38. Chapter 38
Mano didn’t answer. His chest rose too fast. Ody rested his forehead against his, eyes closing, hands framing his face with a tenderness that didn’t match the chaos inside him.
Waves broke gently against the shore while the moon hung low over the water, its light washing over the sand. Ody leaned in again and kissed him, slow this time, soft and reverent. It felt unreal. Mano kissed him back with the same softness, eyes closed, almost afraid to open them.
And then, Ody’s phone rang. The sound ripped through the moment. He looked at the screen, while Mano didn’t take his eyes off him. “Yeah?” he answered, music exploding on the other end.
“Baby, where are you?”
“I’ll be there in five, okay?”
“What happened?”
“I’ll be there in five minutes.” He hung up and faced Mano again. “How much did you drink?”
“Three vodkas and…” Mano squinted. “…a beer.”
“Are you okay?” Ody studied him, checking if the alcohol made him regret any of this.
“I’m probably drunk, huh? With all the crap I was saying,” Mano muttered.
“I told you how I feel about you.” Ody’s voice was low, steady. Mano looked away. “I want to know how you feel about me.”
“Why? Would it change anything?” He avoided his eyes.
“What do you mean?” Ody asked.
“You’re with Anna. You said so yourself.” Mano finally looked at him. “And we’re men. Nothing can happen between us.”
“It already did.” Ody’s words made Mano’s gaze drop again.
“The first time I kissed you, you pushed me away. But I see how you act around me. I know there is something here. Isn’t there?
” His tone was careful, pleading. Mano kept staring at the sand while Ody’s hand slid gently across his jaw. “This time… you kissed me too.”
“So? What are you trying to say?” Mano lifted his eyes, shrugging defensively.
“I want to know how you feel about me.”
“It doesn’t matter.” He pulled away and grabbed his bottle and glass. “You’re with Anna and I’m with Ranya.”
“But I like you.” Ody stood too and caught his arm, forcing him to face him. “With how things are, I’m not ashamed to admit it out loud. I want you, Mano.” His voice dropped to a whisper as he stared into those warm eyes.
Mano looked away and tried to walk past him, but the world tilted. His knee hit the sand.
Ody caught him, kneeling beside him. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m dizzy.”
“You need water.”
“I just want to go back to the hotel.” He pushed Ody’s hand away and tried to stand.
“I’ll take you.”
“No. I’ll grab a cab.”
“I can’t leave you alone.” Ody reached for him again.
“Anna’s looking for you. Don’t make it suspicious.” He started walking again, but Ody stayed close. “Don’t follow me. Go back to the others.”
“But you’re not okay.”
“I can make it to the cabs. Go.” Mano turned, but the whole beach spun around him.
Ody stepped in front of him and took his face in both hands, guiding his eyes back to his. Music pulsed behind them, colored lights flickering over the crowd. Ody leaned in and kissed him again, soft and brief. His thumb brushed over Mano’s lips before he pulled away.
He took the bottle and glass from Mano’s hands and walked off.
Instead of returning to the table, he slipped into the restrooms. His own reflection stared back at him, breathless, shaken.
He had done it. He had kissed him. For real.
His heart thudded against his ribs. A smile crept onto his lips as he leaned against the wall, replaying every second.
When he returned to the table, everyone looked at him. “Where the hell were you?” Steve asked.
“I took a walk on the beach. It’s nice. We should go for a swim in the morning.”
“Seriously? You ditched us to wander around?” Steve scoffed.
“Baby, are you okay?” Anna leaned close, lips brushing his ear to be heard.
“I’m fine.”
“Ody, have you seen Mano? He left a while ago,” Ranya asked.
“I don’t know. Maybe he went back to the hotel.”
“Without saying anything?” Antony frowned.
“Typical Mano.” Steve huffed.
Christina suggested more drinks and the party moved on. Ody didn’t. His mind stayed on Mano. He stood there with a drink in his hand he never touched, letting the music and voices blur into background noise.
Every time he blinked, he felt Mano’s mouth again. Hungry at first, then soft right before they pulled apart. He felt the warmth of his breath on his lips, the way Mano’s fingers had curled into his shirt, the tiny sound he had made when Ody kissed him harder.
His whole body heated at the memory. He could still taste him, still feel the way Mano had swayed against him, dizzy and unguarded. His pulse jumped in his throat, and he shifted his weight, trying to steady himself, because nothing had ever hit him like that before.
Meanwhile, Mano reached the hotel, changed, and collapsed on the bed.
It was barely eleven, but he lay still, staring at the ceiling, replaying everything.
How did he let that happen? How did he let Ody kiss him like that, hold him like that?
He should’ve stopped it. Pulled away. But instead, he’d leaned in.
His lips still felt warm. His skin still buzzed wherever Ody had touched him. His body had answered every kiss without hesitation, like it had been craving it. That thought alone made his stomach twist. What the hell was wrong with him?
He dragged a hand over his face, heart pounding too fast. None of this made sense.
He wasn’t supposed to want a guy, or even let another man kiss him until he couldn’t think straight.
He wasn’t supposed to remember the way Ody whispered to him, or how desperate his voice sounded.
And yet he remembered everything. Every breath. Every sound.
Was he starting to feel something for Ody? No. No, absolutely not. He liked him as a friend. That was it. That had to be it. Anything else would ruin everything. It would destroy the life he understood, the one he kept in control.
But if it was only friendship, why did his chest tighten every time he replayed the kiss? Why did the thought of Ody going back to Anna make his teeth grind? And why was jealousy burning through him now, sharp and unfamiliar and impossible to ignore?
His head felt hot. His thoughts spun. Nothing settled. Eventually exhaustion won. His eyes shut without meaning to, and he slipped into a restless sleep, only to jolt awake when voices echoed in the hallway outside.
“See you in the morning.”
“Goodnight.”
The door opened and Ranya stepped inside. Mano didn’t move at first. He lay half-asleep on the bed, one arm over his eyes, breath slow and heavy. “You’re here?” she whispered when she saw him. “I was worried.” She came close and touched his shoulder. “Why did you leave? Are you okay?”
He blinked at her, barely waking up. “I’m fine. I drank too much,” he mumbled, eyes already closing again. She let him rest, changed into pajamas, and lay beside him scrolling through her phone.
After a few minutes, Mano pushed himself upright with a slow breath, the room still swaying faintly.
She looked over. “Where are you going?”
“Lobby,” he muttered. “Need a coffee. I still feel weird.”
“Grab me some water too.”
He nodded, picked up his wallet and key card, and stepped into the hallway.
Anna pulled off her dress and tossed it onto the chair. “We had such a good time,” she said. “I haven’t danced like that in forever.” She turned to Ody, studying his face. “Baby, you’re a little off tonight, or is it just me?”
“Huh? No, baby. Just tired.” Ody lay on the bed, eyes heavy, his body sinking into the sheets.
“Want me to help you relax?” She leaned over him and kissed his neck.
“It’s late,” he murmured, barely lifting his head.
“It’s not even midnight.” She smiled against his skin and slid her hands under his shirt. “Come on. Let me take care of you.”
Ody exhaled slowly, eyes closing again. “Anna…” he tried, voice low, but she kissed him before he could finish. Her lips pressed harder, insisting, her hands sliding up his sides as her nails dragged across his skin.
He didn’t react. Not right away. His body stayed still beneath her, heavy with exhaustion and something darker. Anna kissed his jaw, his neck, whispering his name between breaths, trying to pull him into the moment.
“Ody… come on…” she murmured, her hands moving with clear intent. “Let me make you feel good.”
He swallowed hard, eyes still shut. “I’m tired,” he repeated, but she kept going, kissing him again, coaxing him, her body shifting closer like she could wake him back up with touch alone.
He didn’t want this. Not now. Not after everything. His thoughts were a mess, his chest tight, guilt twisting deep in his stomach. He didn’t want to hurt her, or push her away, so he let her kiss him and touch him, even though his mind wasn’t there at all.
A shiver ran through him when his thoughts shifted, uninvited. Mano’s lips. Mano’s breath. The way Mano had grabbed his shirt, fingers trembling. The way he kissed back, soft and desperate. Heat shot through Ody so fast it stole his breath.
Anna kissed him again, and this time his hands moved, almost on their own.
Not because he wanted her, but because the memory of Mano’s mouth hit him so hard his whole body reacted.
He kissed her back, but behind his eyelids he saw only black hair and honey eyes.
The sounds and the warmth blurred together until he wasn’t sure who he was touching anymore.
Anna let out a soft sound against his mouth as the bed shifted beneath them.
Ody let it happen, his mind miles away from the room.
She didn’t notice. She was too caught up in the moment.
Ody let himself sink into it, using her touch to chase the feeling of Mano’s lips, losing himself in the rush before he could think, before reality could hit him at all.
Mano stepped out of the room, the door clicking shut behind him.
He rubbed his face, still groggy, and took one slow step toward the stairs.
He never made it to the second. A soft sound drifted through the wall beside him.
A faint moan. He frowned, trying to place it.
Then he heard it again, clearer this time. “Ahh… Ody…”
Anna’s voice.
He froze in place, his entire body going still. It felt like the floor dropped under him. Another sound followed, low and unmistakably male. Ody’s voice. The wall beside him carried more sound than it should have. Anna’s voice again, urging him to go faster.
Mano’s breath caught. He stared at the wall, unable to stop the sounds from sinking in. Each moan hit like a spark in his chest. His pulse punched into his throat, his hands curling into fists at his sides.
He squeezed his eyes shut. It didn’t help. He could still hear them, clear as if they were in the same room.
Jealousy twisted through him, uglier and sharper than he’d expected.
Beneath it was something worse, a painful sense of betrayal that hollowed him out and made him feel stupid for wanting any of this at all.
He didn’t even have a name for the feeling, only the raw certainty that he didn’t want it, didn’t ask for it, and now couldn’t get rid of it.
Her moans grew louder and Mano stepped away from the wall fast, the sound hitting him like a physical blow. He didn’t think, he just turned and walked, quick and stiff, heading for the lobby because he needed air and space, anything that wasn’t the sound of Ody’s name on someone else’s lips.
He bought coffee and water from the vending machine, barely aware of the buttons he pressed. The machine hummed, dropped a paper cup into place, then filled it. Mano stood there staring at nothing, his mind a chaotic blur he couldn't slow down.
He stepped outside the building, the cool night air washing over him. He stood still for a moment, jaw tight, something painful twisting beneath the anger on his face.
He took two long sips of the coffee, forcing it down like he could swallow the feeling with it. When he reached the bottom of the cup, he crushed it in his fist and tossed it into the trash with a sharp flick of his wrist.
Then he headed back toward the room, shoulders tense, steps steady, trying to look normal despite the storm still burning under his skin. He reentered the room, the water bottle in his hand cold against his palm.
Ranya looked up from her phone, smiling. “Oh, perfect, thanks. What took you—” He tossed the bottle onto the bed with enough force that it made a dull thud. Her smile faded. “What’s wrong?”
He didn’t answer. He walked straight to the balcony and slid the door shut behind him. He gripped the railing hard, staring out into the dark while the sounds of Ody and Anna together replayed in his head again and again.
He couldn’t make it stop.