The Guy on the Left (The Underdogs, #2)(62)

“So, you miss me?” He teases, and I roll my eyes. “Want to demonstrate how much?”

“Don’t push your luck, Jenner.”

“Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Yeah, okay.” It’s then I see some of the light I’ve been missing return in his eyes. “I’ve got a few notes to go over, and then I’ll come by.” I let my eyes drift down a little more before glancing at his open books.

“What’s your major?”

“Electrical engineering.”

I couldn’t be more shocked if he’d shot me.

He chuckles. “That look you’re giving me isn’t insulting at all.”

“Sorry,” I sputter. “It’s just…you failed sixth grade.”

He shakes his head. “Keep underestimating me, Ms. A. I like surprising you.”

“No issue there. It seems to be working in my favor.”

“Nothing better than a challenge.” He runs his tongue along his plump bottom lip, his eyes doing a full sweep as my pulse kicks up between my thighs.

“Easy, tiger. It’s a dinner invite. And please put a shirt on, or there’s a good chance Parker will lick you.”

The corner of his mouth lifts. “Wouldn’t want her to beat you to it.”

“Dream on, stud. And stop looking at me like that.”

“Thought you missed my attention?”

“Oh, shut up.”





Troy



It’s the smallest things. The way she worries her lip when she concentrates. The way she tucks the hair behind her ears before pushing up the sleeves on her sweater. A sweater that’s way too big. No matter how hard I try, when I’m around her, I can’t stop feasting. The four of us gather in the living room with mountains of decorations surrounding us. Parker hooks the ornaments handing them to Dante, who strategically places them on the tree. Clarissa bought a little electric fireplace to sit in the corner of the living room which warms the space. Soulful Christmas music is playing, the atmosphere relaxed. From behind my door to the inside of hers, it feels like a different world. And for the first time in weeks, I breathe a little easier.

It’s a different home in comparison to the one I live in. Our tree is a sad ass Charlie Brown number Theo bought and decorated with exactly four Grand ornaments. It’s a far cry from the lush Fraser Fir my boy is decorating. I love the light in his eyes, which I have decided are his mothers’. The minute I entered the house, and Dante greeted me with open arms, my mood shifted.

This was precisely what I needed to suck up the loss.

And the fact that Clarissa admitted she missed me, well that’s a different league of feelings. Feelings I’m not ready to act on just yet. With her, it’s a curved line to walk. I could tell the other night I’d let her down. I haven’t backed up a word I’ve said when it comes to her because of our lingering issues, but she doesn’t seem to hold it against me, which is surprising.

“Hey, you, lazybones. Quit acting like you played four quarters today and open a box,” she jokes, pushing a large tub my way. “We’ve got work to do.”

“If I’m going to work, I’m going to need more of this.” I lift my empty mug of eggnog, and Parker does the same.

“Me too. What’s in this? It’s like magic on my tongue.”

“Agreed,” I say, warming from the slight buzz of rum.

“It’s an old recipe, y’all like it?” Clarissa beams with pride.

“Which girlfriend was this?” Parker asks.

“Girlfriend?” I ask, ping-ponging between the two of them.

Parker gives me a devilish smirk. “You didn’t know about Clarissa’s college phase?”

“Shut up,” Clarissa rolls her eyes. “That’s one hundred percent not true.”

“Awww, look at him,” Parker says, studying my expression. “I think you just shot down his little elf’s hopes.”

“You have a little elf?” Dante asks.

“Yeah, bud. But he’s hiding. He’s afraid of Parker because she likes to play target practice with him.”

“You want to shoot Troy’s little elf? That’s not nice, Auntie Parker.” Dante scolds.

Parker glares at me, and I reply with a slow wink.

“Which girlfriend means,” Clarissa says, giving us both warning looks, “that my dad was a fan of variety.”

“You and your little elf know all about that, don’t you, Troy?” Parker adds smartly before she hiccups.

I roll my eyes. “Parker, go choke on a reindeer—”

Dante speaks up, schooling us both. “Y’all are interrupting Mommy, and that’s rude.”

“Get ‘em, baby,” Clarissa beams with pride.

Parker stands and takes my cup. “Sorry, Troy. Allow me to get you some more.”

“Sure, thanks.” I turn to Clarissa. “So, the girlfriends?”

“Forget it,” Clarissa says, shaking her head.

I move toward her and grab the lights she’s trying to separate and nudge her shoulder. “Tell me.”

She glances up at the tree as I study her exposed neck. “My dad loved a woman who knew her way around the kitchen, and when they stuck around, meaning for more than a few weeks, they’d show me how to cook. So that eggnog recipe came from Beth. She was in interior design.”