I sat at the top of the stairs as Saigon got ready to leave.
"I made some extra eggs." He looked up at me. "If you're still hungry, there's other food in the fridge. Eat whatever you want. Leave the case of beef alone, though. That's for dinner tonight."
I nodded. "Got it."
"If you close the blinds, you can walk around in werewolf form. Just be careful."
"Will do."
"There are more clothes in the laundry room. You can wear whatever."
I gave him a thumbs up.
"What else?" He thought for a moment. "I'll lock the door when I leave and no one should come by. If they do, just pretend not to be home."
"I wasn't going to answer the door even if you wanted me to."
Saigon smiled. "Good to know. Um..." He clicked his tongue as he looked around. "I think that's it. Darius said he was sending a phone for you to use but for now, don't burn the place down and we should be good."
Raising an eyebrow, I gave him an unimpressed look. "I'll try my best."
"I'll be back soon." He waved and stepped outside.
The deadbolt clicked into place. I watched him go down the steps through the windows on the sides and head off down the sidewalk. I felt like I could finally breathe but at the same time, my stomach was fluttering. I was alone in the human world. Closing my eyes, I took deep breaths. The door was locked. I made it here in one piece. A few hours locked in a house would be easy.
Standing, I staggered down the steps and went into the laundry room. Metal machines were against the wall with Saigon's clothes covering the floor. Humans handled clothes differently than us. I examined the two machines. Both had clothes inside. One set was dry and the other was damp. So this was how they did it. That machine washed them and the other dried them. I grabbed a shirt off the floor and wrinkled my nose. It stunk like Saigon. Sorting through a few other items, I found half had a fresh scent to them like some of my dad's soap while the rest smelled like sweat. This was disgusting. He didn't even put them in different piles. The clean and dirty were all thrown together.
"I'm living with a giant slob." I ran my hand down my face. "I thought Willow was messy. This is disgusting." My head rolled back.
I found a couple things that looked like they would fit and didn't stink. I leaned over the washing machine and read the direction taped to the wall behind it. Even his parents knew he was hopeless. Maybe his grandma made him a printout. I'd heard enough about her to know she was overly attentive. I moved the dry clothes into an empty basket before switching the damp clothes over. I put the colors into the machine and followed the instructions before pressing on. Water started pouring through a side panel. I added in the soap and left the rest for later. Saigon was fine living like this but I couldn't do it.
After finding what I hoped to be a clean towel, I went upstairs to the guest bathroom. I glanced down the hall. I wondered if he had a better tub. Humans made everything so small. I pushed open the door to his room and scoffed.
"What the hell?"
Clothes were strung everywhere. Books were all over the floor, along with papers. His bed was one giant ball of sheets and blankets. Shaking my head, I went to the bathroom. The countertop was a mess but I was going to ignore it because a giant tub took up the corner of the room. Taking a few towels, I draped them over the mess. I needed to relax and I couldn't while looking at his shit thrown haphazardly about.
How could he live like this? He was what, twenty and his room still looked like he was a teenager. Finding a washcloth, I used some hand soap to clean the tub. God only knew when was the last time that Saigon did it. Using a glass, I rinsed it out before messing with the drain, so it would hold water. Human things were so complicated. They should just make one big bath-building with constantly flowing hot water for everyone to use. I took off my clothes and eased into the tub. It had a recline built into the side with a place to put my head.
Letting out a sigh, I let my eyes shut. I could lay here all day. If I was back at the cave, I would. After Willow left, Darius didn't make me do any work. He told me my head wasn't in the right place, and he was correct. I'd only have been a burden during hunting or border patrol. I worked my ass off to get my rank back after I mated with Willow, so it hurt to have it sort of taken away.
Chewing on my fingernails, I thought it over. Was that the reason I left? Over the last day or so, I was starting to doubt my decision to stay but at the same time, I didn't want to go home. I felt at ease here with Saigon, even though the place was disgusting. It was something to think about and with Saigon gone most of the day, I was going to have plenty of time to mull things over.
***
(Saigon)
"Alright," I whispered, staring at the front door.
I could do this. He'd still be inside. Darius would have called to let me know if Archer left. There was no way he would have ran off. I walked up the steps and took out my keys. God, werewolf spirits, ancestors, whoever had any control over this, please just make it, so he was inside. Unlocking the door, I pushed it open.
"Archer? I'm back." I dropped my book bag to the side and closed the door. "Archer?" My throat was starting to constrict.
"I'm in here."
The tension left my body as I smiled to myself. I knew he hadn't left. I went to the laundry room. Archer was sitting on the floor, sorting through mounds of clothes.
"You are the most disgusting man I have ever met," he stated. "My father can be messy at times but you are a slob." He pushed a bin of folded socks toward me.
I rubbed my neck as I gave him a sheepish grin. "I'm a college student. I don't have much extra time."
"Even a pup can make a pile that is clean clothes and dirty." He eyed me. "You just throw everything together. You haven't changed at all."
I shrugged. "Well, it's good to know we're both true to ourselves."
"Call me a clean freak and I'll slug you." He pointed at me. "The 'whole men are slobs' is an excuse to be lazy. Pick up your shit."
"Yes, sir." I tried not to smile.
He was such a clean freak, a cute clean freak, though.
"Did you start the washer?"
Archer nodded. "I read the direction. It was easy to figure out. A couple buttons and pour in the laundry soap, not the dish soap." He smiled at me. "Did someone have an accident?"
I clicked my tongue. "Do you even know what dish soap is?"
"The dishes didn't magically do themselves."
Glancing at the sink, I saw plates and cups on towels. "I have a dishwasher."
Archer shrugged. "It didn't have an instruction sheet. And when I saw the amount of bubbles from the dish soap, I didn't want to chance it."
"You didn't have to clean, Archer. You're kind of a guest."
"I'm living here," he muttered. "I can clean since you're not very good at it."
"It doesn't help your definition of clean and mine are different."
He pointed to the mound of dirty clothes. "Please explain."
I laughed. "College." I roughed up my hair. "I was going to do it this weekend."
With a sigh, Archer stood. "Well, I know how to work the machine, so I can do it."
"You don't have to, really."
He folded his arms. "You've given me shit for years, but your right. I took after my dad. I like cleaning." He motioned around him. "I like to get rid of all the shit lying around and be clean. I've seen you clean. We lived together for a little bit before you moved to Bloodhound. Your version of cleaning is rearranging garbage from one area to another. It's not putting me out to do this. I want to."
Letting out a deep breath through my nose, I rubbed around the neck of my shirt. "That would help me out. It would also get my grandma off my back. That last couple of times she visited, she wasn't impressed."
"I can see why?" he said under his breath. "Did she write that?" He pointed to the laminated sheet.
"Yeah, I accidentally bleached a couple things. I turned some of my socks blue because I threw them in with new jeans."
He put his hands on his hips. "Alright then, since I'm living here, I'll do the cleaning and you can cook."
I noticed a slight hint of desperation in his voice. "I'm good with that but sometimes, I have to stay late on campus. It would be nice if you could cook those days."
Archer shook his head. "No. I clean, you cook."
"You won't even try to cook for me?"
"No." He slipped past me and headed for the living room.
I tried not to laugh and went to the sink. The smell of burnt food was pretty potent. I checked the pan on the counter. It was clean. Opening the garbage can lid, I saw paper towels and burnt food. My beta instincts had been correct. I laughed to myself. I popped open the microwave and shook my head. It looked like something had died inside it. Spaghetti sauce was splattered everywhere. I heard a gasp.
Archer hurried over. "I was going to clean that. I forget. I'll do it now." He went to get a rag.
Closing the door, I stood in front of it. "Is this why you won't cook for me?"
"No,"—he wrung out the cloth—"of course not. I know how to cook."
I stepped on the foot pedal and the garbage lid opened. "Or is this the reason?"
Archer's shoulders dropped. He started wiping down the sink.
I walked up behind him and hugged him. "I'm only teasing you. I like cooking. I made dinner a lot when I lived with my grandparents."
"You told me not to burn down the house. I knew you were joking, but I almost did."
"No harm done. You even saved the pan."
"That thing went off." He pointed at the fire alarm. "It started screaming at me."
"It's a fire alarm. It goes off when there's smoke in the air."
He stood still as I reached over and turned off the water.
"Does this make you uncomfortable?"
Archer shook his head. "I'm just embarrassed."
"Can I kiss you?"
He pointed to his cheek.
I gave him a quick peck. "Do you want to watch TV while I do my homework? I'll start dinner in a bit."
"Okay." He glanced at me for a second with a slight smile. "Sorry about yelling at you. This is your house, and I kind of came in and took over."
Giving him a squeeze, I took in a deep breath of his scent. "I'm never going to stop you from cleaning. Just don't throw any papers away. They might be one of my homework assignments."
With a scoff, he shook his head. "I don't doubt it."