Page 96 of Picture Us

Hunting for a sign of where to go, Drew scanned the yard for anything. Their eyes landed on a simple, beige and green sign that read: “#Fellen Wedding →”

Bingo.Drew smirked as they picked up the pace, jogging through the backyard where the ceremony had been. It was empty now, just a collection of empty chairs. They could hear the sounds of the cocktail hour and followed it. Diana was a few feet behind them.

When they arrived, they couldn’t see Rose as they searched the crowd. But they did see one familiar face. “Hey, Tommy!”

Her head whipped up from her drink, the blonde with a buzzcut and the brunette with a high and tight bun always turned to follow the commotion. Before them, a sweaty enby in a tailored suit desperately tried to catch their breath.

“Ari, Cass, this is the photographer I was telling you about.” Tommy gestured to them.

“Pleasure,” Drew gasped. “Tommy, look. I’m sorry to be so rude. Where’s Rose?”

Tommy stammered, shocked by the bluntness while also trying to remember where the couple and their photographer had gone.

Cass, the blonde, stepped forward and pointed back toward the altar. “That way, go into the woods and follow the path. They’re shooting.”

Letting out a sigh of relief, Drew smiled. “Thank you!” As they ran off in Rose’s direction, they hollered over their shoulder, “It was nice to meet you both!” They knew they’d have to clear it up with Tommy later, but for no, they couldn’t care less. All they could think about was Rose.

Booking it now, Drew’s feet slapped against the gravel. Their black dress shoes certainly weren’t meant for running like this. Back at the altar, Drew scanned for the wooded path. Once they spotted it, they took off down it. The gravel quickly turned to dirt as Drew ran.

“Where are they?” Drew whispered to themself, running a hand through their hair as they zipped through the woods. But after a minute, they started hearing voices. Twigs snapped under their foot as they got closer.

“What is that?” Ellen asked through the trees, concern in her voice.

Before anyone could answer, Drew burst through the treeline to the cliff that overlooked the Mountain House.

“Jesus!” Fin startled, putting herself in front of her wife and friend. Rose and Ellena also jumped with surprise.

Clutching her chest, Rose raised her voice. “Dude, what the fuck?”

Drew bent over, their hands on their knees as they tried to catch their breath. The gift leaned against their leg “Sorry… sorry. It’s just me.” Drew raised a hand in surrender.

“Drew, seriously. What are you doing here? We’re in the middle of shooting.” Shaking her head, Rose wrinkled her brow. Drew lifted their head and met her gaze, unable to hide their smile. Just as they thought, Rose looked beautiful. She was in a beautiful black dress that hugged her curves. Her face was just as gorgeous angry.

With a nod, Drew tried to recover their composure. “There’s another job.”

Rolling her eyes, Rose crossed her arms. “Can we talk about this later?”

Shaking their head, Drew swallowed the lump in their throat. “No. it’s very important. I need your help. I can’t do it without you. Not because they want both of us. But because you make my work better.”

“Well, thanks. I think we should go into details later.” Rose bit her cheek, her eyes flitting across Drew’s sweating face. Even from across the clearing, Drew could see her chest rising and falling.

Emboldened, Drew picked up the wrapped gift and brought it closer. “I also wanted to make sure you got this.” They passed the gift to Fin and Ellen, who accepted it with hesitance.

“Thanks, Drew… but couldn’t this have waited.”

Rose moved toward them, holding her hand out. “I’ll move it out of the way.” She threw a glance at Drew, confused why they would make such a mess of such an important shoot.

Raising their hand to stop them, Drew shook their head. “No, actually. Sorry. Could you open it now?”

The gift was in both Rose and Fin’s hand as they paused. Fin looked around the clearing, “Now? Like now, now?”

Meeting Fin’s gaze, Drew pleaded. “Please?” They were seconds away from getting on their hands and knees and begging. Instead, they stood up and buttoned their suit jacket.

Ellen looked to Rose for guidance. Lifting her camera back to her eye, Rose nodded. With a shrug and a heavy sigh, Ellen took the gift back into her hands.

More cracking twigs came from behind them, everyone’s attention turning to see who the fuck else could be here. But when Diana burst through the treeline, catching her breath, everyone relaxed. She stood by the treeline and waited.

“Hi, Diana.” Ellen smiled politely as she started opening the gift.

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