Page 5 of Mike

It was only a five-minute stroll to Main Street, and the humidity had finally eased up, so Mike readily agreed. “Sure.”

They pushed out into the sunshine, and Mike looked around, hoping to catch a glimpse of?—

“Hey. Did you happen to get a look at the blonde who walked out of the gym right before I came in?” Cisco asked.

Ouch. How did Mike respond to that? Of course he’d seen her. But if Cisco already had his eye on the woman—and she came back—Mike wouldn’t stand a chance. But he couldn’t lay claim because…

Screw it.

“Yeah. She watched me decimate those two recruits,” he responded with a little more swag in his voice than he normally allowed.

Cisco gave him a raised brow, but quickly dismissed whatever had come into his mind, and grinned. “I wouldn’t mind getting to know her, but I think she’s just visiting the area. She got into a car with rental plates, so…” Cisco shrugged.

“So, you’ll have to make do with Ms. Taco-truck,” Mike returned, trying to keep his tone light this time. But, damn. It was disappointing as hell to find out the mystery woman was a tourist. The only plus side? It looked like he’d be able to keep his single-status secret a while longer.

The walk was pleasant, the conversation revolving around the clueless pair at the gym who’d thought to join SWAT. And when they reached the taco truck, as predicted, Cisco’s order was already hot and waiting at the pick-up window. “Suckas,” he taunted as Doug and Kyle joined them. “The line’s long today. Good luck.” He sauntered off to grab a picnic table, and Mike jeered.

“Why do we keep him around?”

“Because he’s great cannon-fodder,” Kyle quipped, not meaning it. “Keeps the rest of our asses safe when we send him into a shooter situation first.”

“And he attracts women,” Doug stated pragmatically. “Not that any of us are on the market, but it’s always a pleasure to look.”

Mike wanted more than looking these days, but he was his own worst enemy, not confessing his single status.

They moved into line, and contrary to what Cisco had teased, the queue proceeded swiftly and they all had their food in hand before their stomachs started complaining. The trio walked over and sat with Cisco, who’s pile of empty wrappers was growing bigger by the second.

“You’re a landfill hazard,” Kyle took a large bite of a taco and pointed.

“Nope,” Cisco dismissed. “I recycle.” He shook the shredded lettuce off the pile of paper and smoothed it out to prove his point, then gave a chin lift while he wolfed another bite. “Did Mike tell you about the spectacular blonde who came into the gym this morning?” he asked around his mouthful. “She was one hot prospect. When I go on duty this afternoon, I’m going to cruise around town and look for her car.” Cisco headed B Squad for their SWAT team, but was also a motorcycle cop with the OPD, and currently worked the three to eleven shift, with weekends being part of his schedule.

Mike found himself uncustomarily agitated with Cisco. Why did the man think he needed all the single females? Oh, yeah. Because his track record was world class, and he could generally have his pick. With his swarthy Latin looks and his smooth lines, Cisco had most of the female population of Orono eating out of his hand. And it didn’t matter how old a woman was. She could be ninety, and Cisco still considered it a win if he could wink and get a blush out of the senior.

“Aren’t you kind of dating that library chick from Augusta?” Kyle probed.

“Nah. That went belly-up as soon as she invited me to meet her parents. You know I’m not into that kind of thing.” He gave a mock shiver.

“One of these days,” Doug taunted, “you’re going to meet someone you really like who’s going to ghost you. And won’t that just burn your balls.”

“My balls will remain intact, thank you,” Cisco replied. “I’m not falling for anyone. Ever.”

That gave Mike some comfort. If the blonde did, for some reason, stick around town, and Cisco did his normal thing, he would leave her available after a couple of quick… Nope. Mike’s ire rose again. He didn’t want to imagine Cisco banging the lovely stranger.

“Someday,” Kyle said, “all the women you’ve scorned are going to get together and come after you. We’ll see how your balls fare then. I’m thinking slow roasted over a pit of ‘fuck-you’ coals.”

“Hah, hah.” Cisco didn’t look the least bit worried.

The conversation moved smoothly on to work, and the discussion centered on the much-anticipated, weekend-long drill south of Bangor at Mt. Waldo Quarry that the SWAT team would be holding the following Saturday and Sunday. The site for their training was a popular swimming hole for locals, but was extremely dangerous if one wasn’t familiar with the terrain. The team would be practicing water rescues, cliffside extractions, and mock man-hunts. They were all excited about the exercises they’d be running, and the overnight camping.

Mike leaned back after polishing off his three tacos, knowing his companions would soon be leaving, heading off in various directions. Kyle and Doug would be meeting their new wives to do weekend things, and Cisco—pumped for the following weekend’s exercises because it would get him off his patrol bike—would head off to his shift, since his work-week currently ran Wednesday to Sunday.

Mike, of course, would head home to his empty house.

Yeah. To say he was looking forward to the weekend away was an understatement. He needed things to do. Badly. There were currently too many hours in the day for him to fill up, even with his solitary antiquing forays and his kids’ sporting events.

He’d already arranged for his mom and dad to take care of his son and daughter during his drills. Even though the pair complained loudly that they were old enough to be left alone, Mike still worried about them as if they were little. When Mellie had walked out on them, they had reverted a bit, clinging to him for a few months, but they’d rebounded far faster than Mike. Where was his peace of mind, and when would it kick in?

Dammit. Being single had its perks, but mostly it sucked.

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