The Beauty of Us (Fusion #4)

“So, do you know what Trevor wants?” Cami asks.

“No, but I could text him.” I pull my phone out of my pocket and smile when I see his name on my screen. “Aw, he already texted me.”

Looking forward to dinner tomorrow night.



“Oh lord, she’s smitten,” Mia says with a roll of the eyes. “She’s all aflutter over there.”

“I’m going to ask him if he wants a fling or something serious.”

“NO!” they all yell in unison.

“Absolutely not,” Kat says, and dives for my phone. “Why am I always saving you bitches from embarrassing yourselves over text?”

“Good communication is important,” I remind her with a frown.

“Yeah, but this isn’t that. Asking him if he wants a fling is a conversation best had in person.”

“Fine,” I reply with a sigh. “But he texted me first, so I should reply.”

She reluctantly gives me back my phone and I take a sip of my drink.

“These are really delicious. I know what I’ll say! I’ll tell him his glasses are sexy.”

“That’s a good one,” Cami says with a nod. “They really are sexy.”

Your glasses are sexy as fuck.



I hit send and sit back with satisfaction.

“You know,” Addie says, a thoughtful look on her face. “Starting something with Trevor doesn’t mean that it has to end when he leaves.”

“She’s right,” Kat says just as Trevor’s reply to my text arrives.

Your ass is sexy as fuck.



“He likes my ass,” I announce, and quickly reply to him.

You should send me a selfie. I want to see you.



“I’m serious,” Kat continues, “I mean, sure it’s not ideal, but L.A. is only a three-hour plane ride from here.”

“Says the girl who hates to fly,” Cami adds with a snort. “Oh, I’m so drunk.”

“Just because I don’t like to fly doesn’t mean that Ri can’t fly to get some action.”

I nod, pondering what she’s saying. Trevor shoots me another text. It’s a selfie of him in his glasses, sitting in his apartment. He has his nose scrunched up. “Aw, look.”

The girls just smile at me while I take a selfie for him, making sure he can see my cleavage, and send it back.

“Concentrate, drunk girl,” Kat says. “What about a long-distance thing?”

“That just seems like so much work,” I reply. “I mean, it’s hard enough to have a relationship with someone in person. Being far away would suck.”

“Well, I don’t mean to brag, but we’re doing pretty okay for ourselves,” Addie reminds me. “And I would bet that he does well too. It’s not out of the realm of possibilities that you could travel to see each other on the weekends.”

“Plus, he travels a lot for his job anyway,” Mia adds. “It would be exciting to meet up with him in different cities.”

Beautiful, as always.



Trevor’s text makes me grin.

I liked it when you took me to see boobs. And kissed me. Lots of kisses.



I hit send and return my attention to the girls. “I should just ask him if that sounds good to him. I mean, I’m drunk and all, but it sounds okay to me.”

“Do not ask him that,” Kat says sternly, and because I’m afraid she’ll take away my phone again, I bite my lip and smile innocently.

Um . . . Have you been drinking?



I snort and cover my mouth with my hand, staring at all eight of the girls.

There are two of each of them.

“He asked me if I’m drunk.” I smirk and find my Snapchat app. “Time for a video.”

“Oh God,” Mia says, hanging her head in her hand. “Girls are so dumb when they’re drunk.”

“It’s funny,” I reply, and find the baby bunny filter.

“Hi,” I say, and let out a little giggle. “I might be drunk. Allegedly. I have a magic martini glass that keeps filling up.” I cuddle the glass to my face just as my ten seconds are up, save it to my phone, and send it to Trevor.

“So, what you guys are saying is, just because he doesn’t live here doesn’t mean I can only have a fling with him.”

“Exactly,” Addie says, and raises her glass in a toast. “If you care about each other, you can figure it out.”

“I guess you’re right,” I reply with a nod, and smile when Trevor texts back.

Okay, that’s cute. Glad you’re having fun. Are you safe?



“Okay, look at this.” I show them his text and feel my insides go all gooey. “He’s so sweet.”

“That is pretty sweet. That’s something Jake, Mac, or Landon would say because they love us,” Cami says with a nod. “Oh, I’m so happy for you.”

“Don’t cry,” I demand as Cami’s eyes well up with tears. “Don’t you dare, or I will too.”

“It’s just, you’ve waited so long to find someone who isn’t a dick,” she says, and sniffs loudly. “If you feel something real for this guy, you have to give it a try, Ri. Good guys are almost extinct.”

“She’s right,” Mia says. “I hate to admit that, because you all know I’m sort of not the biggest fan of the male species, but if it feels right, go for it. And not just for the sex, but for the whole package. You never know, it might all be a moot point anyway. You might hate him by Monday.”

“There’s the cynic we all know and love,” Kat says, hugging Mia around the shoulders.

“She’s sort of right,” I reply. “Maybe the sex will suck.” I frown. “Why would I wish that on myself? The sex will definitely not suck. But something could happen that puts a stop to all of it anyway. Might as well see how it goes.”

“Cautiously optimistic,” Cami says with a slow nod. “A good way to go into it.”

“Plus,” I add, “have you guys seen his glasses? And his hands. Holy shit, he hasn’t gotten me naked yet, and he already does amazing things with his hands.”

“So, he’s handsy,” Addie says, making us laugh. “I love that word. ‘Handsy.’”

“I love a handsy man,” Kat says with a grin. “As long as it’s not creepy handsy.”

“True,” I say with a nod. “And he’s not creepy at all. A little geeky.” I laugh when I remember his love of Star Wars and video games.

“Geeks are sexy,” Kat says. “Nothing wrong with that.”

“Not wrong with that at all,” I agree.



“Why haven’t we had sex back here?” Cami asks Landon later as he gives us a ride home. Well, he’s giving me a ride home and taking Cami to their home.

Because they’re married.

“Seriously,” she continues. “There’s plenty of room.”

“I’ll put it on the list,” Landon mutters with a grin.

“You love her,” I say.

“Of course I do,” he says, smiling at me.

“Even when she wants to ride in the backseat because this is a new car and she hasn’t ridden back there yet,” I add.

“She’s fun,” he says with a shrug.

Trevor is fun.

“I want to talk to Trevor,” I announce, and dial his number, smiling when he answers on the second ring. “Hi, sexiest man alive.”

“Well, hi there,” he says.

“Oh my God, Riley, hang the phone up,” Landon says in exasperation.

“No.” I frown at him.

“Who was that?” Trevor asks.

“Just Landon,” I reply, and wave him off, as if he can see me. “I wanted to tell you again that I loved it when you took me to see the boobs.”