Chapter 17

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

After seeing the belligerent nurse off the property, Cisco managed to catch a little of the kids' swim time in the lake. They splashed and played under the watchful eyes of the counselors who were all certified lifeguards, but whined about the early season coldness of the water, and complained that the slide they'd been promised hadn't yet been set up. Cisco stepped in and assured them he'd get to it next time he was on premise on Thursday.

Mid-afternoon he munched on some wonderful cinnamon-stick-thingies that Mrs. S had made for snack time, enjoying them while settling in on his phone to make a few calls regarding medical personnel as he also kept an eye out for Hilly. Following the episode with the nurse that had clearly rattled her, he'd only seen her from afar as she worriedly ran around with her phone to her ear, ostensibly also looking for a replacement medical person to fill in on literally no notice.

As the campers left the beach to change and settle into craft time, Cisco approached Hilly as she paced back and forth outside her cabin, still clutching her device but looking more and more beat down with every pass she made. He assumed that meant she'd had no luck. But that was fine, because he'd solved her problem. At least temporarily.

"Hey Hilly," he greeted, approaching her with a smile.

She stabbed a button on her phone and turned to him with a rueful twist of her lips. "Hi, Cisco."

"No luck I take it?" he asked.

"None yet. You?" she asked hopefully.

He couldn't leave her in suspense.

"Yup. I've actually found someone for the next week and a half. But at least that's something."

Cisco didn't expect it when a squealing Hilly launched herself at him and wrapped her arms around his middle, tightly.

"Thank you," she breathed out, from under his chin. "I was really stressing."

She pulled back abruptly as if just realizing what she'd done, and looked around guiltily to see if anyone had spotted her spontaneous embrace.

Cisco could have told her there were no witnesses. If anyone had been around, he would have stopped her before her mini-PDA.

"Um, that's great Cisco," she regrouped with a blush. "Who is it?"

"Alvero Deluthe," he told her. "Alvi is our SWAT team medic, and although he's not a nurse or a doctor, he has all kinds of medical certifications. He checked the state's web-site, and he more than qualifies to be your guy. The only problem is, he can't get more than the rest of this week and next week, off. After that, he's out of personal days to use."

"Oh! I can't let him do that." Hilly's brow furrowed. "It's nice of him, but I can't have him giving up his personal days for me," she qualified.

"Are you kidding?" Cisco laughed. "When I asked him, he was practically bouncing off the walls. Apparently, he went to camp here when your grandmother ran the place, and has such good memories of his summers, he can't wait to relive them. He's already talking like it's the best vacation he'll have enjoyed in years."

Hilly, instead of being as pumped as he thought she would, looked a little conflicted as she bit the hell out of her bottom lip.

"Really, Hilly. He's excited. I promise," Cisco attempted to assure her again.

"That's…great," she finally responded before squaring her shoulders. "I really do appreciate it, and…I'll owe him, big time." She seemed to regroup fully. "Maybe we can even recreate some of his best recollections from the camp as a surprise." She looked at Cisco and gave an actual smile. "I'll check back in Grannie's journals to see what was going on when he attended."

"You're kidding me, right? You have records from twenty years ago?"

Now Hilly laughed. "Uh, huh. Complete, handwritten logs of every season she operated," Hilly told him, her grin sticking this time. "And with the nearly two-week reprieve your friend will give us, he deserves a reward. And hopefully his assistance will give me the buffer I need to find someone to fill in for the rest of the summer."

Cisco still didn't understand the conflicting reactions he'd seen from Hilly, but as long as she was happy now, he'd try to keep the good news rolling. "I may have feelers out for that, too," Cisco told her a little smugly. "I've been in touch with Mason. He's Mrs. S's son? My SWAT boss?"

She gave him an affirmative nod. "I know him."

"Well, he thinks he might be able to dig someone up."

"Wow," Hilly responded, wide eyed. "It really pays to have a network of friends. I can't believe you've accomplished all that in just a couple hours, while I've been scrambling for the same amount of time, coming up with nothing."

Cisco chuckled. "That's not all because of me. You have to understand. Mason loves a challenge, so when I presented him with your dilemma, he took it as a serious assignment. He's the one who told me to call Alvi."

"Geeze. I'll have to make sure to thank him, too" Hilly told Cisco sincerely. "I don't suppose he went to Gran's camp?"

Cisco laughed. "Not a clue. You'll have to ask Mrs. S about that one.

"I will," she agreed. "Because if he can pull this off, it'll be a lifesaver."

Cisco had no doubt the boss would be able to solve Hilly's dilemma. But that wasn't the only thing on his mind.

Cisco cleared his throat.

"In the meantime, would you like to take a walk with me before craft-time finishes up and I have to get ready to teach my late class?"

Hilly looked hesitant for only a second before accepting. "Sure. Let me just tell Buffy where I'll be in case anything comes up while we're gone." She skipped off, her long, muscled legs eating up the path.

And yeah. He watched them like the dog he was. And speaking of which, Nel had just nudged his knee with her nose.

He bent down to give her a pat. "She's really something, isn't she?"

Nel gave a happy sounding bark, then bounded back into the trees.

"Really something," he rasped to himself, trying to keep his excitement under wraps as he waited for Hilly to find her friend and return.

Cisco had wanted to get the confusing woman alone all day. To talk to her, of course, but also to see if he could wrangle another kiss. He had to find out if their first one had truly been the best lip-lock of his life, or if he'd built it up in his imagination as a bright spot in the weekend, in contrast with the heavy-duty trauma he'd suffered the previous day.

In other words, now that his head was completely clear, he needed to see if his feelings were real by requesting a do-over.

"Buffy's good for the balance of the hour," Hilly said breathlessly as she returned to his side. "She doesn't have any appointments until later."

"Then, shall we go?" Cisco gallantly held his elbow out for her to take.

She eyed it with only a slight hesitation before accepting the gesture, threading her hand around his arm.

"You lead the way," he suggested. "Since you know which paths will get us back here in time for my early evening duties."

"Follow me," she agreed.

Hilly wound her way past the dining hall which practically vibrated with all the voices and laughter exploding from within. She led him around the campers' cabins, the washrooms, skirting the counselors' private lean-to before taking them down the same path that she'd familiarized him with, before.

"Where are we going?" he asked.

" Past the climbing wall," she told him. "You've seen that. But I didn't take you all the way to the ropes course when I gave you your previous tour."

Cisco nodded happily. As far as he was concerned, the farther from the campers they got, the better.

They walked companionably, side by side, until the path grew narrower and he had to relinquish Hilly's hand so that she could go first.

"Skinny trail," he groused.

Hilly giggled, perhaps sensing his reluctance to have let her go. "We like to maintain a feeling of wilderness as the kids head toward the ropes. Even though it's only fifty feet past the climbing wall and thirty or so feet from the lake, it's camouflaged by the trees, and makes the adventure seem that much more exciting for them."

Cisco nodded. "What's beyond the ropes course? Is it your land?" he asked.

With what he hoped would happen, he didn't want any interruptions from area hikers or neighboring camps.

Hilly swept her arm in front of them. "More paths," she answered his first question, then his second. "And some of it. I own twenty-seven acres, most of that stretching out in the northerly direction, as well as around the lake." She stopped and pointed at the area that had just opened up before them into a structured, but still rough-terrained setting. "And here's our ropes course."

Cisco gazed around, taking in the sturdy platforms up in the trees, the tall ladders made from logs, the rope bridges strung high across several expanses, and the various height cargo nets to climb. There was a belly-crawl, swaying balance beams, and at the end of the myriad of challenges, a series of swinging tires were set up so they had to be traversed in order to reach the finish line. The whole thing was professional as hell, and looked fairly new.

"How long has this been here?" Cisco asked. "Was it part of your grandmother's infrastructure?"

Hilly looked at the course proudly. "Nope. She had the climbing wall built a few years before she passed, but this is all my baby. I had the land cleared during my first year here, and in the off season between years one and two, Papa-J and I got it built. It's become a real favorite; a great team-and-esteem-building exercise where our more confident kids help those who are less comfortable overcome their fears."

"Nice." He looked up to one platform that suited his needs. "You want to go topside?" he grinned.

"Sure."

She didn't hesitate, but ran lightly toward the ladder and began climbing. Normally, he knew, a participant would already be harnessed in, but Cisco could see Hilly was extremely nimble as she climbed without tethers, and of course he wouldn't let anything happen to her.

When he reached the top behind her, Hilly was already leaning on the railing, looking out toward the lake which was just visible through the trees. "Nel actually likes to come up here," she enlightened him as he moved in behind her. Not too close, but near enough that she'd get wind of his intent.

Her voice became breathless when she figured out his plan.

"She learned how to climb the ladder by herself within a few months of me getting her."

"A talented pup," Cisco agreed, inching closer so that his hands gripped the railing on either side of her body.

She sucked in a gasp. "Wh…what are you doing, Cisco?" she asked.

"Trying for another kiss. If it's okay with you," he strangled out. The fresh scent of her, the fall of the luxurious red curls down her back, the fine, rounded ass he'd spied, all had Cisco practically drooling. Which wouldn't be good for what he had in mind. Nobody wanted a swampy wet kiss from which they had to mop up.

Instead of answering Cisco's question, Hilly turned in his arms. "I wondered, since you'd kind of been keeping your distance, if you'd changed your mind about going on a date after camp winds down."

"Not even close," he said, moving ever closer to her lips. "I'm just being polite and following your lead. You told me you'd be thinking about it," he reminded her. "But I couldn't help myself, luring you out here. I find that I'm craving another taste of you."

"Which is a good thing," she whispered back, "because I've been dreaming about the same thing."

That's all the encouragement Cisco needed. He leaned in and placed his now dry mouth on Hilly's, gently coaxing her open with the tip of his tongue so he could explore.

She unsealed her lips slowly while twining her arms around his back, this time holding on for dear life as he began to move confidently within the confines of her warm, welcoming cavity.

Taking her acquiescence as even further encouragement, Cisco positioned his hard dick smack up against her soft stomach; a place it had been begging to rest. He managed not to grind into her, but when she melted into him —brushing her abdomen back and forth over his now pulsating flesh—he groaned deep in his throat.

"No fair," he growled quietly, reluctantly putting a scant hair's breadth between their lips. "You're getting a really good feel of me, but I can't tell if you're primed or not."

"You mean…am I wet?" she asked shyly, not quite meeting his intense gaze.

"Yeah, Hilly," he rasped. "Are you wet for me?"

"I am," she admitted chokingly. "But there's nothing we can do about it. I wouldn't be surprised if?—"

Cisco's head came up and he put a finger over Hilly's mouth. "We have company," he whispered, moving them both into the shadow of a few, large branches that swooped down across the platform.

Hilly stifled a giggle. "Seriously? I feel like a naughty teenager," she murmured back.

Cisco chuckled, but… "Shh."

He wanted to stay quiet so whoever had come this way would pass quickly and he could get back to Hilly's delicious lips.

He cocked an ear.

"…she's not exactly a bitch," a male voice rose enough to be heard from their lofty position.

"But she acts like she's better than us," the second voice, also male, responded in a semi-whine. "And every time you try to talk to her, she makes fun of you."

Cisco could feel Hilly stiffen in his arms. He ran a hand down her back in a slow, comforting gesture as they continued to eavesdrop.

"She's really cute, though," the first person—who Cisco could now identify as one of Hilly's senior counselors, Lance—defended whomever they were discussing.

"Does that make it okay for her to treat you like crap? You know she makes fun of your skin color."

Cisco silently bristled. Lance was clearly Latino, like him. Cisco held back a hiss.

That second person had to be Carter, a first-year counselor and the young man who'd kind of attached himself to Lance.

"It doesn't," Lance responded. "But I'm going to keep trying. I want to invite her to the big bonfire Friday night."

Carter scoffed. "Good luck with that. She's messing with you on purpose. It's kind of ironic, don't you think?"

"What is?" Lance questioned.

"That we're at a camp that's supposed to keep kids safe from bullies, but Bailey's been bullying you?"

"I don't know if I'd exactly call it bullying…"

The pair turned around and walked back the way they came, keeping Cisco and Hilly from hearing anything more.

Hilly blinked up at Cisco, and shook her head, scowling.

Cisco backed off, knowing their moment had been broken, and that she had something on her mind.

"What are you thinking?" he asked.

A huff erupted from between clenched teeth. "I'm thinking I'd better call a meeting with my counselors," she glowered. "There's no way I'm going to allow harassment and bullying of anyone, no matter how innocent, to exist at my camp."