Page 35 of Picture Us

Drew scanned her face, trying to understand what went wrong. Rose bit her lip and turned away. If she dared to look into Drew’s eyes, she knew temptation would win out again.

“Okay.” Drew relented, tucking their hands in their pockets.

“You can head home. I’m good.” Rose crossed her arms, hoping she’d look tough.

Drew shook their head and laughed. “I’m not letting you wait here alone.”

Her throat tightened.Why were they choosing now to be nice? Where was this at the start?

They waited for Rose’s ride in tense silence. When the cab pulled up, Rose nearly leapt off the curb, giving Drew a wave as she ducked into the car.

“See you tomorrow.” Drew offered a slight smile.

Rose gulped. “Tomorrow.”

As soon as the car sped off for Brooklyn, she dropped her head into her hands.What the fuck am I doing?

15

DREW

Coffee in hand,Drew slid into their seat across from Diana, who was still rubbing sleep from her eyes as the bright, morning light seeped through the coffee shop windows.

“Okay, literally why so urgent?” Diana glared at Drew. “You’ve been very high maintenance lately.”

Drew rolled their eyes and tapped their finger against their paper cup. Biting their lip, Drew shrugged. “We kissed.”

“Who?” Diana wrinkled her forehead, unsure why Drew would assume she knew exactly what they were talking about. But as the words settled in her mind and Drew raised an eyebrow, Diana gasped. “Oh! Rose?”

Drew nodded.

Her head fell into her hands as she shook her head. “Drew. You have to stop getting with people you’re doing a project with.”

Raising a finger, Drew defended themself. “She kissed me, first of all.”

“Bottom.” Diana took a sip of her coffee, pursing out her lips dramatically.

Drew wanted to fight her but instead took in a large gulp of coffee and looked down at the cup, already half empty. “I don’t even know how it happened. We went to Henrietta’s…”

“You went to Henrietta’s – a notorious hookup spot – and don’t understand how you ended up making out on the dance floor?” Diana could hardly look at Drew.

Ignoring her, Drew continued. “We were dancing and drinking, and after, like, two hours, she put her hand in my hair and kissed me. But then she booked it out the door and hardly said another word to me.”

Diana winced. “Yikes.”

Drew raised their cup in agreement, each of them taking a drink. Still nursing a light headache from the shots and lack of sleep, Drew couldn’t understand where they had gone wrong. They watched as pedestrians walked past, minding their own business.

Suddenly opening her mouth, Diana said, “Well, maybe…” But she trailed off before she finished, leaving Drew to panic.

“What?”

Diana shook her head and curled her lips under her teeth. “I… nevermind.”

“Bro.” Drew raised their hands in surrender. “Come on, you know you can be honest with me.”

Eyeing them, Diana considered whether or not that was really true. And Drew couldn’t blame her. They hadn’t been the most receptive to her criticism in the past. But Drew was helpless; they couldn’t let this random kiss ruin an already tenuous working relationship.

With a deep sigh, Diana shrugged. “Maybe she thinks you’re hot but can’t get over how much of a dick you’ve been.”

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