Page 85 of Picture Us

The music had gotten louder since it had gotten dark outside and at this point Drew was throwing their body around on the dance floor. Diana supervised, having stayed sober to keep track of her friend.

Sweat dripped down Drew’s face as they danced to Britney. Still some of the only patrons inside, Drew had the entire floor to go crazy. Whoever was brave enough to approach them was greeted with a loud “woo” and the flirting of a shit-faced enby.

As they danced, they could hardly see straight which was perfect because that was how they wanted it. This way, they couldn’t even think Rose’s name. Which of course wasn’t even true,allthey could see was her beautiful face. As the room waved around them, every face started to look like hers.

Once Drew was visibly stumbling across the floor, Diana looped her arm in theirs. “Alright buddy, time to go.” She left a hefty tip for the bartender and guided Drew out onto the street.

“Make a left, Drew.” Diana turned their body to the correct direction.

“Yeah, I know.” Drew slurred.

They only made it a block before Drew lifted a hand and ran to a curb box. As they bent over, their tousled hair fell into their face, dripping sweat. After a second of throwing up, Diana’s warm hand rested at the center of their back.

Drew heaved for a moment.

With a sigh, Diana pressed her hand into their shoulder blade. “Get it out.”

It was always embarrassing to throw up on the street. Drew hadn’t done it since college, probably from one of Quinn’s deadly cocktails. But as they closed their eyes with each hurl, Drew’s eyelids played a slideshow of Rose’s face.

“What if I can’t ever get her out of my head?” Drew shook their head, letting it dangle. Their neck wasn’t able to hold it up any longer.

Standing up, Diana pulled her hand from their back. “I don’t know. Then I think you spend the rest of your life trying to get her back.”

Drew rubbed their forehead as they lifted their head. “I really fucked it.”

“Yeah.” Diana nodded. It wasn’t the first time she was by Drew’s side after a bad breakup. Of course, she had caused a few herself. And even now, it was clear just how badly Diana had fucked them up. Even six years later, Drew couldn’t trust anyone.

“I shouldn’t have sent that stupid email. I should’ve just told her.” Drew scrunched up their face as they processed. The alcohol was leaving their brain, now sitting in their stomach, leaving only regret in their mind.

Knowing it was time to stay quiet, Diana waited for Drew. After a second, they stood up and walked back to Diana and pointed at her with a rigid finger. “And the worst part is, her photos are way better than mine.”

“They are.” Diana laughed.

Part of that was Rose had learned portrait photography first, her mind knew it better than Drew’s did. She didn’t have a schtick. She had talent and an ability to listen. Drew had known they could learn so much from her. But they had thrown it all away for what?

“Fucking Shannon.” Drew rolled their eyes with a groan and stumbled down the street. Diana walked behind them, diligently keeping an eye on their movements and guiding them home.

The summer weeks passed quickly, far more so than Drew was comfortable with.

“That’s perfect.” Drew hollered across the court of the Arthur Ashe Stadium as Mackenzie took another swing. The sound of the tennis balls hitting the turf was the soundtrack of the entire shoot.

With a bigger budget than Drew had ever had, they felt wildly prepared for the shoot. And without Rose to distract them, they had been able to fall back into their scheduling routine. Meeting with Mac a week before the shoot, Drew had gotten a feel for what she wanted, not just what her agent thought.

Sweating as she hit practice ball after practice ball, Mackenzie looked great. She looked strong and ready to head into her first U.S. Open. Even booking the stadium had cost Tommy’s agency thousands. Just a week out from the Open, Arthur Ashe was buzzing with players and press.

“Alright, let’s take five.” Drew waved her down. Jogging to her bag off to the side of the court, she drank some water and took some deep breaths.

Drew snapped a few as she did, happy to get some more shots of the player more casual. They had already finished the locker room shoot. It became clear to Drew in the preliminary meet up that Mac wanted to play with the big dogs.

She was ready to put them in their place and rise to the top. But to do so, she needed to start showing a harder face and beating out the younger competition around her.

Changing a roll of film, Drew’s mind began to wander. It was strange to be without Rose this long. Drew had felt as if the summer had been claimed by her. That years from now, when they looked back on it, they would know it was the summer they had fallen for her.

But she hadn’t said a word in months. As Drew walked over to Mackenzie, she looked up at Drew suspiciously.

“You good?” She asked.

Tilting their head, Drew squinted. “I’m good, why?”

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