“Awww,” the girls cooed.
Danae hid her face shyly and Steve kissed the top of her head. “Alright. My turn,” he said. “Mano. Truth or dare?”
Mano let out a short, irritated breath but answered without hesitation. “Dare.”
“Hmm.” He paused, pretending to think hard. “Go to the reception and say your bed broke.”
Mano groaned. “Oh come on, dude, in the middle of the night.”
Steve only shrugged, completely unbothered. “You wanted dare.”
Mano huffed, annoyed all over again. “Fine. Truth.”
Steve studied him carefully, slowly, letting the anticipation build. “Now... what should I ask...?” His eyes narrowed. “Oh, I got it. What do your tattoos mean?”
The change in Mano was instant. The boredom vanished. The mask slipped.
Ody found himself turning toward him without thinking.
Mano’s eyes dropped to the ground, his throat working hard as he swallowed. He blinked a few times, trying to steady himself. “I... I don’t want to…”
“Why not? Is it that big of a secret?”
“Let him be. He lost,” Antony said, waving it off.
Ody kept his eyes locked on Mano, worry creeping in. He was afraid the question had pushed him into another panic attack.
“Whose turn is it for the slap? Ody.”
Their gazes collided again. Mano pulled his mask back into place, watching Ody carefully.
He didn’t want to hit him. He wanted to kiss him.
Ody’s hand stayed at his side as he looked away. “I’m not doing it.”
“What do you mean you’re not doing it, dude?” Steve snapped. “It’s just a slap. We hit each other all the time.”
“That’s different. You’re my best friend.”
“And you can’t slap a friend? Unless…” Steve’s eyes narrowed. “Maybe we were right, and you two had a fight. You haven’t said a word to each other since yesterday.”
Every pair of eyes turned toward them.
Ody stayed silent for several seconds. Then he lifted his head and spoke. “Yeah, fine. We fought. And I’m not stupid enough to hit Mano.”
“Should I do it?” Steve offered and everyone gave him thatDude, seriously?look. “What? I’m just following the rules.”
Mano’s jaw tightened once, but he kept his gaze fixed on Ody, waiting to see how he’d handle it.
“I think we should come up with something else for people who refuse the challenge,” Anna said.
“Yeah, I agree.”
They started debating new rules, voices overlapping, but Ody wasn’t listening. His gaze drifted back to Mano for the third time. Mano looked away first, his jaw clenching.
By ten, the group had mostly drifted back inside. A few lingered for a moment to gather their things, but the pool area was already quieting down.
Mano and Ranya were the only ones still settled on their lounge chairs.
