Page 82 of Picture Us

Drinks w/ Shan – 9 pm.

Drew’s face scrunched up. Why would she be getting drinks with Shan? It made no sense. They’d been broken up for the last month at least.

The spiral took over faster than Drew could understand, their heart racing with every second.

How long had she been seeing Shannon again?

Did they even have a right to be upset? They were just casual. Neither of them had reapproached the “what are we” talk. Even though it felt like a whole lot more than a situationship to Drew. But maybe they had read it all wrong.

Before they could figure out how to handle it, Rose zipped back into the room with an SD card in hand. She sat down and put her phone in her pocket as she plugged in the card. Looking up at Drew, she flashed a smile at them.

Drew froze, no idea how to respond. They pushed it down. No matter what, they had to deliver this project. The rest would have to wait.

But one thing was clear, Drew was clearer wrong about what they owed each other. After a few minutes looking through the new card, Drew cleared their throat. “Do you want to grab drinks or something on Tuesday?”

Rose paused and looked at them. Her eyes flitted around the room as she tried to remember her schedule. After a moment of avoiding Drew’s eyes, Rose shook her head. “I don’t think I can. I’m pretty sure I have something then, but I can’t remember what.”

Lie.

It was everything they had feared. Why else would Rose not be honest? If it was just to catch up or be friends, there was no reason to hide it.

“No worries,” Drew swallowed the lump in their throat as they looked back at their computer. They could hardly fathom how they could move forward, their chest tightening with every thought.

Standing up, Rose pat Drew on the shoulder. “Do you want some water?”

“Sure.” Drew nodded before clenching their jaw and checking their email. Just as Rose was walking away, a new message arrived at the top of their inbox. It was from Tommy, the name making Drew’s stomach drop into their ass.

They opened it and read it:

Drew,

We’re pleased to offer you the U.S. Open promo shoot for Mackenzie Bennett. Please find below a contract for your approval as well as details about Bennett’s schedule for August. Our team is thrilled to have you on board.

Tommy

Fuck. it should have been the best news Drew had gotten in years. But here they were, basically sweating at the thought of accepting it.

But as Rose stood at her sink, humming, Drew shook their head. This was their job to take and if Rose didn’t feel like they were serious enough to warrant mentioning drinks with an ex, then why would Drew miss out on a professional opportunity.

They hit reply and typed out a quick message. Clenching their jaw, they clicked send. The familiar whoosh sounded as the email went out to Tommy.

Tommy,

I’m more than pleased to accept. I’ll have the contract returned to you shortly.

Drew.

Rubbing sleep from their eyes, Drew gripped their coffee mug with an iron fist as they scrolled through their emails. They had barely slept, riddled with anxiety over the U.S. Open shoot and Rose’s date with Shannon.

Of course they knew they shouldn’t have sent the message without saying something. But they couldn’t help but stand by it. Rose had kept plenty from them, obviously.

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