Chapter 1 #7
And I don't blame him. He doesn't see us, he's not doing it on purpose, he's literally a baby with needs. But I ALSO have needs. EXTREME needs. Needs that are currently ruining my physical health.
No one knows what it's like to see Rava's ass every day, walking around the house with that innocent little bounce, and not being able to do a single thing except stare at it.
It's torture. Actual torture.
And yes, I like torture, but in bed. Where I can reach him and do things to him. But we don't even make it TO the bed these days. So yeah, I'm excited for tonight. Dangerously excited. But I need to calm the hell down for now.
Lorenzo and Marco walk in, carrying this giant-ass cardboard box that I'm hoping is the Christmas tree and not a dead body. Valentina brings a huge bag into the living room and drops it with a thud.
"What's that?" I ask.
She gives me the "wait and see" finger. Opens the bag. And starts pulling out... Santa hats. Dozens. Different sizes. Different stupid little pom-poms. I burst out laughing. "I'm not wearing that," I tell her. Antonio IMMEDIATELY grabs two and hands them to me and Rava.
Okay. Fine. I take it back. I'm Santa today.
I look around the room because I swear I'm about to freeze to death. "Seriously? Big-ass house and you don't have the heating on? We're gonna die, man," I say to Lorenzo, pointing at the snowstorm outside.
"That AC hasn't been cleaned since you were in elementary school," he says. "If I turn it on, it'll release diseases they haven't discovered yet. Shut up and turn on the space heaters. We have like five. Sit on them if you have to."
"You still keep them where I remember?" I ask.
"Yes. Go get them."
Noah comes with me.
"Bro, what is this? It's like we're in 1970," I mumble.
Noah shrugs. "Doesn't matter. It's kinda cute.
We have like... cozy vintage energy." We drag a heater out and the second we turn it on, EVERYONE jumps toward it.
"I'm here too, move!!" Rava yells. I grab his hand through the chaos and pull him closer to the heat source, and we all sit around it.
We look like campers waiting for the wolves to show up. It's actually hilarious.
"Don't you have blankets or something?" Marco asks.
"I do," Lorenzo says. "They've been sealed in my closet since before Christmas existed and I'm not opening it. I don't trust whatever's living inside."
Antonio suddenly leaves my arms and goes straight to Rava, climbing into his lap. Traitor. Thief. Rava sticks his tongue out. Antonio hugs him tighter.
Lorenzo lets out a dramatic moan.
"The warmth is revitalizing," he says. "Let's sit here for a bit and then decorate the tree." It hits me now how sweet this is. All eight of us, after everything we've survived, just sitting here in a circle like this.
Plus Antonio. Plus the pets.
Lulu waddles over and squeezes herself right into our heat-circle. "Awwww my girl," Daisy says, scooping her up.
Thank God Lulu's better. I was ready to DIE a few weeks ago when she started having health problems. Turned out it was her food. We changed it immediately.
"Look at us, we're so domestic, guys," Noah announces. "A few years ago, at this exact time, Lorenzo and I would've been passed out somewhere from too much tequila—"
"We should recreate that," Lorenzo adds.
"I agree completely," Noah nods. "And Gio and Rava would be hiding in some alley so Charles wouldn't see them—"
"The struggle was REAL," Rava says. "Don't laugh! We were hiding like criminals!"
"I know, baby," Noah says. "Legends." He swivels to Jin. "And Jin would be crying because Gio wouldn't take him on the Ducati—"
Jin bursts out laughing. "Thank you, Noah. That's true. You traumatized me, Giovanni."
I grab him and pet his head. "It's fine, now we go for rides together. That's better."
Noah continues. "Right, right. Where was I? Oh yeah. Marco would be arresting people in the morning and racing bikes at night, which is ICONIC if you ask me. Daisy would be asking 300 times if the boots she wants are cute and then buy them anyway even if we all said no—"
Daisy nods proudly. "Exactly. I ask just to figure out how I feel. Not because your opinions matter."
Valentina laughs.
"Finally, someone whose brain works as dysfunctionally as mine does. That's what I'm saying," she says, hugging Daisy.
Noah turns to Valentina. "You... I don't really remember what you used to do. I just remember seeing you build LEGO sets constantly."
"I still do," she shrugs. "LEGO is my life. Call me immature, I don't care." Noah raises his hands. "I'm not calling you immature. Honestly it's insane behavior and I respect it."
I lift my head.
I have an idea. But I'm embarrassed to say it.
I whisper it to Rava. He widens his eyes.
"GUYS WE NEED TO DO SECRET SANTA."
"YES. Yes. I'm in," Marco says immediately. "Oh my God, FINALLY, Rava, we agree on something," Daisy claps.
Rava laughs. "It was Gio's idea."
I nudge him. He laughs harder. "What? I wasn't gonna steal your glory. I would've kept it secret only if everyone said no."
Lorenzo nods. "I'm down. We're doing it today and opening everything tomorrow. Christmas morning. Let me get paper, pens, a jar. Who's helping?"
Rava shoots up instantly and runs after him. Blu sprints behind them. I watch them disappear and then turn to the others, lowering my voice. "Guys. Listen. Rava's birthday is coming up. I'm losing my mind. I have NO idea what to get him. I'm a terrible husband."
"And I'm a terrible friend," Noah says. "I also have no idea. The man is the most humble creature alive. He never asks for anything. I literally can't remember ONE time he said 'I want this.' We're cooked."
We all stare at each other, thinking. "I'm desperate," I admit. "Every year he tells me the same thing: he wants a book. That's it. But that's nothing. That's too easy. I need to outdo myself. I need to THINK. I need to do better than that."
Rava and Lorenzo are coming back, with their arms full of paper, pens, and this ugly-ass jar Lorenzo found somewhere. I straighten up immediately.
Lorenzo clears his throat. "Alright. Everyone writes their name. ONE time. I repeat, ONE time, ONLY your own name. Then you throw it in the jar. If anyone picks themselves, we redo it. Again and again until everyone gets someone different."
"Thank you for the instructions, Lorenzo," Jin mutters. "You're welcome. WRITE."
I grab my little slip of paper and write Gio in the worst handwriting ever. Rava is holding Antonio's tiny hand and helping him write "Rava," and I swear my heart does a backflip. I toss mine into the jar.
"I'm writing my full government name because I want to be unique," Noah announces.
Jin looks at him. "I'm copying you solely to steal your uniqueness." We all finish and throw our names in. Lorenzo grabs the jar and starts shaking it. "Jesus, Lorenzo, enough, you're not making a cocktail," I say.
He puts it down proudly. "Alright. Pick one."
Everyone's already giggling. I open mine. Great. My own name staring right back at me. "Guys, sorry, I got myself," I announce. "Thankfully," Marco says, "because I got Valentina." Valentina whips her Santa hat at him.
"Get fucked," she mouths.
We throw all the slips back in again. Lorenzo shakes the jar even harder this time. We pick again. I open mine, and smile.
I look at Noah.
Then look away like nothing happened.
I nudge Rava. "Who'd you get?"
"I'm not telling you! Go away!" I turn to Valentina. "You?" She sticks her tongue out. "Not telling YOU either."
Wow. Fake friends all around.
"Did anyone get themselves?" Lorenzo asks.
Silence. "Perfect. Done."
"Do we have a budget?" Noah asks. "No," Lorenzo says. "No one is stopping you from buying me a house."
"That's the spirit," Noah replies. We all stand up, stretching. "Is everyone happy with their pick?" Lorenzo asks. Rava raises a brow. "Are you happy with yours?"
"I'm VERY happy," Lorenzo says. "I can't wait."
"Yeah, yeah, chill, Santa Claus," Noah mutters. "We'll go out shopping once the snow calms down," Lorenzo continues. "For now, let's make something warm to drink. My throat is frozen."
"Mine too," Marco says. "I'm gonna die in this house."
I look around at all of us. This house feels like we're filming a reality TV show. It's the first time I've lived anything like this. I don't have a single complaint.
Besides Lorenzo's problematic AC.
15) Christmas Trip Pt. 4
Rava
(More POV’s are included in this chapter)
I pick Antonio up in my arms while everyone's putting their shoes on and arguing about scarves. "So," I ask, looking around at them, "what time are we all meeting back here? I need to know how long I have to panic about my gift."
Lorenzo checks the time and sighs. "It's one. We'll be back by three, max. Two hours is more than enough for you. Everyone agrees?"
"No," Noah says immediately.
"I don't. What happens if I don't agree?"
"You'll sit outside the house. Locked out. No gift, no food, nothing. That's what happens."
Noah nods slowly. "Noted."
"Alright. Everyone goes on their own," Lorenzo adds. "We good? Let's go."
We all nod and step out of the house, scattering in different directions. I hold Antonio tighter and take a deep breath. I'm ready to see weapons, dildos, horses, lizards, fish, cucumbers, I don't know.
I'm scared.
Lorenzo
I am a fucking genius.
Like actually. Sometimes I scare myself with how powerful my tiny brain is. I push the door open and I walk into the sex shop, smiling.
"Buongiorno," I tell the guy at the counter. He looks at me. I look at him. He's judging me. I know he's judging me.
He definitely did not expect a man with this much enthusiasm on his face to walk in here. He probably thinks I'm insane. Or a pervert? Or both, maybe.
I start walking around and it's just... heaven.
Lingerie EVERYWHERE. Lace, harnesses, things that tie, things that dangle, even strap-on BELTS. This guy knows. My eyes land on one specific set with ropes.
Damn. That's nice. That's REALLY nice.