“You’re leaving?”
“I need to go home.”
“You can stay here if you want.”
“No, I’m going home,” Mano said, grabbing his phone and opening the front door.
“Mano…”
“Goodnight.” He shut the door behind him and headed down the stairs.
Ody remained standing in the middle of the apartment, staring at the closed door. Then he let out a slow breath and ran a hand through his hair.
The next day, Mano got a message from Ranya asking if he wanted to go out. There was no way he could go anywhere with the hickeys all over his neck. He made up an excuse and set his phone aside.
In the afternoon, his intercom rang. When he picked it up, Ody’s voice came through the speaker. “It’s me.”
Mano let out a deep sigh. “What do you want?”
“Open up.”
“What do you want?” he repeated.
Ody’s voice stayed low and calm. “I want you to open the door.”
Mano exhaled without responding.
“If you don’t open, I’ll ring every intercom in the building and come up to break down your door. You know I will.”
“Acting real tough all of a sudden, huh?”
“Open the damn door, Mano!” he shouted.
Irritated, Mano pressed the button. A moment later, the doorbell rang. Mano opened the door, and Ody immediately noticed the deep red marks on his neck.
“What’s wrong? Your girl canceled on you, so you came here instead?” Mano mocked, walking back inside.
“I went out with Anna this morning,” Ody said in the same mocking tone, closing the door behind him.
“Oh, great,” Mano said with an attitude, stopping in the kitchen.
Ody couldn’t help looking at the marks on his neck again, something Mano noticed.
“Admiring your handiwork?”
“Why are you acting like you didn’t like it?”
Mano stared at him in disbelief. “What?”
Ody chuckled, glancing down. “Mano... we both know you’re stronger than me. If you didn’t want it, you could’ve stopped me.”
Mano blinked hard. “W-what kind of bullshit is that?”
Ody stepped toward him slowly, never taking his eyes off Mano. “You’re not angry at me. You’re angry because you liked it.”
Mano’s jaw flexed, but he didn’t say a word.
Ody stopped just in front of him. “You like it when I call you mine. You like hearing it. And you liked every mark I left on you.”
