Page 22 of The Anaconda Downstairs

She laughed weakly, but then her face grew serious. “Everett, I... I think we should cancel the lessons.”

“What?” No way I was letting her quit. I wasn’t nearly started with her, much less done. “Why?”

Penelope sighed, looking down at her feet. “I’m clearly horrible at this. I can’t even make it through a simple coffee shop lesson without disaster striking. Maybe I should just accept that I’ll be going to the Grampys alone.”

“Penelope, look at me.” I waited until she raised her eyes to mine. “You’re not horrible at this. Everyone has awkward moments. Everyone. You should have seen the way Chris used to act around Trixie before he took my advice to actually tell her about his feelings for her. You gotta trust me.”

She bit her lip, looking unconvinced. “But?—”

“No buts,” I interrupted. “Listen, I have an idea. I think I’ve been going about these lessons the wrong way. You up for trying something different, with less eyes on you?”

Penelope nodded hesitantly.

“Good. Then I think it’s time for some private lessons,” I suggested, my heart racing a little at the thought. It was all for the cause. The sooner I could get her confident enough to talk to a guy, the better. “We’ll start with body language instead of flirting. Then you don’t have to worry about what to say.”

“Body language?” Penelope echoed, her eyes widening slightly.

I nodded, suddenly very aware of how close we were standing. “Yeah, you know. Reading signals, sending the right messages. Your eyes and a tilt of the head or a lick of the lips can say way more than words anyway.”

“Oh,” she said softly. Was it my imagination, or did she lean in a little closer? “That sounds... interesting.I guess we could trythat, because I’m clearly crap at the flirting by talking to anyone thing.”

“Great,” I said, perhaps a bit too enthusiastically. “Same time next week? We could meet at my place. No audience, no chance of coffee spills.”

“Your place?” Penelope squeaked, her cheeks flushing even darker. She mumbled something under her breath that sounded suspiciously like “Not sure I’ll be any less awkward there.”

“What was that?” I asked.

“Nothing,” she said quickly. “Um, your place sounds fine. Perfect even.”

As she turned to leave, she started to shrug off my jacket, but I stopped her. “Keep it,” I said. “You can give it back to me at our next lesson.”

She nodded, clutching the jacket closer. “Okay. Well... see you later. And thanks. For not giving up on me even after I ruined your shirt and your chances with Simone.”

I watched her walk away, my jacket draped over her shoulders, and a confusing mix of anticipation and dread worked its way from the base of my spine all the way down my legs. I was going to need another workout.

Once she reached her car, my phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out to see a text from Willa.

Saw what happened. You two okay? Btw, Javi was asking about Penelope after you left. Think he might be interested. Just thought you should know. ;)

I looked up sharply, just in time to see Willa waving at me from inside Cool Beans, a knowing smirk on her face. As I stood there, my wet shirt clinging uncomfortably to my skin, Penelopedriving away in my jacket, and Willa’s text glowing on my phone screen, I took a long, deep breath, and shook my head at myself.

Because the worst part? I was looking forward to our next lesson way more than any self-respecting teacher should. Private lessons on body language with Penelope? What could possibly go wrong?

VERBAL DIARRHEA

PENELOPE

Ipaced in the little den at Declan’s house Kelsey and I had commandeered as an office. We were both so used to working from hotel rooms and coffee shops while she was on tour and doing her promos that it was really nice to have a home base. Being a So-Cal girl, I didn’t know if I’d like living in Colorado, especially now that the weather was turning cooler. But I was seriously looking forward to seeing snow for the first time, so there was that.

I phone pressed to my ear, cringing at the memory of yesterday’s coffee shop disaster. “Simone, I’m so, so sorry about what happened. I swear I’m not usually such a klutz.”

Simone’s laughter tinkled through the phone. “Penelope, relax. It was actually kind of adorable. Besides, any chance to see Everett Kingman up close is worth a little spilled coffee.”

I felt a twinge of... something at her words. Jealousy? No, that was ridiculous. This was exactly what I wanted, right? To help Everett find love. Simone was poised to be the next big name in pop, and she and Everett would make a great match. Both of them were total tens.

“Speaking of Everett,” Simone giggled and sighed like a schoolgirl with a crush. I could relate. “What did he say after I left? Did he mention me at all?”

I swallowed hard, trying to ignore the knot forming in my stomach where the butterflies normally flittered about whenever I talked about Everett. “Oh, um, he was mostly concerned about the mess. But I’m sure he liked you. I mean, how could he not?”

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