The Taste of Home

Chapter 15

Miguel awoke with a start. Why was it so quiet? Surely Isabella hadn't sent out the hunting parties already.

It was only when the greasy scent of the eggs and bacon crackling on the stovetop reached his nose that Miguel remembered where he was. He maneuvered out from underneath a quilt he didn't remember pulling over himself, careful not to tear the delicate fabric as he folded it as neatly as his claws allowed.

"Good morning, sleepyhead." Alejandro slid a pan's worth of bacon and eggs onto a waiting plate. "Hope you don't mind I made you breakfast."

Miguel's stomach growled as he struggled to keep his venom from leaking out of his mouth. Most mornings, he was lucky if there was any meat left from the previous night's kills, long since cold and picked over. Here, fat popped from glistening strips of meat that had been prepared just for him, and each egg's yolk shined as brightly as the sun.

"You really didn't have to go to so much trouble," Miguel said. It took all of his self-restraint to eat slowly and allow himself to truly savor the meal. It was delicious. Far more delicious than something as simple as eggs and a few strips of meat had any right to be.

"No, but you seemed like you needed a pick me up." Alejandro took a bite of his own breakfast, a simple bagel. "You were shaking even after I put the quilt on you."

That solved the mystery of how it had ended up on him. "I'm not used to sleeping away from the pack. Not that I don't enjoy spending time with you," he rushed to add, "but the whole pack usually sleeps together. We get cold fast when we don't." The air conditioner roaring throughout the night hadn't helped either, but he doubted it would have been doing that if Alejandro didn't need it to sleep comfortably.

"Do you think some coffee or tea might help? I've got both."

"I just need to be up for a bit. Eating always helps." And the delicious breakfast wasn't the only thing helping him warm up. Thoughts of the night before brought heat rushing to Miguel's face. "Did you mean what you said about me being cute?"

Alejandro nearly choked on the last bite of his bagel. "Shit, I thought I'd dreamt that part. Please tell me I didn't make things too weird."

"Not at all! I was just wondering if..." Miguel took a deep breath. He had to tell him sooner or later. Better to get it over with so it wouldn't hurt as much if he'd misunderstood. "I was wondering if you might feel the same way about me as I feel about you. I like you, Alejandro, and not just as a friend. It's fine if you don't feel the same way. I just—" A deep thrum pushed its way out of his throat as Alejandro put his hand on his, caressing his scales with his warm fingers.

"I do! This is just... a lot to take in." Alejandro bit his lip. "I don't exactly have much experience with this sort of thing."

"Me neither." He doubted anyone did. Courting a human was unheard of, at least in Saguaro Pack. "Traditionally, chupacabras need their pack leader's permission before they can start courting each other. Are humans the same way?"

"Well, you'll have to meet my family eventually, but that usually isn't something people do until they've been dating for a while. Do you think I should go with you when you tell Isabella, maybe bring some flowers?"

"Let's do things the human way for now." Miguel's stomach churned at the thought of keeping something hidden from Isabella, but he wasn't ready to tell her he'd developed feelings for someone, especially a human. Not yet. "Is that alright?"

Any doubt Miguel had evaporated as Alejandro's smile lit up the apartment. "Of course! So, um, do you want to go on a date this weekend? Maybe go to the park or something?"

"That would be lovely!" He could have suggested repainting the barn for all Miguel cared. The thought of spending the day with Alejandro sent his heart fluttering. Just the two of them taking it easy without having to worry about the dinner rush or whose turn it was to clean the prey cages.

Alejandro's ringtone prevented Miguel from daydreaming too much.

"It's Mr. Kaminski," Alejandro said before putting him on speakerphone. "Need help unloading everything?"

"We have bigger problems at the moment, I'm afraid. Is Miguel with you?"

"Yeah, he spent the night." Alejandro's brow furrowed with worry. "Why?"

"Someone vandalized the restaurant last night." Mr. Kaminski sighed as Ralph yelled some choice words that made Miguel wince. Whoever did it was apparently in for a beating. "It's going to take a while to get all this cleaned up, so we're closing for a couple days. Don't want the customers to see how creative these people got."

"Go ahead and take that out of my paycheck," Miguel said. "None of this would have happened if I hadn't made David so mad last night."

"One, we don't know who did it. This isn't the first time some kids have thrown a tantrum over us existing. And two, even if he was responsible for this mess, you're not. Don't let me hear you say otherwise again, or else you're on prey duty for a week."

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Now, Alejandro, I want you to help Miguel get home. I doubt the hooligans who did this are sticking around, but, just in case, we need to make sure he gets back to his pack safely."

"Will do."

"Sorry for causing you guys so much trouble," Miguel said after Alejandro hung up. He hadn't been working at The Crimson Goat that long, yet he attracted trouble to it like flies to carrion.

"Like Mr. Kaminski said, it's not your fault. I'm just glad nobody was there this time. The last thing we need is for Ralph to end up in jail again."

They could say as much as they wanted, but that wouldn't soothe the unease twisting in Miguel's gut.