Lick Me Up If You Can Novel (Completed) - Chapter 157

Koi, who had arrived 20 minutes earlier than the appointed time, brightened when he saw the Bentayga in the distance. He waited for the car to stop, then quickly got into the passenger seat and greeted first.

“Hi, Ash. You’re early.”

He belatedly checked the car’s clock and saw it was 10 minutes earlier than the agreed time. As Koi spoke cheerfully, Ashley glanced over his entire body instead of greeting him. It was the first time he had done such a thing, and Koi paused involuntarily, but Ashley spoke.

“What are those clothes? Didn’t I buy you new clothes?”

Ah, Koi finally relaxed and replied.

“Those are for when I go on a date.”

I’m diligently following what you said, Koi looked at Ashley with sincerity.

“We’re friends, so this isn’t a date, right?”

Ashley stared at him without a word. Just in case, Koi reaffirmed.

“Don’t worry, I know that much. I’ll never cross the line.”

He looked at him with eyes full of friendship, but Ashley fixed his gaze forward and started the car.

Inside the flamboyant and brightly lit French restaurant, quite a few people were enjoying their meals. Koi pretended to drink wine, secretly glancing at Ashley sitting opposite him. Just like the last time they came here, he was impeccably dressed in an expensive-looking suit, with his brilliant platinum blonde hair neatly combed back, truly the epitome of a successful man enjoying his meal.

If it was “just like last time,” Koi was no different. The only difference with Ashley was that he was wearing the same clothes then as now.

Can’t be helped. This is still the best I have.

The only good clothes he owned were ones that were well over 10 years old and didn’t fit properly. The new clothes Ashley had bought him were only one set and meant for dates, so he couldn’t wear them today.

Ash clearly stated that we are friends.

Because of that, Koi had no choice. He had been inwardly nervous when his clothes were pointed out, but it was brushed off as nothing. Ashley had always been kind to Koi regardless of what he wore, and it was the same now. Koi felt confident in his ordinary demeanor.

Ash hasn’t changed after all.

As the meal moved to the fish course, Koi naturally spoke.

“Thanks for contacting me first. I was afraid you were busy, so I couldn’t call.”

“I called because I thought that might be the case.”

Ashley replied in an indifferent tone, but it sounded different to Koi. He cared about Koi that much, his heart swelled. Ashley continued,

“And I was worried.”

“Worried? About me?”

Koi asked in surprise, and Ashley still calmly opened his mouth.

“You hadn’t contacted me, so I wondered if something had happened.”

It was a concern any friend would naturally have. Both Koi and Ashley thought so. Ashley continued speaking.

“You might have gotten hurt while working.”

“No way!”

“When I called after a long time and you didn’t answer, I really wondered if something was wrong, so I called a few more times.”

This, of course, was also something a friend would do. Koi’s heart swelled at the thought that Ashley had worried about him so much.

“I’m sorry for making you worry, nothing happened.”

“It’s alright. I was the one who was wrong for calling you during your date. I didn’t interrupt anything, did I?”

Ashley asked with a smile. Koi thought for a moment, “Did I?” then quickly replied.

“No, I hung up quickly, and the call I made later was just a quick one when I went to the restroom.”

“Restroom.”

Ashley repeated the word Koi had uttered. Koi nodded obediently.

“Yeah, to use it.”

Ashley drank his wine without a word. The meal continued. When there was a brief pause before the next dish arrived, Ashley spoke.

“How have you been? Have you been on many dates?”

He hadn’t been on any dates that felt like actual dates. At most, if he was being very generous, his meeting with Sarah could barely be considered one. But Koi couldn’t tell the truth. Ariel’s “favor” immediately came to mind.

<Koi, if Ash asks how your dates are going, just say they’re going well, no matter what.>

Koi repeated the answer Ariel had given him as an example.

“I’m still meeting people. I’ve found a few people I click with, so I’ve made plans every weekend. It was really fortunate that I had the weekend free when you called.”

He didn’t like lying, but he couldn’t help it. There was a reason Ariel had urged him to lie like this.

<He wished you happiness so much, so if you tell him it’s not going well, he’ll be upset, won’t he?>

Ariel grumbled, but she still cares about Ash.

Koi felt grateful to her and added the prepared words.

“There are so many wonderful people in the world. I plan to meet many more.”

“…That’s good.”

Just as Ashley spoke, a waiter brought the next dish. Once they were alone again, Ashley spoke.

“How was the person you met last time? The one you were with when I called.”

“Oh, Sarah?”

Koi’s eyes immediately sparkled as he recounted their conversation. Once he started talking about stars, space, astronauts, and spacecraft, there was no end to it.

Koi belatedly realized Ashley’s silent reaction and flinched, stopping his words. Silence fell, and then Ashley finally spoke.

“It seems you met someone you get along with very well.”

“Yeah, very much so.”

Koi added with a flushed face.

“When we were together, I didn’t even realize how much time had passed. That day, when you called, we had been chatting for four hours at the cafe. Thanks to your call, we moved to another place, but even during dinner and until we parted ways, we still didn’t have enough to talk about.”

“You must have been sad to part ways.”

“Yeah.”

At Ashley’s short response, Koi quickly nodded.

“So we decided to meet tomorrow, but if I hadn’t made plans with you first, I would have met her today too. Isn’t it amazing to get the latest news about space right away? She said she’d invite me to a party next time and introduce me to people who work at NASA. She said there are a lot of good guys there too.”

Ashley stopped cutting his meat and looked at him.

“Guys?”

“Yeah.”

Koi smiled brightly and continued.

“They’ll all be charming. There must be a lot of great people like Sarah, right? Just imagining it makes my heart pound. To be able to be introduced to so many people like Sarah, regardless of whether they’re male or female.”

He meant he could make new friends with similar hobbies, but it sounded different to Ashley. Ashley, who had been looking at him for a while, opened his mouth.

“You look happy.”

This was also an answer from the manual Ariel had prepared. Koi recited it as it was.

“Yeah, very. Thank you, Ash. It’s all thanks to you.”

He didn’t forget to add a deliberate 1-2 second pause.

“It was really good that I came to the East.”

At his brightly smiling face, Ashley put down his knife and fork, no longer touching the steak he had only eaten half of. Seeing this, Koi asked in surprise,

“What’s wrong? Aren’t you eating more?”

“I’ve eaten enough. Don’t mind me, keep eating.”

Saying that, Ashley poured himself some wine and drank it, then immediately called a waiter and ordered another bottle of wine. And without another word, he drank three more bottles of wine.

The meal ended without much conversation. After emptying the last wine bottle, Ashley called the waiter and paid the bill. Koi, watching nervously, hastily fumbled in his pocket and said,

“Oh, I’ll pay for my share.”

They were friends, so it was natural. It wasn’t a date, so there was no reason for one person to pay. Fortunately, the prices here were affordable enough for Koi to pay, so the burden was small.

Ashley silently placed his card on the tray along with the money Koi had taken out and put on the table. Seeing the waiter take it away, Koi whispered,

“Are you giving all that as a tip?”

He asked, thinking it was too much, but Ashley showed no particular reaction. A moment later, he picked up the card the waiter brought back and immediately stood up. Koi also quickly followed him out of the restaurant. And they remained silent the entire time they drove in the car.

“Ash.”

Koi finally broke the silence after Ashley had pulled over. Ashley, who had stopped the car at the same spot where he had picked Koi up and just turned off the engine, glanced at him, and Koi cautiously continued.

“I’m not very perceptive, but I know that much. Something was bothering you, wasn’t it?”

A heavy silence fell. Koi asked with a tense face,

“Did I do something wrong?”