You&Me: Book 4

Chapter 39: Pie (Archer)

Human food was rather colorful, I decided. I was used to the red and brown food, but Saigon's grandma made this orange jiggly thing with bits of fruit that concerned me. The turkey was good, though. I could have eaten just that if Karen hadn't insisted I expand my horizons.

I pushed the remaining food around and eyed the remains of the turkey. The alpha would eat the rest of it if I didn't get over there soon. I prepared to get up but Saigon clasped my hand.

"I'd wait."

"But the alpha will finish it off," I said in a hushed voice.

"He hates sweet things. My grandma hasn't brought out the desserts yet. It's like pie heaven." He hummed. "And the majority of people here barely eat any. It's my favorite part."

Sitting down, I watched Darius and Titus conjugated around the turkey. My father joined them and the three men picked at the bones until the carcass was bare.

Aden groaned. "I'm so full."

"Make some room," said Karen. "I will not be eating all of those pies by myself."

"Saigon will take care of any of the leftovers."

He smiled and nodded at his grandmother.

It was strange how Saigon didn't care what people thought. Back home, liking sweets was something I'd get teased about if someone found out. A certain person thought that it was repulsing that I liked chocolate.

Saigon cleared his throat. "You know, I still have room for a piece of pie." He clasped his hands on the table and eyed his grandma. "I could get them out."

She shook her head. "Wait until everyone has digested a bit."

He groaned and tapped his knuckles on the table. "Do you want to go for a walk?"

I shrugged. "To where?"

"Down the road."

"Sure, I guess."

Saigon gathered up our plates and went to throw them in the trash.

"Are you feeling better, Archer?" asked Karen.

I nodded. "Yes, thanks." Standing, I hoovered by the table, waiting for Saigon to come back. I was ready to get out of there before the conversation was focused on my episode earlier.

With a smile, he put an arm around my shoulders and headed for the door. "We'll be back in a bit."

Stepping outside, we wandered down the road. A tall fence ran along one side.

"What's that for?" I pointed.

"To keep the deer out," Saigon replied. "Otherwise, they'd jump over the fences and eat all of the cows' feed."

"A fence to keep deer out?" Why would anyone waste their time building a wall like that? "They could eat both of them."

He chuckled. "Humans don't use deer as a major food source. They are more like pests around here."

Shaking my head, I took a deep breath. "Sounds stupid to me. I could do with some good deer meat."

We stopped at a large boulder by the fence. I sat down and scanned the area. Harper's Creek still had plenty of trees, but the roads and houses were throwing things off. Being so close to home was making me miss Northern Ridge. A night in the cave or even under the stars sounded really nice. The human cities were so noisy.

"So, was it as bad as you thought?"

I shook my head. "I like your grandma. She's different but in a good way."

Saigon slowly slipped his arm around me. "You could do this every year, you know."

Laughing, I sucked in my lips. "I could." I turned to Saigon and gave him a quick kiss.

A car was coming down the street. The horn blared as it passed. I glared at it, but Saigon perked up.

"I think that was Daven," he said.

"I thought they weren't coming."

"It depended on Daven's schedule."

Taking my hand, he led back down the road to the house. Once we reached the grass, Saigon ran on ahead as I stood to the side. The full moon was tomorrow. I didn't need more people around who know the signs of a moon sensitivity.

"Hey!" Saigon hugged his cousin. "You made it."

"Yeah, we snuck off," Daven chuckled. "I don't think Trevor is happy that we left."

Jesse closed the car door. "I told my dad, he could come, too."

"Darius probably ate the rest of the turkey."

"We called ahead," said Daven. "I told Karen but said to keep it a surprise. Grandma and grandpa and my parents don't know we're coming."

"Well, you better hurry in there," laughed Saigon. "She made me wait on the pies and now I know why."

Daven rolled his eyes. "You're so weird. Hey, Archer."

I waved at the couple. "Hi."

"I'll talk to you two later. We better go eat before my dad sniffs out the turkey Karen saved for us." Daven led Jesse toward the garage.

"What are you doing way over there?" Saigon grabbed my arm. "Let's go see if we can have some pie now." He grinned at me.

Nodding, I gave him an uneasy smile. I was being thrown into a family of alphas and betas. My grandpa had been the beta with Xavier, but they were bred a little differently these days. Going inside, we went to the kitchen. Laughing and loud voices came from the garage. Everyone seemed thrilled that Daven and Jesse had shown up. The house was feeling really full.

Karen entered the kitchen. "Oh, I see you came back."

Saigon followed her around. "So, can I have some now?" He looked like a pup begging for a treat.

"I suppose." She took a small pan with tin foil out of the oven. "Don't eat too much. You'll make yourself sick."

He scoffed at the remark. "Not possible."

"Werewolf or not, too much sugar is still too much." She eyed him. "Be sure to put the lids back on when you're done." She returned to the garage.

Practically skipping to the fridge, Saigon started to get out all of the options. I sat down at the bar and examined each one he took out. He set one with chocolate shaved over whip cream in front of me. My mouth started to water. I had pie before a couple times, but these were something else.

Saigon popped off the lid. "This one is the best." He cut a huge piece for himself before giving me one of the same size. "I love it. I could eat a whole one by myself." Sitting on the stool beside me, he started to devour it.

I took a bit of mine and hummed. It was good. Glancing at Saigon, I shook my head. He already had chocolate on his face.

I snatched a napkin and offered it to him. "Hey, Mr. Beta, you're getting it everywhere."

Taking it, he cleaned his mouth. "It's good, right?"

"Yeah. You missed." I motioned to my face.

He wiped the same spot on his own. "Thanks."

The quick kiss I received was sweeter than usual.

I scrunched up my face. "Hmm... yummy."

Saigon simply smiled his usual cheesy grin.

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