Playboy's Reward

<p><strong style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1)>It was supposed to be a favor between neighbors...</strong></p><p><br></p><p><span style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1)>When sexy-as-sin Harper Henderson launches profanities into the night sky from the balcony below mine I intervene. I volunteer to be her date to her ten-year high school reunion. I may be a professional hockey player with a playboy reputation but I'm also a good guy and I make an exceptional plus-one.</span></p><p><br></p><p><span style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1)>Being Harper's fake date is easy. Pretending </span><em style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1)>not</em><span style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1)> to fall for her when our innocent kisses turn passionate is a little more challenging.</span></p><p><br></p><p>But when Harper returns the fake date favor and accompanies me to my parents' anniversary party everything changes. She garners my dad's respect and eases the familial pressure I drown under. She makes me crave the things I used to laugh off.</p><p><br></p><p>Tangling up with Harper was supposed to be a fun way to pass the summer. So why does it feel like she's the real prize? The elusive fleeting kind of real I've avoided for years?</p><p><br></p><p><strong style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1)>And how can I prove that this playboy wants a different kind of reward? One that sounds a lot like commitment...</strong></p>