Ody’s smile faded. Heat rushed to his face.
Mano watched that reaction for a long moment. His gaze dipped, then lifted again, as if he was deciding whether he wanted to risk the question at all.
“What, do you like me or something?”
Chapter 31
Ody’s eyes locked onto Mano’s. “W… what? No. I don’t like you. I mean, I…” His words tangled together. He tore his gaze away, cheeks burning.
Mano let out a short breath of a laugh.
Ody snapped his head back. “Why are you laughing?”
Mano’s smirk faded. He rubbed the back of his neck, suddenly defensive. “Relax. I’m just teasing you.” He wasn’t smiling anymore. He blinked quickly and glanced aside.
Ody had started noticing the pattern. Whenever something hit too close to the truth, Mano blinked a little too fast before looking away.
Ody looked down at his hands. His pulse wouldn’t settle. The air between them felt strangely heavier now, like something had almost happened and both of them were trying to pretend it hadn’t.
Mano cleared his throat and forced a smirk back onto his lips. “You turn bright red every time I mess with you, you know that?”
“I don’t,” Ody muttered, but his voice was soft, almost shy.
“Sure, you don’t,” Mano said, looking out at the city lights ahead of them.
The ride home was quiet. Both of them pretended nothing had almost happened on that hill.
When Mano dropped Ody off, their eyes met through the raised visor for a little longer than usual. Neither commented on it. Neither knew how to.
The next morning, Ody woke up with a knot in his stomach. Not because of the exam, but because he kept replaying Mano’s voice.“What, do you like me or something?”
He pushed the thought aside and forced himself to get ready. He met Steve and Chris outside the campus like always, trying to act normal. But once he stepped into the classroom, his chest tightened.
Kash was sitting in the back. Instantly, everything from two days ago came rushing back, the touches, the kisses, the heat of Kash’s mouth on his skin.
He shook off the memory and took a seat in the front row, putting as much distance as he could between himself and the back of the room where Brandon and Pablo were already causing a ruckus.
When the exam ended, Ody handed in his paper and headed for the door. “Stavrinos, come to my office for a moment,” the professor called.
“Is something wrong, sir?” he asked.
“You mentioned a mistake in the system. I have your exam paper there.”
“Oh, right. Of course.”
“Go on ahead. I’ll be there in two minutes,” the professor said as the last students turned in their papers.
Ody stepped out with Steve and Chris.
“We’ll grab coffees and wait for you out front, okay?” Steve said, and headed off with Chris.
Ody walked down the corridor. He stopped outside the professor’s office, finding the door locked. Behind him, the classroom door opened. Kash walked out and stopped short when he spotted Ody at the end of the hall.
“Oh, look who we have here,” Pablo muttered.
“It’s been a while since we messed with him. I’m in the mood,” Brandon said, his voice low and eager.
Ody turned his head just in time to find all three of them staring straight at him.
