The Beauty Within by Savannah J. Frierson Read Free Book Online Page B

repeating: Wal-mart is the
    devil!”
    “But with oh-so-low prices!”
    Tyler glared at her sister even as she picked up a package of beef that
    would’ve cost almost twice as much if they had gone to the grocery store. “I
    know. That’s why they’re the devil. How many things in our buggy are devia-
    tions from the list we said we weren’t going to deviate from?”
    Wendy shrugged and put two packages of steaks in the buggy. Deviations.
    Tyler sighed but let them remain. They were shopping for the Super Bowl
    party that would be at Wendy and Damon’s place tomorrow, and given
    Damon’s friends tended to be very hungry all day, the more food the better.
    This time they had much more of a stake in it, considering it was the Carolina
    Panthers against the San Diego Chargers. They had local heroes on the Panth-
    ers team; and since the Chargers were a touchdown favorite, their little crew
    was going to cheer loud and hard in Wendy and Damon’s living room.
    They went into the chip aisle and put every version of chips in their buggy.
    They had no doubts all of them would be gone by the time the final seconds
    ticked down in the game, either. Tyler was perusing the dips when she felt her
    sister’s stare.
    “What.”
    “Gunnar’s gonna be there.”
    Tyler was glad she didn’t do anything that expressed her interest in that
    bit of news. “I wasn’t aware Gunnar and Damon were friends like that.”
    “Yeah. We’ve actually gone on double dates before. The girls Gunnar dated
    though…wow…it was just hard to watch.”
    “Why?”

    The Beauty Within
    37
    “They had the depth of a raindrop! Or if they didn’t, they would only talk
    about their favorite subject—themselves. Gunnar is a man, though, so what
    can you expect?”
    “Standards? Taste?”
    Tyler saw Wendy shrug out the corner of her eye. “Maybe he hadn’t found
    a woman who met those things yet. And if you haven’t noticed, Gunnar is a
    fine man, and he has needs. Going with those women would assure those needs
    are met—”
    “ Why are we talking about this?”
    “Because your big sister isn’t an idiot, and she knows when her baby sister
    is interested in someone.”
    “You’re only two years older than I am! And it’s not like I’ve never—”
    “It’s been a minute and you know it!”
    “This is new—older sis is trying to get younger sis some action!”
    “Not action,” Wendy said, her demeanor becoming serious. “Some love.”
    “Love,” Tyler scoffed.
    “You can’t find it unless you put yourself out there.”
    “I have .”
    She didn’t want to talk about it, either. They still had shopping to do.
    Tyler dumped the dips into the buggy and went down to the sodas, getting
    an eclectic array of two-liter bottles. Though she much preferred sweet tea
    herself, she wouldn’t deny the easy convenience of the carbonated drinks.
    Wendy came behind her, sliding her arms around her sister’s waist and
    resting her chin on Tyler’s shoulder. “You know I’m right.”
    Tyler’s nostrils flared. “And so now you’re playing cupid for me and Gun-
    nar?”
    “Not necessarily. Damon has other single friends too.”
    “That would be awkward.”
    “Why?”
    “They’re more like brothers!”
    “And Gunnar?”
    “ Why are you bringing him up?”
    Wendy took the bottles Tyler held and put them in the buggy. She then
    grasped Tyler’s shoulders and turned her around so they faced each other. “I’m
    bringing him up because he’s the first guy since—” Wendy took a deep breath,
    clearly discomfited by the murderous look Tyler gave her. “You know I hadn’t
    been overly excited by some of the fools you’ve dated recently, but Gunnar
    seems different—”
    “He’s white!”
    “So the hell what? You think only black men can cross over? Don’t you get
    that twisted, hon! Does his whiteness bother you?”
    “Not enough for me to reject him,” Tyler admitted.
    “Then what is it?”

    38
    Savannah J.