The Beauty of Us (Fusion #4)

“It’s been two weeks,” I say to Nana as we sit in our pedicure chairs, getting our feet pampered. Trevor has been gone for two weeks, and I can’t say that it’s been a good two weeks.

“When was the last time you spoke to him?” Nana asks.

“It’s been a couple of days.” I lean my head back against the massage chair and take a deep breath. “Honestly, I’ve heard from him less and less as time goes on. And I understand that we’re both busy with work, and his phone is all messed up because he dropped it in the water, but it’s hard to not even hear his voice for days on end.”

“I can imagine so,” Nana replies. “I do know that that boy loves you. I don’t believe he’s trying to back away from you.”

“I don’t either, and that’s almost harder than if he was. He texts me and tells me he loves me, but he’s not making real time for me. I need to hear his voice. I need to see him.”

“Well, he can’t very well just fly up here on your every whim.”

“I know, Nana, but he can FaceTime me.”

“What does that mean?”

“It’s a video call on our iPhones.” I smile and pull my phone out of my pocket to show her how it works.

“Well, look at that,” Nana says with a smile. “I can start FaceChecking your mama, since she doesn’t bother to come see me.”

“FaceTime,” I reply with a laugh. “And yes, you should do that. She should go see you more than twice a freaking year.”

I don’t bother to hide the disappointment and disgust in my voice.

“She’s busy too.”

“That’s an excuse,” I reply. “Don’t defend her. I run a business and I come see you once a week. And not because I have to, but because I love you and I want to see you.”

“I know.” Nana reaches over to pat my hand. “You’re a good girl. I’m sorry that your gentleman caller is making you sad.”

“I love it when you call him that,” I reply with a soft smile. “It sounds old-fashioned and traditional. Do I have to hand in my feminist card because I like traditional?”

“If you do, I’ll hand mine in with you,” she says. “There’s nothing wrong with wanting a man to be a man, and to respect you, Riley, all while you earn an equal wage and have the same rights as a man. I marched in my fair share of women’s rights marches through the years for that very reason.”

“I know.” I nod and hand the tech my nail polish. I always bring my own. The thought of having them use polish that has touched someone else’s feet grosses me out. “And I am so proud of you for doing it.”

“Having traditional values isn’t wrong. And frankly, I’m a bit disappointed in Trevor that he’s made you feel insecure.”

“I wish I could talk to him in person. Maybe this is all in my head. I do overthink everything. There’s a meme going around that says something like ‘I have ninety-nine problems, and eighty-six of them are ones I’ve made up in my head.’”

“What’s a meme?”

“A picture with a quote on it.”

“Oh yes, I see those on the Pinterest all the time.”

“Exactly. So maybe it’s all in my head.”

“No.” She shakes her head and purses her lips as she watches the tech paint her nails. “I don’t think it’s in your head. You’re a smart girl, and you have good instincts. I’m sure he’s not intentionally being distant, but you should tell him that you need him to be more available to you.”

“That’s going to make me sound needy.”

“And what of it?” Nana demands. “Riley, life is short. You already live far away from each other. At the very least, you should be speaking every day. It’s not needy to express that you need more from the man you love, and if he says that it is, well, then maybe he’s not the man for you.”

“He might just be really busy.”

“Now who’s making excuses for whom?” Nana asks with a smile.

“I know, but it really could be the case.” She stares at me without speaking, but I can see her thoughts written all over her face.

Stop making excuses for him and talk to him.

“I’ll FaceTime him tonight and talk this over with him. Hopefully he had time to go get a new phone today.”

“Good girl,” Nana replies with a satisfied nod. “What do you have going on after this?”

“I thought I’d take you to lunch.”

“Well, this is a treat. I get to spend all afternoon with you?”

“Of course. And after lunch, we should do some shopping. I need some shoes for Kat’s birthday party next weekend. I already have a dress.”

“That sounds fun. I could use a new bathing suit for this summer.”

I feel my brows climb into my hairline in surprise. “A bathing suit?”

“They’re building a new swimming pool in the community, and I want to look good sitting by it this summer.”

“You should stay out of the sun, Nana.”

“There are umbrellas,” she says with a wink. “And we’re still a ways from summer, but I might find something fun.”

“We will have a look.”

“Good. I can cook you dinner if you like.”

“Yes, I would love that. Let’s make a day of it.”

“Let’s do that.”



I didn’t get to talk to Trevor last night. We texted back and forth, and he said he was tired. He also mentioned that work has been increasingly demanding, and that he misses me very much. I asked him to replace his phone, again, and he promised to put it on his list today.

“If he misses me so much, why won’t he fucking call me?”

“What’s that?” Kat asks as she walks into the office. She stops short when she sees my face. “Oh God. You’re pissed already.”

“Men are more work than they’re worth,” I reply, and toss a folder on my desk. “What’s up?”

“Well, maybe I shouldn’t talk with you about this now.”

“It’s as good a time as any,” I reply with a sigh.

“No. No, I don’t think it is.”

“Oh, for fuck sake, Kat, what the hell is it?”

“See? You’re very sweary.”

I narrow my eyes at her and she clears her throat, then shrugs one shoulder as if to say, What the hell?

She pulls her phone out of her pocket and taps the screen until she finds what she’s looking for.

“Have you seen this?” She passes the phone to me.

“I didn’t know you and Trevor are friends on Facebook.”

“We are, because I need to look out for you. Although he’s very dull. He never posts.”

I’m staring at a photo of Trevor and another woman. His arm is slung around her shoulders and they’re smiling at the camera.

It doesn’t look recent.

“He didn’t post this,” I murmur. “He’s tagged by Angie.”

The caption reads I always love spending time with this guy.

“What the fuck,” I whisper.

“So you haven’t seen this.”

“I blocked Angie because she kept sending me messages about Trevor, and he asked me to block her so she couldn’t cause any more trouble.”

“Oh,” she says. “So you wouldn’t have been able to see this anyway.”

I shake my head no.