As I turned away, I saw Thruor and Mike. From the way they were standing next to each other I suspected that something had happened between them.

Well, as long as she didn’t break his heart – this would be a fling for her, I knew that, but he might make the mistake of thinking it was more. No, I told myself. Mike was a grown man who could look after himself.
And Kanesha? Was she a fling for me? That was why…why I hadn’t gone any further, but the desire to kiss her burned on my lips. And I saw her move to join them.

I walked over. “Hey.” The desire was there, but I wouldn’t act on it in public in any case. There were still plenty of people who would frown on two girls kissing. “What’s up?”

“We’re all going out to dinner, unless you don’t have time. Mike found this wonderful Irish pub.”

I wasn’t about to argue. Mike had brought a car…his own, I assumed. It was an ordinary silver Honda, nothing that would stand out in any crowd. A hybrid. Far more ordinary than what I had envisioned as his off duty ride.

I hopped into the back, and Kanesha leaned into me in a way that was almost as good as the kiss would have been.

A fling? Maybe, maybe not, but I knew it was real and I knew I wouldn’t do anything to hurt her. If anyone got hurt by this, it would be me, myself, and I.

That one is yours. That echoed in my mind. This was something I…needed to talk to somebody about. And I knew exactly who, when I could get her attention. For right now, I let her cuddle against me, feeling comfortable.
The Irish Pub was a bit cliched – dark wood and shamrocks and Guinness, which Mike and Thruor both ordered. Kanesha got fish and chips and I got a chicken pie. I wondered how it compared to real Irish food.

“Not bad,” Thruor noted. “Not as tacky as most.”

She’d probably eaten at a real Irish pub, in Ireland, so maybe I should ask her about it. Maybe one day I would. Or maybe… I shook my head. Life was best taken one day at a time at this point. I reached for the lemonade I’d ordered and sipped it.

“Although lemonade is not Irish.” She grinned at me.

“I didn’t feel like coke,” I admitted, stretching. “So, this is about something, isn’t it.”

Mike nodded. “We can’t let this situation go on. You’re both putting the other kids in danger. I’ve been talking to CPS…I’m sorry it took this long, but I…we…have a better option.”

Kanesha blinked, her eyes widened, and I could see a light bulb. “You…”

“…just got approval as a foster parent.”

I stared at him, trying not to laugh. “I am not calling you dad.”

“I’m not asking you to.”

“I might,” Kanesha admitted quietly. “You know my read dad wasn’t anything to write home about.”

And with the three of us…the only people there would be people who could defend themselves, especially if Thruor was hanging around. Mike was right. It was the perfect solution.

Except I was definitely not calling him dad.