Page 18 of The Anaconda Downstairs

“No,” I said, a bit too quickly. “Don’t be silly. I may have talked to him last night. He’s... he’s been giving me some advice, that’s all.”

“Advice, huh?” Sara chuckled. “Is that what they’re calling it these days?”

I felt like I was under a spotlight, my cheeks burning hotter by the second. “It’s not like that.”

I was saved from more questions by the announcers for the game ramping up the crowd, and a ridiculously cute kid came out to sing the national anthem. As everyone turned their attention to the field, Kelsey caught my eye. She winked and then mouthed, “We’ll talk later.”

How had a simple flirting and dating lesson turned into such a fiasco? And more importantly, why did the thought of Everett being out there on the field not knowing about this conversation make my stomach do little flips?

The players ran onto the field, and my eyes automatically sought out Everett’s number. When I spotted him, I got all kinds of little tingles in my belly. Even from this distance, he lookedpowerful, confident, nothing like the soft, gentle man who’d let me fall asleep on his shoulder last night.

Which I absolutely needed to stop thinking about.

After the anthem, I scurried back to the spread of snacks and got a refill on my float from the ridiculously cute bartender. Ooh, this could be a moment to practice my rom-com movie moves. I stared up at him, keeping eye contact, and when he moved to one side, I mirrored him. He tipped his head and frowned at me. “Is there something else I can get you, miss?”

Crap. We hadn’t gotten to ideas for dialogue, and I already knew I sucked at that. So I just shook my head and brought my drink up to my mouth while I stood there waiting to mirror his next move. He smiled at me right when I was taking a sip of the drink and yep, I absolutely snort-laughed into my drink, blowing root beer ice cream bubbles up and over the side to spill down the glass.

Cute bartender pressed his lips together, clearly trying not to laugh at me, not with me mind you, and handed me a napkin.

I took it and decided I’d have better luck flirting with the chicken nuggets at the snack bar.

Suddenly those nuggets flew through the air. Great, even the nuggets were fleeing from me, and I hadn’t even attempted flirting with them yet.

“Willa?” Jules’s voice piped up. “We haven’t scared you off already, have we?”

I turned to see Willa forcing a smile. “No, no, of course not. This has been more fun than I expected. I think I’m just all worn out.”

Phew. It wasn’t about me and my crappy flirting skills. Hopefully no one had seen that. I sidled up to them, giving Willa a knowing look. “Wouldn’t have anything to do with why you didn’t rejoin the pajama party last night, would it?”

That should keep the attention off me.

Willa’s eyes widened in panic. “Shh. I don’t want to get Hayes in trouble.”

She glanced over at Mr. Kingman, who was clearly eavesdropping but trying to pretend he wasn’t.

Jules shook her head, completely unfazed. “Don’t worry about my dad. Not that I want to talk about my brothers’ sex lives, but everyone knows the Kingmans play better ball when they’re getting laid.”

I watched Willa’s cheeks flush crimson and gave her a reassuring smile. Poor thing was in for quite a ride with this family. A family I’d bet money she would soon be a part of.

Why did that make me sad? I’d be happy for her, I swear.

Trixie and Kelsey joined us, turning our little group into a full-blown gossip circle. As they launched into their usual candid banter about their sex lives, I found myself grateful they were focusing on anyone else but me. Someday I’d have to thank Willa for being the freshest story and taking everyone’s attention.

“If I wasn’t so happy to be getting more girls in this family, I’d be retching right now,” Jules declared, sticking out her tongue.

I saw Willa shift uncomfortably, and I wanted to tell her it gets easier. That soon, she’d be laughing along with the rest of the girlfriends at the Kingman family’s antics.

“And I couldn’t help but notice that Everett was not at the top of his game today,” Jules continued, her gaze suddenly swinging towards me. “Who are we going to find to make the love guru, a.k.a. man whore, fall in love?”

I almost fell over after being hit with that freight train of a statement. Everett wasn’t playing well? Because he hadn’t gotten laid? And why was Jules looking at me like that?

Right. Because he was with me last night instead of out romancing some cheerleader or something. But how did she know? Panic rose in my chest, and I made an abrupt turn towards the bar.

“One margarita, please,” I called out. “Extra shot of Patrón.” I needed something stronger than a root beer float to deal with this.

As I waited for my drink, I stared at the floor so as not to make any more eye contact with the bartender. Was Everett really off his game because of... me?

Before I could spiral further, the crowd outside erupted in cheers. We all rushed to the windows, momentarily distracted by a spectacular play on the field.

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