Page 94 of Once in a Lifetime, Part 2

Mano blinked. “So… a cross.”

“Something small,” Ody said. “Smaller than the one behind your ear.” His eyes flicked there. “No one would think anything of it. But we would.”

Mano looked down at the table.

Ody’s gaze dropped to the necklace resting against his chest. “You never told me why that cross is so important to you.”

Mano was quiet for a moment. “It was my dad’s,” he said.

Ody stared at him.

Mano’s fingers closed around the pendant. “After he died, I kept it.”

Something softened in Ody’s expression. “That’s why you freaked out when you lost it?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m glad I found it then,” Ody said quietly.

Mano looked at him. “Me too.”

Ody smiled at that, leaning forward. “So what do you think about getting them?”

Mano’s expression shifted.

“That cross started everything,” Ody said. “Us.”

“Ody…”

“What?”

Mano hesitated. “That cross already means something to me.”

“What do you mean?”

“For years, every time I looked at this, I thought about my dad.” His thumb brushed over the metal.

Ody stayed quiet.

“And now every time I look at it, I think about the day we met. You bringing it back to me. Everything that happened after.” His gaze dropped. “I know it’s just a tattoo…”

“But?”

Mano swallowed. “But putting it on my skin feels different.”

Ody frowned. “Why?”

Silence stretched between them.

“Because if I do that...” Mano’s fingers curled around the pendant. “Then it’s not just my dad’s necklace anymore.”

Ody didn’t say anything.

Mano lowered his eyes. “It becomes ours.”

The excitement faded from Ody’s face. For a moment, he looked away. Then he nodded. “...I get it.” He let out a small breath. “I was hoping you’d say yes.”

Mano stiffened.