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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.”
Hilly sounded more than pleased that her friend would be with her at camp for the entire summer.
“Sounds like the two of you will have fun,” he said, trying hard not to be jealous that he wouldn’t be her “bestie” on premise, which was ridiculous. He had no claim on Hilly.
“We sure will. And she’s the one taking care of Nel right now, although it’s no hardship for either of them. They love each other to pieces, having hung out together at my apartment and hers any number of times since she came into my life.”
“Your apartment?” Cisco countered, finding himself a little surprised. “You mean you don’t live at camp?”
Hilly laughed again, the sound becoming addicting. “Not year-round, no,” she snorted. “First of all, there’s no heat in my cabin, but even if there was, can you see me sequestered that far out of town for the entire winter with the kind of snow we get around here? Doesn’t it seem like it would be too reminiscent of The Shining; me using a snowcat to get to and from my remote location?” She shook her head. “I don’t think I’d be okay with Jack Nickleson showing up.”
Cisco grinned. “I love that movie, but I agree. Being trapped out there, alone or with Jack, wouldn’t be a smart move. So…your apartment? Why did I have the idea you might sometimes stay with your Mom and Dad.”
“Maybe because they’re local?” she pondered. “Papa-J and Mom have their own house just outside of Orono. I actually did live with them for a few years once I was out of college and working freelance jobs from home. But when I inherited the camp from my grandmother, I moved out.”
Cisco nodded. Hilly hadn’t mentioned that she might have also inherited money, but he got the idea that she had, and that’s what had allowed her to move out from under her parents and be more independent.
Good for Hilly.
“Why do you call your father, Papa-J?” he asked, continuing what he considered to be light conversation.
When her entire demeanor changed on a dime and her face slammed shut—just like back at camp when he’d asked her a family question—Cisco winced. What was it that had her closing up faster than a clam when he questioned her about certain aspects of her life? She’d obviously adored her father.
Had someone hurt her in the past?