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Yup.
But, top that, he internally dared the kid, full-well knowing it was an asshole move to be playing the “hurt warrior” card, but dick-measuring was clearly something the young guy understood, because he backed off on his bravado, knowing he couldn’t beat being capped by a bullet.
“Right. Anything you need, then,” Vishon gave in.
Glancing at Hilly, Cisco saw that none of the exchange had gotten by her, and her lips quivered with stifled laughter while she attempted to maintain her professionalism.
She coughed. “I’ll just leave you two to it, then,” she managed. “I’ll be herding the campers around to their assigned, afternoon physical challenges, which means your twenty-five victims should be headed this way, soon, Cisco.”
“Excellent,” he replied.
He hoped she’d end up watching his class, but since he wasn’t going to be an active participant today and couldn’t show off, she wouldn’t miss much.
Almost an entire hour later, Cisco was deep into it with his group—some campers, some counselors—when Hilly finally made an appearance.
Cisco grinned, anxious to have her see what her kids had learned.
“Kelli? Tori? Why don’t you two let Ms. Duncan see some of your moves.”
The two young girls who currently wore the padded suits that were lighter and smaller than Cisco’s, had been doing an admirable job of following directions, and he gave them their next instruction.
“Let’s go with heel palm-strikes, and groin-kicks.”
The pair went at it with relish, causing Hilly to gasp.
“Won’t they hurt each other?” she asked, sidling up to him.
He tried to ignore her fresh, vanilla-like scent as he answered her question.
“Nah. That’s what the suits are for, and they both know to pull their punches. We’ve already covered eyeball-jabs and nose-crunches without actually making contact.”
She nodded, satisfied, saying for his ears only, “They look good. Confident. Which is what we want.” She raised her voice. “Nice job girls. But now it’s time to wind things down. We’re five minutes away from finishing up our sports portion of the afternoon, and when you’re done, if you could head into the dining hall, that’s where we all are, next.”
“Drama classes?” Cisco questioned with an eyeroll, knowing that’s what was listed on everyone’s agenda.
Hilly beamed at him. “Yes. Followed by?—”
“Swim time,” Cisco provided, and he couldn’t keep his next query inside. “Do you join the kids in the water?”
Now that was something Cisco would really like to see. Hilly in a bathing suit. His imagination was pretty good, but he’d love to have a real look at her anatomy.
“Sometimes,” she shrugged. “But not today. What about you?”
Had her eyes just dropped to his chest? Was she thinking his muscles were something she wanted to see, or was she simply concerned about his boo-boo?
Cisco gave a regretful shoulder shrug. “I’ll have to pass until I lose my bandaging. I’ve already had my fight with dressings for the day, putting on a new one after I got out of the shower this morning.”
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.