Page 47 of Picture Us

But Drew went out for them anyway. The paycheck was far too enticing.

Once they reached the conference room doors, the assistant waved Drew inside. “They’re ready for you.”

Trying to steady their breathing, Drew nodded and headed in.

18

ROSE

Rose wincedas the bobby pin scraped her scalp.

“I just completely bombed.” Drew shook their head into the mess of pillows.

“I’m sure it wasn’t that bad.” Rose raced across the loft from Drew’s bathroom to the bed where her bag was torn open. She placed her hand on Drew’s back as she used the other to dig for her makeup.

Drew mumbled into the fabric, “No, seriously. They laughed, dude.”

Rose chuckled, trying to straighten her face when Drew whipped their head around. “Sorry.”

Groaning, Drew threw their head back down. Rose went back to the bathroom, perfectly lit by the strangely modern LED lights hidden behind the mirror. It was probably the nicest lighting Rose had ever done her makeup in.

“Do we still have time for pizza?” Drew called from the bed, desperation in their voice.

Rose squinted as she polished off her mascara. “We should! No one is ever on time for these things.”

She set down the mascara and looked into the mirror, checking her face. She wasn’t sure why she was going so hard. It was just Ellen and Fin’s engagement party. But a part of her wanted to make Drew swoon again, to get them desperate.

Even a day later, Rose wasn’t sure how they had ended up in bed together. It felt insane to be in their apartment getting ready for a party together. But here she was, putting her makeup away in her go-bag and rushing out into the loft.

She hadn’t seen the place at night yet. It was somehow more beautiful. Drew’s floor lamps brought a warmness to the space that the bright sunlight and white walls wouldn’t have let on.

She had a hard time not stopping to look at the downtown skyline every time she walked past the loft’s huge windows.

“Ready?” Drew sat up, wiping their bad day from their face.

Their legs slung over the side of the bed and as Rose tossed her bag onto the bed, she slipped a thigh between Drew’s. She grabbed their face and tilted it up toward her.

“It’s going to be okay. You’re allowed to bomb every once in a while.”

Drew put their hands on her waist, groaning as they let their head fall onto her warm, soft stomach.

“There’s going to be other jobs, I promise.” Rose ran her hand through their soft hair, feeling each strand on her fingers. The light tack of pomade reminded her that she wasn’t supposed to touch it.

“Sorry!” She pulled her hands away.

Drew lifted their head and laughed. “That’s okay.” They ran their fingers through it, all of the hair falling instantly back into place. It was all too easy for them to look perfect.

Offering her hands to Drew, Rose helped them out of the bed, and they walked to the door. Drew had changed into a black button down, the top three buttons open to show their chest.

They both threw on their shoes. Rose gained a few inches from her heels, making her just about level with Drew. Drew looked her up and down, raising their eyebrows.

“Damn you look good.” Drew let their hand rest on Rose’s hips, their eyes still exploring her figure. She wore a simple black dress, accidentally matching with Drew. They had debated making Drew change, but it hadn’t seemed worth the effort.

Besides, they were just friends… who really liked fucking each other.

Drew planted a kiss on Rose’s lips, but quickly felt the slightly sticky gloss. “Sorry, I forgot.”

Rose smirked as she leaned down to grab the floral, craft-paper wrapped gift leaned against the door. “You’ll just have to keep your hands off me.” She straightened the twine bow before fixing her own flyaways.

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