Starting from Zero (Starting from 1)

I moved into Gray’s house in the Hills in early May, a week or two after Zero’s first show at The Fix. Gray insisted and I couldn’t argue. This was where I belonged. We had a few minor adjustments in the beginning. Gray was used to living alone, and I was used to bunking on a sofa. He was a neat-freak and I was…not. No doubt, he’d taken Chester out to give me a chance to clean the kitchen before he was tempted to take over and make everything spotless for our family and friends.

It was early October, but it was seventy-five degrees and sunny in LA with crystal-blue skies. A perfect day for an impromptu celebratory barbeque. Zero had just finished playing a successful series of sold-out shows in the LA area. Charlie had turned out to be an amazing manager-slash-social-media-guru. Zero was a local band on the rise. Our fan base had skyrocketed over the past six months. We’d had a few record labels voice interest, but Charlie was adamant about controlling our artistic vision. We trusted him to help us find the right fit.

We had a ton of material for an album, including the song Gray and I cowrote. It was a great song. Possibly the best I’d ever written. It was honest and it read like a story of us…from the heart. I choked up every time I sang it. Part of me wanted to keep it for ourselves, but Gray insisted that it was mine to use for Zero’s first album. His exact words were something like, “Don’t be ridiculous. When you have something beautiful, you need to share it with the world. Show everyone that love is real. I love you. I want everyone to know you’re mine.”

I could hardly argue.

Timing was important though. Sure, we could have asked Gray or Seb to step in, but after our attempt at taking a short-cut went sideways, we decided to do things on our own. I tried to ignore the rumors, but I knew Seb scratched his plan to use Xena for the Baxter movie. She’d made money off the contract that I assumed would help Declan and her fund their new band. No doubt Charlie would keep his eye on them. I didn’t want to know. I just wanted to make music.

We were already doing well enough to quit our day jobs and concentrate on our music. And it left us more time to hang out with friends and family. Like today. Johnny, Ky, and Tegan would be here soon. Maybe with dates. I didn’t ask for a headcount, but I knew Ky had a new girlfriend and Tegan was kind of, sort of seeing someone. He’d been very secretive about his new man. I didn’t press. He seemed happy, and that was all that mattered. I teasingly asked Gray if he thought Tegan and Charlie were secret lovers. Gray shook his head and reminded me that Charlie couldn’t keep anything to himself. True. He must have inherited that trait from Seb.

I’d wondered if things would be awkward between Seb and me after I moved into Gray’s house. It wasn’t necessarily smooth sailing. We were both demanding and boisterous, and Gray was our touchstone. We still had to figure out how to move around the past without coming to blows. I supposed we’d get there eventually. Gray told me Seb had helped him get Chester for me, so hey…we were making strides. No doubt he’d come by to play with our pup before everyone arrived.

My brother and Christian were supposed to carpool from Long Beach with our mom too. They’d started a slow healing process. Nothing would be fixed overnight, but no one was hiding anymore. All of our scars and mistakes had been acknowledged. It was time to move on.

I hopped to my feet and headed outside to join Gray on the lawn with Chester…my birthday present. And yeah, our kid. He’d only been living with us for a couple of weeks, but we were both in love with the little furball. And I was madly in love with Gray. He calmed me and excited me in equal measure. He was my best friend and my biggest fan. He saw me for who I was and allowed me to see him. I didn’t take a single second for granted. I wanted us to be the little old couple someone else pointed out to their lover one day. I wanted them to say, “Look at those two old men. They look like they’ve been in love forever.”

I kissed the back of Gray’s neck and then rested my head on his shoulder. “If I were going to buy a dessert, what should I get?”

“Brownies, cookies…no one will care, Jus. They’ll be happy with beer and burgers.”

“So I should break out our ice cream supply?”