Page 95 of Picture Us

Fin grabbed Ellen’s waist and pulled her in for a deep kiss. The two of them were smiling so much they could hardly hold their lips together. Lifting the camera to her eye, Rose captured it.

Hand in hand, they walked back down the aisle and into the venue. There, they would spend a few minutes together before doing their shoot. Rose caught up with them, taking pictures as they signed their marriage license – objectively the sexiest part of a wedding was the paperwork.

Afterward, Rose led the beaming couple to the woods behind the venue that they had toured the week before. The sun was beginning to set, creating golden light for them to bathe in. As they walked, Ellen looped her arm through Rose’s.

“Can I say one thing and then I won’t mention it again?” Ellen squinted at her friend.

Rose sighed. “This day is supposed to be about you.”

Ellen shrugged. “Sure, but I can’t have my best friend upset on my wedding day. So, here goes. You are allowed to be upset, it’s valid and fair to wish they had done something differently. But I would be remiss to see you end the best relationship you have ever been in because they made a mistake.”

Her shoulders dropping, Rose groaned. “But what if it’s too much?”

“Then you know you gave it your all.” Ellen looked at her. “But I think if you leave it like this, a part of you will always wonder if it could’ve worked.”

They made it to the clearing, the sun streaming through the trees and creating long shadows on the forest floor.

With a smile, Ellen raised her hands in surrender. “That’s all I’ve got.”

Nudging her, Rose nodded. “Let’s get to work.”

As she guided them into poses, Rose tried to keep Drew out of her mind but Ellen’s words kept coming back to her. Maybe she was right. At the very least when Rose got back to the city, maybe they could grab that coffee. It’d be a damn shame to miss out on a good coffee.

39

DREW

They hadn’t let goof the Oh-shit bar the entire ride, as Diana’s truck careened down the highway. Considering it was a weekend upstate, it was wonder how they hadn’t gotten pulled over with the way she was driving.

Luckily, she turned on her blinker to get off the highway. The off-ramp was a surprisingly tight turn that Diana did not bother breaking for.

“It would be good if we could get there in one piece.” Drew winced.

Rolling her eyes. Diana laughed. “At least I’m not bringing a moving truck to someone’s wedding.”

The pickup truck was probably the closest to U-hauling Drew could get. Their foot tapped against the rubber mats on the floor of the passenger side. “How much longer?” Drew but their lips.

Diana looked at the center console where the navigation estimated another ten minutes. “Not long. But you could’ve looked yourself.”

Drew’s mind was racing, moving faster than the car at this point. They still hadn’t worked out what they would say. Glancing back at the wrapped gift in the backseat, their chest tightened.What if it’s corny?

There wasn’t any time to change their mind at this point and they couldn’t turn up to a wedding empty handed.

As the car slowed, taking the turn onto the winding path leading up to the Mountain House, Diana’s mouth dropped open. “Damn. It’s a real shame you screwed this up. This shit would’ve looked awesome on your website.”

The place was basically a fortress, positioned on the top of a literal mountain. The red stone roof popped against the old, gray stones of the outer walls.

“Leave it to the lesbians to get married in a castle.” Drew chuckled as the car struggled up the driveway. Pressing on the breaks, Diana looked for a place to park as she rolled up to the front awning. A valet was already waving them to leave.

Before the car stopped, Drew grabbed the gift from the back, slung their camera bag over their shoulder, and opened the passenger door.

“Hey!” Diana yelled after them.

Drew whipped around, about to slam the door of the truck. “Yeah?”

Diana smiled. “Don’t forget to listen to her.”

A goofy grin spread across Drew’s face as they nodded. From behind themself, Drew heard Diana toss her car keys to the valet. “Keep her close, just in case.”

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