The Taste of Home

Chapter 27

The week leading up to Alejandro's family's visit passed in a blur of blundering anxiety. Miguel was so preoccupied with what could possibly go wrong that it wasn't long before The Crimson Goat's entire staff knew they were coming. Ralph's half-joking warning that he'd better be careful around Alejandro's mother "or else she'll leave with a massive, bloody purse" had made him so horribly nervous he'd managed to slice his finger open.

"Are you sure I look okay?" Miguel asked as he fumbled with the buttons of the dress shirt Alejandro had bought him for the occasion. The stiff fabric chafed uncomfortably against his scales, but it was almost worth it just to give Alejandro an excuse to help him.

Alejandro made quick work of the troublesome buttons before picking up Miguel's hand and giving the bandaged finger a kiss as gentle and brief as a butterfly landing. "You look wonderful. Just one last thing." Alejandro wrapped his arm around Miguel and pulled out his phone. "Say cheese!"

"I look ridiculous," Miguel muttered when Alejandro showed him the resulting photo. Stress had tightened his smile into a grimace, and the shirt's sleeves stopped halfway down his arms.

"You look fine. Besides, I've been meaning to change my lock screen." A series of quick taps was all it took to display the two of them on his phone. Despite his discomfort, Miguel couldn't help thrumming. Alejandro looked so happy standing beside him, holding him close as he beamed into the camera.

Someone knocked on the door, coaxing a nervous smile across Alejandro's face. "That must be them!"

As Alejandro went to let his family inside, Miguel took out his bottle of venom suppressant, twirling it between his fingers. He'd already taken some alongside a pair of hard boiled eggs, just enough to guarantee he could kiss Alejandro in front of his parents without ruining his appetite. But they would be visiting for hours, more than long enough for the usual dosage to wear off.

Their relationship was bound to be hard for Alejandro's family to accept even if Miguel wasn't constantly drawing attention to his fangs and venom all evening.

Alejandro had assured him things would be fine. That his parents would accept their relationship sooner or later. That even if they didn't take things well at first, he wouldn't let that come between them.

But Miguel couldn't lose another family.

He took a deep breath and downed the entire bottle of venom suppressant, struggling not to gag as bitterness flooded his mouth. This wasn't like the delicious burning of a Carolina Reaper. No, there was no pleasant undercurrent here, just a claw-curling intensity that made Miguel all too happy to throw the empty bottle into the garbage with the others.

A storm of Spanish echoed through the apartment as an older couple and a young man wearing a button-down shirt followed Alejandro inside, only for silence to take its place the instant they laid eyes on Miguel.

Alejandro's younger brother, Diego, spoke first. "¿Quién dejó entrar al lagarto?" Miguel shrank under the force of his glare.

"¿Dónde está tu novio, mijo?" Despite the gray hairs framing her face, Mrs. Morales looked every bit as fierce as Isabella with a fire in her eyes that could burn as easily as it could comfort.

Alejandro took a deep breath. "Miguel es mi novio, mamá." He slipped his hand into Miguel's, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"Encantado de conocerlos a todos," Miguel said. And it was nice to finally meet them, despite being called a lizard and feeling like his heart might burst through his tight-fitting shirt. He cleared his throat. "Sorry if my Spanish isn't very good. My old pack didn't speak it much."