Page 71 of Once in a Lifetime, Part 2

The line went dead before Ody could object.

The last thing he wanted right now was to go out. Mano didn’t want to be with him. Not officially. But he had no problem choosing Ranya. So it was never about not being ready. He just didn’t want him enough. What they had, it wasn’t any different from the rest. Not to Mano. But Ody… Ody didn’t know how to stop loving him. So how the hell was he supposed to get over that?

Close to midnight, someone started banging on his door. Ody lay on the couch, wrapped in a sheet, staring blankly at the TV. He didn’t move, even when the knocking got louder.

Leave me alone…

“Ody! It’s us!”

“Bro, open up!” Chris’s voice cut in too.

He dragged himself up and opened the door.

“What the hell, man? You’re not even dressed?” They pushed inside, dressed to the nines, buzzing with energy.

“What part of ‘I’m not in the mood’ didn’t you get?” Ody muttered, his gaze dull.

“What happened with Anna?” Steve asked, more serious now.

Ody let out a breath. “I don’t want to talk about it. I just want you to leave.”

“That’s not happening,” Chris said. “You’ve got us. We’re not leaving you alone. Come on, let’s go out, grab a drink, clear your head.” He steered him toward the bedroom.

“I don’t wanna go out,” Ody complained.

Steve and Chris were already in his closet, pulling out clothes, tossing options onto the bed.

“Guys, just leave me alone,” he said again, quieter this time.

They kept going until something in him snapped. “I said I don’t wanna go out! Leave me alone!”

That made them stop. They slowly set the clothes down and turned to him.

“Dude… what’s going on?” Steve stepped closer, one hand on his shoulder, grounding him.

Ody shut his eyes and sat on the edge of the bed.

“You know you can talk to us,” Chris said.

“Yeah. Whatever it is, we’ll figure it out. Did you fight with Anna?”

Wrong question. Completely wrong.

“I don’t wanna talk about it.”

“You want us to leave you like this?” Steve asked, his tone shifting.

“Yes.” He looked up at him.

Steve shook his head. “That’s not what friends do, Ody…”

He knew they weren’t leaving no matter what he said.

“Talk to us.”

What was he supposed to say? That things with Mano were over? That Mano told him they might not last… and then went and made it official with Ranya? That he was her boyfriend now?

He pushed himself to his feet and grabbed the clothes they’d picked. “What club are we going to?”