Page 53 of Picture Us

Rose smiled eagerly, leaning toward Drew. “That’s mine.”

“Oh, I know, you were very proud of it.” Drew laughed. Their body was angled toward Rose, their lips desperate to meet hers. But now wasn’t the time; Ellen and Fin didn’t know they had started seeing each other.

And they still hadn’t had time to discuss what exactly this was.

Fin smiled as they took a seat near the present pile. With each of them holding an edge of the present, they started ripping into the paper together, slowly exposing the gift. Ellen kept her eyes up, not wanting to ruin the surprise until the present was fully visible.

Trying to unwrap the gift together took twice as long. And despite how cringey it was, Drew – for once – thought their love was kind of sweet. From Drew’s seat, they could tell it was a frame.

The couple had opened the gift with the backing facing them, leaving the image face down. As they flipped it over, they both gasped. Ellen covered her mouth, tears springing to her eyes.

Ellen met Rose’s gaze before and mouthed “thank you, my love” before turning the frame for the crowd to see. Drew’s eyebrows lifted once the photo was revealed.

It was perfect: a beautifully framed portrait of Ellen and Finley touching foreheads together and smiling on the day of their engagement. The setting sun cast a beautiful glow on their faces. Ellen’s hand, resting on Fin’s jaw, perfectly displayed the engagement ring.

Drew shook their head as the crowd collectively awed. They hadn’t seen this shot in the hundreds of images Rose had sent. Even without this perfect image, Rose had delivered a perfect engagement package. But this was a shot only their best friend could get.

Rose teared up at Ellen and Fin, who were still shocked by the photograph.

Drew wrapped an arm around Rose’s waist, letting the pressure of their arm comfort her. Leaning into her ear, Drew asked. “When did you get that shot? I don’t even remember seeing them do that.”

Rose wiped a tear from her cheek and looked into Drew’s burning, hazel eyes. “You were reloading, they kind of forgot I was there. It was just, like, the first real moment they could tell they would spend the rest of their lives together.”

“It’s beautiful. Really, stunning.” Drew felt like they were dreaming. They couldn’t look away from her eyes, even as Rose turned her attention back to Ellen and Fin. But as she did, she let her hand drop down to Drew’s on the table.

Lifting their hand, Drew let their fingers intertwine with Rose’s. It had been a long time since they’d held someone’s hand. They couldn’t remember if it ever felt like this – so electric.

Surely it couldn’t have. Because if it had, it would have felt possible to live without Rose’s hand in theirs. Drew couldn’t imagine why they would’ve ever let go.

The party carried on, Ellen and Fin slowly working their way through the pile of presents. As they unwrapped a gifted garter belt, a loud wave of hooting and hollering tore through the crowd. But Drew’s eyes couldn’t peel away from Rose’s unadulterated glee as she watched her friends.

Once the presents were done, the party moved into its next phase: complete, horny, sapphic chaos. The DJ turned the music up, and the dance floor opened. After a minute of eyeing Drew, Rose stood and guided them toward the dance floor.

But she didn’t stop there, pulling Drew past the collection of grinding queers.

“Where are you taking me, Ms. Miller?” Drew’s face was overtaken by a giddy smile, remembering what Rose had slipped into her bag.

Rose turned and looked behind her. A simple wink was all it took to set Drew’s entire body on fire with desire. It had already taken far too much self control to keep their hands off each other the entire party. The anticipation had grown too strong for Drew to resist.

The bathrooms were just inside the bar, a few feet from the door to the patio where the engagement party was in full swing. Rose deflated when she saw the small line. “Crap.”

Drew flexed their jaw. “What? Can’t wait just a few more minutes?”

“No,” Rose rolled her eyes. “They’re going to see us go in together.

Leaning into her ear, Drew laughed a low rumble. “And people knowing is going to stop you?”

Rose licked her lip, turning her head to meet Drew’s gaze. Her emerald eyes began to flick between their lips, neck, and eyes. “Well I didn’t say that.”

Drew smiled. “Good, because I want you.”

Rose wrapped her arm around Drew’s neck. “You okay with everyone at this party finding out we fucked in this bathroom?”

“That’s speculation. Maybe we’re just helping each other with our makeup.” Drew laughed as the line moved up, two bathrooms opening at once. Another partygoer fell into the line behind them, offering a polite smile.

Drew nodded back, trying to calm the throbbing in their boxers. It was almost painful to resist Rose.

Soon enough, a bathroom door swung open. And Rose and Drew were up. Without hesitation, Rose strutted into the bathroom, the swing of her hips inviting Drew to watch.

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