Page 8 of Picture Us

“You’ve always been such a New Yorker. Got to hate it to live here, am I right?” Shannon lightly punched Drew’s arm, and Drew clenched their jaw at the over-familiarity.

When the joke didn’t land, Shannon cleared her throat. “Wait, how do you two know each other?”

Drew stammered, a sudden nervousness taking over their body.

But before they could reply, Rose jumped in. “We actually just met today.”

Shannon raised an eyebrow as she looked at Rose. “You didn’t mention that earlier…”

“Apparently we’re working together on a project.” Drew met Rose’s gaze, trying to gauge how she really felt about it.

With a nod, Shannon tried to play it off. “Oh, that’s cool.”

Rose smiled up at her. “Yeah I think so.” She turned to look at Drew with her arm wrapped around Shannon’s back, “I have so much to learn from Drew.”

Clearing their throat, Drew looked down at their shoes. The vinyl flooring of the renovated apartment glowed purple under the party lights. Maybe it was because they were caught off-guard or maybe they were just playing nice, but Drew couldn’t think of a snippy reply. “I doubt that’s true.”

Meeting Rose’s eyes once again, Drew felt a knot in their throat. Just past Rose’s head, the front door swung open again. Drew perked up at the sight of Diana’s familiar face. “You’ll have to excuse me, a friend of mine just walked in.”

Rose and Shannon nodded, happy to disappear back into their own conversation while Drew parted the crowd. As soon as they were out of Rose’s line of sight, Drew’s shoulders dropped and their eyes rolled.

I cannot stand Shannon. And Rose is… obnoxiously perky.

Even though she’d arrived thirty seconds ago, Diana was already mid-shot when Drew made it to her side. She swallowed the liquor and sucked her teeth as it went down.

Diana covered her mouth as she squinted at the cozy new couple. “How long do you give it?”

“Given Shan’s record, like 3… hours?” Drew laughed as they hugged Diana, “Glad you made it.” But Drew couldn’t stop themself from watching Rose’s hand drift down Shannon’s back toward her…snap out of it.Drew turned their attention back to Diana.

Diana laughed and winked. “Maybe 5 if she’s lucky.”

Drew looked down at the two empty shot glasses next to their friend, the cheap table already covered in spills. “How do you already reek of alcohol?”

“You think I’m going to show up to a sapphic house party filled with a bunch of our exes and not pregame the function?” Diana shook her head. “Amateur hour.”

They laughed as Diana grabbed a bottle of tequila and poured a shot for Drew. As she poured, she asked, “What about you? How was the date with…?”

“Anna?” Drew shrugged. “It was fine, not going anywhere.”

Diana groaned. “Oh my god, just lower your standards.”

“And be like Shan? I’d rather be celibate the rest of my life.” Drew flicked their eyes to Shan, who was guiding Rose’s lips closer with a hand on her neck. Diana’s head swiveled between Drew and Rose, Drew’s forehead wrinkling the longer they watched the pair makeout.

Diana snapped her fingers, confused by Drew’s preoccupation with the couple. “Okay, lower standards doesn’t mean being a douche like Shan.”

When she looked back at Drew, they were still watching. “Dude, do you have the hots for Shan?”

Drew nudged Diana, making her stumble. “You’re ridiculous.” They paused as they looked back at Rose. “It’s her. Rose.”

“Do you know her? Is she someone’s ex? She’s kinda cute.” Diana laughed.

Drew lowered their head in defeat. “Dude, you’re relentless. I have no idea who she is. But apparently, I have to work with her.”

Diana frowned. “How in the fuck do two photographers ‘work together’?”

Pointing their finger at Diana, Drew wiggled their eyebrows. “Ding, ding, ding. That is the question. But it’s a question for the lesbians that hired both of us to shoot their engagements.”

“Wow,” Diana shook her head, scrunching her nose as if she took another shot. “That feels, like, criminally gay.”

---