Page 29 of Picture Us

A wave of silence passed over the group. She wasn’t wrong, and they all knew it. Despite Rose’s relentless kindness and aura of ease, she never let anyone stand in her way.

“It’s because she thinks they’re hot,” Fin blurted out.

Ellen covered her mouth as a shocked laugh bubbled in her throat.

“What? No!” Rose was already blushing. “They’re just more experienced than me, and I feel like they know more. Don’t make it some schoolyard-bully nonsense.”

Ellen’s mouth dropped open when Fin buckled down. “Bullshit. You’ve just got the hots. But, you’ve gotta put them in their place. They’ll probably think it’s sexy, anyway.”

Rose rolled her eyes, her attention returning to the dogs in the park. They desperately chased each other in circles. After a minute, Rose turned to Ellen, hoping she’d have some better advice to offer.

“I mean Fin’s right, Rose. Not necessarily about the last part, but I mean, you have to stand up for your work.”

Rose’s eyes flickered between the couple, annoyed by their unified front.

Ellen smiled. “Don’t let some douche affect your career. It’s not worth it. You’re a fucking awesome photographer. And no one will believe in you if you don’t believe in yourself.”

Letting her head roll back to glare up at the darkened sky overhead, Rose sighed. “It’s so obnoxious how right you guys are. Like, all the time.”

Ellen and Fin laughed as they each wrapped an arm around Rose.

“Have you thought about doing something not work focused with them?” Ellen asked, preparing for Rose to shoot the idea down.

Instead, Rose scrunched her eyebrows together. “What do you mean?”

“Like, so much of the frustration comes from working together. Maybe if you went out and did something not work-based, you’d be able to connect better and get over some of it.” Ellen shrugged.

Rose couldn’t pretend like it was a bad idea. Drew got antsy talking about Rose’s work and whenever they had to make a decision. Maybe removing them from that kind of tension would help to ease their perfectionism.

But Rose paused, “Are you trying to get me to go on a date with Drew?”

Ellen shook her head briskly. “I would never suggest that.” It only took a second for her facade to crack, a goofy grin taking over her face as she winked at Rose.

“Would that be so bad?” Fin asked. And based on Rose’s blush, she wouldn’t have minded.

Silence passed over the group again as Rose considered it. She wasn’t crazy about having to spend more time with Drew than necessary. But there was a 20 percent bump on the table, and Rose was ready to step up her game. If Drew was the only way to do that… maybe she could stomach it.

Trying to lighten the mood, Fin smiled. “How’s Shan?”

“You have terrible timing.” Rose chuckled. “We broke up like two days ago.”

The couple winced, but didn’t seem quite surprised. They knew from the jump that Shan wasn't going to last. Rose might have been offended if Shan wasn't so obviously a douche. Obvious to everyone else, at least.

Ellen held out her hand to Fin for a high-five, “3 weeks. I called it, pay up.”

Rose feigned offense and laughed. “You guys are rude as all hell.”

13

DREW

Even after sendingan email with some scanned photos, Drew still hadn’t heard back from Rose the next afternoon. They’d tried to take their mind off Rose by hanging out with Diana, but it hadn’t helped.

All Drew could think about as they sat in the mess of prints sprawled across their bed was Rose’s disappointed face.

For once, Drew actually cared that they had upset someone.

They took a deep breath into their tight lungs as they stared down at the photos. They had managed to finish printing almost all of the shots they wanted to develop, and now all that was left was to have Rose look at them. If they could ever get a hold of her.

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