Page 26 of Picture Us

“Okay but if it’s not the grant, why are we depressingly drinking beer instead of watching tennis?” Diana had waited far longer to ask than Drew had expected.

“It’s Rose.” Drew looked down at their knuckles.

Diana clapped her hands together. “Ha! You slept together, didn’t you? I knew it!”

Drew waved their hand back and forth. “Woah, dude, no. I just fucked up.”

“Boo. What else is new?” Diana giggled to herself as she glanced up at the screen.

“Seriously. I can’t stop myself from being a dick to her. And I have to be nicer because this is a professional thing.”

Diana winked at a short masc from across the bar and turned back to Drew. “You do that when you like someone and don’t know it would work.”

“Huh?” Drew was too shocked to admit it was true. They thought they would be used to Diana’s bluntness by now. But even after a decade of friendship, her frank attitude was still jarring.

“Don’t play dumb,” Diana lowered her head to meet Drew’s gaze. “You like her.”

Drew shook their head. “You know, it’s not always about sex, you perv. I can’t stand her. She’s chatty. And inexperienced. And a know-it-all.”

“And?”

“And what?” Drew shrugged, a blush rising to their cheeks.

“And you think she’s hot.” Diana wiggled her eyebrows. “Come on, she’s totally your type: femme, artsy, super sweet on the surface, but I bet she can bite back.”

Crossing their arms, Drew watched the match rather than respond. Diana was always pitching some ridiculous idea. Rose wasnottheir type. First of all, Drew hated dating other photographers. It never ended well.

But even worse than Rose being an artist was the fact that she was a co-worker on this project. And that blurred the line between genuine affection and social nicety.

“What even happened?” Diana pushed for details.

Drew sighed. “We were working in the dark room. I asked if she wanted to learn, and it was going great. We were joking and getting to know each other. She told me that she and Shannon are great and they’re in love. Which is gross because Shan. And I could just tell she was kind of bullshitting.”

Lifting her chin as she listened, Diana waited for Drew to get to the bad part.

“We left the dark room and she joked about teaching me Photoshop next. And I said, ‘I wouldn’t be much of a photographer if I needed that.’” Drew peeked up at Diana.

She slammed her head down into the table and groaned. “Drew. Why are you like this?”

“What?!” Drew looked around, confused. “It was a joke.”

Diana lifted her head and shook it. “No it wasn’t. What did she say?”

Drew shrugged. “She just left.”

Groaning, Diana started downing her beer. She gulped down multiple mouthfuls before speaking again. “Not that it’s her fault, but she shouldn’t have let you get away with that. You’re such a steamroller.”

Drew was going to question it, but Diana beat them to it. “You have to learn to play nice. Just because her photography style isn’t yours doesn’t mean it’s not hard work. You’ve admitted that her photos are great.”

“I know.” Drew hung their head.

“So what is it going to take for you to respect her work?” Diana questioned, getting more serious.

Drew took a deep breath just as another eruption of cheers flooded the bar. “I have no idea. Because I really do think she’s good at it. Her client relationships are great. She’s amenable and generous. Her work is more than good. I’m just…”

“An asshole.” Diana finished for them.

Drew raised their glass to Diana’s. “Bingo.” After a clink, they both took a drink.

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