22. Chapter 22
The curtain slid open, and Ody stepped out holding the shirts. “I like these. I’m getting them. Now, off to the shorts,” he said.
Mano barely glanced at the clothes.
“This one or that one?” Ody asked, lifting two pairs.
“That one,” Mano replied, pointing to the right, his eyes steady on Ody’s.
Ody disappeared back inside the fitting room. When he came out, Mano’s gaze dipped to the spot beneath his ribs, then lifted again. “Are you getting it?”
Ody nodded and walked past him toward the register. After paying, they headed outside. “Perfect. I’m ready for Serifos now,” he said, grinning.
Mano barely reacted. “Want to stop anywhere else?” he asked.
“No, I’m good. Let’s go to the car.”
Once inside, Ody tossed the bag into the back seat and turned the key. “Seat belt,” he said when he noticed Mano wasn’t wearing it.
Mano didn’t move.
“Put on your seat belt.”
“How did it happen?” Mano turned to him.
Ody’s expression changed instantly. “What?” he asked, his eyes on the windshield.
“The stitches,” he said, studying him.
Ody’s gaze dropped to his lap. “It doesn’t matter.”
“You’re not going to tell me?”
Ody turned to him. “Why should I? You never tell me anything. When I asked about your tattoos, you said nothing. When I asked about your parents, nothing. What happened to you at the cinema, what they did to you in high school, nothing. You haven’t told me a thing.”
“Okay, no need to attack me. I just asked,” Mano replied, looking straight ahead.
Ody blinked. He had expected Mano to snap back, not stay composed.
Mano pulled the seat belt across his chest and clicked it in. Ody shifted into gear, and they drove toward the apartment building in silence.
When they reached Mano’s place, Ody turned to him. “Thanks for coming with me today.”
“No problem.” Mano unbuckled his seat belt and reached for the door, but Ody’s voice stopped him.
“I’ll tell you. But you have to promise me something.”
“That I answer your questions in return? I can’t—”
“No.” Ody cut him off. Mano frowned, unsure what he wanted. “Promise me you’ll stop calling me a scaredy-cat.”
Mano stared at him. That was it? That was what mattered to him? “Okay.”
“Promise.”
The words echoed in his mind, his father’s voice clear as ever. “When we make a promise, we keep it.”
“I promise,” Mano said.
Ody let out a breath. “It’s a long story.”
“Come upstairs,” Mano said, stepping out of the car. He headed for the building entrance, then noticed Ody was still sitting inside. “You coming?”
Ody finally stepped out, locked the car, and followed him upstairs.
When they walked in, Mano shut the door behind them. “Want something to drink?”
“No, thanks.”
“Have a seat.” Mano gestured to the living room. Ody sat on the couch, and Mano joined him, waiting.
Ody took a breath. “Three years ago, when I was eighteen, I had a motorcycle accident.”
Mano’s eyes widened. Ody’s reluctance to ride made sense. And Mano realized how much of a jerk he’d been about it. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Ody stared ahead, lost in the memory. “I was in Patra with my cousin. He’s two years older. We were coming back from a basketball game. His favorite team was playing.”
Mano stayed quiet, studying him.
“He wasn’t speeding,” Ody added quickly. “But he missed a stop sign at an intersection. We were talking, and—” He shut his eyes. “A car was coming. He braked, but we still got hit… I was thrown from the bike. Thank God we were both wearing helmets.”
Mano felt a cold pressure in his chest.
“It was winter. We were wearing layers, but when I hit the road, it hurt everywhere. My sweatpants tore, my legs scraped, but my shirt…” He exhaled. “It rode up. The skin under my ribs split.”
Mano closed his eyes, his jaw tightening.
“I remember lying there and seeing my blood on the road. The driver called an ambulance. My cousin had scrapes that healed fast, but I needed stitches.”
Mano swallowed hard, shame settling over him. He’d made fun of him for asking him to slow down.
“I went to the hospital. My parents came; they were terrified. But I healed. That was it.” Finally, Ody turned and met Mano’s gaze.
Mano reached for the edge of Ody’s T-shirt. “Can I?”
Ody nodded.
Mano lifted the shirt, revealing the scar. He brushed two fingers over it, concern etched across his face.
“I feel like an idiot,” Ody murmured.
Mano frowned. “Why?”
“Because it wasn’t even that bad. You’ve been through worse. And… I didn’t want you to think I was a coward for being scared to ride your bike.”
“You’re not a coward,” Mano said. “You should’ve told me. I never would’ve pushed you if I knew.”
“It’s not a big deal. You said groups cornered you at school. When I wanted to take you to the hospital, you refused. I can guess what you went through…” Ody’s voice softened. “So how was I supposed to tell you I’m scared because of a minor accident I had at eighteen?”
Mano held his gaze, silent.
Ody looked down. “And you still came for me when they surrounded me. You didn’t even think twice.” He lifted his eyes again, shame flickering in them. “How could I tell you I was scared of a bike after all that?”
Mano placed a hand on top of Ody’s head, his fingers brushing through his hair. “This isn’t some small accident. And you’re not a coward.”
Ody stared back, startled by the tenderness in Mano’s touch.
“And don’t blame yourself for being afraid.
You think I wasn’t scared when they came at me with bats?
” Mano kept his hand where it was, his voice calm, steady.
“If you’d told me about the accident, I never would’ve teased you.
Now I see how much of an asshole I’ve been.
I’m sorry.” He brushed Ody’s hair one last time before lowering his hand.
Ody took a breath. “I thought you’d see me as even more of a coward if you knew.
You already saw me on my knees…” he whispered, shame coating every word.
“...begging them for forgiveness while they filmed me. You saw me drenched, humiliated in the bathroom. And if you and the others hadn’t been there at school… ” He didn’t finish.
Mano’s gaze softened, warmer than Ody had ever seen it. “I understand why you put up with it. So don’t let me hear you call yourself a coward again.”
“What do you mean?”
“They threatened you from the start, didn’t they?” Mano said quietly. “Told you not to fight back, or they’d hurt me again.”
Ody looked away.
“The first time, you fought back. You said so yourself.” Mano’s gaze stayed on him. “After that… you let them bully you. Because you knew if you resisted, they’d come after me.” His voice softened. “You’re not a coward.” A faint smile tugged at his lips. “Maybe just a little dumb.”
Ody huffed a quiet laugh.
“Putting someone else above yourself might be the truest definition of bravery,” Mano said.
Ody went still, something tightening in his chest. “You did the same,” he said. “You put yourself at risk to protect me. You could’ve left me to deal with it. But you didn’t. Thank you… For everything.”
They held each other’s gaze, something quiet and charged settling between them.
Ody’s eyes lingered on Mano’s lips. It was barely a second, but it was enough. He leaned in little by little, a quiet pull he didn’t understand and couldn’t stop.
Mano should have moved. He could have. But he didn’t.
He was too lost in the moment, too lost in Ody’s eyes, too slow to register the shift in distance.
He felt the warm brush of Ody’s mouth against his.
That’s when he snapped out of it, shoving him back in pure shock.
Ody’s eyes flew open, horror washing through him as Mano stared at him like he had just broken something fragile between them.
“What did you do?” Mano breathed, voice strained.
Ody blinked fast, panic spiking through him.
“What the hell did you just do?” He grabbed Ody’s shirt and yanked him forward, their faces inches apart.
Ody’s breath came unsteady. His gaze dropped to Mano’s lips again. He couldn’t stop it.
Mano saw it and shoved him back harder, standing up so fast the couch shifted under him. “Get out,” he said, his voice trembling. His eyes stayed wide, disbelief written across his face.
“I’m sorry,” Ody whispered, touching his own lips like he couldn’t believe what he’d done.
“Get out. Now.”
Ody pushed himself up on unsteady legs. He walked toward the door without looking back. His hand froze on the handle for a single second. “I’m so sorry,” he said, then left.
Mano stood frozen for a long moment before he dropped onto the couch, staring at nothing.
Ody stumbled out of the elevator, dazed. He reached his car and dropped into the driver’s seat. His hands trembled as he buried his face against the steering wheel.
Mano replayed it all in a loop. Every second leading up to that kiss.
Ody fastened his seat belt with shaking hands and rubbed his face. God, what have I done?
He got home and fell onto the couch, staring up at the ceiling. During that kiss, he’d felt completely disconnected from his own body. Like it had acted without him.
Neither of them slept. Both lay in their beds, wide awake.
For Mano, the kiss made no sense.
For Ody, the kiss made him feel insane.
Yes, Mano’s words had made him feel seen for the first time in his life. But what did that have to do with leaning forward? Touching his lips? What the hell had he been thinking? He cursed himself, turning over in frustration.
Mano stared at the dark ceiling, furious at himself for even remembering the way it felt. Ody had been saying it for days. That he was his friend.
Friends don’t kiss each other.
Hours passed. Both replayed the moment, each time worse than the last, each detail sharper and heavier.
Mano rolled onto his side, eyes squeezed shut, trying to block the memory out. But he kept hearing Ody’s voice. The things he had said. Ody’s lips against his. He exhaled through clenched teeth and flipped onto his other side.
Ody lay with his eyes closed, tortured by the same memories. The softness in Mano’s voice. The warmth in his eyes. The gentleness he hadn’t expected.
Then the kiss.
And the look on Mano’s face after.
Ody’s eyes flew open as the thought hit him like a punch. What if he never wants to see me again?