Page 62 of Pierced Pages

“Dang it!” Morgan flinched as a set of teeth nipped at her calf through her thin pants. She grabbed the treat bag from the cabinet and tossed a couple down at the fluffy, demanding beast. “Fine. We get beer, you get your own treat. Sorry I forgot about you.”

Although it was hard to forget about him. He made sure of that.

Reginald gobbled his treats and hobbled out of the kitchen as Morgan handed the beer to Jen. They clinked bottles like they always did. Celebration or not.

“So you kissed her again,” Jen said. “And she kissed you back this time.”

“Yes.”

“And this is bad because…”

“Because I don’t know why I did it. It’s a terrible idea.”

Jen leaned her back against the counter. “Walk me through this terrible idea.”

“Well, for one, she’s a pumpkin.”

“Uh, what?”

“She has like… a bedtime. Or her kid’s bedtime, really.” Morgan took a sip of her beer, trying to slow down her mouth and let her brain catch up. “I don’t know if I could be with someone who could never stay out past nine. Or make an ice cream run after dinner without running it by someone first.”

“You want ice cream?”

“No,” Morgan said. “Ice cream isn’t the point.”

“But the kid is.”

“Right.”

“But I thought you said the kid was chill.” Jen tilted her head slightly. “Didn’t you say you liked helping her with her homework? I mean, that right there says a lot.”

“Yeah, she’s fine. Great kid. But she’s always going to be Danielle’s kid.”

“That’s kind of how being a parent works.” Jen shrugged. “Most of the time. Sorry.”

Jen knew all about Morgan’s mom and her less than stellar parenting history. She knew how much of a sore spot it was, even if Morgan frequently brushed it off as the past.

“Oh, that’s another story,” Morgan said.

“Same story?”

“Pretty much.” Morgan took another sip, this time trying to wash away that conversation with beer. “Dating a parent is the bigger problem here.”

It was the bigger problem, but not entirely a separate problem. Her mother had reminded her of how much damage a terrible mother could do. While they weren’t at that stage now, she had to look down the road. She had to consider not having good parent potential and how that could affect Lila down theline. And she had to admit that she wouldn’t be the kind of parent Lila needed.

“So you’re afraid the kid is going to what?” Jen asked. “Get in the way somehow?”

“That sounds terrible.”

“No offense, but it kind of is.”

Morgan sighed, the weight of the evening leaving her body. “That’s not what I meant. Not really.”

“Then what did you mean?”

“I just mean I’m not exactly parent-dating material.”

“What doesthateven mean?”