“I’ll text you when we’re done with makeup,” Anna said as she stepped out of the bathroom.
“Okay.”
“See you!” The door shut behind her a second later.
The moment she was gone, Ody’s whole body sagged. He leaned his back against the wall, letting out a deep breath like he had been underwater far too long.
Mano watched him silently. He wasn’t the unpredictable one anymore. Ody was. And Mano hated how much he wanted to understand why. “If Anna hadn’t walked in,” he said, “would you have kissed me?”
Ody’s mind exploded with a thousand thoughts and fears. He had a girlfriend. He had always been faithful. And now he was doing the worst thing he could possibly do to her. Looking at Mano the way he did was wrong. Feeling this way was wrong. Confessing at the beach had been the biggest mistake of all.
Keeping this going was an even bigger one.
“No,” he finally said, keeping his gaze on the floor. “I just wanted to see what you’d do.” His voice sounded small, wrong. “Why would I kiss you? The first time was a mistake, and I admitted it.”
Mano stared at him, the muscle in his jaw flexing. “So I was right,” he said. “You’re doing all this just to win your little game.”
Ody shook his head, but nothing came out. He couldn’t speak. He couldn’t lie convincingly. Not anymore.
Mano let out a quiet, bitter exhale. “Don’t worry, Ody. You’ve already won. Three to zero.” He stood up, brushed past him, and walked toward the door.
“Mano…” Ody said, and Mano turned on him instantly, his eyes sharp with anger.
“What I don’t get is why. Why you changed. Why you keep provoking me. And why the hell you’re playing with me!”
I’m not playing with you… I just need you close to me…But the truth was dangerous. It was madness.
“You think it’s fun messing with my head?” Mano asked, stepping closer. His voice sounded controlled, a little too calm, like he was trying to hold something down. “You enjoy this?”
He kept his eyes on Ody, steady and unblinking, but for a second, a wounded look slipped through. One he refused to fully show. He swallowed hard, like he was forcing the feeling back where it came from.
Ody searched his eyes. Mano looked angry, sure, but there was a flicker of something else in his face that threw him off. He couldn’t tell if it was hurt or something deeper, and the confusion twisted him up inside.
Mano looked down for a brief moment, like the floor was easier to deal with than Ody’s eyes. Then he looked right back at him, sharper now. “Tell me,” he said. “Is this a joke to you?”
“No!” Ody snapped, unable to tear his eyes away from Mano’s.
He couldn’t tell if Mano was furious or hurt. Probably both.
I want to tell you what’s going on inside me. I want to tell you why I can’t stay away from you. But I can’t. We’re both men. We came here with our girlfriends, and I’m already crossing every line I shouldn’t.
Mano let out a dry, ironic laugh. “Yeah. Thought so.” He turned for the door. “Tell the others I’m sleeping.”
The door clicked shut behind him.
Ody stayed frozen for a moment after Mano left, the silence in the room pressing down on him. His thoughts wouldn’t settle. He felt hollow, lightheaded, like part of him was still standing in front of Mano.
Eventually he forced himself to move. He changed clothes without thinking, splashed water on his face, and walked out of the room because doing nothing felt worse. By the time he reached the pool, he still felt the same tightness in his chest.
“Hey, Ody! Where’s Mano?” Steve called out.
“Uh… he stayed in the room to rest before we go out.”
“Something going on between you two?” Antony asked.
Ody’s heart nearly stopped. “W-what do you mean?”
“Ever since you fought at the buffet, things have been weird,” he said. “What exactly happened that day?”
