Chapter 10

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?

Nada. Zilch. Zip.

It had simply been easier to remain single.

Being in a relationship where a partner took over and planned everything without input from the other party, had permanently crossed a bunch of men who'd subsequently approached her, off the list. She'd worked hard to get over her childhood insecurities and lack of control over her life, and as difficult as it had been to reinvent herself, she'd learned to speak up and advocate for what she wanted and needed. No relationship was worth going backward regarding her self-esteem.

So now what ?

She tossed back the covers and swung her legs out of bed. Leaning down to give Nel, who was still sleeping, a distracted pat.

Seriously? She was thinking of putting herself out there with Cisco? A man she assumed was a big player? Maybe that wasn't fair. Hilly didn't have a clue as to what kind of man he'd grown into—except for a gorgeous well-built one—but starting something with him where she'd most likely be a single notch on his bedpost, could have the consequences of setting her back years.

But still…

What would it be like, just once, to have sex with a man like Cisco?

Padding to the bathroom to get ready for her day, she imagined him naked, all hard muscles and sinewy strength. His dark, velvety skin would be adorned with a smattering of soft hair, including his happy trail which would lead to?—

No. Just no.

She wasn't going to think about Cisco's cock. It was bad enough she was letting herself have fantasies about him, she didn't need the complication of…was it purple? Was it pink? And how many inches…?

Shit. There she went again.

Hilly shook herself out of her daydreaming, and checked the time, noting it was still early. Buffy had said she'd be arriving around ten-thirty from Boston, which meant Hilly had a good three hours to putter around, but no more than that. Knowing Buffy, the woman would be right on time. Which was good. Hilly couldn't leave camp unless there was another adult on premise to watch over the impressionable teenagers she'd hired as counselors.

Not that she wouldn't trust them with the campers when the youngsters arrived in the morning. She would. The bunch were trained for that. But she wasn't about to trust them with each other, young hormones being what they were.

Hilly wasn't stupid. She knew that eventually some of them would hook up, but she was hoping that once the property teemed with campers, it would be more difficult for wanna-be-pairs to slip away and get themselves into any kind of serious trouble.

Hilly ate a small breakfast, did some inventory while Nel played with a new squeaky toy, then… Her ears perked up as she came out of the interior storeroom in the barn. Was that a car?

A smile broke out over her face as she, along with Nel, practically danced to the outer door with anticipation. She hadn't seen Buffy in over a year, and was pumped not only to hug the stuffing out of the woman, but to share the entire summer hanging with her.

Pulling open the wooden door, Hilly took off with her pup at her heels, and ran to the parking area where she saw the familiar, silver Toyota.

"Buffy," she squealed, sprinting toward the vehicle whose door was just opening.

"Hilly-billy," Buffy returned on a shriek as she stepped out.

Hilly full-on laughed as their bodies collided in a huge, jumping-up-and-down kind of hug with Nel barking and whining, doing circles around them to join in. "Listen Buff-stuff. You may not call me that nickname in front of anybody here," Hilly admonished her bestie with a snort.

"Or?" Buffy, a gorgeous brunette, always well-put together, returned impishly, giving both Hilly, then Nel, some more love.

"Or I'll feed you to the sharks."

"Right." Buffy pulled back out of Hilly's arms, although not letting go altogether while she bent down and buried her nose in soft fur. She finally stood upright again and rolled her eyes. "I may be from Massachusetts, but even I know your Maine lakes don't have sharks."

"Okay then," Hilly teased. "How about big-ass sturgeon? They'll ugly you to death."

Buffy gave a raised, dark brow. "You have those here?"

Hilly couldn't keep it up. Her joy was too great. "Nope. Just kidding. Feel free to immerse yourself in our beautiful lake any time you want without fear of losing any digits."

"Thanks for that," Buffy groaned hilariously. "Now, on a serious note, I know you have errands to run, but is there time for you to give me the tour before you take off? And I reeeeally have to pee!"

"I think we should take care of your emergency first, then give you the look-around."

"Deal," Buffy agreed easily. "Then you can be on your way."

Hilly had let Buffy know about the things she needed to do in town, but had promised she'd accomplish her errands quickly so they could spend the afternoon together. Hilly was going to have to ‘fess up to her friend that something else had come up; that she'd possibly be back later than expected. Just a smidge later. Of course, once Hilly disclosed the reason for her tardiness, Buffy would be all over it, squealing that Hilly was taking time out of her busy schedule to feed a wounded SWAT guy.

"Let's get you and your bags into my cabin," Hilly offered, putting off the moment.

The two of them—three if you counted Nel—would be sharing a space since there were no free bunks anywhere else to place Buffy, but it wouldn't be the first time they'd lived together in close quarters, and killed it with how well they got along.

They schlepped two big suitcases, a stuffed backpack, and a small duffel into the cabin, placing them on the neat, twin bed that Hilly had made up in her tiny spare room. Then Hilly pointed to the bathroom they'd be sharing.

"Have at it," she grinned.

"You're a lifesaver." Buffy sped off into the small room, coming out a few minutes later looking far more relaxed. "Now that I can think again," she giggled, "I'll take another look at my room."

"It's pretty small, and I'm sorry your bed's not a queen," she apologized, shooing Nel off the comforter and back onto the floor. "But anything larger than that mattress wouldn't fit."

"It'll do just fine," Buffy assured her. "I'm imagining there'll be so much going on, I won't be aware of anything but z's when my head hits the pillow each night. I expect the fresh air to knock me out, cold."

"It does have that effect," Hilly agreed, looping her arm through Buffy's. "Now let's do the ten-cent tour, then will you watch Nel so I can get into town?"

"Of course. Nel and I will have a great time catching up. Or playing catch," she teased. "But Hill, you seem pretty excited about heading into your little burg for supplies," Buffy returned astutely.

Hilly should have remembered how well her ex-roommate could read her. Dare she…?

Hilly took in a deep breath. "I'll be picking up some stuff for camp, but I'm also delivering lunch to…a friend."

"A friend, or a friend -friend?" Buffy prodded, knocking Hilly's ribs playfully with her elbow.

"No. It's not like that…," she responded a little wistfully. "I mean, maybe it is. In my own mind it might be. But… I'm actually visiting our self-defense expert who ran into a bit of trouble while he was out on a call yesterday with his SWAT team, and needs my delivery services."

"Oooh." Buffy's brown eyes grew wide. "SWAT as in a smoking hot guy decked out in sexy gear who runs around saying hut, hut, hut ?"

Hilly laughed, thoroughly amused, and shook her head. "Seriously? You watch way too much TV, Buff."

"Oh really?" She postured. "Tell me then. What part do I have wrong?"

"Uh… The hut, hut, hut part?" Hilly gave back weakly.

"Aha! So the smoking hot description and the sexy gear is correct?"

"Uh, yeah. Cisco is pretty attractive," she admitted.

"Mmm. Cisco," Buffy repeated, then stabbed Hilly with a pointed look only a good friend could get away with. "Wait. Speaking of TV. This isn't the guy who took down the bad dude at the bank, is it? The blood-soaked white-shirt guy?"

"One in the same," Hilly admitted.

"OMG, Hilly. That man… Does this mean you're ready to end your self-imposed dry-spell?"

Hilly sighed. "It's…complicated."

"Seriously?" Buffy snorted. "How tough is it to remember that when you're with a guy who does it for you, the big sausage goes in the snug little bun?"

Hilly broke up laughing. "Please! I'll never get rid of that picture, now. You are so bad, Buff." She somehow managed to catch her breath. "Now cut it out. I'll give you the tour and introduce you to our counselors before I head into town and feed Cisco. Then I'll come back and dish you the entire sad story about why me and Mr. Kielbasa can't be a thing."

"Deal," Buffy agreed. "But, just saying, I might try to talk you into it anyway."

They walked out into the bright sunshine with Hilly feeling more optimistic about, well, everything.

An hour later, Hilly stood in the deli section of the supermarket where they sold a variety of foods to go, and impishly ordered a sausage sub for Cisco. So what if she'd have to choke back her snorts while they ate. It would be highly worth it to be able to reveal her irreverent purchase to Buffy later.

She also grabbed a salmon salad that looked appealing. If Cisco didn't invite her in to eat with him, she could always go to the park and sit at the river while she polished off her food. Which would be just fine. It would be no big deal if Cisco didn't want her hanging around at his house. After all, starting Tuesday, she'd be seeing him on the regular for a bunch of hours each week, and that would be enough.

Or so she told herself.

Ten minutes later, pulling up to the address he'd given her, Hilly ogled Cisco's home. It was lovely. And not even close to what she'd imagined. She'd kind of seen him in a white-on-white split ranch with an unkept yard, or someplace equally nondescript since he was a single guy. Maybe she'd even pictured a bunch of junker cars in his driveway.

What she hadn't expected was the exceptionally well-kept bungalow, with its neatly trimmed lawn and lush flower beds on the periphery. Nor had she imagined he'd have the warm, yet moody color scheme on the clapboards that made her immediately want to go in and check out the rest of the place to see what hues graced his walls.

As she walked up the cleanly swept wooden steps, Hilly's eyes went to the pair of antique, cane rockers on the porch. She blinked, wondering if Cisco ever used them. There wasn't so much as a scuff on the floorboards beneath them, nor an errant dish or personal item to be seen nearby that would say he'd recently placed his fine ass on the seat.

Before she could explore and be nosy any further, the door opened and?—

Holy hell.

Cisco in his uniform had been a sight to see, but Cisco in sweats, paired with an open shirt that showed off a stark white bandage across his dark, drool-worthy chest? It almost had her clenching her thighs together to hold back an impending flood.

"Hilly!" His grin was huge and bright as he greeted her. "Right on time."

"Yeah, I…" She managed to find her tongue, and stupidly held up the bag. "I got you a sub."

He leaned forward and took it from her. "That's great. Aren't you coming in?"

He looked hopeful, which gave Hilly some courage.

"Your lunch is in here, too, right?" He tipped his head to her now empty hands.

"I, uh, it's in the car." She hitched a thumb over her shoulder. "I wasn't going to assume you were up for company."

"You're not company," he grinned. "You're my boss. Why don't you go get it and we can sit on the back deck, eat together, and talk business. It's so nice outside."

"Okay, but aren't you supposed to be lying down?" she asked, suddenly remembering the man had recently been shot, gathering her courage to step over his threshold and into his masculine, gravitational pull. What if she couldn't control herself, and ended up grabbing some part of him? Any part of him.

"Nope. Not at all. As a matter of fact, the doctor who saw me said that moving around, although not energetically, will help with blood flow and healing."

"Okay," she said, not sure whether to believe him. But the bit about non-energetic let her know there'd be no horizontal exercises for them, even if they had a chance of becoming non-imaginary.

Still, she stood static, undecided until…

"Uh, Hilly? Your food?" The smile on his face woke her up to the fact that she was probably doing what ninety-nine percent of the female population did when confronted with his gorgeousness. Space out and stare. She wanted to smack herself.

"Right." She shook her head to wake up her brain before turning on her heel and hoofing it back to her car.

Stupid, stupid, stupid , she chastised herself. This was no more than a business meeting to find out how Cisco's agenda might be affected by his injury. She wasn't here to ogle him. She wasn't here to kiss anything all better—although that picture had popped into her head when she'd glimpsed his bare chest—so she damned well needed to act like the professional, grown-up woman she was.

Having read herself the riot act, Hilly squared her shoulders, snagged her food, and walked back up the walkway.

Then…

Her resolve…dissolved.

How was she going to act normal while continually trying to catch peeks of his luscious skin? Her tongue refused to work again as she approached, but this time she didn't need to speak as Cisco opened his mouth, first.

"Come on in. If you follow me into the kitchen, you can tell me what you'd like to drink."

"Oh. Duh," Hilly responded, wanting to smack her forehead. "I don't know where my brain is this afternoon."

Isn't that a lie .

"I have chips and beverages in my car, along with your prescription." She thrust her bag into his hands and turned around once more, if just to get away from his knowing smirk.

Dammit.

That's when it hit her. Cisco knew the effect he had on her, and had done the open-shirt thing on purpose. It was probably a move he made all the time, having honed his muscles; the half-naked, mind-blinding thing he rocked for any and all women visitors.

Hilly hissed to herself. Knowing Cisco wanted to get a rise out of her hardened her resolve to keep things strictly business-like.

She'd damn well make sure there were no more cracks in her armor where Cisco was concerned. Not until she'd talked over all the possibilities, positive and negative, with Buffy, who'd never steer her wrong. If Buff thought she should go for it; dive in for a no-strings attached, physical romp with Cisco, Hilly would consider it.

But if, after telling Buffy that Cisco was one of the kids she'd known in middle school—even though he hadn't done any of the rampant bullying—she thought Hilly should ditch the whole idea of taking Cisco for a tumble, Hilly would heed that advice.

It's what friends did for each other; helped them keep their priorities straight, and their panties on if the situation looked questionable.

Hilly grabbed the rest of the stuff she'd picked up for Cisco, then turned with a new determination.

From now on, she'd only look at his face…or maybe just his left ear, and she'd blur her eyes.

That should do the trick.