Page 30 of The Anaconda Downstairs

Before I could talk myself out of it, I was dressed and heading to Cool Beans with my laptop tucked under my arm. The excuse of work would give me cover if I chickened out of talking to Willa. Or if Javi was there.

The bell above the door jingled when I stepped inside, and I was immediately hit with the warm aroma of coffee and freshly baked pastries. Yum. This was fast becoming a favorite place in my life. But instead of the expected late afternoon rush of random customers needing a caffeine pick-me-up, I found a group of women, all curvy, plus-size, big girls like me, laughing and chatting animatedly.

“Penelope,” Trixie, Chris’s fiancée, was in the group and waved me over. “Perfect timing. We’re just starting our first plus-size romance book club. Come join us.”

I hesitated, my eyes scanning the room for Willa, but she was nowhere to be seen. Jules, Everett’s sister, patted the empty seat next to her. “Come on, Pen. We don’t bite.”

They might not, but the two of them were Kingman women through and through, so this might bite me on the ass. And not in the fun way. With a resigned sigh, but a pasted on smile, I made my way over.

“I haven’t read the book.” Although weren’t lots of book clubs more like wine and whine clubs? I’d never been in one before.

Wait, was this how adult women made friends? Oh my god. It was.

Trixie waved off my concern. “Doesn’t matter. We mostly use the books as an excuse to get together for some escape from the world. Although, we are exclusively reading body positive romance novels written by fat women, about fat women, for fat women.”

“If you happen to like dragons or fated mates, you’re gonna want to read this one.” One of the other book clubbers held up a copy of a book that I recognized calledChase Me, because Kelsey owned it. But she wouldn’t let me borrow it. Probably because Declan had given it to her as a gift when she’d been ill.

The woman next to her snickered and winked at me. “Yeah, especially if you’re into riding your dragon. If you know what I mean.”

I glanced over at Jules, who was only seventeen. Was this appropriate for her? She caught me looking. “Don’t worry, I’m the one who recommended we kick off the club with this particular book. I’ve been reading spicy books for years.”

Trixie grinned at her. “Under the supervision of your friendly neighborhood former teen librarian who vets the collection.”

For the next hour, I found myself swept up in their conversation. We talked about everything from the latest Hollywood gossip to the pros and cons of eBooks versuspaperbacks. Not once did anyone bring up diet culture, or shapewear, or look funny at anyone else for ordering a cookie or a double chocolate frozen espresso with extra whip.

It was... nice. Comfortable. I hadn’t realized how much I needed this kind of easy female companionship. Especially with other women who had that same kind of confidence that I was trying to obtain. The kind like Kelsey spread around the world with her music.

As the meeting wound down and the other women started to leave, I gathered my things, ready to make my escape. But Trixie and Jules exchanged a look that made me pause.

“So, Pen,” Trixie said, her voice casual but her eyes sharp. “What’s really going on between you and Everett?”

I froze, my laptop halfway into my bag. “W-what do you mean?”

Jules leaned in, her eyes sparkling with mischief. “Oh, come on. We’re not blind. The way you two were cozied up at game night? The secret smiles? The whispered conversations?”

“That was just—” I started, but Trixie cut me off.

“And don’t think we didn’t notice you two sneaking out early,” she added with a wink.

“It’s not what you think,” I said weakly. What in the world was I going to tell them to throw them off the scent? Could I even? There was no way I was going to get away with hiding anything from either of them. “Everett’s just... helping me with something.”

“Helping you, huh?” Jules wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. “Is that what the kids are calling it these days?”

I buried my face in my hands, mortified. “Oh my god, no. It’s not like that at all. He’s just...”

I shouldn’t tell them, but I really wanted to. Maybe if I swore them to secrecy? If this blew up in my face, I could handle it. ButI didn’t want my lack of skills in the dating department to put a wedge between Everett and Declan.

Gah. I was going to risk it. Nothing risked, nothing gained. “He’s giving me dating lessons.”

The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them. I peeked through my fingers to see Trixie and Jules staring at me, mouths agape.

“Dating lessons?” Trixie repeated slowly. “From Everett ‘Love Guru’ Kingman?”

I nodded miserably. “And you have to promise not to tell a soul.”

Jules let out a low whistle and pulled my hands away from my face. “Tell us everything. And I mean everything.”

As I looked at their eager faces, I realized I’d stumbled into something I couldn’t escape. With a deep breath, I began to spill the whole story, from my overly awkward dating attempts in high school and college to wanting a red carpet date for the award to spilling coffee to habanero and giraffe facts to the almost-kiss on Everett’s porch.

---