49. Chapter 49
Mano stormed off across the sand, his shoulders rigid with fury, leaving the others stunned.
For a moment, no one moved.
Ody touched his jaw carefully, shifting it side to side as pain throbbed where Mano’s punches had landed. “Damn…” he muttered under his breath. “He’s got a strong arm.”
“What the hell just happened?” Steve stared at him. “He just beat the shit out of you and you’re complimenting his arm strength?”
“I mean…” Ody touched his jaw again. “He hits hard.” He winced immediately afterward, covering his mouth with the back of his hand as he checked for blood. “Shit…”
“Can you stand?” Antony asked, offering him a hand.
Ody grabbed it and pulled himself up.
“Why did he hit you?” Anna asked, her voice trembling.
“I’m fine,” he said, trying to reassure her.
Mano had already disappeared. God only knew where he had gone.
“He’s not picking up... Damn it, where is he?” Ranya said, staring down at her phone.
“He probably went somewhere to cool off,” Christina said. “Don’t worry.”
After making sure Ody could walk, they headed back. He sat in the back seat with Anna while Christina drove.
By the time they reached the hotel, Ranya was about to lose her mind with worry. What if they had left him behind? How was he supposed to get back? What if something had happened to him?
She rushed into her room and pulled up short when she saw Mano lying on the bed. “Oh my God, you’re here!” She hurried to his side. “Are you okay? Where were you?” She sat beside him, searching his face for any reaction. He didn’t respond. “Mano…”
“Leave me alone.”
She let out a frustrated sigh and pushed herself to her feet. “Fine.” Grabbing her towel, she headed for the shower.
Meanwhile, Ody groaned as he approached his bed.
“Does it hurt that bad?” Anna huffed. “What the hell happened this time? I never liked that guy. I knew from the start he was bad news.”
“Cut it out, Anna.”
“What? You’re mad at me now? He’s the one who hit you!”
“It was my fault. Drop it.” He climbed onto the bed.
Anna frowned. She knew him too well. There was no way it had really been his fault. Not enough to deserve a punch to the face.
The rest of the afternoon passed with everyone staying in their rooms, resting.
Later that evening, they agreed to go out for one last night of dancing, hoping it would distract them from everything that had happened before heading back to Athens.
Ody lay on his side, staring at the wall. His jaw still ached where Mano had punched him. And just like that, the memory came rushing back.
He had been splashing around in the water alone after Anna went back to shore.
He knew Mano was still swimming somewhere nearby. But he had no desire to talk to him. Not after what had been said in the hotel room. And definitely not after their fight in the car.
Mano had said it outright. To him, Ody had been nothing more than a fling.
Just his weekly fix. How could he say that?
Just minutes earlier, Ody had confessed that he didn’t even want Anna to touch him.
That he only wanted him. That he wanted to get to know him.
To actually spend time together. And yet...
“Well? Isn’t that what you do? Never get attached. Keep someone around for a week... then throw them away like they meant nothing.”
“Maybe that’s just how it is.”
Why did it hurt so much?
He swam toward the shore when suddenly water splashed beside him. Someone swam past him in freestyle strokes. When he surfaced, Ody recognized him. Black hair, slicked back and dripping. The person responsible for this pain.
“Feeling better now?” Ody asked when they both reached the sand.
Mano turned toward him, water dripping from his hair, his body glistening. “What?” His eyes were sharp, dangerous.
“In the car earlier, you acted like a ten-year-old,” Ody said. “You calm now?”
“Fuck off.” Mano turned to leave.
“Fuck off yourself,” Ody shot back. “That’s what you do, right? Are you gonna wait until we get back to Athens, or have you already found my replacement?”
Mano’s jaw tightened. His entire posture shifted as he stepped closer, looking ready to throw down. “I’ll fuck as many chicks as I want. Got that, mikre?” He jabbed a finger into Ody’s bare chest. “It’s none of your damn business.” He turned away again.
“Oh yeah?” Ody said. “You sure you can even do that?”
Mano slowly turned back. His expression darkened. “What did you just say?”
“I said... can you even fuck them? Because with me, you were moaning like a bitch when I made you cum.”
Ody barely saw the punch coming. Mano’s fist crashed into his face and sent him sprawling onto the sand. “What the fuck did you just say?” he shouted.
“The truth,” Ody said, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “I know you wanted me. You were dying for me to touch you!”
Mano tackled Ody to the ground and drove another punch into his cheek. “You’re the one who said you want me! That you can’t stop thinking about me. That I make you horny! Huh? You little faggot!”
Ody froze. That word hit like a slap. Rage flooded his face. He shoved Mano off him with a yell and threw a punch back. “If I’m a faggot, then what the fuck are you, huh? You jerked off thinking about me!”
Neither of them seemed to realize what they were actually admitting.
“Shut the fuck up!”
Ody flinched as his hand drifted to his jaw again. The bruise still throbbed. He stared at the ceiling of the hotel room, the memory fading but the ache still there.
The afternoon passed slowly. A few hours later, everyone was getting ready for their last night on the island.
The girls slipped into light, flowy dresses, while the guys went for shorts and lightweight shirts.
Mano barely looked at his suitcase before grabbing the first things he saw.
A black T-shirt and black pants. He didn’t care.
When he stepped into the hotel lobby, his gaze instantly landed on Ody.
They headed out to the cars, sitting in the same groups as that morning. Mano and Ranya rode with Christina and Antony.
The club was right by the beach, and the moment they arrived, pounding music filled the air.
“Ranya…” Anna leaned closer, voice raised over the music. “How did Mano get back to the hotel this morning?”
“He took a taxi.”
“A taxi? From where we were? That couldn’t have been cheap.”
“I know,” Ranya said with a shrug. “That’s what he told me.”
Mano had gone straight to the bar. By the time the waitress brought the drinks to their table, he had already finished his first and was heading back for a second. “I’ll bring them over in five minutes,” the waitress said before hurrying away.
Mano downed the second drink. Soon after, the waitress returned with drinks for everyone else. Ody noticed Mano leaning in and whispering something in her ear. Moments later, she returned with a third drink. Just for him.
Ody’s mind drifted back to that night at the beach bar. The night Mano had drunk too much, broken down crying, and listened to Ody confess his feelings. The night he kissed him.
“Hey, babe, slow down,” Ranya said as Mano downed half his drink in one go.
“Leave me alone,” he snapped, and kept drinking.
The others were still on their first drinks. Mano was on his fourth. All vodka. When he finished it, he went to the bar again and came back with whiskey.
The group exchanged glances.
“Why are you mixing drinks now?” Ranya asked, concern in her voice.
He ignored her and took another sip.
“Should we stop him?” Anna asked Ody, but he didn’t answer.
After everything that had happened between them, he had no idea if stepping in would make things better or worse.
They watched as Mano headed to the bar again. A few minutes later he came back empty-handed. Then the waitress appeared at their table carrying eight shot glasses.
“On the house,” Mano announced, grabbing one and knocking it back.
“Thanks, Mano!”
“Thanks!”
“Another round,” he called after the waitress as she walked past.
“Man, he’s still holding up, huh?” Antony said to his girlfriend.
“He doesn’t look great, though. He’s barely standing,” she replied. “But who’s gonna stop him? He’ll kill us.”
The second round of shots arrived. Mano downed his, and staggered toward the bathrooms. On the way there he bumped into several people, nearly losing his balance.
Ody had been watching him the whole time. With every drink, his worry grew. “I’m gonna go check on him,” he told Anna.
“Be careful, okay?”
Ody pushed through the crowd and stepped into the restroom. He waited by the sinks just as Mano stumbled out of one of the stalls, zipping up his pants.
He looked dazed, wobbly. Barely able to stand.
“You okay?”
“What do you want now? Get off my back.” He reached the sink and turned on the faucet, but the room spun around him. He stopped, trying to steady himself. But then his body swayed backward.
“Whoa!” Ody caught him before he could hit the floor.
“Don’t touch me!” Mano snapped, pushing him away. Or at least, that was what he intended. Ody barely felt the weak shove.
“You’re dizzy, aren’t you?”
“I’m fine. Just leave me the fuck alone!” Mano tried to grab the sink again, but his legs gave out beneath him.
Ody quickly bent and caught him from behind, trying to lift him, but Mano barely budged. “That damn gym…” he muttered. He threw Mano’s arm over his shoulder and dragged him out of the restroom. Their friends spotted them from the table and pushed through the crowd.
“What happened?” Antony asked.
“What do you think after all that alcohol? Help me get him to the car.”
The three of them carried Mano outside while the girls exchanged uneasy looks. Ody unlocked his car. Antony and Steve helped maneuver Mano into the back seat.
“Where are you taking him?” Steve asked.
“Back to the hotel. Tell Anna not to worry.”
“Got it. Text us later. And try not to kill each other, okay?” He shot Ody a warning look.