Page 147 of Once in a Lifetime, Part 2

He let out a breath, dragging a hand over his face.

Why hadn’t he walked away? Why hadn’t he stopped it before it got this far?

By the time Ody woke up, the apartment was quiet. After breakfast, he picked up the guitar Mano had brought him from uni, the one he’d lent him to practice until classes started again. He’d gotten better, not good, but better than a month ago.

Around noon, his phone rang. Steve’s name lit up the screen.

“Hey,” Ody picked up.

“Hey. Where are you?”

“Home.”

“Can I come over?”

“Did something happen?”

“You owe me the story about yesterday,” Steve said.

Ody’s gaze dropped.

“I’m on my way.”

The call ended.

When Steve walked in, he headed straight for the living room. “Chris says we should grab some beers tonight. You in?” His eyes landed on the guitar. “Whoa. You’ve been practicing?”

Ody just stared at him. Waiting.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Aren’t you gonna ask if I talked to her?”

“No. I know you didn’t.”

Ody frowned. “How?”

“If you had, you would’ve told me over text. When you said you’d explain in person…” He shrugged. “I knew.”

Ody looked away.

“Why, man? I thought you had it figured out.”

“I do. But if you’d seen her…” He exhaled. “She had something planned. For our anniversary.”

Steve winced. “Damn…” He sat down, leaning forward. “I get it, Ody. You’ve been with her a long time. You care about her. But this is still wrong.”

Ody shook his head. “You all make it sound so easy. Like I can just decide and be done with it. I’d love to see what you’d do in my place.” He started pacing. “‘Just break up with her, dude.’” He let out a harsh breath. “Yeah. Why didn’t I think of that? I’ll just walk up to her and say, ‘Hey, I wanna break up because I’m into Mano. Remember him? We’re not just friends. We’re together. I’ve been lying to you for three months.’” He stopped. “Simple enough, right?”

Steve didn’t answer.

“Don’t tell me you understand me.” He held his gaze. “Because you don’t.” He shut his eyes, exhaling. “What am I supposed to say when she asks why? Tell me, Steve. What would you say?”

Steve looked away.

“How would you tell your girlfriend… that you fell in love with a man?” He didn’t take his eyes off him. “Would you tell her?... Or would you lie? Say you grew apart? That you stopped loving her? That there’s someone else?” He paused. “Don’t ever tell me you understand. None of you do.” He sat down at the far end of the couch, picking up the guitar. “Go.” He strummed a few notes. “I want to practice.”

Steve stayed where he was. Then he got up and left.