All Chapters of Playing Hard To Get: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Just Friends, Just FirelightHarper – Junior Year, Age 17The fire had burned down to glowing embers, but the party hadn’t slowed. If anything, it had shifted into something looser — more tired laughs, half-finished stories, and the kind of careless honesty that only showed up after 2 a.m.Harper sat curled up on a beat-up outdoor blanket near the firepit, a red Solo cup dangling from her fingers, the sleeves of Jaxon’s hoodie nearly swallowing her hands. Her cheeks were flushed — from the fire, the beer, or the night itself, she wasn’t entirely sure.She was on her second and a half beer. Maybe third. She’d lost track after the debate about the best movie villain devolved into someone attempting an impression of Darth Vader that sounded more like a sick goat.Jaxon was still sipping his water, stretched out beside her on his side like he had nothing to prove and nowhere else to be. He’d offered her a bottle of water at least four times now, and she’d finally taken one — mostly becaus

The Best Friend BreakdownMia showed up like she’d been preparing for this exact call her whole life.Harper hadn’t even sent anything beyond a simple “You home?” text, but thirty minutes later, her bedroom door flew open and there was Mia, balancing an iced caramel macchiato in one hand, a crinkly bag of salt & vinegar chips in the other, and a look on her face that said: Don’t you dare try to lie to me."I already know most of it," Mia declared, kicking Harper’s backpack out of the way and plopping onto the bed with the ease of someone who’d claimed it as her own years ago. “But you’re still gonna say it. Out loud. Slowly. With details."Harper groaned, face-first into her pillow. "Why do you always do this?"“Because you need me to,” Mia said, already pulling Harper’s hair into a messy bun like she couldn’t think properly without her best friend’s hair out of her face. “Now. Spill. Confirm my theories. You kissed him, didn’t you?"There was no use fighting it. Harper rolled onto he

Harper – Junior Year, Age 17Harper was two steps from her car when she heard the click-clack of boots behind her.That voice followed a second later — sharp, too sweet, and soaked in venom.“Hey, junior.”She stopped walking but didn’t turn. Not yet. Not until she took a steady breath and shoved her keys into her front pocket, just in case.Then she turned, slow and controlled.Kenzie stood there, hair perfect, lip gloss blinding, hands on her hips like she was about to host a press conference.“You got something to say?” Harper asked, voice flat.Kenzie didn’t blink. “I don’t think I like the view from my lunch table. You sitting there? Acting like you belong?”“I didn’t realize you were running seating charts.”Kenzie took a step forward, eyes narrowing. “Let’s be real — you don’t belong at that table, Harper. You’re a junior. You’re... what? Smart and weird? You don’t wear the right clothes. You’re not the type.”Harper’s jaw tightened.Kenzie leaned in a little. “You think Jaxon

HarperBy Wednesday, the entire school had a theory about them.Some said Jaxon had dumped Kenzie for Harper, others whispered that Harper was pregnant, and one bold girl in the bathroom even claimed she saw them making out in the teacher’s parking lot. Mia nearly choked on her Sprite at that one.But Harper?She kept her mouth shut, head down, hoodie up. She didn’t confirm or deny anything. She hadn’t even told Mia the whole truth yet. What was she supposed to say?Yeah, I kissed him. Again.Yeah, we had a summer fling where I gave him myself.No, I don’t know what we are.And no, I’m not diving headfirst into whatever this is.Because Harper Lane wasn’t stupid.She’d seen too many girls lose themselves in guys like Jaxon Brooks—hot, golden boy, football legend. He didn’t just have a girlfriend a few weeks ago. He had a reputation. And Harper had a future.She wasn’t about to derail it because her hormones decided to get poetic in the middle of the night.So when he showed up outside

Red Flags and BlushesMiaMia wasn’t the girl who got nervous over boys.She had opinions, comebacks, and a mental block the size of Texas against the idea of ever catching feelings for someone from the football team. Jocks were not her thing. They were Harper’s mess to deal with—not hers.Except Eli.Eli, with his easy grin and that “I know I look good but I’m not gonna brag about it” energy. Eli, who smelled like cedar and clean laundry and always carried himself like someone who got chosen first — in games, in life, in girls’ daydreams.And somehow, he’d invited her to sit with the jocks at lunch.And somehow, she hadn’t run for the hills.After lunch, he caught up with her by the vending machines.“You free after school?” he asked, like they talked every day and this wasn’t the first real one-on-one interaction they’d had.“I’ve got algebra,” Mia said too fast. “But after that… yeah, I’m free. Why?”He leaned his shoulder against the machine, smile tugging at one side of his mout