Chapter Three

All Tied Up

My wrists were tied together behind the back of the chair, and each of my ankles were tied to the bottom chair legs.

I could see the stranger reaching around my shoulders and slowly starting to tip the chair back on two legs. Then another man appeared and began to press something cold and sharp against my throat.

The cold steel made my entire body flinch which made the ropes get tighter around my hands and ankles.

And then, the guy behind me spoke.

"Just tell us where it is and this won't have to get messy"

As much as I hated saying it, his voice was like music to my ears.

"I...I...I don't know what you're talking about" I stuttered in between whimpers.

"Oh come on...pretty girl" the man with the knife said.

"I..I'm sorry but I really...don't know what you're talking about....honest" I pleaded.

The knife slowly began to puncture the skin under my chin.

"Honest" I whimpered. Tears began to flow down the sides of my face and the ropes began tighter than I ever imagined possible.

And that's when things got strange.

The chair started to shake, and the men were gone. If I weren't tied up, I'm pretty sure I would've been thrown from the chair.

"Nicole" my mother's voice.

The shaking continued.

"Nicole" her voice again.

I woke with a start. My covers were on the other side of the bed, my hair was a mess, and my clothes were drenched in sweat.

Mum was sitting beside me on my bed with her hand on my shoulder. Her faced was lined with worry.

"Bad dream darling?" she asked pulling me into a tight hug.

"Yeah mum. Just a nightmare. I'm gonna go take a shower"

"Honey it's one am"

"Yup! Don't care! I am sweaty and gross!" I answered while grabbing some new clothes and walking to my bathroom.

I walked into my bathroom, placed my dry clothes and slowly started to peel away my gross pajamas.

I turned on the shower and waited for it to heat up.

I stepped into the shower and let the steaming hot water envelope me as I drifted into La La Land.

I was snapped back into reality by my mum banging on my bathroom door.

"Nicole honey!! Are you alright in there? You've been in there for like two hours!!!"

"Sorry mum! I lost track of time I guess"

With that, I turned the shower off and grabbed my towel. I dried off and climbed into my warm new pajamas. Mum must've put them in the dryer while I was in the shower.

I put my sweaty clothes on the side of the bathtub to dry and I walked back into my room. It was three in the morning. I was in the shower for literally two hours. No wonder mum was so worried.

I was walking over to my nice warm bed when I was hit by a wave of fatigue. I fell asleep almost immediately after my head hit the pillow.

When I woke up the next morning, I felt like taking an easy day and going to the beach. So, I put on the bikini Lena made me get because I actually liked it, put on my swimsuit cover, grabbed a towel and headed down the stairs.

I poured myself a cup of coffee and sat down at the breakfast bar. Mum must've left for work already.

As I finished my coffee, I grabbed some sunscreen and my keys and headed for the door.

It was a gorgeous day out, and I was surprised to see that the beach was quite empty.

I layed my towel down on the sand and started to lather myself with sunscreen. I took off my swimsuit cover and soaked up the summer sun.

I was awoken from my little nap when someone asked,

"Mind if I sit down?"

I sat up on my elbows to find a tall, muscular, drop-dead gorgeous man staring down at me with stunning blue-gray eyes.

After I didn't respond, he spoke again.

"Oh I'm sorry darlin' did I wake you?"

His sweet southern accent made my heart flutter and my stomach do somersaults.

"Oh no. Sorry I was just resting my eyes" I said stupidly.

I felt my cheeks turn pink. He caught me staring at him. Great. This hottie now thinks I'm a total creep.

"Well, do you mind if I sit?" he asked again.

"Oh. Sorry. No I don't mind at all" I said mentally slapping myself.

"I'm Nicole by the way. Nicole Collins"

"Well it's a pleasure to meet you Nicole. I'm Christopher Garrett but you can call me Chris"

"Nice to meet you Chris" I chuckled.

"So what's a girl like you doin' here all by herself?" he asked playfully.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I questioned him.

"I meant...why is a beautiful girl like you here by herself?" he rubbed the back of his neck. Was he nervous? This man could make any girl he walked by drop dead, and he was nervous around me?

"Oh" I blushed. "I don't know. I guess I felt like having a nice relaxing day on the beach"

"I guess that's fair" he winked.

This guy. I just melted in his presence.

The next few minutes were spent with us lying on the beach in silence. Until he spoke.

"Hey darlin"

I love hearing him call me that.

"I was gonna go get some ice cream. Would you care to join me?"

"Yeah, that would be nice" I smiled. I have such a sweet tooth so of course I agreed to go with him.

I decided on getting cookie dough and Chris got mint chocolate. After a few moments of arguing over who was going to pay for the bill, I threw my hands up in mock defeat realizing I was not going to win.

Chris and I started to walk back to our spot on the beach when I noticed he had stopped. He was bent over reaching for a giant conch shell. He stood up and held it to his ear.

"Oh my gosh! I've lived on the beach for almost nine years and I have never found a whole conch!" I gasped.

He handed the conch over to me and wrapped my fingers around it.

"Then it's yours" he smiled his heart warming smile.

"No you found it" I said, my fingers still wrapped around its hard exterior.

"It's okay. I have tons at home seriously" he laughed.

I smiled at him and put the conch to my ear. You really can hear the ocean.

"Thanks" I muttered

"Anything for a pretty girl like you" he smiled.

My cheeks began to flush a bright pink colour.

"So what brings you to Beckton?" I asked breaking the silence. I hadn't seen him before and since Beckton wasn't an overly large town, I figured he wasn't from here.

"Actually, I'm in between tours" he said

"You're in the army?"

"Yeah. I leave to start my last tour in September"

"Oh" I muttered with disappointment evident in my voice.

Wait, I had just met this guy. And I was already upset he was leaving? What's wrong with me?

"Why did you decide to join?" I asked breaking the silence.

"Well my dad and my grandpa were in the army so I decided to follow in their footsteps. And how did you find yourself in Beckton?"

"Well my mum and I moved here about nine years ago after my dad left us and we fell in love with the place"

"Oh." he sighed. "I'm sorry about your dad"

"Why?" I asked "it wasn't your fault. He was just kind of being a jerk I guess"

"Well I'm sorry to hear that" His accent made me weak in the knees.

"Yeah. Me too" I sighed under my breath.

By the time we got back to our spot on the beach, we had finished our ice cream and I tossed the conch shell into my beach bag. It was only about one in the afternoon so Chris and I still had tons of time to hang out by the water.

I was taking a little bit of a nap on my towel when I was awoken by freezing cold sea water being dumped on me.

I sat up so fast I got a little lightheaded.

I opened my eyes to see a smiling Chris holding a huge blue bucket.

"Chris!!" I screamed as I sprung up from my position on my towel. I began to chase him down the shoreline.

I was running after him when he stopped about ten feet in front of me. I was thrilled that I was going to catch him, but as I approached him, he bent down a little and threw me over one of his shoulders.

I screamed and kicked in his grasp but he simply wasn't going to put me down. So, I just propped my elbow up on his toned shoulder and placed my head on my hand.

A few minutes later, Chris started walking back to our spot with me still hanging over his shoulder. When we got to our spot he decided to spin around really fast just to freak me out. It worked and I shrieked.

"How have you been carrying me with only one arm this whole time?"

"Darlin' you barely weigh a thing"

"Yeah right"

"Oh yeah? If you were so 'heavy' how could I do this?"

He flipped me off his shoulder with ease and held me upside down by my ankles.

"Chris put me down!!" I laughed.

"See? You ain't heavy at all!"

"Uhh fine!! I'm not all that heavy" I agreed.

He gently placed me back on my feet and held me steady until the dizziness subsided. My arms were tingling in the spots where his hands had been and I craved his touch.

Chris grabbed all of the stuff I had brought and put it into my bag and threw it over his shoulder.

"You don't have to carry my stuff Chris"

"Yes I do. That's just how I was raised doll"

Since he didn't bring anything, he threw me over his free shoulder once again.

When we reached my car, I pleaded for him to put me down so I could get home.

"I'll let you go on one condition"

"And what would that be Mr. Garrett?"

"You let me accompany you to the fair tomorrow"

"Are you asking me on a date?" I chuckled playfully

"I believe I am darlin"

"Well in that case, I would love to. Now put me down before I go all rage monster on your ass" I laughed while kicking and punching his shoulder.

"Wow you've got a mouth on you" Chris laughed.

"Whatever Captain America" I spat. He laughed the most attractive laugh I have ever heard.

He gave me his number and I did the same and then we were off.

'Was I really going on a date with military hunk Christopher Garrett?' I smiled to myself.