I’m lost in her, letting her taste herself on my tongue when our friends get fed up on the wrong side of the front door, and begin pounding on it.

“Stop fucking and let us in,” one of them bellows.

Thank fuck we don’t have any neighbours too close.

Our kiss ends with a laugh when they continue causing chaos.

“We need to let them in before they break down the door,” Abigail says.

“Impatient arseholes. It’s not like they’ve never made me wait for them,” I sulk, rearranging myself as I follow my girl down the stairs.

The second she pulls the door open, they all barge inside. The guys carrying alcohol, the girls with bags of food.

“About fucking time. I thought Elliot was a two-pump chump,” Oak mocks as he makes a beeline for the kitchen to abandon the crates of beer in his arms.

“Two? Don’t give him that much credit,” Theo adds, earning himself a slap across the head as he passes me. “Aw, what’s wrong? Couldn’t get it up?”

“Fuck you, Ashworth.”

Taking the bags from the girls, I leave them to greet Abigail.

They all helped us move in last weekend, so it’s not like they haven’t seen the place, but still, they disappear off together as if this is all new and they need a tour.

“Fucking hell, this is mental,” Reese muses as he rips the fridge open and begins loading it full of drinks. “You own a house and live with your girlfriend. Who’d have thought it.”

I chuckle, but honestly, I’ve had the same thoughts.

“Wait now, Elliot doesn’t own a house,” Theo pipes up like an asshole. “His girlfriend bought it for him.”

“Fuck off,” I grunt, catching the beer that Oak throws me.

“Aw, leave him alone. It’s cute.”

“I’m not cute.”

“Whatever. So how’s it feel being my dad’s little bitch then? Have you figured out how he likes his coffee yet?”

I shake my head. “My job is more important than that,” I state.

“Oh yeah?” Theo muses.

Oak can take the piss as much as he wants, but the fucker spends his days in the exact same office I do. The only difference is that he’s doing it because he wants to learn from his dad. I’m there because I need the money to provide for my family.

“Yep,” I confirm before Oak pipes up with, “He has to do the Friday cake run as well.”

“I fucking hate you all. I’m going to find the girls. They’re nicer than you.”

“Nah, you should know as well as us that they’re not. They just hide it behind pretty faces and sexy bodies,” Reese says.

“Truth,” Theo mutters.

We spend a few minutes catching up on each other’s lives before we grab the meat the girls brought and head out to the back garden to fire up the barbecue.

The hot summer sun blazes down and the trees and flowers filling the garden blow in the light breeze.

Happiness and contentment settle over me as the girls’ voices float through the air from outside furniture we chose that now sits proudly on the large patio area.

The last year of our lives has been unexpected but in the best kind of way.