Of course, if she offered to help him…
She didn’t respond, but he hoped that by talking about his shower he’d given her a nice visual.
With the speed with which she turned away, he thought he might have succeeded.
“See you inside.” She waved over her shoulder and disappeared quickly.
Cisco held in his chuckle.
“Great job today, people,” Cisco praised his class. They’d all paid strict attention, except for the two female counselors who had spent most of his session whispering and giggling. He could do without that shit, but this was camp, not school, and if the pair wanted to slack off, who was he to bitch? They’d get out of their lessons exactly what they put in.
Ignoring the two, and after helping to divest his current, younger combatants of their protective gear, he then tagged a few of the larger kids to help bring the mats back to the equipment box where they were stored. It took a little longer with the little ones than with teenage Mr. Muscle from before, but eventually everything was tucked away, including the RedMan suits which he would also need for his early evening class.
Herding his students toward the dining hall, he wasn’t looking forward to drama class. He hadn’t been kidding when he’d told Hilly he wasn’t an acting kind of guy.
But for her?
He’d wing it.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Hilly was having a great time. After explaining to the kids that each cabin-group would be writing, performing, and directing their own short play—which would then compete for the title of best production of the summer—she’d watched, amused, as each of the teams attempted to recruit, first her, then Cisco, then…Nel?
Hilly had opted out, saying she was too busy supervising to utilize her rusty acting chops, but Cisco—much to Hilly’s delight—promised to do a brief cameo in each one of their plays, just to be fair.
Nel, wasn’t having any of it. As soon as the campers and counselors had started talking about what costumes would look cute on the dog, Hilly’s companion had gone low, and slunk out the door.
Hilly laughed at the stealthy exit. “That answers that. I guess if you write an animal into your script, a human will have to take the roll.”
As the kids all giggled, then began chattering excitedly amongst themselves, Hilly turned to Cisco.
“I don’t think you’ll be needed here for a while. Would you, by any chance, like to help me set up a big, inflatable water slide on the pond? It’s the one thing Papa-J and I didn’t have time to get to, and…” she hoped she wasn’t staring at his muscly forearms. “…I figure you won’t have any problem helping me wrestle it out of the barn, even with your chest-wound.”
“Of course I’ll help,” Cisco told her without hesitation, and the gleam in his eyes told her he hadn’t missed her perusal of his stellar antebrachium.
She’d expected both things; the offer of help, and him catching her appreciating his flexing tendons. So damned observant.
What chance did she have, keeping herself safe from falling for him? So far the man had exceeded all her expectations. He was smart, helpful, and responded to every situation with one-hundred percent enthusiasm. He’d also continually defied any negative category in which she’d attempted to place him.
Slacker? Not even close. Inappropriately profane? Not a bad word passed his lips in front of the youngsters. Womanizer? Cisco hadn’t given a single female on site so much as a lingering glance…except maybe for her. Hilly hadn’t missed how his eyes constantly tracked her, and how he was always at her elbow to help when she needed a hand. It was flattering, and Hilly couldn’t pretend that his regard didn’t make her attraction to him even stronger.
As they walked toward the barn where the blow-up was stored, Cisco placed a hand on her arm to slow her down. It was clear he wanted to chat.
“I’m really enjoying myself here today,” he told her with a sincere smile. “This is a new experience for me. The only kind of camp I ever went to when I was young, were week-long sports-oriented ones, every summer during high school. But they were all about bettering our young, athletic selves for our upcoming competitive seasons. We didn’t have available all the fun stuff your camp has.”
Hilly tried to take the flattery as it was meant. For her camp, not her. But she couldn’t help the internal fist pump she gave herself.
“That’s a shame,” she commiserated. “Every camp should have a good balance of work and fun. What kind of sports did you participate in, other than soccer?”
She remembered him being a top-notch soccer player in middle school, and may have seen a write up or two in the paper about cross-country races he’d won during his high school years. But she couldn’t let Cisco know she had even the slightest inkling regarding his past accomplishments.
“I really loved that part of camp,” he told her with enthusiasm. “And I did pretty well for myself, even getting a partial scholarship to play in college because of my year-round practices. But mostly, believe it or not, I liked to run,” he enlightened Hilly. “I still do.”
“Nel and I run every night after the evening program is over and the kids are in their cabins,” Hilly blurted out.
Damn. Why had she said that? She was nowhere near Cisco’s skill level, and now she’d opened herself up to him asking questions.
“Oh yeah?” he probed; interest clearly written on his face. “Did you run in school, too?”
Hilly wanted to groan, because…not even close. The fat-girl-chip she’d shouldered during the cruel halls of middle school, had mentally followed her into high school and early college. There was no way she would have dared put herself out in front of classmates for fear of getting made fun of. Even though the atmosphere hadn’t continued to be abusive once she’d changed schools, she’d still had to work hard at making friends and outgrowing her awkward stage.
“No,” she finally answered. “It wasn’t until after college that I started running for pleasure.” And to keep her weight under control.
Cisco nodded. “I don’t suppose you and Nel would like a running buddy one of these nights?” he questioned with anticipation in his eyes.
Hilly was instantly both excited that he’d offered, and filled with dread that she might not measure up to Cisco’s idea of a run.
He had to have seen the doubt in her eyes.
“I don’t expect an all-out race,” he assured her. “I like a scenic jaunt or a moon-lit path just as much as the next person.”
Hilly wanted to groan. Why was everything about Cisco turning out to be so damned wonderful? Couldn’t he do something disgusting like…pick his nose or itch his junk when he thought she wasn’t looking?
Hilly sighed.
“Nel and I would love the company,” she finally managed. “But we don’t want to keep you out too late, especially since you start work at seven in the morning now.”
“Seriously?” he questioned with a raised brow. “Tell me, Hilly. What time do you start your day?”
