6. Mustangs vs Sharks

MUSTANGS VS SHARKS

PENELOPE

I woke up with a start, blinking a few times to figure out where I was. Hotel room. Got it. Normal for my life. But in the living room? Why wasn't I in a bed? Oh, oh wait. "Everett?"

The room was quiet save for the hums of the air conditioner and mini fridge. I was alone in the hotel suite. Last night flooded back. The disastrous flirting attempt, the way he didn't torture me over how embarrassing of a love guru student I was, and then watching rom-coms and eating pizza.

I mean, that was better than any real date I'd ever been on.

Too bad someone like Everett would never go for an awkward, chubby—did I mention awkward?—woman like me. Not when he always had some supermodel or cheerleader on his arm or in his bed. He wasn't looking to fall in love anyway. He was a player, but that's what I wanted. Not to date or fall in love with him. God no. I just needed his advice, his expertise.

But falling asleep on his shoulder, the warmth of his body next to mine... Nope. No. Red light. Stop sign. Do not pass go. The space beside me was cold and empty because he hadn't stayed. Which was for the best.

I stretched and grabbed my phone to check the time. Kelsey liked to get to the stadium early so we had to do the minimum of sneaking her around in catering or laundry carts. Instead of the time, I saw a text from Everett.

In case you wake up alone, Sleeping Beauty, I went back to my room to catch a few zzz's before the game. Didn't want you to think I just ditched you, but you were sleeping so hard, I didn't want to wake you just to... anyway, see you after the game.

I groaned, burying my face in the pillow. I'd fallen asleep on him like some kind of overgrown koala. So much for being a sophisticated woman he could coach in dating. Part of me had hoped... well, I wasn't sure what I'd hoped. That he'd still be here? Dumb. Eye roll. Ridiculous.

Kelsey wandered into the suite with Trixie in tow. They both had these satisfied dreamy looks on their faces, and honestly, anyone in the world would be able to see they'd been well loved last night.

I, on the other hand, had snuvvies in my curls it would take a month to brush out and probably a whole train station of crisscross lines smushed into my face from sleeping face down on the couch cushions.

"Hey, Pen." Kelsey gave me a sloppy sort of smile. "I know we're already running late, you can yell at Declan for that later. Would you mind ordering up some lattes for us while I hop in the shower?"

"Oh, oh, add me to that request pretty, pretty please." Trixie pressed her hands together in a begging gesture. "Extra shot and oat milk. I'm gonna need my energy later for... uh. Okay, I'll just be a minute too."

They both disappeared into their rooms, and I heard the showers turn on seconds later.

I'd expected the girlfriends' version of the Spanish Inquisition. Thank goodness they were both too distracted by their freaking blissful love lives to notice I was anything but normal, put-together Penelope. I ordered up the coffees and some pastries too, even though there would be mountains of food at the game, and included one extra in case Willa showed back up too. Then I popped in my own shower for a super-fast rinse.

When I looked in the slightly fogged up mirror afterward, the contrast between the happy glow on Trixie and Kelsey's faces compared to mine was a bit too stark.

If I had to be embarrassed in front of Everett Kingman the Love Guru for a hundred awkward dating lessons in a row to have even a chance at finding love and happiness, I would do it.

I wrapped my hair into a messy bun instead of trying to even attempt to run a brush through it and grabbed that same lip gloss that Everett had me wear. I wasn't normally a big makeup person. I didn't need to be. Kelsey was the one in the spotlight. And it was far too easy to throw a filter on a video if I was going to be on camera for social media.

Maybe I needed a makeover.

Except that's what I was doing with these dating lessons. Making myself over from the inside out. Work that I'd started when I became Kelsey's assistant. But nobody tells you that inside out makeovers are harder because you can't just spin around in a mirror and see your new and improved self.

An hour later, we were all loading up on snacks and drinks in the VIP suite at the stadium. The place was already buzzing with excitement, and while I'd never been a big sports girlie before, I really enjoyed coming to the games.

"Pen, over here, meine Beste, " Sara Jayne Jerry's voice rang out over the chatter. She waved enthusiastically for me to join her in the front row seats. Turned out, she'd been a Besties Bestie follower for years. Beside her, Kelsey, Trixie, and Marie Manniway were chatting up Willa, trying to make her feel welcome.

I gave her a wave and a smile. She looked like she was gob smacked by all of this. And I totally understood. Sometimes I marveled at how this was my life. I definitely hadn't been voted most likely to succeed in high school.

If you would have told fifteen-year-old me that ten years later I'd be traveling the world with the most adored pop star, have over a million followers on social media, be helping spread her message of body positivity, and get to do things like fly on a private jet to watch football games in VIP suites with an alcoholic root beer float in hand, I'd have smacked you with my notebook.

But if you'd said I still wouldn't have a boyfriend with no prospects on the horizon... that I would have believed.

Bridger, the father of all these Kingman boys, who we secretly referred to as Zaddy Kingman, chatted with Mac Jerry, the sports agent, and Johnston Manniway, who I'd learned early on in Kelsey's relationship was a legendary quarterback for the Mustangs in his day.

Right in the middle of it all was Jules, the seventeen-year-old badass youngest sister of the clan. All of a sudden, I felt incredibly lucky that her attention was on Willa and not me. Nothing got by Jules Kingman.

I took a long sip of my drink, and made my way over to Sara, pasting on a smile. "Hi, so nice to see you and Mac again."

Kelsey turned to me, a new knowing glint in her eye and lowered her voice. "So, Pen, we were all in such a hurry this morning, I didn't get to ask. How was your evening? Do anything... interesting?"

Oh gawd. What had she and Trixie been talking about? Did they know?

This boozy fluffy drink was going to be gone before I knew it, because it was the only thing keeping me cool right now. "Oh, you know, watched some movies."

That wasn't a lie.

"Mhmm," Kelsey hummed, clearly not buying it. "And I suppose Everett just happened to have a quiet night in too?"

Before I could stammer out a response, Sara Jayne leaned in. "Ooh, what's this about Everett? Are you two...?" She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

"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 looked powerful, 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.

I watched Everett move across the field pushing some guy out of Hayes's way. If he wasn't at the top of his game, I'd hate to see what he was like when he was. But if Jules said he wasn't playing well, she'd know. She probably knew the sport and the mindset of the athletes better than anyone else.

I was a planning and organizational guru, and I could fix this. I was here to learn how to date, not to fall for my teacher. No matter how much I wanted to. But if that was throwing him off his game, we needed to do something about it.

I didn't want to give up lessons. Even though I was still a complete wreck talking to any guy who wasn't a Kingman, I felt like I'd learned so much already. Everett really was a love guru. Except, I'm not sure that was the right moniker for him. He was a dating guru, and I had no doubt he was a sex guru too. But maybe he needed help finding someone to fall in love with and not just take to bed.

The sparklies of a new and improved idea jinga-linged in my mind. What if while he was teaching me how to date, I helped him find a date of his own? Not just a date, but someone he could actually fall for.

Yes. I rubbed my hands together, planning and plotting. I'd just insist he continued to go along with me to these dating lessons and get him to demonstrate how it's done. Oh, or better yet, I'd use some of my contacts that I'd made to find him someone as gorgeous, successful, and as popular as he was.

A matchmaking I would go.

I glanced back at Jules, who did the two finger eye-to-eye point between us. And right behind her was Marie Manniway giving me the same look.

Two minutes ago that would have scared me. Not now.

I had a plan, and I was going to get the love guru to fall in love.

Just not with me.