I’m so annoyed with myself. I keep glancing at Justin for the rest of the flight, wondering when he’ll drag me into the first-class bathroom and fuck my brains out.

He doesn’t, of course. I keep sending him “fuck off” signals, although they don’t really seem to bother him too much. Mostly he just reads and drinks, and eventually falls asleep.

I get a nap in, but the flight’s miserable. I get up to stretch my legs countless times but it doesn’t seem to help. I hate being trapped on this stupid plane.

The layover in LAX isn’t much better. It’s an ugly, crowded airport, and Justin spends most of the time eating and having another beer.

I’m miserable. I hate traveling and I especially hate traveling with this cocky asshole. He thinks he can say whatever he wants to me, flirt with me mercilessly, tease me into anger, and still get away with it. He’s my boss, he should be handling himself better than this.

But he doesn’t seem to care, and so I’m left feeling frustrated, because mostly I want him to touch my body and calm me down.

It’s a mess of emotions, but at least the second flight isn’t too bad. We’re back in first class, sitting side by side again, but it doesn’t last as long. It feels like as soon as we get up into the air we’re already starting our descent into Honolulu.

“What do you think?” Justin leans over me and lifts the window shade. This flight, I let him have the aisle seat.

“It’s nice.” I look down at Hawaii, surrounded by water and getting closer.

“Nice?” He laughs softly. “It’s fucking beautiful.”

He’s not wrong. As we get closer, I can see what he means. It’s a little paradise in the middle of the ocean, developed but still wild.

“This doesn’t seem like the kind of place Blair would set up shop,” I say.

“There’s more to Blair than I think we realize.”

“I think you’re right about that.”

“Plus, even she can see how beautiful this place is.” I can feel his breath on my neck and I glance back at him.

“Okay, I get it. You love Hawaii.”

“I just want you to be excited.”

“I’m excited. Oh, so excited.”

“Come on.” He leans back into his chair, head still turned toward me. “You really think this is going to be that bad?”

I chew my lip and start twisting my hair before I realize that he knows what it means. I force myself to stop and take a breath.

“No,” I finally admit. “It might even be fun.”

He grins. “Perfect.”

“But this doesn’t change anything,” I say quickly. “As soon as we’re back home, things go back to normal.”

“Okay,” he answers. “If you can make that happen, I’ll play along.”

I narrow my eyes at him. “I’m serious.”

“I’m serious too.” He leans closer again, his face inches from mine. “If you still want to hate me after this trip, I won’t try and change your mind.”

“What makes you think anything’s going to change?”

“I know you, Remi,” he says softly. “It’s been a long time, but you haven’t changed at all.”

“Yes, I have.”

“No, you haven’t.” He reaches out, tipping my chin toward him. My heart starts racing as his lips come closer.

The seatbelt sound dings, and the captain’s voice comes on over the intercom, announcing our descent. Justin stops, so close to me, and I’m breathing so fast. His eyes lock into mine but he slowly moves away, stopping the kiss before it even starts.

As we land in paradise, I can practically feel his lips against mine, lingering where I really want them.