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Rose nodded. “Sure.”

Pretentious ass. Like I’m not used to cutting down.Rose rolled her eyes.

She slammed her laptop closed far louder than she meant to and shoved it into her bag. As she packed up her bag, she half expected Drew to look up from their canister. But instead, they continued fidgeting with the black container, swishing the liquid inside around.

Rose collected her things and headed for the door. She turned to look back at Drew, who was still staring down. Opening her mouth to snap, Rose decided against saying anything and gritted her teeth instead.

She swung open the heavy door, having to pull harder than she would’ve liked, and slammed it closed behind her. The clang of the metal echoed in the loft.

Unlike the tedious climb up, the trip down the steep steps was quick and frantic. Drew was possibly the most annoying person she had ever met, and she couldn’t get out of their building fast enough.

As she pushed open the lobby door and out into the June heat, Rose shook her head. With a deep breath, she tried to recenter herself. It wouldn’t have been right to let some pretentious ass ruin her entire day.

Since she’d already traveled into Manhattan, maybe she could make a day of it.

Just as she was pulling out her phone to see if Ellen or Fin would be around to hang out, a text from Shannon popped onto her homescreen. A smile took over her face; maybe this was exactly what she needed to cheer her up.

She swiped on the message and read it:

Hey. Sorry to do this over text. I just don’t think this is working for me. Hope I’ll see you around.

Rose’s mouth fell open. She felt like she’d have to scoop her jaw off the hot cement.

“Is she fucking for real?” Rose gasped as she looked around. No fucking way did Shan just…

It couldn’t be…

But as she read it over again, she knew it was true. She shook her head; the worst part was that she should have seen it coming. Shan had been a douche from the beginning, no matter how hard Rose tried to explain her behavior away.

Groaning, Rose looked up to the sky. She wasn’t sure who she was looking for answers from, but she thought she might as well ask:When will I ever catch a break?

9

DREW

The restaurant was stupidlybusy for a Thursday night, and Drew could hardly focus on the woman in front of them.

“But yeah, it’s not what I want to do forever, obviously. But it works for now.” Liz smiled nervously as she looked at Drew.

Drew nodded, “It does sound interesting, though.” Drew looked at Liz’s face, a light, glittery eyeshadow brightening her brown eyes.

Their mind jumped back to Rose’s glowing red hair and summer green eyes. They gulped as they focused back on Liz. It was a first date; they shouldn’t be thinking about a colleague. Besides, Liz was pretty, and she seemed sweet.

Shaking themself out of it, Drew took a sip of their Old Fashioned.

“And I am working on artistic projects too, obviously.” Liz swirled her glass.

Drew nodded. “That’s cool, what are you working on?”

Liz’s face lit up, immediately enthused to talk about her passion. But before she could jump in, the waiter approached the table. “Can I get either of you anything else?”

Looking to check with Liz, Drew shook their head. Her eyes looked hungry, but not for anything on the menu. Drew’s lips curled into a smile. “I think we’re all set actually.”

With a nod, the waiter headed for their station to grab the check.

“Mostly, I’m working on an art installation about the modern dating scene.” Liz tossed her hair at her scalp, letting the wild brown locks settle wherever they pleased.

Drew nodded. “Oh really?”