Lick Me Up If You Can Novel (Completed) - Chapter 36

“Uh, uh.”

Koi belatedly realized as he was dragged along, taken by surprise. It would probably still be awkward. He thought to himself and diligently followed Ashley.

“Alright, now tell me.”

Ashley led Koi to a secluded spot behind the school. Once they were alone, he finally opened his mouth. The opportunity had come, but Koi couldn’t bring himself to speak.

I joined the cheerleading team, so I have to cross-dress. I also have to practice choreography. But they say I even have to skate. I don’t even have ice skates. Why? Because I don’t have money!

“Koi.”

Ashley spoke to Koi, who had tightly shut his eyes.

“Tell me, or I can’t help you.”

He soothed Koi with a gentle voice. Ashley clearly genuinely wanted to help Koi. But having worn countless shells until now, Koi couldn’t readily reveal his true self.

“Koi.”

Ashley spoke to Koi, who merely hung his head without a word.

“Don’t you trust me?”

“Ah, no.”

Koi hastily shook his head. His ears immediately flushed red with shame.

“…It’s just, I’m embarrassed.”

“About what?”

The question came back again. Koi let out a deep groan from the back of his throat, then finally exhaled with a “Hoo.”

“Actually, um…”

Koi struggled to speak. Ashley listened patiently to his halting words. Koi tried to be as honest as possible, except for the fact that he had to cross-dress.

“So, they had a vacancy, and that’s how they’re trying to solve it,” Ashley murmured after hearing everything. Koi was inwardly nervous, but fortunately, Ashley also seemed unaware of anything more. He seemed out of the loop since he and Ariel had broken up. It was a relief.

“Hmm,” Ashley mused for a moment before speaking.

“So your problem right now is that you don’t know how to skate and you don’t have ice skates, right?”

“Uh, uh-huh.”

“It’s best to buy skates that fit your feet, but you only need them for one season…”

“Yeah.”

Ashley offered a solution to the inwardly nervous Koi.

“Let’s do this. There’s an ice rink in my basement. You can practice there.”

“An ice rink? In your house?”

Seeing Koi’s surprise, Ashley continued.

“I probably still have the skates I wore when I was little. Let’s see if it’s your size. How about it?”

“Uh, uh-huh.”

Koi nodded, taken by surprise. Ashley then smiled brightly and said,

“Then everything’s solved, right? Any remaining problems?”

“Uh…”

Koi blinked. None. Instantly, all his worries had vanished.

“Ah, no, there aren’t.”

Koi’s face, which had hastily nodded, gradually flushed.

“Really, they’re gone, all of them.”

Finally, his eyes sparkled as he looked up at Ashley. His gaze was so fervent, as if directed at a god, that Ashley almost burst out laughing for a moment.

“That’s a relief.”

With a face full of smiles, he continued.

“So, how do you want to practice? You have to exercise every day to get used to it, and I finish practice at 7 PM now. After that, if we go to my house together, have dinner, and practice skating for about two hours, we’ll probably finish around 11 PM. Isn’t that too late? Is that okay?”

“It’s… it’s okay.”

Koi hastily nodded.

“My part-time job usually ends around that time anyway.”

In truth, his part-time job ended at 10 PM, but that was just when they paid him. Cleaning up trash, tidying up, checking inventory, locking up, and leaving usually took at least an hour, sometimes up to two. Of course, he wasn’t paid for that time.

“I can quit my weekday part-time job.”

Instead, he’d have to work the store all weekend, but there was no helping it. Managing his grades was the top priority.

“Aren’t you overdoing it?”

Ashley asked with a furrowed brow. Seeing his evident concern, Koi deliberately smiled even brighter.

“It’s okay, this is more important right now.”

“…Indeed, you’re right.”

Ashley nodded, agreeing with Koi’s words.

“Alright, then we’re done talking. What do you want to do? Starting right from today?”

“Please. I don’t have much time to practice. I need to memorize the basic moves.”

Not just a day, but every moment was urgent. He’d skimmed through them, but there were so many moves he couldn’t understand how to do.

“The cheerleading team has a lot to do,” Ashley said.

“Alright, then I’ll see you at 7:10 later. I’ll have the engine running, so come to my car. I parked it on the road in front of the school. Can you find my car?”

“I’ll be able to.”

At that time, there would be almost no cars left. The Cayenne would inevitably stand out. Still, Ashley didn’t seem reassured.

“If you can’t find it, call me.”

After leaving a word of caution, he hurried his steps. It was almost time for the ice hockey team to start practice.

Koi on the cheerleading team.

Ashley sighed as he practically ran.

To actually put into practice that talk about cross-dressing a man to ward off bad luck.

After class, while waiting for Ashley alone in the quiet cafeteria, Koi searched for the basic moves Ariel had given him. He couldn’t understand them well from text and pictures, so he looked for videos, but even then, he still couldn’t figure it out.

Why do people move their bodies like this, anyway?

As someone who couldn’t even do a simple cartwheel, Koi couldn’t even imagine how or on what principle these moves were done. Even when he was very young, he couldn’t even do the easiest somersault.

Can I really do this?

Time flew by as he sighed and watched the videos over and over again. Startled by the loud ringing of his alarm, he hastily gathered his belongings and left the cafeteria.

He had already checked where Ashley’s car was. Now he had to go get his bicycle first. Sometimes bicycles disappeared, but no one ever stole Koi’s, which was clearly old and worn out. This time too, Koi picked up his bicycle, which was left all alone, and skillfully pedaled and got on.

Finding Ashley’s Cayenne wasn’t difficult. After passing the sports field and exiting the parking lot, his car was immediately visible. Ashley, who had seen Koi approaching on his bicycle in the rearview mirror, opened the trunk.

“Go sit down.”

Ashley said, getting out of the driver’s seat and standing in front of the wide-open trunk.

It’s my bike, do I not have to do it myself?

Hesitating, Koi headed for the passenger seat, but after seeing Ashley effortlessly lift the old bicycle with one hand and load it into the car, he meekly sat in the passenger seat.

Ashley quickly returned to the driver’s seat and buckled his seatbelt. After checking Koi’s seatbelt too, he skillfully turned the steering wheel and asked,

“I was thinking of having dinner at home, is that okay?”

“Oh? Good, of course, very good.”

Koi, who had answered with a delighted expression, soon flushed red. He felt embarrassed and awkward, as if he had clearly revealed his inner thought of saving money. Whether Ashley noticed Koi’s feelings or not, he continued.

“After we eat, we’ll have to practice right away, so stopping anywhere else would just waste time.”

“Ah, I see.”

Then that’s a relief. Koi was inwardly relieved. Ashley skillfully drove the car straight towards the countryside.

The dinner Ashley had prepared was made by an employee beforehand, and as expected, the quantity was enormous. Koi had never seen such a large salad bowl. So much greens, even. And seeing the mashed potatoes, also served next to it in a salad bowl of the same size, Koi felt an inward dread, wondering how much would be left in the future.

Contrary to his expectations, all Ashley had placed in front of Koi and himself were chicken salad, steak, and mashed potatoes. Koi, who had expected more food to keep coming, looked at Ashley, who was sitting across the table, with curiosity and asked,

“You don’t eat much at home, do you?”

“Well, not really.”

Ashley added, getting up from his seat as if he had just remembered.

“This is all there is right now.”

“Gah!”

Koi, who had cut a large piece of steak and put it in his mouth, suddenly choked. He hastily pounded his chest and gulped down water, barely regaining his composure. Koi looked alternately at his and Ashley’s plates, then made a decision and cut half of the remaining meat. This was the only way.