The morning of the trip came faster than I could have anticipated. It felt like one second I was grinding seductively on stage and the next I was being felt up by a TSA agent with a permanent scowl. I was meeting Chad and the rest of the crew at the resort, so I had to entertain myself for the whole day. It seemed appropriate to do so by checking out a few more of Chad's videos. The fact that I also just loved looking at his face was a sneaky side benefit that I would go to my grave before admitting.

I couldn't help myself. His high cheekbones, long, angular jaw, and bright blue eyes would be enough to send any girl into a frenzy. In many of his videos he was shirtless, to add insult to injury. His broad shoulders were roped with thick muscle, though I suspected he would’ve been a lanky teen. He was so long, so lean. And dear god, was he cut. If his six pack was as mouthwatering in real life as it was in his videos, I was at serious risk of passing out the moment he took off his shirt.

I only meant to watch a few videos to get myself in the Chad Harlan mindset and prepare for the next three weeks, but by the time I got on the plane, I was completely hooked. I understood why he was such a sensation and why his fans were so devoted. Each video made me hungry for the next, and I steadily worked my way up from his early days to his most recent clips. That was when things started to get weird.

His earlier videos were mostly just him and a few friends here and there, but the more recent they got, the more I noticed that one girl kept popping up, until finally many of the videos featured her. She was insanely pretty, with blonde hair that cascaded halfway down her back, the cutest button nose I'd ever seen, and a body that practically screamed to be painted. She was obviously his girlfriend, and they shared some pretty cute moments together in the clips that were super popular with his followers. After watching a few videos, I finally caught her name: Lori.

Something nipped at the bottom of my stomach, and it took me awhile to realize that, that feeling was jealousy. Just a little bit. I wasn't even his real girlfriend, so why should I be jealous at all? It was more curiosity than jealousy that compelled me to search out her last appearance, and I was a little alarmed to find their last video together was posted only two weeks ago. Their breakup must've been recent. What did that mean for me? Where did I fit in to all this?

Looking at the comments, I supposed it would make sense that he'd want another girlfriend to fill in the gap. The videos with him and Lori together were shared more often, and loads of girls in the comments talked about how dreamy he was and how lucky she was to be with him. I could see Chad liking that kind of attention.

I don't know why discovering this recently ended relationship put such a dark cloud over my day. They weren't together anymore. The fact that he felt compelled to find some random girl on the Vegas strip to be his new onscreen girlfriend was a little strange, but that was Chad's style. He lived in the moment, and it was obviously working for him.

I was distracted for the rest of the flight, mulling over this latest piece of news in what was turning out to be a more complicated trip than I had anticipated. I hated every kernel of jealousy that popped up and wished I could make it stop. I held onto the armrests of my seat until the plastic bit into my palms, using that as a reminder of where I was and why.

I was on an airplane. That airplane was heading toward Oahu, where I was about to spend three weeks in a luxury resort. All I had to do to earn my keep for those three weeks was pretend to be the girlfriend of an ultra-successful, ultra-beautiful YouTube star who was going to take me on all sorts of crazy adventures and hopefully give me the time of my life. Why the hell was I getting hung up on who his last girlfriend was?

I wasn't here for that. I wasn't here for him. Not like that, anyway. I was here to get my tan on in a tropical climate far away from the sweat-soaked streets of Las Vegas. At the end of the day, I was probably the one getting the most out of this arrangement. And to make sure it stayed that way, I had to stay completely professional. We made a business deal with terms and everything. Sticking within those parameters would be a breeze, but only if I didn't let myself get hung up on Chad. Unfortunately, this little unpleasant attack of jealousy seemed like a precursor of things to come, so I had to nip it in the bud while I could.

Easier said than done. There was something about Chad, something that drew me in more than even just his electric personality and that award-winning smile. Maybe I was merely imprinting my own perceptions of the world onto him, but I felt deep in my bones that there was more to him than met the eye. There was something to discover underneath his ego and part of me was trying to figure it out, even while the rest of me was putting up walls. He was the first guy in a long time, maybe ever, that I'd felt such a connection to without either of us having to say a word.

The landing announcement shook me out of my head, and I was determined to stay out. I politely raised my tray table, pulled my seat to an upright position, and took a deep breath as we began to descend.

My anticipation of seeing Chad again grew more and more with each passing second as I went through the motions in the airport. I told myself it was because I had nothing better to think about, since waiting for luggage on the world's slowest carousal isn't exactly a nail-biting adventure. Chad told me they would send someone to pick me up and bring me to the hotel, and I couldn't wait to have somebody else to talk to. If I had to spend another second alone with my thoughts, I was going to go insane. Then again, maybe that wouldn't be a bad thing. Chad wanted someone to go on his adventures with, after all. If I completely lost my marbles, I might exceed expectations in that respect.

I stepped into the arrivals hall, eyes flitting from sign to sign to find the one that said my name. When I couldn't find it among the row of suited drivers, my heart picked up in my chest. What if they'd forgotten about me? What if I couldn't get a hold of Chad and I had to spend the next three weeks in this airport? Now that would be an adventure.

A waving hand caught my attention, and I looked over to see Chad's beaming face just behind the barrier. Once he knew I'd seen him, he started walking down to meet me. I numbly put one foot in front of the other, blindsided by this latest development.

"Hey," I greeted once I stood before him.

"Hey, bea—" Chad stopped, his smile dissolving into a comically stoic expression. "Hello, comrade."

I rolled my eyes, which earned me a chuckle.

"How was the flight?" Chad hoisted my backpack onto his shoulder and grabbed the handle of my suitcase.

Once the shock passed, I reached for my bags back. "I can take those. It's the twenty-first century, after all."

"That may be so," he replied, yanking them just out of my reach, "but I am a very amenable boyfriend. It's why your parents love me so much."

"Love you? They only think you're so-so," I shot back. "They still don't understand why I couldn't have found a nice lawyer or doctor."

Chad snorted through his nose as we started walking toward the exit. "Doctor or lawyer? Boring. You can do way better."

"Then why am I here with you?" I asked primly.

Chad laughed, a deep belly laugh that was so infectious I couldn't resist joining in. The doors slid open and heat blasted my face. I was used to heat, but I wasn't used to this level of humidity. I was suddenly glad I had my hands free, so I could push back the hair from my forehead and start rapidly fanning my face.

We navigated through the rows of taxis and buses to a sprawling parking lot, where Chad led me between row after row of cars, finally stopping just in front of a black open-topped Jeep. He gave it a hearty smack on the side.

"Here's your ride, m'lady." He loaded in my bags as I leaned against the hot metal, desperate for a drink of water. I suddenly regretted not gulping down as much of it as possible on the plane.

Chad unlocked the doors and started to walk to the driver's side. "Hop in," he called.

I was pleasantly surprised to find a dewy bottle of water waiting in the cup holder beside my seat. "Is that for me?" I asked.

Chad nodded, donning a pair of wayfarer sunglasses and coaxing the engine to life. "I always get thirsty after flying. Figured you might too."

I snatched up the bottle without pause and started chugging down the cool, refreshing water. Only after I'd downed half the bottle did it occur to me how unexpectedly thoughtful this little gesture was. Chad clearly thought nothing of it. He was drumming his hands on the steering wheel as he navigated the parking lot, sunlight and wind threading through his hair.

"Thanks for picking me up," I said. "And for the water."

I didn't know what to say but felt like I should say something. Otherwise I was going to spend the entire car ride just staring at him.

Chad geared up the Jeep as we pulled onto the main road, flashing me a smile. "No problem, comrade. I love driving around the island. You ever been to Oahu?"

"No. I’ve never been to Hawaii at all."

"You're gonna love it."

It took not even three minutes of driving before I realized that Chad was right. Oahu was paradise. We drove away from the city and I watched as the island flashed by us, miles and miles of leafy foliage crawling up hills that seemed to stretch like a cat into the azure sky. The air was fragrant with scents I'd never smelled before, heavy floral notes and the tingling of salt blowing in from the sea. The warm air rushing past me felt like a tender caress, and I leaned back in the seat and let the classic rock blaring through the car's stereo take me away. With every turn of the road it became more and more evident I’d made the right decision. We hadn’t even reached the hotel yet, and I was already in paradise.