“Chanel, just consider it.”

Rose’s eyes pleaded with me as she tapped her glossy manicure against the granite counter in her apartment. “It’s just a weekend trip. Everything is already paid for. It’s not like you’re doing anything.”

Au contraire, mon cher.

I was doing something. I was taking care of my mother, who was also Rose’s mother. I was also trying to figure out a way to smuggle into a bar tending gig that hired on the spot.

We needed money. Lots of money.

Mom’s battle with cancer had been painful, and while she’d won, our bills had piled up over time. After two years of savings dried up, there was almost nothing left to live on.

Three days in Jamaica with my sister would have been exquisite, were it not a vacation at a couples resort.

Yes, that’s right. My sister was headed to a couples resort with her boyfriend, and his best friend, who is suddenly in need of a girlfriend for the weekend.

“I don’t know. I can’t just leave her here alone while I play in Jamaica for three days,” I said. “And who is this guy again?”

My sister’s eyes rolled, indicating her frustration.

“Hunter is harmless. He’s Axel’s best friend. I’ve been around him plenty of times.”

I was familiar with Axel. He was Rose’s boyfriend. I’ve met him a few times, and he’s nice. Now Hunter? I’ve never heard of Hunter before today. All I know is my sister wanted me to go on this trip to Jamaica and pretend to be his girlfriend. What kind of man needs to hire a girlfriend?

“What’s wrong with him? Why did he sign up for a couples trip if he’s single?”

“He wasn’t single when we booked this trip, Chanel. Duh.”

I looked at her in disbelief. “Uh huh. What happened?”

“His girlfriend went back to her ex.” She shrugged. Her grey eyes continued to stare into mine.

“Why can’t he just get a refund, or go alone?”

She blew air threw her pouty lips. She always felt I asked too many questions.

“We booked a trip to a couples resort. As a rule, you have to be coupled up in order to be admitted. We paid for this three months ago. Resort policy states the trip is nonrefundable, and nontransferable. We already paid a lot of money for this.”

“I don’t feel like being somebody’s fake girlfriend for a weekend.” That sounded… awkward. It felt even more than awkward.

“He just needs a travel companion to get into the resort. You can actually go your separate ways once you get there.”

Rose continued to list out the reasons I needed to go. I wouldn’t have to pay for anything. I would get out of the country for a little while. There’d be plenty of delicious food available 24/7.

Admittedly, the more she spoke, the more convincing she became. I could use the time away; who wouldn’t love a free vacation?

But, there was Mom. And the idea of being hugged up on an older guy I barely knew didn’t sit well with me, even if Rose could vouch for him. It just felt… weird.

Rose was 29. Her boyfriend Axel was in his mid-thirties. Which meant that any of his friends were also in or close to their-mid thirties. Maybe even older. At 21 years old, there was definitely a generation gap. How could you even pretend to have something in common with someone so much older?

“What do you say?” She stirred her cherry vodka sour as we sat around the island in her kitchen. The place was gorgeous, and she didn’t pay rent. Axel owned it. He let her move in when her previous lease ended.

I grumbled in contemplation. I hadn’t enjoyed my Spring Break in over two years. My free time had been completely devoted to Mom. While part of me desired to have a carefree college experience for once, another part of me was loyal to my mother’s needs. Not to mention, our survival.

Rose smacked her hand on the table. “Hello? Earth to Chanel?”

“I planned to work next week…”

Rose’s narrowed her eyes in suspicion. “But you’re not allowed to work.”

“Yes, I can. We need the money.” I lied, but only partially. Mom didn’t know I planned to work. She never would. She didn’t need to.

“Where are you working? How much are they paying you? This trip is worth $5,000. You can’t be getting paid that much to give this up.”

Shoot. I hadn’t nailed a job yet either. I fidgeted, giving her a goofy look while I tried to piece together a tale strong enough to withstand her interrogation. She laughed, narrowed her eyes, and shook her head.

“See? You can’t even answer these questions. You’re lying.” She slammed her pretty hand down on the counter. “Pack your bags. You’re coming with us.”

“No, I’m not!” My heart beat wildly. My sister was eight years older than me, but she couldn’t control my life. She didn’t have it like that. I couldn’t leave my mother alone.

It was easy for Rose to do as she pleased. She was a sugar baby, used to dating hot, wealthy guys who gave her anything she wanted. She was never without money and she was as carefree as they came.

Axel is a former athlete turned bodybuilder. He was well-known in the fitness industry. He sold fitness apparel, meal plans, and fitness videos. He looked nice, and made a nice amount of money.

Besides the fact that he spoiled my sister to death, Axel provided Rose a lofty allowance. It was more than double Rose’s salary, which was more than enough to convince her to quit her job and become his personal assistant. She hadn’t worked since 2012, and never planned to work again. Lucky girl.

Rose called mom on FaceTime and shared the good news. My heart pounded in fear as I listened.

“Hey Mom? Axel and I have an extra ticket for our trip to Jamaica this weekend. I know it’s last minute… but is it okay if I bring Chanel with us?”

“Why not? Jamaica is lovely,” my mother replied. “I’m sure she’ll enjoy it. Won’t you, Chanel?”

The happiness in my mother’s voice, coupled with Rose’s triumphant smile told me all I needed to know. I would go to Jamaica this weekend, whether I wanted to or not.

“Yes,” I grumbled. I gave Rose the death glare. I wanted to choke the hell out of her. She’d thwarted my plans, stomping them out to get her way once again.

Mom expressed genuine pleasure for the knowledge. “Chanel, this is wonderful. I’ve always wanted you to enjoy your Spring Break. Now you get a chance too.”

She smiled warmly at me, her cheekbones sharp through her tissue thin skin. She was wrapped in a pink robe. Her hair was also wrapped up in a scarf, giving her a Bohemian look. She looked so thin, so helpless. She needed me to do anything but go on vacation.

I smiled weakly, but my heart broke. She felt bad for being sick. She blamed her illness for preventing me from getting the pleasure of the “full college experience,” as she liked to call it.

It hurt me to see her take the blame. Nobody ever wakes up and says, “I’ll have a healthy dose of breast cancer today.”

Rose ended the call with Mom. “There, it’s settled. Mom says you can go. She wants you to go. You’re going.” She placed her phone down, declaring herself victor with finality.

Grrr…

She didn’t get it.

“Rose, that’s not the point. We need money.”

“Mom didn’t say she needs money.”

“Of course not. She’s full of pride. You give her money all the time. It makes her feel helpless.”

Rose’s eyes rolled once more. “It does not. She’s happy for my help. The bills are getting paid.”

I was astonished. She really didn’t get it.

I gulped, and tears welled in my eyes. I revealed the truth we’d been keeping from my older sister. “Not really… You give her money, but most of the money goes to her medical expenses.”

“What?” Her expression changed. Concern spread over her pretty features as she realized she didn’t know everything. “Chanel, speak up. Now.”

Tears flowed. I sobbed and revealed the secret life of my mother and I. We were getting food stamps, the lights were about to get shut off, and the mortgage was a struggle.

Insurance didn’t cover all of her medical expenses, and to keep up treatments, her medical bills and premiums demanded priority.

Our finances were so tight, it was scary. We were living by the skin of our teeth. I feared we’d become homeless in just a few months.

Worst of all, I hadn’t made things any better. I’d lost my scholarship. I was too stressed to keep my GPA up. I paid for this semester with money from my savings account. Mom had no idea that I was taking on odd jobs here and there to refill my savings account, and sneak to pay bills here and there.

Going to Jamaica seemed beautiful, but all I could think about was the fact that I didn’t know how to pay our electric bill within the next two weeks to prevent them from actually disconnecting the lights, as they’ve threatened to do for the past four months.

“I can’t go on this trip,” I cried. “I can’t afford to leave the country and relax. I can’t. What if something happens to Mom? I’m scared to leave her alone.”

Rose came around the other side of the kitchen island. She embraced me, wrapping my shorter frame in her arms as she consoled me. I eased a bit, assuming this would be enough for her to leave well enough alone, and let me stay home, with our mother. Scrolling Instagram and seeing pictures of her on the beach would be more than enough.

Too bad Rose didn’t give a damn about my plans. She only reconfigured her own, and adjusted them to address my needs.

“It’s okay, sis.” She said. “We’ll figure it out. I promise we will. But why didn’t you speak up? Why didn’t you tell me these things were going on? You need this vacation now more than ever. You don’t even realize you’re burned out.”

Arghhhhhhhh!

Rose told me about the resort, its endless pools, and bottomless drinks and buffets. It was filled with couples activities, but there was more than enough opportunity for me to sneak away and clear my mind.

“There’s yoga, meditation, and plenty of places to sit and rest. The fresh air of the tropics will do you wonders.”

She placed her hands on my shoulders and pushed away slightly to look at me. “And trust me. You have nothing to worry about. Hunter’s really cool.”

“He’s really hot too.” She winked.

I twisted my head and looked at her. My eyes were flat with annoyance, sending the message, I don’t care. I didn’t care how cool this guy is. He could have been the hottest guy on planet Earth, and he still wouldn’t be enough to distract me.

Rose sighed. “Look, he’s hot and loaded. He usually has a bunch of girls on his jock who would love to go. But he doesn’t want to bring any of the women he talks to. Taking them on a vacation like this would make them think there’s more to this than it really is. He’s even talked about hiring someone to come with him. He really just wants to get away and have a good time.”

Hiring someone? Getting paid to come to Jamaica? That sounded intriguing. Curiosity got the best of me.

“What does he look like?” I asked. “And how much is he paying?”

She unlocked her phone, opened her Instagram account, and clicked on his profile.

Holy shit.

…Remember that part about not caring if he were the most handsome man on Earth? Well, forgive me. I didn’t know he actually was the hottest man on Earth.

“Oh.” My breath hitched. I couldn’t even speak because he sucked the wind out of me.

“I told you.” Rose beamed. She was bold and presumptuous for a reason. She was almost always right.

Hunter looked tall, like 6’3.” Like Axel, he appeared to be in his mid-thirties. While muscular, he was a little slimmer than Axel, who loved to workout. He had dark hair and deep set brown eyes. His facial hair was perfect on his distinguished face, and that smile of his was nothing short of heart-stopping.

My brain was captivated at the idea of pretending to be this hot guy’s girlfriend for a weekend, and even more beguiled by the idea of getting paid for it.

“Are we sharing a room?” I asked. “And how much is he paying?”

“You’re really going to charge him?” Rose asked in disbelief. She wasn’t counting on this level of resistance. Oh well. He was gorgeous, but I needed my coin.

“Rose, if he’s willing to pay, I need what I can get. The lights are getting shut off in two weeks if we don’t pay the bill!”

“I’ll have to ask him. Like I said, he’s loaded. Money’s not an issue. I’ll see what I can do. If it’s a nice enough price, are you willing to give yourself a break? We can work out the bills when we return. And by we, I mean you and I. We’re sisters, and that’s my mom too. Seriously, no more secrets.”

Guilt dropped like an anvil back in my stomach. My fear was Mom. Would she be able to survive while I spent a weekend in paradise? I started to hesitate.

“If it’s nice enough…?”

“At least $5,000. I know that’s not an issue. And it’s more - way more - than any job you’d have over the next week. Think about it, Chanel. You’d be getting paid to exist.”

$5,000 and a luxury trip to Jamaica with my sister, her boyfriend, and a smokin’ hot man they could both vouch for?

It was only 72 hours. What could go wrong?