Chapter 28
Harper
I’m hiding in a bathroom stall at a bowling alley.
Which is definitely a new low.
I press my hands to my face, trying to slow my breathing.
What did I just do?
I kissed Micah.
In what was supposed to be part of the act. Part of the show. A celebratory kiss between a couple who just crushed the competition.
Except it didn’t feel like an act.
It felt real.
So real that my lips are still tingling. So real that my heart is still racing. So real that I panicked and literally ran away like a teenager.
Get it together, Harper.
I take a deep breath, then another.
It was just a kiss. A quick, spontaneous, heat-of-the-moment kiss. It means nothing.
Except, I think it did.
This whole thing was supposed to be about Collin.
About making him jealous. About winning him back.
But standing there with Micah’s arms around me, celebrating our win, I wasn’t thinking about Collin at all.
I was just thinking about Micah.
And how right it felt to be in his arms.
I hear the bathroom door open, and someone walks into the stall next to mine.
I need to get out of here.
I can’t hide in a bathroom forever.
I flush the toilet even though I didn’t use it, wash my hands, and stare at my reflection in the mirror.
My cheeks are flushed. My eyes are too bright. I look like someone who just kissed a guy she’s not supposed to have feelings for.
It’s fine. Everything is fine. Just go back out there and act normal.
I smooth down my hoodie, take one more deep breath, and push open the bathroom door.
And almost run directly into Collin.
“Oh!” I step back. “Sorry, I didn’t see you—”
“Harper.” He’s standing right outside the women’s restroom, hands in his pockets, and there’s something in his expression I can’t quite read. “Can we talk for a second?”
My stomach drops. “Um. I really should get back—”
“Just for a minute. Please.”
There’s something in his tone, it’s almost desperate—that makes me pause.
“Okay,” I say slowly. “What’s up?”
He glances around, then gently takes my elbow and guides me a few steps away from the bathroom entrance, toward a quieter corner near the arcade.
His hand lingers on my arm.
Not aggressively. Not inappropriately, in an obvious way.
But it feels wrong.
He has a girlfriend. I technically have a boyfriend.
And yet his thumb is brushing against the inside of my elbow in a way that feels far too familiar.
“I’ve been wanting to talk to you,” he breathes.
“About what?”
“About us.”
My heart stutters. “But what about…Jessica.”
“I know.” His hand is still on my arm, his touch soft, almost caressing. “But watching you tonight with Micah... it made me realize something.”
“What?”
“I miss you.”
The words should feel like victory.
This is what I wanted, right? For him to notice. To regret letting me go. To realize that he made a mistake.
But instead, I just feel...icky.
Because he’s touching me while his girlfriend is thirty feet away.
Because he’s saying he misses me while dating someone else.
Because nothing about this feels right.
“Collin—” I step back, and his hand falls away. “You can’t say that. You’re with Jessica.”
“I know, but—”
“And I’m with Micah.”
He looks at me, something conflicted in his expression. “Are you really?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I don’t know. There’s just something about the way you two are together. It feels... I don’t know. Almost…fake.”
My throat tightens. “We’re very happy.”
“Are you?”
“Yes.”
But the word comes out too defensive.
Collin studies me for a long moment, and I can see him processing, calculating.
“I just—” He runs a hand through his hair. “I made a mistake, Harper. With us. I shouldn’t have ended things the way I did.”
“You’re right. You shouldn’t have.”
“So maybe we could—”
“No,” the word is firm. Final. “Collin, I need to get back. Micah’s probably wondering where I am.”
I turn to leave, but Collin catches my wrist.
Not hard. Not painful.
But enough to stop me.
“Harper, wait—”
“Let go.”
He does, immediately, his eyes widening slightly. “I’m sorry. I just—”
“I really need to go.”
I don’t wait for a response.
I just walk away, my heart pounding, my skin crawling where he touched me.
I did it.
The plan worked.
Collin noticed. Collin’s jealous. Collin misses me.
Mission accomplished.
So why do I feel like I need a shower?
I turn the corner back toward the bowling lanes, and see Micah walking toward me, clearly heading for the bathrooms, and when he sees me, relief floods his face.
“Harper, there you are. I was just coming to check—”
And I don’t know why I do it.
Maybe it’s because I’m flustered from Collin. Maybe it’s because I’m still reeling from the kiss. Maybe it’s because I don’t want Micah to see how shaken I am.
But I plaster on the biggest, brightest smile I can manage.
“Hey! Sorry, there was a line. You know how it is.”
Micah stops, studying my face. “Are you okay?”
“Fine! Totally fine. Just needed a minute.”
“Harper—”
“We won!” I say, my voice too loud, too cheerful. “Can you believe it? We actually won. Team Meant to Be for the win.”
He’s still looking at me like he can see right through the performance.
And maybe he can.
Because his expression shifts—concern mixing with something else. Something that looks almost like hurt.
“Yeah,” he says quietly. “We won.”
There’s a beat of silence.
I should say something. Should acknowledge the kiss. Should explain why I ran.
But I don’t.
I just keep smiling that fake smile and say, “We should get back. I’m sure Anna and Tim are waiting.”
“Harper—”
“Come on, Dimples.”
I loop my arm through his and start walking back toward the lanes, ignoring the way his body has gone tense.
Ignoring the way he’s looking at me like I’m a puzzle he can’t solve.
Ignoring the fact that I had just lied to him.
Because that’s what I do, right?
Perform. Pretend. Put on a show.
Even when the person I’m performing for is the only one who’s ever made me want to stop.
When we get back to lane 7, Anna is packing up her shoes.
“There you are! We were wondering if you’d fallen in.”
I laugh. Too loud. “Nope! Just a long line.”
Anna glances between Micah and me, her expression skeptical, but she doesn’t push.
“Well, congrats again on the win. You two were unstoppable.”
“Thanks,” I say brightly. “It was so fun.”
Collin and Jessica are already at the counter returning their shoes. Jessica has her arm looped through his, chattering away about something, completely oblivious.
And Collin glances back at me.
Just once.
But it’s enough.
Enough to confirm that the plan worked.
Enough to confirm that he’s second-guessing everything.
Enough to make me feel absolutely hollow inside.
Micah’s hand finds the small of my back—gentle, grounding—and I have to resist the urge to lean into him.
“You ready to go?” he asks quietly.
“Yeah. Let’s go.”
The drive back to my apartment is quiet.
Way too quiet.
Micah’s hands are on the steering wheel, his jaw tight, and I can tell he wants to say something but doesn’t know how.
I stare out the window, watching the streetlights blur past, replaying the night in my head.
“Harper,” Micah says finally.
“Yeah?”
“About earlier. The kiss—”
“It was just the heat of the moment,” I blurt. “We won. We were celebrating. It meant nothing.”
I can see him tense out of the corner of my eye.
“Right,” he says, his voice carefully neutral. “Heat of the moment.”
“Exactly.”
Silence.
“Did something happen?” he asks. “In the bathroom? Or after?”
“No. Why?”
“You just seem... off.”
“I’m fine.”
“Harper—”
“Micah, I’m fine. Really. Just tired. It’s been a long night.”
He doesn’t push.
But I can feel the weight of his concern pressing against me.
When we pull up to my apartment, I’m unbuckling my seatbelt before he’s even put the truck in park.
“Thanks for tonight,” I say, forcing brightness into my voice. “We make a pretty good team.”
“Yeah. We do.”
I reach for the door handle, but his voice stops me.
“Harper.”
I look back.
His eyes are searching mine, and there’s something in his expression that makes my chest ache.
“If something’s wrong—if you need to talk—I’m here. Okay?”
And that’s the problem.
He’s here. He’s always here.
Patient and kind and steady and everything Collin never was.
And I’m using him.
Pretending with him. Lying to him. Kissing him and then running away because I’m too scared to admit that it felt real.
“I know,” I whisper. “Thank you.”
Then I get out of the truck and walk to my apartment without looking back.
Because if I look back, I might cry.
And I don’t even know why.
Inside my apartment, I lock the door and lean against it, closing my eyes.
What am I doing?
The plan worked. Collin misses me. He’s jealous. He’s second-guessing his relationship with Jessica.
I should be celebrating.
I push off the door and walk to my bedroom, sinking onto the edge of my bed.
The photo booth picture from the gala is still on my nightstand.
I pick it up, studying the last frame again.
The one where we’re looking at each other.
And I realize something that makes my stomach drop.
I’m not trying to win Collin back anymore.
I haven’t been for a while now.
I’ve just been too scared to admit it.
Because admitting it means acknowledging that what I feel for Micah isn’t fake.
And I don’t know what to do with that.
So I set down the pictures, grab my phone, and open the group chat with Ivy and Olivia.
Harper
I kissed Micah. Again.
Three dots appear almost immediately.
Ivy
Yay!
Olivia
Finally!
Harper
No. Not finally. It was a mistake.
Ivy
How was it a mistake?
Harper
Because we’re FAKE DATING.
Olivia
Was the kiss fake?
I stare at the question, my heart pounding.
Harper
I don’t know.
Ivy
Oh Harper…
Harper
It felt real. But it can’t be real.
Olivia
Why not?
Harper
Because Micah doesn’t like me like that.
Ivy
Harper that boy has been in love with you since the day he laid eyes on you.
I don’t have a response for that.
So I toss my phone aside and bury my face in my hands.