“No. I don’t. But still—”
Cisco cut her off. “Then please don’t say no without giving it some thought. Just consider the possibility, okay?” He mentally crossed his fingers that she’d agree.
Her shoulders fell as she let out a sigh. “Okay. But before you get too vested in making me your latest conquest simply because I’m the nearest available female, I should let you know there’ll be two other eligible women at camp, a blonde and a brunette. One is a nurse, the other a psychologist, and they’re both very beautiful.”
Why did it look like it cost her a lot to say that? And why was she pushing him off onto other ladies when he was making his interest in her pretty clear? Did he come across as that much of a dog? It was a bit insulting that she’d think so little of him…and herself, as well.
Still, he refused to take offense. There was something big holding Hilly back from acting on what he’d offered, and he didn’t want to spook her. If she needed deniability for some reason, he’d let her get away with her deflection. For now.
“Just to let you know,” he told her succinctly, even though it wasn’t exactly the truth before he’d met her, “I’m partial to redheads, but I’ll keep an open mind where your colleagues are concerned.”
She should look happy at his easy acquiescence, but instead, her pretty mouth pinched, and the freckles on her nose stood out as she scrunched it up.
“Great,” she nodded, but it looked forced. “Now we should eat. I need to get back in time to do a last-minute run through of everything before my campers arrive tomorrow.”
Cisco figured that was an excuse. He’d only known Hilly for a few hours, total, but he already understood enough about her that she would have had everything ready to go for days. He’d let her off the hook. Sort of. He’d simply use the time he had to double up on his charm and see if she could eventually be worn down enough to give him a shot.
He couldn’t quite figure out why he was still interested in pursuing her when—despite saying she’d think about it—she looked like she wouldn’t be budging. Cisco had never been hurting for dates, and normally if someone rebuffed him, he took it good-naturedly and moved on. But Hilly… There was something compelling about her that checked all his boxes, and not only in a “get-her-naked” kind of way. There was an aura about her that felt comforting and familiar, like he’d met her in a previous life and liked what he remembered. Which was crazy. He was certain he’d never laid eyes on Hilly before he’d met her at camp.
But enough speculation. If he didn’t get them started on their food, she’d reiterate her previous excuse and decide to take off.
No way. He wasn’t having any of that.
“Let’s go out and eat.” He gestured to the back door leading to his deck. “What’s your soda of choice?” He turned back to the fridge and opened it up.
“Orange, please,” she said. “Unless you want that one. I got an assortment, but there’s only a single bottle of each flavor.”
“Nope. You bought cream soda, and that’s my favorite.” He snagged two bottles and walked back toward her, following behind as she went outside. Taking a chair opposite hers at his small, bistro table, he opened both sodas and placed the orange in front of her.
She thanked him, took the top off her salad, and poured on the packet of dressing that had come with it. She forked up her first bite, chewing thoughtfully. “So, you haven’t said how you’re actually feeling, and whether you think you’ll be up for coming out to camp in two days.”
Cisco grunted. His chest burned like a mother-fucker, and he’d downplayed that to her when she’d asked before. But if he wanted to make any inroads into furthering her trust with him, he needed to come clean. “I’ll admit, I’ve been better,” he huffed. “It’s not that terrible right now, but I foresee it itching and pulling like a bitch as it heals.”
“Which means we should put you off a few weeks,” she replied evenly, meeting his eyes with her compelling blue ones.
He didn’t want to wait that long to see her again.
“I have a better idea. How about I start my regularly scheduled hours on Tuesday, but instead of doing anything on the mats, myself, I set up situations between the kids while my body’s mending?”
“You think that’s safe? Letting them loose on each other while you’re not able to get physical?” Her upturned nose crinkled again, and Cisco found that he really liked the cute gesture. He was going to have to find other things to say that would have her making that move some more.
“Who says I can’t get a little physical?” He resisted the urge to wink at the would-be double entendre, but it took all his fortitude. “I’ll still be the one orchestrating. I just won’t be throwing my body around like I normally would.”
Was there a tell-tale blush on her cheeks again? Cisco couldn’t be sure. But the mention of getting physical seemed to have triggered some kind of response.
Awesome. Hilly was far from being as disinterested as she’d espoused.
“Well, if you think you can teach while you’re still under the weather…” She shrugged as Cisco took an appreciative bite of his sausage sub; making a yummy moan as the meat, onion, and pepper combination hit his tongue.
Her eyes widened and she seemed to choke a little on her salad, watching him in fascination.
Did he have drool on his face?
“What?” he asked. “It’s good.”
“Nothing.” She waved him off. “Nothing at all.”
But she seemed flustered, and he couldn’t for the life of him figure out why. Had she just surreptitiously licked her lips?
Maybe she was one of those people who craved a sub, but got a salad instead because of some fucked-up body image shit.
Not on his watch.
“You want a bite of my sausage?” he questioned.
Hilly went into a paroxysm of coughing, reaching for her soda and taking a long pull to clear whatever bit of lettuce had gone down the wrong way. “No,” she rasped. “My salad is just fine, thanks.”
Cisco didn’t understand what had just happened, but to give her a break, he let it go and opened up another—hopefully neutral—topic of conversation.
“So, where’s your dog today?”
Hilly’s shoulders relaxed.
“Remember I said that there’s a pretty brunette at camp?”
“Mmm, hmm,” Cisco agreed as he took another bite.
“Well, Buffy is my best friend. She was also my college roommate, but instead of studying marketing and business like me, she got her degree and eventually her license to practice psychology, so she’s our new camp therapist this season.”
