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I lift her up by the hips and sit her on the kitchen island, then I slip in between her legs.

“It’s not the usual dinner. It’s the christening of our apartment, the house we live in. There’s nothing common about it.”

She caresses my face gently and smiles at me. “Do you have any doubts about moving in together? Is it too soon?” she whispers, but there’s no uncertainty in her tone, just sympathy for a step that’s important to me.

“Absolutely not. No doubt about it.”

I emphasize the concept by grabbing her face and drawing her to me for a passionate kiss. My tongue plays with hers in sinuous rhythm, and her hands slip into my hair. I let out a slight groan.

“Excuse me, you know we’re in the room too, right? You’re not gonna rip your clothes off and have sex up there, are you?” Thomas’ voice snaps us back to reality.

Lilly pulls away from me and giggles as I give him the middle finger.

They’re all there: my bandmates, Evan, the Red Velvet Curtains. We invited them to christen the house where Lilly and I decided to live. When we came back from the tour, she practically moved in with me. She was spending more time in my penthouse than in Brooklyn, so we decided to just make it official. She liked the apartment I lived in, but I wanted her to have her own place, one that she helped choose, and I was right: this apartment has nothing to do with the one in Tribeca. It’s all exposed red brick, wooden floors, darker furniture; it’s warm, cozy, especially with the orange curtains on the windows. When the light comes in, it feels like a sunset by the sea. This house is Lilly, and I am happy to have made this choice.

“It’s not like we live naked” Lilly grabs the bowl of chips and brings it to the table where everyone is already seated, waiting for me to take dinner out of the oven.

“By the way you two were all wrapped up, you wouldn’t know it,” Luke jokes.

“That’s the advantage of living with a woman,” I tease as I bring the bread and cheese, recently brought back from France, to the table.

“Christ, how low you’ve sunk,” Michael mocks me, shaking his head almost as if to scold me.

Everyone laughs, including Evan, who studies me like I’m a rare animal. It must be weird for them to see me so caught up in something I’ve always denied wanting. They think I’m going crazy or overboard and sooner or later, I’m going to get tired. I can’t explain to them that I’m not. When I realized I was in love with Lilly, it was like turning on a switch and seeing the light. I used to fly by the seat of my pants, day by day, but now I make plans for the future, and I’m not afraid. Life with her doesn’t terrify me, and it’s such a pleasant feeling that I’m almost overwhelmed by it.

“When you can fuck any time of the day or night, on any surface of your house, trust me, that you will change your mind,” I reply with a smile that goes from ear to ear.

“Freeze! Stop it,” Martin interrupts. “Too much information, Damian, way too much information. We have to work with her every day. We don’t want inappropriate images in our heads when we look at her.”

“Also, because you need your head on your neck if you want to finish your debut album.” Evan points his finger at him when he sees I give the kid the stink eye.

“No, it’s not like we’re having those kinds of thoughts... I mean, I didn’t mean we’re picturing her naked or anything…” he stammers. “Jesus Christ, you’re scaring the shit out of me,” he whispers under his breath, and everybody laughs.

I like to tease them and be tough. They have such devotion to us they almost worship us like saints. I take advantage of it until they realize that we’re actually dicks.

“How’s your album going?” Simon asks, saving the kid from embarrassment.

Luke starts answering, and everyone focuses on him. I see they’re all happy as they pass food, exchange jokes, laugh, and take an interest in each other’s lives. It’s one big extended family that has chosen to be with me, by my side despite everything. Before there was only Thomas, Michael, and Simon, meeting in a situation that forced us to get to know each other. Our relationship is much deeper than friendship. We saved each other’s lives when the only alternative was to succumb and die, either in prison or on the street. Evan joined later. He saw in us an opportunity to earn money and make a career, then his selfless soul protected us as friends and an older brother.

The Red Velvet Curtains, however, are the greatest miracle, the one I never expected. They don’t have to be around us to be friends. It’s true, they won the contest, but now they have an independent career, they’re standing on their own two feet, they don’t need us. On the contrary, we obscure their light with our fame. It’s their time to shine in the spotlight. Yet here they are sharing this moment as if we were family.

Family. It’s a term that has been foreign to me all my life. When my mother died, I no longer had a real home, apart from my friends. When I look at Lilly, though, I’m sure I’ve found one, a companion to share life with. From this moment on, it’s her and me along a road that we decide to walk together, uphill or down, we’ll decide how to move forward like a real...family. I wrap my arm around her shoulders and pull her close to me, inhaling the scent of her hair, breathing deeply into what seems to be true happiness.