Page 74 of The Anaconda Downstairs

Everett's brow furrowed. “So what, we just ignore it? Let them spew their lies?”

I shook my head and stroked the delicious stubble across his skin. “No. We stay positive. We continue to show them who we really are.”

I reached for my tablet on the coffee table. “Look at this.”

I pulled up the video montage Kelsey and I were working on with some other plus-size celebrities and a bunch of the Besties. It showcased women of all shapes and sizes sharing their storiesof insecurity and battling through to self-acceptance. It wasn't quite ready to go yet, but when it was, it was going to be powerful.

Everett watched intently, his grip on my hand tightening as the intensity of the messages filled the room. They were heartbreaking, they were empowering, and they were honest.

When the video ended, Everett was quiet for a moment. “This is... wow, Pen. This is incredible. You're right, this is so much better than burning down the internet, which is what Declan and I planned to do.”

Something amazing had bloomed this week in the community of women all around me, and it was slowly but surely changing the way I thought about myself. “It's not just us. So many women have been sharing their stories. It's like we've tapped into something that was just waiting to be released.”

“It's beautiful. You're beautiful, and I can't tell you how proud I am of you right now.” He pulled me down for a long, lingering kiss and slid his hands up underneath my shirt.

“I'm aching for you to touch me, taste me.” He'd been gone one night, barely twenty-four hours, and it felt like a thousand million years.

And it was going to be a billion katrillion more because there was a knock at the door, and Declan's booming voice. “Put your clothes back on love birds, we're coming in.”

I sagged against Everett, and he shook his head. “After we destroy Odin, my big brother is next on the list.”

Declan threw the door open before I'd even gotten off Everett's lap, and he had Kelsey in tow. I'd lived with the two of them long enough to recognize Kelsey's sex hair and satisfied smile. Dammit. Everett and I were going to have to practice quickies.

Declan rolled his eyes at me and Everett still entwined on the couch. “Come on, I gave you fifteen whole minutes after Kelsey's third orgasm. You need to work on your game, love guru.”

I'd seen how competitive the brothers were with each other, and I was not going to be sad to benefit from some “who can get their girl to come more times” contests between them and us. Everett must have read my mind, or maybe just the lascivious look on my face, because he waggled his eyebrows at me.

Sadly, he moved me to the cushion beside him but not before giving my earlobe a little nip and whispering, “No quickies for us, Penny. I'm going to love you long and hard, bent over the couch, just the way you like it, baby.”

Ooph. The anticipation of that was going to be fun for the next few hours. Maybe I could just ask Declan and Kelsey to come back tomorrow?

No. Yes. No. But I was going to try to keep this meeting as short as possible.

A few minutes later, our living room had transformed back into the war room. Kelsey and Declan had dragged Chris and Trixie along too, and the six of us were sprawled across the furniture, laptops open and phones in hand.

“I say we hit back hard,” Declan grunted. “And not just online. Have we figured out where this asshat lives yet?”

Trixie raised a finger. “I didn't go to school for years to become a librarian for nothing. I'm excellent at that kind of research.”

Everett nodded vigorously. “I'm with Dec. We can't let them get away with this garbage. You sit on him, Dec, and I've got some violent plans for him.”

“Don't you boys worry,” Chris sat across from us with his arms around Trixie and looking very much like he was gloating. “Trix and I have experience with blow hards. You let your big brother take care of this bully.”

I exchanged a worried glance with Kelsey. This wasn't the direction we'd planned for our campaign.

“Guys,” I said, trying to keep my voice calm, “I get that you're angry. Trust me, I am too. But fighting fire with fire isn't going to solve anything.”

Kelsey nodded in agreement. “Pen's right. We've been making real progress with our positive message campaign. Do we really want to derail that by getting into a mud-slinging match?”

Everett ran a hand through his hair, frustration evident in every line of his body. “So what, we just let them walk all over us? Let Odin spew his hate without consequences?”

“No, we don't let them walk all over us. We rise above it.” I turned to Everett, remembering our earlier conversation. “You said you wanted to contribute, right? What if... what if you guys shared your own stories?”

Declan's brow furrowed. “What do you mean, 'our own stories'?”

Kelsey and I had bandied about this idea yesterday while we were watching the game. “What if you shared times when you weren't completely confident in your bodies too? This doesn't just have to be about women's stories. Men have tons of body insecurities as well.”

Showing that men have body insecurities too would reach an even bigger audience of people who needed to hear this kind of message.

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