LI.
Be you
Be you
Be you
The words keep repeating like a mantra. Lachie terus berusaha tenang walaupun dirinya sangat ingin meronta-ronta. He is in a vintage car with Valentino on his side. He is so well dressed and Valentino also dressed him with the clothes he bought from Prada yesterday. Saat bajunya sampai Lachie tidak menyangka semua baju yang ia coba benar-benar dibeli untuk dirinya. Semua hasil tabungannya mungkin hanya bisa membeli dasi atau kemejanya saja.
Lachie terus bergerak tidak nyaman dalam duduknya dan degup jantungnya semakin kencang ketika ia melihat rumah yang biasa ia lihat di vlog. Is this really happening? Am I really going to meet with The Vinci family? Semua pertanyaan di benaknya langsung berhamburan ketika pintu sebelah kirinya terbuka dan Valentino berdiri sambil tersenyum manis menjulurkan tangannya untuk Lachie. “Welcome to my home, baby.” Kakinya seketika lemas dan Lachie tidak tahu apakah ia akan kuat bersandiwara menjadi pacar bohongan Valentino untuk sehari.
Ketika dirinya keluar dari mobil Valentino mencium tangannya dan mengalungkann pada lengannya. Mereka berjalan ke dalam rumah yang sangat megah, melewati beberapa koridor yang beberapa kali masuk ke dalam footage vlog. It feels surreal to be in a place where you only see it through the screen. Lachie sebisa mungkin mengingat semua yang bisa ia lihat selagi bisa. Hingga tidak terasa langkahnya sudah berada pada ruang makan besar, “We are here,” dan beberapa pasang mata tertuju padanya. Dari sekian banyak orang matanya tertuju pada sosok yang sangat ia kenal di masa lalu, Jerome. Why is he here. Wait. Is he? It can't be.
Valentino membawanya ke hadapan orang tuanya. “Ma, long time no see. Aku mau ngenalin Lachie ke Mama.” Cantik sekali. Benar-benar sangat cantik. Lachie bisa melihat mata Valentino berasal dari ibunya. “Halo, I’m Lachie Brown.” Lachie menundukan badannya sebagai rasa hormat.
Senyuman langsung terlukis di wajah sang ibu. “Vale, punya pacar cakep kaya gini kenapa ga dibawa dari dulu sih? Sini nak, duduk di sebelah tante. Vale biarin aja duduk di mana terserah dia. Tante ngambek sama dia ga pernah mau pulang sama ngenalin pacarnya.” Lachie tersenyum sedikit kikuk dan duduk di sebelah ibunya. Karena sama-sama berasal dari Indonesia percakapn di antara keduanya mengalir dengan sangat lancar. Dirinya sangat bersyukur bisa merasakan kehangatan ramah tamah dari orang indonesia lainnya.
Makan siang berlangsung tanpa kehadiran ayah dan kakeknya Valentino. Walaupun ia merupakan orang asing yang baru bergabung tetapi Lachie merasa sangat diterima. Tidak ada kalimat yang berusaha menjatuhkannya dan pertanyaan mengenai hubungan mereka pun tidak jauh-jauh dari “Ketemu di mana?” atau “Gimana Valentino selama pacaran? Baik ga? Kalo dia berani jahat laporan sama tante ya!” yang sangat mudah untuk dikarang jawabannya.
Selesai makan siang semuanya lanjut untuk bersantai di ruangan keluarga dan Mia sepupu Valentino juga ikut kepo dengan hubungan mereka. Bertanya-tanya mengenai perlakuan Valentino selama menjadi pacar dan kalau ada apa-apa Lachie bebas menghubunginya kapan pun. Mia give her private contact to him like it's not a big deal. Ucapan Elena dan Isabella tidak ada yang bohong satupun. Semua keluarga Valentino menerima dirinya dengan mudah dan membuatnya nyaman, walaupun nampaknya ada seseorang yang sedari tadi tidak berhenti menatapnya dan berharap Lachie mengucapkan sesuatu kepada dirinya.
Satu persatu anggota keluarga mulai pergi meninggalkan rumah dan Valentino membawa Lachie ke ruangannya. “Vale, awas ya kalo berani macem-macem, ya, ke Lachie.” Ibunya memberi peringatan yang hanya dijawab dengan tawa oleh sang anak.
Valentino menjatuhkan seluruh tubuhnya ke atas kasur sementara Lachie bersandar pada pintu kamar dan tidak berani bergerak seinci pun. “Baby? Why are you standing? Come here, lay with me.” Are we still acting? Why is he still using the pet name? “Baby,” Valentino memanggilnya lagi, “Sweetie, don't make me beg again or I’ll pick you up myself.”
Lachie masih mematung dan menimbang-nimbang ucapan Valentino. He looks like a lost deer. God please give Valentino tons of extra self resilience to keep him sane. But. Maybe just today he can loose himself a bit since they have to act all lovey dovey to make everyone believe them. Valentino bangkit dari posisinya dan berjalan ke arah Lachie.
They're only an inch from each other and Valentino lower his eye level to match Lachie's. A couple of beautiful brown eyes staring into his. Blinking so fast almost like he is trying to flatter. The moles. Lachie has moles Valentino brings his thumb to brush over them. I’m going crazy. Valentino should never go this far but he leans over and Lachie immediately shuts his eyes. Sanity hanging by a thin thread. Valentino brings his face to hide in the crook of Lachie's neck and pick his body from the ground.
“I told you I will pick you up by myself.” He whispers into Lachie and his hot breath is making Lachie dizzy. Valentino drops his body so gently on the bed and crawls beneath him. “You look so gorgeous today, have I mentioned that to you?” Lachie shakes his head. He doesn't know what he looks like, in fact, he doesn't care, if he can make Valentino act like this he must be looking just fine. But fine doesn't define him, Valentino feels like a lion trapping his beautiful prey. “Gorgeous. Gorgeous. Gorgeous Lachie.” Valentino leans down and for a moment both of them forget the act and lips already brushing against each other. “Gorgeous,” Valentino whisper one last time before kissing Lachie.
Their lips move tenderly and limbs are tangling. Lachie slip his finger between the brunette hair and Valentino brings his free hand to remove Lachie's coat. Unbuttoning his shirt one by one. He let go of the kiss and ripped his own shirt in one move while looking down at the boy under him. Lachie is looking at him softly, face red, and lips wet from his doing. He wastes no time and kisses him hard. Hands are travelling here and there, touching every inch of his body. He slightly brush his fingers over the nipple and Lachie moans cutely. “Vale.” He ignores. “Valee.” He ignored him again and took the chance to push his tongue inside making the boy moans even more louder. Lachie tries to push him but he doesn't have any strength to do it.
Valentino moves down to his neck, giving a butterflies kiss without a miss and his fingers are inside his mouth. Lachie wants to moan from the stimulation but his mind tells him no. “Valee.. We shouldn't—” The door suddenly swung open snapping both of them back to reality. “God. I’m so sorry. Lachie, I’m sorry.”
“AHA, I KNEW IT!” Jerome shouts loudly. “FUCKER. CLOSE THE DOOR!!” Valentino shouts back.
“You owe me an explanation or else I’m gonna snitch to Grandpa.”
“Fuck off, Jerome.”
The sound of the door closing is heard but instead of walking away, the culprit walks towards them. “Explain,” he demands. “I will but not now.” Jerome rolls his eyes. “Not you. Him.” He points to Lachie who's currently hiding his face between his arms.
Valentino rolls his eyes too. “He doesn't owe you any explanation. You guys are exes, it doesn't matter anymore who he wanna date.” Jerome doesn't listen to him. “I don't care who he wanna date. I just want some explanation why he agree to do this shit with you. Poor baby.” Jerome coos at Lachie and pushes Valentino away who is now standing awkwardly. He picks up Lachie's shirt to cover his body but he notices something familiar down to the neck, “ASSHOLE!!! WHY ARE YOU MAULING HIM!!!!! I’M GONNA TELL YOUR MOM!!”
Kini ruangan itu bertambah jadi empat orang. Jerome memeluk Lachie dari belakang dengan sangat protective dan Mario ikut bergabung untuk mencegah Valentino agar tidak berbuat aneh-aneh lagi. Perasaan cemburunya kepada Lachie menghilang seketika saat Jerome bercerita singkat tentang perbuatan bejat temannya dan ketika melihat Lachie secara langsung insting untuk melindunginya tumbuh besar. He really does look like lost deer. Jerome and Valentino aren't exaggerating at all.
“I cannot leave you two in this room alone and I won't let Lachie go back with you without someone supervising.” Jerome said it like a bark. “We should go back together. I don't want to risk Lachie being mauled again.”
“Good idea, babe.”
“Lachie, sweetie, get ready. We're going back together.” Jerome lend his turtle neck and Lachie wear it in the bathroom. While they wait there's a knock at the door. Mia comes inside with a happy face. “Grandpa told us to stay a night and we're going to have a cooking match!!!” Everyone except Mia is unhappy with the news. “You guys better be ready to lose! Ciao!” The door is closed again and Lachie steps out from where he was, “Let's go back.”
“I think we're going to stay a night.” Valentino walks in Lachie direction but is stopped by Jerome. His eyes give a warning signal to Valentino and the man can only sigh in defeat.
“What…” Lachie goes speechless.