23. Chapter 23
After a quick breakfast, he opened his textbook and tried to read. “Inflammation and anti-inflammatory drugs, various non-pharmaceutical vasoactive substances, and antihypertensive medications impact arterial properties—”
“I understand why you put up with it. So don’t let me hear you call yourself a coward again.” Mano’s words surged through his mind.
He shook his head and tried to refocus. “...Impact arterial properties of both micro and macro circulation and the nervous system, resulting in—”
“You let them bully you because you knew that if you resisted, they’d come after me. You’re not a coward. Maybe just a little dumb.”
“Damn it…” Focus! “Resulting in both chronic and acute changes in the reinforcement of arterial pressure—”
“Putting someone else above yourself might be the truest definition of bravery.”
He grabbed the textbook and threw it against the wall. Then he slumped over the table, burying his head in his arms. He could stare at the page all day. His brain wouldn’t absorb a thing, not until they talked.
Meanwhile, Mano woke up on his own at 11:30 a.m., Ody’s kiss the first thing that came to mind. He made something to eat, picked up his guitar, and practiced for a while. A notification eventually broke his rhythm.
Odysseus: I’m sorry about yesterday... Can we talk?
He read it from the notification bar, set the phone aside, and kept playing. The melody was smooth and rhythmic. But as he played, the memory of Ody’s lips brushing his own rose up without warning, warm and disorienting.
His fingers faltered. A wrong note snapped the flow. “Goddamn it.” He set the guitar down hard and headed to the bathroom. He stood under the cold water, his body tensing at the shock.
Ody’s phone buzzed nonstop in the group chat. Steve couldn’t stop talking about Danae, Chris celebrated submitting his paper two minutes before the deadline, and the usual teasing bounced back and forth between them.
Ody answered out of habit, but every reply felt delayed and half-formed. Even his friends noticed he was off, asking why he was so quiet. He blamed the exams, but the truth was obvious. His mind wasn’t with them at all.
Mano stepped out of the cold shower, wrapped a towel around his waist, grabbed his phone, and lay on the bed staring at the ceiling. The memory of Ody’s lips kept replaying in his mind, sharper each time, refusing to fade no matter how hard he tried to push it away.
He needed a distraction, something to shut his head up. Before he could think it through, he typed a message to Ranya, asking if she was free. Her reply came almost instantly, and he told her to come by his place.
Later that night, Mano answered the door. Ranya stood on the threshold in a fitted black dress, her expression already daring him, as if reminding him she liked things rough. The moment he saw her, the intention in her eyes snapped him back into the role he knew she expected.
“Hey,” she said, but Mano grabbed her by the waist and pressed his mouth to her neck.
He pushed her onto the couch, his hands already gathering the fabric of her dress, as he yanked it up along her hips. He hooked his fingers into the thin lace of her underwear, felt it stretch for a second, then ripped it in a single hard pull.
“Are you crazy?” she gasped, eyes wide before her expression shifted. The shock melted into something darker as the torn lace brushed her thigh.
“I’ll buy you a new one. Shut up.” He licked his fingers and slid them into her, her moan sharp and immediate.
His eyes flicked down for a moment, taking in how fast she responded. “So wet for me already,” he said, his voice low. “Good girl.”
She moaned, her back arching as his grip tightened on her hips. The shift in her breathing told him everything he needed to know. Mano felt a pull in his chest, a mix of control and distraction he’d been chasing ever since the kiss that ruined his morning.
“Such a pretty expression you’ve got there,” he said, his tone almost amused as he watched her react exactly the way he wanted.
Her fingers curled into the cushions. She tilted her head, offering him more. Mano’s mouth curved, dark and satisfied. She yielded fast. He barely had to push.
A moment later he caught her wrists, guiding them above her head. His hand flicked toward the side table, where he’d left what he needed. The hesitation in her eyes flickered only for a second before she let him, her gaze steady on his.
“That’s better,” he said, fastening the cuffs around her wrists with practiced ease. “Now you’re exactly where you should be.”
Her breath trembled. “I’m… I shouldn’t have talked back earlier,” she whispered, the words coming out uneven. “I know.”
Mano’s gaze sharpened. That was what he expected. What he needed from her tonight. “Then behave. And maybe I’ll forgive you.”
She nodded, and the tension between them sharpened into something charged. Exactly the distraction he’d been looking for to silence the memory of another set of lips.
Meanwhile, Ody met his two best friends at a café, doing his best to stay present. They bumped fists in greeting, and Steve launched into a story about Danae.
“Man, you’re living the dream. Ody’s been in a relationship for two years, you found a girlfriend, and I’m still the lonely loser,” Chris said dryly.
“That’s why we gave you that nickname in the group chat,” Steve laughed, getting a jab to the arm.
They were halfway through their drinks when they noticed Ody zoning out, his gaze fixed somewhere far away.
“Hey.” Steve nudged him under the table. “Where’s your head at?”
“Nowhere. I’m listening to you guys.”
“Oh yeah? What were we just talking about?”
“Uh… Danae. You went to the—”
“Right.” Steve waved him off and glanced at Chris. “We talked about that ten minutes ago. What’s going on with you?”
“Nothing. Just thinking about exams. I’m a bit out of it.”
“Yeah, sure. Mr. Bookworm.”
“Maybe we should ditch TallGuy and start calling you NerdKing,” Chris joked, his blue eyes gleaming with amusement.
After a while, they got up to leave, trading quick goodbyes as they headed in different directions. Ody had barely stepped out of the café when his phone buzzed in his pocket. Anna’s name lit up the screen. “Hey. What’s up?” he answered.
“Christina called. She and Antony are good with booking for the twenty fifth of June.”
“Really? Steve and Danae are in too.”
“Great. Let’s book the tickets. Have you spoken to Mano?”
The question hit hard. A tight, unpleasant weight settled in his stomach.
He swallowed, suddenly too aware of the thoughts he shouldn’t be having, and the kiss he hadn’t stopped replaying.
It wasn’t just guilt, it was the sickening mix of wanting something he shouldn’t and hiding something he didn’t know how to face.
For a moment he couldn’t even answer, the silence stretching between them as the truth pressed against his ribs.
“Ody? Are you there?”
“Yeah, uh… I’ll ask him again today.”
“Alright. Let me know so we can finalize everything.”
“Will do.”
“Kisses. Talk later,” she said and hung up.
Ody stared at the dark screen with a heaviness he couldn’t shake, the guilt clinging to him long after the call ended.
Across the city, Mano wasn’t doing much better. He went to the bathroom while Ranya remained on the couch, her hands still bound. She tested the cuffs, her expression caught between impatience and lingering heat.
When Mano returned, a towel slung low around his hips.
“Are you going to uncuff me?” She lifted her wrists.
He gave her a sideways grin. “Thinking I might keep you like this.”
She shot him a sharp look, more playful than offended, which made him chuckle. He grabbed the small keys from the table and unlocked the cuffs. Once freed, she stretched her arms and then slid them around his neck, surprised when he didn’t push her away.
She leaned in to kiss him.
He stopped her with a hand on her shoulder, keeping her back.
“You didn’t let me kiss you at all today…” she pouted.
“Wasn’t a kissing kind of day,” he said, heading toward his bedroom.
“You kissed me the first time,” she muttered.
“Well, I didn’t want to today. What’s your problem?” He glanced at her, irritation flashing in his eyes.
“Alright, chill out,” she huffed as she pulled her clothes on, annoyed now.
A notification chimed from his phone and she turned toward him. “You got a message.”
Mano picked up his phone. Odysseus: We need to book tickets for Serifos... Should I get one for you?
He stared at the screen, jaw tightening. The message sat heavy in his chest. Then an idea formed, sharp and sudden. “Hey, Ranya.”
“Yeah?” she asked, pulling her dress over her shoulders.
“Do you have any summer plans?”
“I’m going to Crete with my friends in August. Why?”
He hesitated only for a second. “You wanna come with us to Serifos at the end of June?”
“With us?” she asked.
“Me and three other couples.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Are you asking me to be your girlfriend?” Her smile was teasing, playful.
“I’m asking if you want to spend a week in Serifos with me,” he clarified.
“I can afford it, and if the sex is going to be this good, then obviously, yes,” she said with a grin as she adjusted her straps.
“Alright. I’ll book your ticket.”
Mano: Book one for Ranya too. I’ll cover it
“I’m going. We’ll talk,” she said as she stepped toward the doorway.
“Leaving like that?” he asked.
She turned, smirking. “What, you want a kiss?”
“I mean without underwear, little slut.” He slapped her ass.
“If I recall correctly, someone tore them,” she said with a glare.
“Careful, don’t catch a breeze.”
“I’ll try my best,” she shot back, amused, then put on her shoes.
When Ody saw Mano’s response, something in him sank. He hadn’t replied when he asked to talk, but he answered instantly now that it was about booking a ticket for Ranya. The difference stung more than he wanted to admit.
Odysseus: Okay… we finalized for June 25
Seen
Mano… Can we talk please? I don’t know what came over me. Can we just pretend it never happened?
Seen
Ody exhaled, frustration building. He didn’t want to lose whatever existed between them, that pull he’d never been able to name.
He knew how crazy that kiss was. They were both men.
None of it should have happened, yet he couldn’t stop replaying it, couldn’t stop wondering what had made him cross that line.
The next day, Anna texted him that everything had been booked, and Ody passed the update on to Mano.
Mano didn’t reply until eight hours later, asking for Ody’s bank details so he could transfer the money.
Ody suggested they meet in person instead, hoping it might open a chance to talk, but Mano shut it down.
He kept insisting on the bank details, cold and distant, refusing every attempt Ody made to soften the tension.
He tried to apologize again, tried to explain himself, but Mano pushed back harder each time. The conversation slipped from clipped replies to outright anger, then to something worse.
You kissed me. What the fuck were you thinking? I’m not gay
Neither am I…
Then why did you do it?
Ody didn’t have an answer, not even for himself. Panic and humiliation twisted together as he tried to explain, to take responsibility, to undo what felt impossible to repair.
He typed with shaking hands. Because you were kind to me.
You made me feel seen when you said I was brave.
You got hurt trying to protect me. And when you rested your hand in my hair and looked at me like that…
I thought it meant something. But it didn’t.
I messed up. Do I have to pay for it forever?
The message was marked as seen. But nothing came after. The silence sat there, cold and final.
Ody tossed his phone onto the couch and pressed his hands over his face.
I ruined everything…