Page 17 of Picture Us

Rude.

Drew chewed the inside of their cheek as they tapped their finger against their phone. Their eyes wandered around the apartment, landing on the near stranger in their bed. Liz sat upright in the bed with the pristine, white sheets wrapped around her torso, concealing the body Drew had gotten to know the night before.

They struggled to find the words, stammering over themself. Eventually, Drew settled on, “So, I’ve actually got some work to do.”

Liz took a deep breath and nodded, leaning over the edge of the bed and to grab her shirt. “I take it we won’t be going on another date?”

Looking at her, Drew chuckled. She was a sweet woman. She wouldn’t struggle to find someone. But Drew clearly wasn’t in the place to put their work aside for even the shot at love.

Not if they had any hope of getting back to the projects they really cared about.

The silence was enough of an answer, prompting Liz to collect her scattered things.

“There’s no need to rush out though; help yourself to coffee or food. I’m just going to be over here,” Drew pointed to the desk.

Liz was already standing, half dressed. “That’s okay. I’ve gotta feed my cat anyway.”

As Liz made her way to the front door, Drew stepped closer. “I really do want to see the installation though.”

Turning, Liz laughed. “I’ll text you the details.” And just like that, she was gone, and Drew was alone in their studio. They took one deep breath, closing their eyes as they thought,I hope she isn’t offended.

Drew drummed their fingers along the table before turning back to the desktop once it fully booted up. They opened the email, and while the images processed, headed to the kitchen for a fresh cup of coffee.

Leaning against the counter, their cheeks poked out of the boxers they had thrown on. The cold stone shocked them, almost making them spill coffee on the wood floors. From across the loft, Drew saw the images appear.

They basically threw themself toward the computer, strangely eager to see what Rose had to offer.

Sitting in the desk chair, Drew scrolled through what ended up being forty pictures.Still way too many to whittle down, but whatever.Drew pursed their lips against their mug as they sipped the boiling hot coffee.

But they couldn’t lie that nearly every picture was worth being included. The minor edits Rose had made the day before had gone a long way. Drew selected one of Ellen down on one knee. Fin’s hands clasping her face as she got down on her own knee. Rose had captured the shock perfectly. But not just the shock.

Drew leaned closer to the screen. Her exposure was perfect, an exact balance of the setting sun behind them and their well-lit faces. Drew shook their head as they laughed.

Even the framing is perfect.

They forced air into their lungs. Something about the way she had captured her friends was making Drew’s chest hurt.

They found a few that needed to be sent: a classic shot of the rings, both of them holding hands before the proposal, the shock of the dual proposal, and a few posed after the engagement. Drew compiled them in the body of the email and began writing back:

Rose,

Below are a few I think work. Sorry for judging you. They’re beautiful shots.

Drew

Drew hovered over the keyboard for a minute. A part of them couldn’t believe Rose had managed to do something so stunning, especially with such an attitude.

They rubbed their ring finger along the delete button. Eventually, they slammed down on the button, added something back, and clicked send, crossing their arms to stop themself from hitting the “undo” button.

As they chewed their lip, they reread it.

Rose,

Below are a few I think work. Fin and Ellen will like them.

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