Kiss Me if You Can Novel Completed - Chapter 106

Peaceful but boring days simply passed. During that time, Josh spent his time repairing the house’s roof, planting saplings his mother had chosen in the garden, cleaning the small swimming pool that hadn’t been filled with water for over 10 years, and occasionally chasing away coyotes. The old house constantly needed repairs, but Josh had plenty of time.

That day, too, he was already digging up a part of the garden with a shovel early in the morning because the old water pipes were acting up. While Pete, who had woken up late, wandered around the garden chasing rabbits, Josh checked the extent of the leak and measured the size of the pipes that needed replacing.

“Take a break.”

His mother, who had just brought lemonade, spoke to him. Josh, who came out of the pit and roughly wiped his dirt-covered face and hands with a towel, followed his mother and sat down at the tea table. Pete, who had been guarding the rabbit hole, also rushed to the table to eat snacks.

His mother, who had been gazing at Pete drinking lemonade, turned her gaze to Josh. Josh felt as if he knew what she was about to say.

“Does Pete know?”

His mother subtly slurred the name, being careful not to arouse the child’s curiosity. Sure enough, Pete, completely unaware that they were talking about him, was busy picking up cookies and putting them in his mouth. Josh, who had been watching him, pushed the plate of cookies closer to the child and spoke.

“He doesn’t know yet.”

“Okay…”

His mother trailed off, as if deep in thought. After hearing Josh’s confession, she seemed to have a lot on her mind, and she continued cautiously with a serious expression.

“You’ll have a lot to do in the future. You’ll handle everything, but…”

His mother subtly added,

“Josh, I think it’s better to be careful when you first marry than to get divorced later.”

Josh looked at his mother with a bewildered expression.

“Emma, I can understand, but you too, Mother? You don’t trust me?”

“No, it’s not like that. I trust you with everything else.”

So, she doesn’t trust me with women.

Josh was dumbfounded. That Chase is a man, that I’ve already considered it carefully, or on the contrary, if I, who is like this, am even thinking about marriage, it wouldn’t be just talk. Many thoughts came to mind, but all his motivation to speak vanished. Instead, Josh spoke firmly.

“Then trust me this time too.”

“Okay…”

His mother closed her mouth as if she had nothing more to say. An awkward silence hung between them as they drank lemonade under the tranquil afternoon sun. Josh, who had chugged the rest of his drink, stood up.

“I’ll go buy pipes.”

“Oh, Josh. Could you also buy a mailbox? The old one needs replacing.”

His mother stood up and followed him. Josh nodded, saying, “Sure,” and then picked up Pete, who was already on his third cookie.

“Pete, shall we go with Daddy?”

As he subtly took the cookie and placed it on the plate, Pete’s interest quickly shifted, and he hugged Josh’s neck. His mother came out to the front of the house to see them off to the car, but she didn’t mention marriage again.

Josh fastened Pete into the baby seat in the back and drove leisurely through the quiet streets. There were few cars and hardly any people. The scenery, completely different from the East, made Josh feel a strange mix of familiarity and novelty.

Oh.

Suddenly, he saw a road in his sight and impulsively turned the steering wheel. After driving a little further, he arrived at his old high school. It seemed to be during class, as there were no children coming and going. Josh stopped the car for a moment and stood there, then started the engine again before the school security guard noticed anything suspicious and approached him.

Come to think of it, it’s been a long time since I met my classmates. Do I still have their contact information? Josh thought as he drove. Otherwise, I won’t have a chance to meet them.

He felt like he would go crazy if he didn’t do something. Idly spending day after day didn’t suit his personality. He complimented himself, saying it was a good idea, and sped up.

“Hey, you’re alive? It’s been ages!”

Tommy, who shouted loudly and clapped Josh on the shoulder, sat down opposite him and immediately his eyes shone with emotion, saying, “You bastard!” and hit Josh’s arm hard again. Josh smiled, seeing Tommy, who had gained some weight but still had his old face.

Having contacted them earlier in the day, he had set a meeting at a chain pub familiar to everyone. Of course, Pete was left with his mother.

Tommy was a teammate on the football team in high school, and after graduation, he went to college and became an engineer. It was surprising that he still had quite a lot of muscle. Josh looked over Tommy’s body and said,

“You must be working out a lot.”

“Gotta keep in shape. My wife hates fat men.”

Tommy shook his head wildly, then asked,

“You’re a bodyguard these days? Wow, so you meet celebrities and stuff?”

“Well, something like that.”

“Wow! You bastard!”

Tommy repeated the same words again, hitting Josh’s arm hard, and laughed heartily. Tommy, who had never been good at language in school, would sometimes repeat the same words when he was overwhelmed with emotion. This time, his word seemed to be ‘you bastard.’ Josh gave a wry smile as he watched him repeat ‘you bastard’ in admiration again. Just then, the pub door opened, and a tall, slender man entered. Seeing him, Tommy waved his hand.

“Oh, Ed! Over here!”

“Tommy! Josh!”

He walked across the pub happily and hugged Josh. After exchanging warm greetings and patting each other’s backs, Josh turned his head and paused. Two somewhat familiar women were standing behind Ed. Ed opened his mouth awkwardly with a troubled expression.

“Uh, you remember them, right? My older sister and younger sister. I told them I was meeting you today, and they insisted on seeing your face…”

“Josh, long time no see.”

“How have you been, Josh? Oh my, you’re still handsome.”

His older sister and younger sister vied to greet Josh. Josh smiled and shook hands with them alternately. The two, inevitably blushing and smiling, wore the same expressions Josh was familiar with. Ed, who had been looking at them with a displeased gaze, blurted out,

“They abandoned their husbands and everything just to see you, does that make sense?”

“Oh, really?”

When Josh asked in surprise, Ed’s sisters immediately glared at Ed and started scolding him like a cat chasing a mouse.

“We can see our husbands today and tomorrow! How long has it been since we saw Josh!”

“Exactly, exactly! Are husbands and Josh the same? Josh is Josh!”

If it had been a private place, Ed would have surely been hit a few times. After confirming Ed, who turned his head away with a distorted face, they turned their attention back to Josh. With bright smiles, they quickly spoke.

“We don’t mean to interrupt your time, Josh. We just wanted to say hello.”

“Yes, I’ll be leaving soon too. Don’t feel pressured, Josh. Oh my, you haven’t changed at all…”

Her last words faded away like an afterthought. Josh thought for a moment, then suggested,

“Would you like a drink? It’s on me.”

“Oh, really? Can we sit down?”

“Then I’ll have a non-alcoholic one. I drove.”

The women, as if they had been waiting, sat on either side of Josh and looked up at him with anticipation. Ed made a grim expression and quickly made a gesture of slitting his throat with the back of his hand, but it was already too late. They drank non-alcoholic cocktails and chatted for an hour before getting up. Of course, they didn’t forget to take photos with Josh on their phones before leaving.

“It was nice to see you, Josh.”

“Contact us again next time, definitely.”

The two exchanged reluctant goodbyes and left the pub. Only after confirming that they had closed the door and completely left the establishment did Ed finally start protesting to Josh.

“Why did you buy them drinks unnecessarily!”

“Sorry, but I couldn’t just let the ladies go.”

“Josh is always sweet to women anyway.”

Tommy shook his head helplessly and commented. Then Ed grumbled,

“You’re going to get into big trouble someday, being so nice to just any woman.”

“I’m not nice to just any woman.”

Despite his clear boundaries, his friends didn’t agree. Receiving their distrustful gazes, Josh said,

“Seriously, if that were the case, I would have married anyone a long time ago.”

He took a sip of his non-alcoholic beer and then casually added, “Oh.”

“Speaking of which, I was going to tell you, but I’m getting married soon.”

“What? Married?”

“You? Josh Bailey?”

“Wait, is that a mark on your ear?”

Tommy’s eyes widened in belated discovery, and he pointed. Josh realized too late that he had forgotten to cover his ear, but it didn’t matter. Most people who knew Josh in this town would probably know he had presented as an Omega anyway. Then Ed shouted,

“Really? Is that the mark? Wow, I’ve never seen one in person. I just thought it was an injury!”

“Are you marrying the person who marked you? No, Omegas can get multiple marks, so… No? Is it really the same person?”

Ed and Tommy’s reactions were no different from his family’s, and Josh unconsciously furrowed his brow. The two seemed ready to run into the street and shout at every passerby if they found out Josh had even had a child.