Page 22 of Picture Us

With the light off, Rose just stood still, unsure what came next.

Drew cleared their throat, stuttering. “Okay, grab the photo and throw it in the bath.”

Rose lifted the clamp and pulled the paper, careful to only touch the edges where an image wouldn’t print. When she turned around, she jumped a little. She hadn’t even noticed the three trays of liquid in the basin of a long sink behind her.

“Which one?” Rose asked, her eyes scanning from tray to tray, unable to find a difference in the liquids.

Drew flicked their head toward the closest tray. “This one, it’s called developer.”

Rose nodded, setting the photo inside the bath. As she did, Drew reached around her body,grabbing the tongs that sat next to the tray and gently pushing the paper under the fluid.

Once it was submerged, they set the tongs along the edge of the tray. With both hands, Drew reached around Rose and gently rocked the bath back and forth, letting the liquid slowly lap over the photo.

Rose felt their forearms tensing with the controlled movement. She looked down to watch as an image began to develop on the paper.

It started gray, slight lines beginning to appear on a blank paper. Lines that felt like they led her eyes up Drew’s strong arms, their veins tempting Rose’s gaze to explore them.

As the image rocked in the waves, the lines became crisper, deep blacks and pure whites beginning to distinguish themselves from the vague grays. Spotting an uncovered section, Rose grabbed the tongs and lightly dunked the photo.

“Good catch.” Drew whispered in her ear, their breath tickling Rose’s skin.

Fuck.Rose could hardly control herself. She could only imagine the mess that waited for her in her thong.Touching myself to them was a terrible idea.

When Rose turned her head to look at Drew, it was clear to her that they were surprised by the image.

“After about a minute, you can move the photo to the next tray. It stays in the stop bath for fifteen seconds.” Drew’s temples tensed as they met Rose’s gaze.

Rose looked up at them, seeing their chest was rising and falling as quickly as hers was.

With a smirk, Rose joked, “Is it called the stop bath because itstopsthe development process?”

Drew chuckled as they pulled away from Rose’s back.

Oh my god, don’t tell me they have fucking dimples.Rose shook her head. She hadn’t ever seen Drew smile deep enough to reveal the dimples before.

I’m fucked.

“You’re joking, but yeah. It’s a pretty literal name.” Drew leaned their hand against the steel sink, staring at Rose with softer eyes than she’d ever seen from them. Rose looked down at their straining hands, a smattering of veins rising from their skin as they moved the tray.

Rose cleared her throat and took a deep breath as she felt the release from Drew’s warmth.

After what felt like an hour, Rose grabbed the photo from the developer and placed it in the next tray. She mimicked Drew’s motions, letting the water wash over the now crisp image.

She could feel Drew’s eyes watching her every movement, clearly impressed by how quickly she picked it up.

Fifteen seconds later and Rose was lifting the photo into the final bath. She followed the same process, gently rocking the liquid over the paper.

“How long does this one go for?” She asked.

Drew shrugged. “Like five minutes, and then it hangs to dry.”

Rose set down the tongs and crossed her arms while Drew set a timer, a cold breeze drifting in under the door of the isolated room. The tension was too high, and she needed to find a way to cool it off.

As she searched for a topic, Rose remembered the early morning phone call. The woman in Drew’s bed.

“How was your date? If it was a date.” Rose cleared her throat and bit the inside of her cheek.

Drew nodded, looking away from Rose. “It was good.”

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