When I Fall For My Kidnapper

Chapter 22

I wish that I had brought a jacket.

The gray waves crash onto the shore, the lake so dark and rough, it looked haunted and deadly. Even the sand was cold against my skin, the needle-like wind biting at my exposed body. I wished I had thrown something on over my swimsuit as I shiver into the cold, but I wasn't ready to go back to the cabin yet. My mind was too full of racing thoughts about my future, escapes, and even my mom, but nothing was a great enough distraction to keep me from thinking about Trevor.

I needed to figure out what I wanted, before I demanded Trevor to do the same. I wanted him, but that was too frightening of a thought to grasp. I was falling for my kidnapper? How had I let this happen? Did I like heartbreak? But as wrong as it felt, I didn't want it any other way. But I didn't want to dream of something that would never happen. So I came to a decision.

I would stop chasing Trevor.

He had to chase me.

And I have the perfect plan to make him do just that.

I was stuck in a cabin full of hot guys. There were a million ways to sabotage Trevor into realizing that I was exactly what he wanted. Acting like a total slut to make him jealous was the obvious way to go, while at the same time, I just had to make Trevor want me. I'd tease him like he had always tease me, but any time he wanted to tease me, I wouldn't allow it unitl he gave in and realized I'm the perfect girl for him.

Who cares if I was falling for my kidnapper? It was worth a shot.

"Ally!"

I turn at the sound of my name as it blows in the wind, seeing Channing jogging up along the beach behind me. I smile at him, grateful I wasn't out here alone surrounded by the scenery perfect for a horror film.

"Mind if I walk with you?" He asks, smiling.

"Of course you can," I grin back, attempting to control my wild hair as it whips around in the wind that blows up from the lake.

"Take this," Channing says, shrugging out of his jacket. I don't even protest - I was beyond freezing.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," I chant, as I let him drape his jacket over my bare shoulders. "I owe you more than words can say, bro."

"It's the least I can do, being a gentleman and all," he teases, and I just roll my eyes at him.

"There was actually something I've been wanting to tell you," he says, walking along side of me.

"Shoot," I encourage, breathing in the musky smell of his jacket. It was warm with his body heat, perfectly thawing my skin as we walk. It nearly reached my knees, but I wasn't about to complain.

"Well, um, I wanted to thank you for what you did the other day in the city," he begins, sounding slightly uncomfortable. "It really made me respect you when you stood up for me to Luke. Not that I needed the help from you, but no one has ever really spoken up for me. I just wanted to say thank you."

Awww...

"Really, Channing, it was no big deal," I smile at him, my insides fluttering.

"It was to me. I really appreciated it. You definitely weren't the kind of girl that I expected the one and only Ally Hades to be."

"I tend to be even better than peoples' wildest dreams," I admit, and he chuckles.

"You could say that," he grins, slipping his arm low around my waist in a comforting gesture. I lean into him in response, mainly to keep warm, but also because, well, he was hot.

"So, if you don't mind me asking, what's up with you and Trevor?" Channing asks, and I sigh.

Hell, I didn't even know.