Once in a Lifetime, Part 1 (The Ruin of Us #1)

1. Chapter 1

The streets of Athens pulsed with life beneath the late afternoon light. Scooters wove between cars, laughter spilling onto the sidewalks from crowded cafés. The scent of gyros drifted through the air, blending with the exhaust fumes. In the distance, the Acropolis stood golden as the sun faded.

Inside a small Japanese restaurant tucked between two apartment buildings, Odysseus sat at a corner table, picking at his sushi across from his girlfriend.

“Careful!” he said, reaching out as the sushi slipped from her chopsticks.

She groaned in frustration and leaned back in her chair, defeated.

He laughed and brushed his fingers along her cheek, guiding her grip on the chopsticks.

A few streets away, Mano lay on the bench, pushing the bar up, each rep pulling a sharp breath from him. The bar was stacked with plates, the metal cool against his palms. Bodies blurred between machines at the edges of his vision.

He racked it and took a sip of water.

He sat forward, elbows on his knees, headphones in, focus narrowing to the beat in his ears.

They didn’t know the other existed.

And yet, if the city could speak, it would whisper that their worlds were about to collide.

His phone buzzed in his hand and he glanced down.

Stefania: You’re with some girl aren’t you? That’s why you’re ignoring me

He exhaled, already annoyed. Don’t start

Three dots appeared instantly. So pretending you didn’t even know me yesterday wasn’t enough after what we did?

He scoffed under his breath. His thumb hovered for a second, then moved. What did we do?

Stefania: Are you serious right now?

His expression didn’t change. You mean the sex? So what. He hit send without hesitation, already done with the conversation before it could drag.

Seen

A second later, the screen refreshed.

This user has blocked you. You can no longer send Direct Messages to this person

He let out a short, dry laugh, shaking his head as he lowered the phone to the floor. He lay back on the bench and pushed the bar off the rack, starting another set.

After his workout, he grabbed his bag and motorcycle helmet and headed out. Later, freshly showered, he rang the bell outside an apartment. A blonde girl opened the door and stepped aside to let him in.

He barely made it inside before they ended up in bed. It wasn’t the first time. When they were done, Mano got up and headed for the bathroom.

“How would you feel about going out with my friends sometime?” she asked.

He paused near the bedroom door. He turned to look at her, standing there naked, the tattoos on his body fully visible, his muscles carved like they had been shaped by a sculptor. “Terrible.”

“We’ve been seeing each other for days, and you haven’t met a single one of my friends,” she complained.

“It’s been ten days.” His gaze sharpened.

She didn’t back down. “Fine. I just want us to go out with other people. Should I invite my friend tomorrow?”

He sighed. “What am I supposed to talk about with your friend, Katerina?”

“I’ll tell her to bring her boyfriend so you won’t be alone.”

“What, like a double date?” He grimaced. “I’m not into that stuff. And I have zero interest in talking to your friend’s boyfriend.”

“He’s not just some random guy. They’ve been together for two years.”

“Yeah? Then something’s wrong with him. Forget it.” He opened the door.

“I’m sorry, what does that even mean? Two years is a long time?” she asked, pushing herself up from the mattress.

He paused, hand still on the handle. “For me, it’s a century. You knew what I was like from day one.”

“Yeah, I don’t have a problem with it. I’ll tell them we’re meeting. If you don’t like it, we’ll leave early.”

All he wanted was to stand under cold water and wash his body clean. It was easier to let her have her way than listen to her nag for the next week, or however long he planned on sleeping with her before moving on.

Meanwhile, Ody and his girlfriend had returned home after sushi. They sat curled up on the couch, him half watching TV while she texted a friend. “Put the phone down, moro mu,” he said, using the nickname that had mostly replaced her name, meaning baby in Greek.

“One second. I’m talking to Katerina. She’s asking if we want to go out tomorrow, the four of us, with this guy she’s seeing.”

“A guy she’s seeing? Wasn’t she with someone named John?”

“You’re behind. She broke up with John a month ago. She’s been seeing this new guy for like a week now, but he’s making her life difficult.”

“Why?”

“He’s one of those guys who doesn’t want anything serious. He replies to messages whenever he feels like it, and he doesn’t treat her very well. From what I can tell, he’s kind of an asshole.”

“Baby, didn’t we say we shouldn’t judge people, especially if we don’t know them?” he said gently, looking at her with his green eyes, her weakness.

“Yeah, but...”

“And she wants the four of us to go out?”

“She thinks maybe if we all hang out together, he’ll open up a little. They always end up in bed, and then he leaves right after. She believes that if they start going out with friends, he might change.”

“Baby, tell your friend one thing.” He turned toward her. “You don’t change a man. If he’s not right for her, she should find someone else.”

“Oh please, like men don’t change,” she teased, stroking his golden-brown hair. “You weren’t this sweet when I first met you.”

“You said it,” he said with a smile. “A man only changes if he wants to. Never by force. But tell Katerina we’re in for tomorrow. Okay princess?”

“Yay!” she exclaimed and started typing.

“Time to put the phone away.” He took it from her hands and hovered over her.

Smiles spread across both their faces before he pressed his lips to hers.

The next afternoon, Ody picked Anna up from her house. He opened the passenger door of his dark blue Toyota Yaris and gestured for her to get in. She smiled, her brown doe eyes warm, and fastened her seat belt, her light brown hair falling past her chest.

Mano climbed onto his black Yamaha R6, a spare helmet secured to the back seat, and headed to Katerina’s place. She wrapped her arms around his waist, and they rode off toward the Panathenaic Stadium, where they were meeting her friend and her boyfriend.

Ody and Anna arrived first.

A few minutes later, a black sports bike pulled up near the entrance.

Two people got off and started walking toward them.

Ody’s gaze caught on the jet-black hair and the broad, muscular build of the guy beside Katerina. In black cargo pants and a fitted compression shirt, his build was impossible to miss.

His thick black hair was neatly styled, soft volume at the top, the front falling slightly to either side of his forehead.

What caught Ody’s attention most was the large tattoo on his right arm, partially hidden under the sleeve and stopping just before the elbow.

Another tattoo stretched from his left elbow down to his wrist.

Katerina greeted them first, full of enthusiasm. She and Anna exchanged two kisses on the cheeks while Ody’s attention remained fixed on the dark-haired man’s tattoos. The one beneath his right sleeve looked like angel wings, the other like a dark forest.

When the man lifted his head, Ody finally got a proper look at his face, a sharp jawline and full lips.

Mano shifted his gaze from the girls to the guy standing in front of him.

Their eyes met, and the first thing he saw was the bright green, sharp and annoyingly clear in the sunlight.

He also looked overdressed, at least by his standards. White T-shirt, neat gray pants, black Vans.

The guy was a bit taller than him, with broad shoulders that stretched the fabric of his shirt just enough to suggest he worked out as well.

His short brown hair fell in soft layers, the front slightly pushed up while a few strands slipped onto his forehead, catching the sunlight and turning almost golden.

Where does this loser think he’s going, the opera? He gave him a slow, dismissive once-over.

“I’m Anna, and this is my boyfriend.”

She looked at Mano as Ody extended his hand.

“Odysseus. But you can call me Ody for short,” he said, looking into the dark-haired man’s eyes, honey-colored in the sunlight.

The other man didn’t take his hand.

He slipped both into his cargo pockets. “Mano.”

They held eye contact for a brief second before Ody slowly withdrew his hand.

“Do you guys want to go?” Katerina smiled awkwardly.

“Yeah. Where to? Boys, what do you say?” Anna asked.

“How about that new place that just opened? Mano?” Ody asked as they started walking.

“I don’t care,” he replied, hands still in his pockets, falling a few steps ahead of them thanks to his long stride.

Ody and Anna exchanged silent glances.

At the café, they sat side by side, the other couple across from them.

Mano pulled out his phone. Ody noticed the small silver hoops hanging from both of Mano’s ears.

Just beneath the right one, behind his ear, he spotted a smaller tattoo, a cross.

What stood out without effort was the silver cross necklace resting over his shirt.

When the waiter came, they realized they both ordered the same coffee.

“So, Mano, are you in college?” Anna asked, trying to break the ice when she noticed him scrolling through social media.

“Yeah,” he answered, still scrolling.

Ody’s gaze drifted to his hands. Several silver rings caught the light as his thumb moved across the screen. A thick silver chain bracelet rested loosely around his wrist. That was when he noticed another small tattoo on his right thumb. An ankh, the symbol of life.

“And where do you study?” Anna continued.

“NKUA.”

“At the National Kapodistrian? I study there too,” Ody said, surprised by the coincidence.

Mano briefly lifted his gaze from his screen to look at him, then returned to it.

“And what department?” Anna asked.

“Music Studies.”

“Seriously? I’m in Pharmacy,” Ody said, even more surprised.

“And how old are you?”

Mano raised an eyebrow without lifting his head. “Are you interviewing me?”

Katerina shifted beside him, glancing between them with an awkward smile.