The Taste of Home

Chapter 24

The rest of the day passed as slowly as a snail sizzling on the scorching pavement. Without Saguaro Pack, Miguel had nothing to keep him occupied outside of work. No hatchlings to watch. No elders to keep company as he helped them work the stiffness out of their joints. Nothing.

His shift at The Crimson Goat couldn't come soon enough, yet when he arrived the restaurant was eerily quiet. Only the faint chirping of the grasshoppers in the prey room broke the silence.

"Is everything okay?" Miguel called out as he shrugged on his apron. The normally soothing fabric did little to ease his hammering heart as hushed whispering echoed from the kitchen.

Perhaps other chupacabras weren't the only ones who would think less of him for being packless.

The moment Miguel opened the door to the kitchen, he was met with the entire staff yelling, "Surprise!"

He couldn't believe his eyes. A full three-course meal of duck blood soup, blood sausages, and sanguinaccio dolce waited for him at the pass, complete with a bottle of sriracha.

"We thought you could use a little something to cheer you up after what happened yesterday," Alejandro explained.

"And you're more than welcome to have more anytime," Mr. Kaminski said. "I'd rather eat my shoes than let one of my employees go hungry."

Miguel tried and failed to stop tears from running down his cheeks. "You guys are the best," he said as he wiped his eyes.

"We know," Yolanda said with a smirk. "That's why we're handling all the prep work tonight while you take it easy and enjoy your dinner."

"Just don't enjoy your dessert too much, okay?" Mr. Kaminski said with a mischievous smile. "I can hear you and Alejandro flirting through the walls."

Alejandro flushed as Miguel choked on a mouthful of soup, spluttering that they'd try to keep things quiet.

While the rest of the chefs worked, Miguel dug into the feast they'd set out for him. Every dish had been prepared with as much care as if it was for the most demanding food critic in all of Texas, with even the usually too sweet sanguinaccio dolce coaxing deep thrums of pleasure from his throat.

Now that he had some food in him, it was time to put the venom suppressant to the test. "Alejandro, would you mind coming over here for a second?"

"Is everything okay?" Alejandro jogged to his side, his forehead already glistening with sweat from the heat of the kitchen.

"I want to kiss you!" The words flew out of Miguel's mouth before he had a chance to think. So much for leading up to it gradually. "I-I-I got some venom suppressant, a-a-and..." And now he couldn't even get the words out. Giving up on his traitorous tongue, Miguel handed Alejandro the bottle of venom suppressant.

Alejandro squinted at the instructions on the back, his lips moving silently as he read. "Are you sure you're okay with taking this? It sounds pretty potent."

Was this his way of trying to let him down gently? "I'm doing this for myself as much as I'm doing it for you. That's i-i-if you want it, of course. I mean, I've never done this before, but—"

"I'm sure it will be fine." Alejandro rubbed the back of his neck. "For me, anyway. Not sure if kissing a sweaty chef is particularly pleasant."

Miguel squirted a dropper full of venom suppressant down his throat, tidying up the plates from his dinner to give it time to kick in. Even after an unfamiliar dryness filled his mouth and the usual pressure in his venom glands faded to nothing, Miguel still tested his mouth on a napkin to make absolutely sure it had worked. No sizzling. Not a drop of moisture.

It was safe.

Miguel cupped Alejandro's face with his hand, careful to curl his claws away from his skin. Saguaro Pack would be appalled if they saw him now, yet he still leaned forward, pressing his lips against Alejandro's cheek. Stubble scraped his scales as Alejandro let out a shuddering exhale.

"Was that okay?" Miguel mumbled through a rumbling thrum. It wasn't as if he had many points of reference. None of the movies he had watched with Alejandro featured a chupacabra kissing anyone, much less a human.

"That was more than okay." A smile stretched across Alejandro's face as he raised a hand to touch his cheek. "You just caught me by surprise. Are your lips always so cold?"

"We'll have plenty of time to figure that out."

"After work!" The pair jumped as Yolanda interrupted their conversation. "Seriously, can't you focus on anything besides each other for five minutes?"

"Not for the next five, anyway." Alejandro bit his lip. "I've been meaning to ask, how've you been holding up with all the... you know..."

"It's been rough," Miguel admitted. "Are motels always drafty and dirty?"

"Not the good ones, but even they're hard to sleep in most of the time. It just feels wrong to sleep in a bed that isn't your own." Alejandro winced. "Sorry. You don't need me to tell you that."

"It's alright. I'll have to get used to it sooner or later." Miguel cleared his throat in an attempt to loosen the knot forming inside. It hurt to swallow. "More than anything, it was lonely in there. I don't know how humans can stand being alone like that."

"You can come stay at my place if you want." Alejandro flushed and rubbed the back of his neck. "I know it won't be the same as having a pack, but hopefully it's at least better than staying in some shitty motel."

"Your place is lovely, but are you sure that's okay? For me to stay there, I mean." Staying the night was one thing, but moving in so suddenly felt strange. He wanted it. Oh, how he wanted it. But Alejandro was a human and he was not. Could they really share the same space without Miguel accidentally hurting him or becoming a burden?

"Of course it is! Trust me, it's no trouble at all."

There was that moonbeam smile lighting up Miguel's whole world. Looking at that, all he could say was, "Then I'd love to live with you!"