“RedMan suit?” Hilly repeated with a question in her voice.

“Yeah,” he chuckled. “If you’ve ever watched any kind of self-defense training videos, you would have seen one, or a version of one. They’re full body suits that protect the vital areas of the head, chest and…other soft bits, so while trainees are taking their shots at an instructor, they’ll be protected.”

“Oh. I have seen that before,” she responded, losing some of her reticence again now that he’d changed the subject of her being a local.

Regarding that, Cisco was certainly going to be looking into Hilly’s background first chance he got. It was odd how she was acting, and he needed to find if there was a specific reason for it.

“But regardless of the protection it would give you, I still wouldn’t think you’d be up for being beat on, at least for a few weeks. How bad is it?” she finally asked in a soft, concerned voice that Cisco let wash over him.

“It bled a lot, as you probably saw on TV.” He’d caught sight of himself on the news, and had winced at how red his white shirt had looked. “But it’s just a graze, really. A nine-inch long, eighth-inch deep graze,” he clarified, “But it didn’t need stitches. They glued me closed and gooped me up with antibiotic gel before wrapping my chest like a mummy.”

“Do you…have anybody taking care of you?”

Cisco perked up. Was Hilly offering?

“A teammate just left, and my parents have insisted on coming by tomorrow morning before church, but I’ll probably tough it out alone for the rest of the day.”

Cisco laid out the hint and crossed his fingers.

“Would you…? Would you like me to bring you lunch? Everything here at camp is pretty much ready to go, and the counselors are planning some getting-to-know each other exercises to which I’m not invited.”

Yes!

Cisco tried to hide the magnitude of his enthusiasm.

“Lunch would be nice,” he understated. “If you’re sure it won’t interrupt your day.”

“No. I have to go into town for a few things anyway, so stopping by your place won’t be a hardship. Oh snap,” she emoted, clearly thinking of something. “You do live near town, don’t you?”

Cisco suppressed a chuckle. “Yeah. I’m only two miles east.” He gave her his address.

“Great. Is there anything special you like to eat?” she continued.

Welker would have immediately said, “you”, but Cisco had manners. And he didn’t want to scare Hilly away. But if lunch were on the table, maybe there was a chance he’d be able to get to know the conflicted woman better. And if that happened, it might not be too long before his lips could get a taste of hers.

His cock hardened.

“Surprise me,” he coughed, adjusting in the sweats he’d donned the minute he got home. “I’m really not fussy. I eat anything.” He eyed the empty fast-food bags littering his coffee table, and winced. He wished Welker had disposed of them before he’d left. Cisco didn’t feel like getting up, but he also knew he wouldn’t be able to stomach looking at the mess much longer. “As a matter of fact, Welker got me burgers and fries for a late dinner tonight, so if you want to do easy, there’s always that.”

She snorted, and it was damned cute. “I think I can do a little better than fast food,” she imparted. “I’ll make sure whatever I bring is good.”

Little did she know, just her presence would assure that was the case.

Hilly continued talking. “Do you need anything at Shiffman’s Drugs or at the market while I’m at it?”

Damn. He’d forgotten all about his prescription, and that was his pharmacy she’d mentioned.

“Actually, yes. The ER doc called in an antibiotic for me that should be ready for pick-up. If you could grab that, it would be greatly appreciated. There should be a small co-pay…”

“Not a problem. I’ll take care of it.”

“Thanks,” he said.

“Anything else?”

Cisco’s refrigerator was pretty well stocked; not that he knew whether he’d feel up to cooking any time soon. “Nope. I think I’ve got everything else I need.”

“Great. I’ll see you tomorrow then, around twelve-thirty. Will that work?”

“Sure thing. I look forward to it.”

Cisco wished it were sooner, but he wouldn’t complain.

Hilly, the subject of his fascination all day, was coming to see him.

He got up to dispose of the trash.

CHAPTER TEN

What had she done?

Upon waking, Hilly was instantly mortified.

She rolled over, moaned, and put her hands to her scalding cheeks. How was she supposed to face Cisco today if simply thinking about him had her face heating up like a teakettle? What in the world had possessed her to offer the man, lunch? She must be losing her mind…

Yeah. Over him.

Because the nearly twenty years since she’d last seen Cisco clearly hadn’t killed her childhood crush. Which was ridiculous, right? It wasn’t as if she hadn’t, over the years, found men who were more attractive than him⁠—

Okay. She hadn’t.

But she was no celibate, either.

She’d had a boyfriend. One in college, Brad, with whom things had been fairly serious. At least on his part.

Uh, huh. That breakup had been her doing.

Brad had looked at their relationship as a permanent thing; describing their destiny’s trajectory to her in detail. There’d be four years of dating, a two-year engagement, then a marriage followed by her spitting out three kids over the course of six years. He’d had it all planned, and…yuck. Besides the non-romantic, methodical way in which he’d laid out their future, he’d seriously been meh in the sack; down to business without foreplay, and strictly missionary position. The last time they’d engaged in the mediocre act, she’d been counting water spots on his ceiling.

Hilly knew, had known, there was better out there. Not that she had anyone else to compare Brad to because, yeah, he was her one and done in the sack. But a girl could hope for fireworks. Or hell, maybe even sparks. Had there ever been an incendiary moment on the sheets between her and Brad?

Easy answer. Nope.

Hilly understood what an orgasm was, but only because she’d taken things into her own hands. Literally. And no. Her clit wasn’t that hard to find.

After she’d tossed Brad’s ass, nicely of course, he—being Mr. Pragmatic—hadn’t mourned the loss of her for very long. He’d gone on to start another relationship, where his new girlfriend looked at him with stars in her eyes and did a lot of agreeable nodding, which—good for them—seemed to work for the bland couple.

Hilly’s trajectory post Brad?