Kiss Me if You Can Novel Completed - Chapter 107

Belatedly, Josh remembered why he hadn’t contacted his classmates until now. It was troublesome to talk about Pete and everything else. Even now, just Josh’s marriage caused a huge commotion among them. Ed, in particular, was even more affected. Tommy was already married with a child, but Ed was still single. With a shocked expression, he punched the air several times.

“How could you do this? You too, betray me!”

Ed, whose hairline had already receded quite a bit, clutched his thin scalp and repeatedly shouted “No!” before chugging his beer. He realized too late that it was non-alcoholic and his face twisted, but he couldn’t get drunk anyway, considering the car outside. He sighed, then spoke resignedly.

“Who is it? An Alpha?”

“Hmm, well.”

Josh vaguely fudged his answer. Tommy, who still seemed to be processing the shock, finally managed to speak.

“Female Alphas aren’t common, but then again, who couldn’t you meet?”

“That’s true.”

Tommy and Ed clinked their beer bottles together in a light toast, then each chugged theirs. Considering his mother and Emma’s reactions, Josh didn’t feel the need to explicitly state that the Alpha was a man, so he didn’t explain further. Tommy, who had chugged half his beer in one go, put down the empty bottle and spoke.

“Still, you have to be careful. It’ll be a headache if you get divorced.”

“Speaking of which, did you hear? Josh, you wouldn’t know, but Dick just got his second divorce and filed for bankruptcy.”

At Ed’s words, Tommy’s face twisted.

“It’s not just once, it’s the second time, and we told him so many times to be more careful.”

“You should be careful even the first time, what are you talking about?”

With those words, Ed and Tommy glanced at Josh. Josh sighed in exasperation.

“Are you trying to say I’m acting impulsively right now?”

“It’s just good to be careful.”

“Yeah, everyone else, maybe, but you especially.”

Josh gazed blankly at the faces of his high school classmates, whom he hadn’t seen in years. To think his reputation was this bad.

His partners changed often, but he thought he always did his best.

Feeling somewhat wronged, he twisted his face.

“Should I climb a building and shout it out?”

At Josh’s words, Ed hastily waved his hand.

“No, I didn’t mean that.”

“Yeah, anyway, even if you do something like that, people who are going to break up will break up. Remember Megan? When she got married, it was a huge fuss with planes writing ‘I love you’ in the sky and everything, but they divorced in a month.”

Tommy said with a serious face, nodding again.

“Anyway, if it’s your choice, we’ll support you. Do your best.”

“Are you going to introduce us too? Where are you getting married? I heard you moved to the East, did you move back here?”

Ed changed the subject and asked. Josh vaguely answered.

“I haven’t decided on that yet. Getting married is definite.”

When he deliberately added the last part, the two looked at each other’s faces. He waited, thinking they might say something negative again, but then Tommy suddenly suggested,

“We haven’t met in a long time, wanna play a game this weekend? How about it? Are you busy?”

“A game? Where?”

Josh asked in surprise. The game he suggested was obvious. They had all been players on the same high school football team.

“We can use the empty field at school on the weekend. I’ll get permission in advance, it’s not difficult since I’m an alumnus.”

Some had gone pro, but now they were all living ordinary lives. It wouldn’t be bad to gather and play for a while after so long. More than anything, Josh was incredibly bored right now and needed something to focus on. After ordering new beers and clinking bottles in a light toast, Tommy said,

“Man, it still feels weird. You’re getting married.”

Ed, who had chugged a beer, suddenly started chuckling. As Josh and Tommy looked at him quizzically, he spoke with a face full of delight.

“I have to tell those idiots, heh heh heh.”

There was no need to ask who the ‘idiots’ were. Josh and Tommy drank their beers and quickly changed the subject.

When he arrived home late, all the lights in the house were off. Josh entered the house through the door connected to the garage and, relying on instinct, walked through the dark living room towards the kitchen.

It wasn’t difficult to find things in the kitchen, where moonlight dimly entered. Josh filled a cup with tap water and drank it in one gulp, then leaned against the sink, gazing into the darkness for a moment. He checked his phone, but there were no calls he was waiting for.

Nearly two weeks had passed, so the filming must be over. What happened after that? He must still be receiving treatment.

He was curious about the progress, but there was no way to know. The bodyguard team, including Mark, were working, so it was difficult to contact them first, and even if he did, it was questionable whether they would easily talk about the client. Perhaps they didn’t even know the full situation. Josh had no choice but to wait for contact helplessly.

Suddenly, he desperately wanted a cigarette. He remembered that he hadn’t smoked a single one since coming to his mother’s house. After a brief hesitation, he pushed himself off the sink and went out to the garden through the connecting door.

The cigarette pack was about half empty. Josh took out one of the remaining cigarettes, put it in his mouth, and skillfully lit it. The lighter’s flame flashed for a moment, then settled into a steady form. He inhaled deeply and slowly exhaled the smoke, the long-missed scent of nicotine momentarily dizzying his head.

Is it similar to when Chase pours out his pheromones?

Josh vaguely tried to recall, then shook his head. No way. A wry smile appeared, but then his expression vanished. Slowly exhaling the deeply inhaled smoke in portions, he stared blankly at a corner of the dark garden.

…I miss him.

Josh stood there for a while, holding the half-burned cigarette between his fingers. Not long after, he went into his room and lay on the bed, but until the weekend, he heard nothing from Chase.

As always, the weather was exceptionally clear. The day before, Tommy had called Josh to confirm their appointment again, saying in an excited voice,

[Everyone’s coming! It’s amazing!]

Josh had a light breakfast, played with Pete for a bit, and then left the house, determined not to worry about Chase today. There was no point in being anxious when all he could do was wait for the results.

The school parking lot was empty on the holiday. A few cars were sparsely parked, but their purpose was obvious. Josh got out of the car and immediately headed for the football field where they used to run around.

“Josh!”

“Oh my god, how long has it been?”

“Wow, how are you still the same?”

Everyone who spotted him rushed forward to greet him warmly. Shaking hands with some, hugging others and patting their backs, Josh matched each long-unseen face with the one in his memory.

There was a guy who had presented as an Alpha after graduation, and Wilson, who was the ace of a rival school’s team when Josh was playing football before his own presentation, was one such case. He heard Wilson had left for another city after presenting. Anyway, it was all talk from their fiery youth. Besides Wilson, Chuck, who was on the same team as Josh, was also an Alpha. He stood a little distance away, hesitating, but then relaxed when he saw Josh’s mark.

“You’re getting married, and you got marked first?”

Chuck asked curiously. His ear was clean. Josh vaguely answered,

“That’s how it happened. You don’t have to worry about being swayed by your pheromones.”

“Okay, that’s a relief.”

Alphas often took medication to prepare for ruts. Just as many Omegas didn’t take medication, Alphas were no different, and this guy seemed to be one of them. But the scent of pheromones emanating from him had no effect on Josh. The only scent that drove him crazy was one specific one.

Josh, about to fall into thought again, quickly changed the subject.

“Is everyone ready? They said they’d lend us the ball, and we don’t really need a referee, right?”

As they put on the protective gear they had brought in the car, one by one, they felt like they were back in their school days after a long time. The teams were decided by a coin toss, and their positions were the same as in high school. Josh was the quarterback.

“Alright, everyone ready?”

At Josh’s question, everyone exchanged glances and nodded with excited expressions. The members all seemed thrilled about playing a game after so long. After tossing a coin to decide the attack order, everyone stood in their positions, waiting for the game to begin. Josh’s team got the first attack. Josh waited for the ball to come from the defensive team. And then the game immediately began.

“Run!”

“Catch him, Dean!”

“That bastard, no!”

They shouted and started running like crazy everywhere. Other guys swarmed over the one who caught the ball, and the attacker, who had barely advanced, started the next attack again.

Running across the field required considerable stamina. Several times, they were blocked, and sometimes they dropped the ball they were trying to pass.

“Wow, these guys. They’re really serious about this.”

Tommy said, gasping for breath during a short break. Tommy was no exception. Josh, seeing the competitive spirit burning in his eyes after a long time, turned his gaze back to the front.

“I’m serious too.”

“Me too.”

Everyone agreed with Tommy’s words. Once the game started, they absolutely couldn’t lose. With shouts echoing through the quiet school on a holiday, they began to run. But this attack, they couldn’t break through the defense. Curses and sighs flowed, and they reorganized their formation. In the ensuing attack, they barely crossed the line.

“Josh, can you do that?”

Ed subtly asked. Josh knew what he meant without having to ask. They had broken through the defense together and won the championship several times back then.

“Try it.”

At Josh’s short answer, Ed smirked, looking at him out of the corner of his eye. Tension hung among the guys lined up. Soon, the ball flew, and the big guys collided.

“Josh!”

Ed, who snatched the ball, shouted and passed it high. Josh started running like crazy, chasing the ball that flew in a long arc. He dodged a guy blocking his way, and immediately someone rushed to grab his waist. Again, Josh turned his body to avoid him, and another guy blocked his path. Josh pushed him hard with his shoulder.

“Run, run, Josh!”

The guys on his offensive team shouted and worked hard to block the defense. Josh, who barely managed to shake off the guy clinging to his waist, instantly darted far away. Soon after, he crossed the line, and his teammates cheered, pumping their fists.

“Touchdown!”

“Wow, Josh! You’re still good!”

“Wow, we should have crushed K High School with that back then!”

It was when they were all running over, hugging Josh, shouting, and reveling in the long-missed feeling of victory. Dazzled by the triumph, they completely failed to notice the unfamiliar visitor crossing the field.

The visitor walked straight towards them, unperturbed. The well-maintained grass completely swallowed his footsteps, and the excited atmosphere erased even his presence.

“Uh.”

Tommy, who had suddenly turned his head, belatedly spotted the man. But he had no time to react. Almost simultaneously, the man grabbed Tommy’s jaw and shoved him, and he fell backward with a shriek.

Without even time to counterattack, the man grabbed and pushed aside several layers of big guys surrounding him, then abruptly grabbed Josh’s shoulder. Josh, who had been completely relaxed while playing with his friends after a long time, hadn’t noticed the situation until then. When he was suddenly grabbed by the shoulder and roughly spun around, he instinctively threw a punch.

Thud, a chilling sound of bone twisting echoed. Josh, who quickly opened and shook his tingling fist, paused for a moment. The man with bright blonde hair, dressed in a dark blue suit completely unfitting for a sports field, carried a sweet scent he had forgotten for a long time. The scent, which usually subtly lingered around him, was now so strong it made him furrow his brow. At his feet lay shattered dark sunglasses, which had flown off from the punch.

The man, who had been unexpectedly slapped on the cheek, slowly straightened his hunched body. As he fully straightened up, Josh and everyone else looked up at him. The man, six inches taller than Josh, looked down at him and spoke in a low voice.

“Bailey.”