The fifth day in Serifos dawned bright and warm. Everyone gathered at the buffet for breakfast. Between Ody and Mano hung a strange tension, heavy with everything that had passed between them the night before.
After breakfast, no one felt like leaving the hotel. The girls headed to the spa, eager for their chocolate therapy session and facial treatments, while Steve and Antony decided to spend the morning by the pool. Ody and Mano, however, stayed in their rooms.
Ody lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling. He tried to relax, but his mind wouldn’t settle. It kept drifting back to the beach. To the kiss. To the messages they had exchanged in the middle of the night.
With a frustrated sigh, he sat up. His gaze fell on the chair in the corner where his clothes from the previous night were folded. The gray pants he had worn to the restaurant were draped neatly over the back.
He remembered Mano mentioning at breakfast that he hadn’t brought many pairs. An idea formed in his mind. It was a weak excuse, and he knew it. But it was enough.
He grabbed the pants, slipped them into a plastic bag, and headed out into the hallway. A moment later, he knocked onMano’s door. Footsteps came from inside before the door finally opened. Mano stood there, and for a moment neither of them said a word.
“Can I come in?” Ody asked.
Mano hesitated, then stepped aside. “Why are you here?” he asked as he moved toward the bed.
Ody walked in. “I wanted to see you.”
Mano’s eyes dropped to the plastic bag in his hand. “What’s that?”
“You said you didn’t bring many pairs of pants,” Ody said. “So I thought I’d lend you mine for tonight.”
“Which ones?” Mano asked as he sat on the edge of the bed.
“The ones I wore when we went to the restaurant.”
Mano’s mind jumped back to that night in the restaurant bathroom, to the moment Ody had pushed himself off the sink with that smug grin and said, “two-zero.”
“You wore that white shirt that day,” Ody said as he pulled the pants from the plastic bag. “These would look really good with it.”
Mano glanced down at them, instantly thinking of Ody’s outfit that night.
“Although,” Ody added, lifting his gaze to meet his, “they might be a little tight on you.”
“Why?”
“You’re more muscular than me. They’ll cling to you.”
Mano blinked hard at that.
“Why don’t you try them on?” A faint smile curved Ody’s lips.
“Okay… later.”
“Now.” He pushed the pants into Mano’s hands. “I want to see how they fit.”
Mano took them, swallowing hard before pushing himself off the bed. He was heading toward the bathroom when Ody’s voice stopped him. “Take the shirt too, so we can see the full outfit.”
Mano hesitated, then grabbed the white shirt from the closet and disappeared into the bathroom.
Outside, Ody paced the room like he couldn’t sit still. A moment later the door opened, and Mano stepped out.
The white shirt clung tightly to his body, outlining the muscles across his chest, arms and stomach.
Ody’s eyes dragged slowly over him.
“You were right,” Mano admitted. “It’s a little tight in the back.”
“Where in the back?” Ody said a little too fast. “Turn around.”
