Lick Me Up If You Can Novel (Completed) - Chapter 109

“Buffalo wins!”

“Whoa!” Cheers erupted, and everyone hugged each other, overjoyed. Koi, too, linked arms with the cheerleading team members and jumped up and down, celebrating the victory.

“We all worked so hard!”

“Those gorillas were playing with my heart.”

“Seriously, I really thought we were going to lose at the end!”

“It was really close, wasn’t it? We might have lost if it went into overtime.”

“It’s good that it didn’t, Buffalo!”

“Buffalo!”

Koi, who had shouted along with them again in unison, unlinked his arms and turned around. The sight of the ice hockey guys throwing each other up in the air and patting each other’s backs, overjoyed beyond measure, came into view.

Of course. They had come so far with such difficulty.

Koi recalled with a bitter feeling. If Ashley had been there, winning would have been easy, but reality was not like that. Every game, they had to hold their breath, precariously continuing their winning streak, and having to win by a comeback or a one-goal difference every time was agonizing for the cheering squad too.

Still, it’s a relief that everyone’s efforts paid off.

Koi smiled as he watched them, then soon became gloomy. February was already passing. The season was over, and the semester was almost done. There had been no contact from Ashley since then.

Are you okay, Ash…?

Anxiety and worry burned in his chest, but there was nothing he could do. He had asked the mansion’s caretaker, but all he heard was, “He’s doing well.”

I want to hear your voice.

He wanted to hold him and feel his body heat. Why wasn’t he coming back? Surely this wouldn’t be the end…?

“Koi, let’s go. Today’s the after-party!”

“Oh, yeah.”

At the vice-captain’s words, Koi hurriedly snapped to attention and followed. No one talked about Ashley. It had become an unspoken rule. No one knew why Ashley had been excluded from the ice hockey team in the first place. The coach had simply made an unilateral declaration, and the team members, including Bill, had protested strongly, but it hadn’t been very effective.

What good would it do to talk behind his back when he wasn’t even there? Bill, who had heard that Ashley had to go to the East for Thanksgiving, gritted his teeth, suppressed his anger, and came up with a plan.

<Let’s formally protest after the holidays are over.>

Everyone on the ice hockey team agreed, but then Ashley disappeared. Christmas passed, New Year’s passed, and now February was ending, but there was no contact.

Why?

Even as he smiled outwardly with the kids, Koi’s mind was completely filled with Ashley.

Ash, you haven’t gotten tired of me, have you…?

Time continued to flow, with him unable to control his uneasy feelings. The semester ended, summer vacation passed, and Koi became a 12th grader.