The Guy on the Left (The Underdogs 2)

“I’m exhausted. I’m so fucking exhausted.” He shoves his hands in his pockets and makes his way down the steps as a white Taurus pulls up. Halfway to the car, he turns back to me, his eyes pleading. “Just don’t let him think less of me, okay? I will get it together, Clarissa, I swear. I will.”

“I know you will.”

“Please just tell him I’m coming back. Promise me you’ll tell him I’m coming back.”

“I promise,” I manage to get out before he climbs into the back of the car, and the driver pulls away. Just inside the door, I collapse into Parker’s waiting arms.

Alta’s Chicken Enchiladas

Cheerleader, Texas

Makes 10 servings

1 hour and 30 minutes

6–8 Chicken Breasts **Time saver—use 2 cooked rotisserie chickens

10 Flour Tortillas

1 Medium Onion – Chopped

12 Oz. Grated Cheddar Cheese

4 Cans Cream of Chicken Soup

4 Oz. Can Chopped Green Chilies

1/2 Cup Water

Boil chicken for about 45 minutes after water starts to boil.

Remove meat and cut into bite size pieces.

Heat soup, green chilies, and water in saucepan.

*TIP-Spread a large spoonful of soup mixture into the bottom of the pan to keep the enchiladas from sticking.

Place chicken, onion, cheese, and a spoonful of sauce in a tortilla and roll up. Put rolled up tortilla in baking dish. Repeat until the desired number of enchiladas are made.

Pour remaining sauce over enchiladas. Sprinkle any remaining cheese over top.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

These are very good served with sour cream and a dash of hot sauce.

Clarissa

The next morning, I made an excuse for Troy at breakfast and Dante sulked for the rest of the day and through the night. It’s only been a few days, the house eerily empty despite the racket Dante makes, but I know it’s the ache I’m battling inside.

I lost him.

I’ve lost him and ruined any chance of the future we’d been dreaming up together. Parker had to leave early this morning for a short trip, and I only managed to go through the motions, every movement a chore, while trying to remind myself to breathe. I broke my own heart because of my inability to trust what I knew to be the truth. My biggest mistake is that I wanted concrete answers, conviction. But love is not concrete, it’s fragile, unforgivingly so. I wanted to love Troy without the risk, but in the end, I realized the only way I could have proved my love was by taking one.

And I failed.

I’m a coward.

A fucking fool.