ELARA'S POV
Damien moved in over two weeks in February. Not because moving was complicated, but because he kept second-guessing which belongings to bring.
"It's a bookshelf, not a marriage proposal," I said, watching him deliberate.
"But it's ugly. You have good taste. This doesn't match."
"So leave it. Why is this so hard?"
He sat on his empty apartment floor. "Because moving in together feels permanent. Like we're actually doing this."
"We are actually doing this. You said yes two weeks ago."
"I know. I'm just scared I'll mess it up."
"You will mess it up sometimes. So will I. That's not a reason to avoid it."
He brought the bookshelf. It was ugly, but it was his, and that mattered.
The first week living together was awkward. We'd stayed over at each other's places countless ti
