Page 68 of Picture Us

Just as the cashier called out their order, Drew lightly punched Rose’s arm. She approached the counter and grabbed the drinks. “Thanks!”

It would be a lie to pretend like Drew’s obsession wasn’t validating. For all of their grumpy bullshit, they were just like everyone else. Taking a gander at Drew’s massive, sugar drink, she giggled.

They head back to the car together, bumping into each other as they walk. Wearing huge smiles, each of them climbed into their respective seats and slammed the doors behind them. The sun illuminated Drew’s golden eyes as they looked to Rose in the passenger seat.

She felt her breath hitch in her chest. Neither of them could look away from each other. Rose shook her head. She knew she shouldn’t want more of Drew, that she should spend some time alone. But how could she say no to this? Say no to the fire in her chest?

23

DREW

The reelof film slid into place in the back of Drew’s camera while they watched Rose guide Lauren onto a large boulder. Glowing from her pregnancy, Lauren delicately made her way up the rockface. She was careful to move around her new baby bump, a feeling she still hadn’t gotten used to.

Drew couldn’t complain about the shoot so far. Even with a few stops, Drew and Rose had arrived with fifteen minutes to spare. They put together their equipment in the parking lot and, after a brief chat with Lauren, got to work.

“Set your arm on your hip.” Rose directed from below the boulder. “Perfect. Just like that.”

Now a familiar sound, Rose’s camera clicked a few pictures in rapid succession. With their own camera ready to roll, Drew hopped in and started taking shots from almost the same angle.

The duo were careful to not just stay out of each other’s way but to make sure they actually gotgoodshoots. Maybe they were getting better at this whole compromising thing.

Lauren, positioned in front of Awosting Falls in the Minnewaska State Park, stood strong as a heavy breeze flew off the water. If it weren’t for a few years of field photography, Drew would have been more worried about the spray coming off the waterfall damaging their cameras. But they were pretty familiar with just how far back they needed to stand to avoid soaking their camera.

But the sun, which peeked over the top of the waterfall, created a golden halo around Lauren’s blonde hair. Drew clicked the shutter button as the drops of waterfall spray landed perfectly in her hair, glowing from the shining sun.

They continued like this, making minor pose adjustments for fifteen minutes before Lauren raised her hand. “Could I sit for a minute?”

In unison, Drew and Rose replied, “Of course!”

As she sat to take a break, both photographers saw the perfect lighting and refused to waste it. Getting into position, Rose started taking more pictures.

Lauren lifted her head from her water bottle, confused. But when she realized they were just going to continue, she laughed. But as they kept working, Drew couldn’t stop themself from keeping an eye on Rose in their periphery.

She looked beautiful, wearing a long sleeve chambray shirt with a simple black shirt underneath. It was simple but sexy. And adorable at the same time. Turning their camera toward Rose as she got closer to Lauren, Drew snapped a few pictures.

With a wide smile, Rose gave Lauren some light direction. She looked strong and in control. But it was her smile that Drew still felt the need to capture even though they had been trying to capture it for weeks at this point.

After a rest, Rose moved them up the hill toward the lake’s overlook. The landscape was perfect for what they were going for. Large mountain peaks left endless sky for Lauren to be framed within.

“Perfect,” Rose snaps a few while Lauren holds her bump over the lake. From Drew’s estimate it was at least five hundred feet from the cliff face to the water’s surface. It took everything in them to get down on the edge and take the shots of Lauren from below.

But as they shot, Drew noticed a small red tent lingering in the background. It was easy for Drew to frame out of their shot but they weren’t sure how Rose would be able to from her angle.

Taking a few photos, Drew considered whether she was aware of the tent or not. She had said there wouldn’t be any events that day but Drew was certain a tent that massive must be an event of some kind.

Either way, Rose was continuing as normal.

I guess she thinks she can just edit it out?Before they could say anything, Rose was shifting Lauren’s positioning and carrying on with the shoot.

Though Lauren was a good sport, it was clear how exhausting the grueling posing was for her. So Drew pressed off their own concerns, knowing that Rose would be more than able to get a tent out of a couple shots.

From overhead, a loud crack sounded as gray crowds rolled over the mountain. Rose giggled, sending a blush to Drew’s cheeks at the familiar sound, “Well, that’s a wrap, I guess!”

Lauren hopped down from her mark and grabbed her rain jacket from the picnic bench behind them. The clouds were coming in fast, in typical summer storm fashion. Jogging over to their bags, Drew and Rose started packing up, throwing their cameras inside their bags as quickly as they could before moving on to the huge, white bounce boards.

As sprinkles began to fall, Rose turned to Lauren. “You should head out, there’s no need for you to hang around while we fumble with gear.”

“Are you sure?” Lauren was eager to accept the offer but didn’t want to ditch them.

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