man radiated quiet power, the kind that smiled while rearranging your life. Still, I couldn’t shake the feeling he was watching somehow, waiting for the moment I’d fold… or worse, put me in situations that made me desperate for help.I told no one about the meeting. Not Zayne. Not Jesse. Not even Drew. I planned to forget it happened. But plans like that rarely survive reality.A few days later, I got an offer for a luxury-brand shoot. Big name, clean concept, the kind of campaign that could lift my career another step. I said yes immediately, already picturing the set lights and mood boards. With the way things were going, I was finally getting closer to the league of colleagues I once prayed to join.Then one night, while I was getting ready for bed, Lauren called.Her tone
Play Me Like You Mean It CHAPTER 66 – MICE ARNOLD
I already knew I was going. There was no other way around it. No matter how many times I told myself to ignore the invitation, curiosity kept whispering back. I wanted to know who Mice Arnold really was and what he wanted with me. That part was decided. What I couldn’t decide was whether to tell Zayne.If I told him, I knew he would insist on coming along. Something told me this invitation wasn’t meant to be shared. The few times we had spent together lately, he had been distant, polite but cautious, as though still trying to convince himself to forgive me. Each time he caught me distracted, he asked what was wrong. I blamed it on work. It was an excuse I could always pull out and trust to work.The date on the card crept closer. When it finally came, I stood in front of the mirror debating if I was about to walk into something stupid.What if it was a setup?What if nobody even knew where I was going?What if this was the kind of mistake people didn’t come back from?I changed out of
Play Me Like You Mean It Chapter 65 – The Note
Zayne barely spoke on the drive home. His phone lit his face in the dark as he scrolled and tapped, then scrolled again. I held the box on my lap, still processing how I ended up with it. The city slid by in fragments. Neither of us filled the quiet.When the driver pulled up to my building, Zayne said, “Goodnight,” his eyes still on the screen.“Goodnight.”I stepped out, and the car drifted back into traffic, its taillights fading into the night.Inside, Jesse was on the floor with a controller in his hand and headphones around his neck. He looked up and grinned. “Hey, celebrity.”“Hi,” I said, forcing a tired smile. “Don’t stay up too late.”He laughed. “I should be saying that to you.”I went straight to my room, showered, and changed into my sleepwear. I lay there, staring at the ceiling, shifting sides, counting seconds. Sleep refused to come. My eyes kept going to the necklace box on my dresser. I thought about the man who’d ended the auction with one number and wondered what k
Play Me Like You Mean It Chapter 64 – The Charity Event
The advice my mom gave me was right. I knew it. The problem is that knowing the truth and living by it are two very different things. It’s easy to hear advice that makes sense; the hard part is doing it.When I got home, I sat on the couch and forced myself to be honest. I still had feelings for Cade. If I wanted to be brutally honest, I was still in love with him. I hated that truth. But it didn’t mean I was going back. Loving someone doesn’t always mean you should choose them. Cade was everything that could ruin me. He lived under spotlights and thrived on attention, and I’d already learned the cost of being pulled into that world.If I went back, I could lose Zayne. And if Cade hurt me again after that, I wouldn’t forgive myself.Zayne was dependable in a way the world rarely is. With him, everything felt safe and real. Maybe it wasn’t love yet, but it could grow into something lasting.So I made a plan. No more running in circles. I’d stay away from Cade, guard what peace I still
Play Me Like You Mean It Chapter 63 – Quiet Complications
I warned Cade that I never wanted to see his face again. I was so angry I didn’t even know what I’d do if I stayed another second. He only smiled, certain I was bluffing.I left before I could throw something at him. I wasn’t stupid enough to drive to Zayne’s. He was angry and disappointed, and I couldn’t blame him. If I were him, I’d hate me too. So I went home instead, bracing for whatever silence would follow once he was done processing things.By the time I got inside, my phone was already vibrating with notifications. The M&Cey campaign had dropped. Every feed, every headline, every clip had us plastered across it– Cade and me, everywhere People called it electric, scandalous, impossible to look away from. They couldn’t decide which part to love more. The photos or the mess behind them. And of course, the internet did what it does best: blew everything out of proportion. A leaked behind-the-scenes clip showed Cade pulling me back into him after I’d tried to walk off. The commen
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