Lick Me Up If You Can Novel (Completed) - Chapter 4

“No, I want to do my best.”

When he said it with a serious face, Ashley changed tactics and asked curtly,

“Don’t you have any athletic activities?”

“I do.”

He didn’t specifically say marathon. They trained together on the track almost every day, but he felt a tiny bit of pride at having to tell someone who didn’t know that himself. Still, he couldn’t hide his disgruntled expression and glared, but Ashley showed no interest at all. Ashley sighed deeply again, as if finally giving up, and spoke.

“Alright, so what do you want to do?”

Ashley spread both hands in front of Koi, as if throwing in the towel, and asked. Koi took a deep breath and brought up what he had prepared. He talked about how they would proceed with the assignment, starting with research, and then tried to set up a meeting.

“I have practice all week.”

Ashley folded his arms and looked down at Koi, as if asking, What now? Of course, Koi had a reply ready.

“It ends at 6. Wouldn’t 7 be enough after you shower?”

Ashley’s expression instantly showed disgust. Is my persistence so off-putting? Koi wondered inwardly when Ashley asked suspiciously,

“You’re not, like, my stalker, are you?”

“What… Absolutely not!”

Ashley laughed off Koi’s horrified reaction casually.

“Just kidding.”

This narcissist!

Koi’s anger flared, and he glared.

“I’m serious. I just happen to know because I also do athletic activities.”

This is why I hate arrogant people. Koi said with a visibly swollen face.

“If you think everyone in the world likes you, that’s a misconception.”

“Right? Isn’t that a relief?”

Seeing him pat his chest and even sigh in relief, Koi was completely disgusted. Koi glared at Ashley Miller’s extremely handsome face and quickly added,

“I’m free at 7 tonight too, so let’s start right away. It’d be better for you to finish quickly, wouldn’t it?”

“Alright.”

He accepted all reality and readily agreed, just as Koi was about to suggest meeting at the cafeteria.

“Then let’s meet at Green Bell at 7.”

“What?”

He was instantly startled, his mind snapping awake. Green Bell? Such an expensive place? No way!

“Wait, Ashley, no, Ash, wait!”

Ashley, who had turned to leave, looked down at Koi, who had grabbed him again, with annoyance. But Koi didn’t care about that.

“Um, do we really need to go to a restaurant? We can just talk at the school cafeteria…”

“At 7 PM?”

Ashley asked in disbelief. Koi, who had abruptly grabbed him, also snapped awake at that point. Of course. The cafeteria closes at 5 PM.

Ashley looked down at Koi, who was speechless, when his friend called him. Ashley naturally pulled his hand away from Koi and asked, as if confirming,

“Tonight at 7, Green Bell, okay?”

There was no other way. The places Koi could afford weren’t open at that time or were too far away.

As his hand dropped weakly, Ashley immediately went to his friends. Left alone, Koi sighed deeply and clutched his head.

Ashley appeared at Green Bell exactly at 7 PM. The marathon club usually finished about an hour earlier than the ice hockey team, so Koi was able to arrive at the meeting place before Ashley. Though it was only a 10-minute difference.

Of course. I came by bike, and he probably drove that fancy Cayenne.

Koi, who had needlessly pouted, made eye contact with Ashley, who was standing at the entrance looking around inside. Ashley immediately walked over to him and, as soon as he sat down across from Koi, let out a phew and exhaled.

“You’re early.”

As Ashley spoke and confirmed that there was nothing in front of Koi, Koi said,

“I haven’t ordered yet.”

“Really?”

As Ashley turned his head, a staff member who happened to be looking that way readily approached. Koi picked up the menu book placed in front of each of them and barely managed to suppress an involuntary gasp.

He quietly closed the menu book, but Ashley hummed a tune and continued to flip through the pages. Koi awkwardly passed the time by fiddling with his phone until he decided on his order.

Finally, Ashley seemed to have made a decision and raised his hand. The staff member approached, pulling out a notepad and pen from her pocket. Ashley confirmed she was ready to write and began his order.

“Tuna salad sandwich, double patty burger. No onions, two slices of cheese each. Also, pancakes with a side of banana, bacon crispy, and two boiled eggs. Maple syrup and… oh, two double patty burgers. And also…”

“W-wait, wait a minute.”

Koi, horrified, slammed the brakes on his continuous ordering. To Ashley, who looked at him in confusion, Koi stammered,

“Isn’t that… too much? Even for two people.”

“Two people?”

When Koi cautiously pointed it out, Ashley blinked. Huh? Is this not it? To Koi, who was flustered, Ashley said,

“It’s just for me.”

“Huh?”

With Koi’s eyes wide open, Ashley continued to order. He even added the restaurant’s signature giant steak, then ordered a sparkling water last, and closed the menu book.

“Your turn.”

Koi, who had been mesmerized by his refreshing smile, belatedly came to his senses. He frantically searched for the menu book, but he only ordered one thing.

“…Coke. No ice.”

“Is that all?”

Ashley asked before the staff member. To his disbelieving question, Koi, clutching his aching stomach, tried to act normal and replied,

“I already had dinner.”

“Oh, really?”

Thankfully, Ashley didn’t ask any further and ended the topic. There was no need to mention that all he could afford with his money was a single glass of coke.

As the staff member turned and left, Koi brought up what he had prepared.

“About this assignment, I’ve thought about it roughly.”

He took a deep breath, then pulled out his notebook and opened it.

“Our assignment is to choose one Latin country and research its culture, right? Is there any country you particularly want to visit?”

“No.”

The answer came out so quickly and simply that he felt deflated. He had expected it, but it was truly a lack of enthusiasm. Seeing his disappointed expression, Ashley said awkwardly,

“When I’m hungry, I don’t want to think about anything.”

Huh?

Koi unconsciously blinked at his words, which sounded like both an excuse and a request for understanding. Just then, Ashley yawned widely and spoke in a voice full of fatigue.

“Anyway, keep going, I’m listening.”

He must be really tired.

Koi felt a little guilty and glanced at him, continuing the conversation.

“I’ve picked out a few options, do you want to see them? Or should I just choose one from these?”

“I’d like you to choose.”

“Okay.”

Koi readily nodded. Ashley’s attitude probably meant this assignment didn’t mean much to him. Since he was prepared to do more work, Koi quickly continued,

“Let’s go with Argentina for the country, and since food is the easiest, how about food, coffee, and sandwiches? Like their history, how they’re made…”

“Sounds good.”

Ashley answered simply again, and Koi, expecting that reaction, also nodded and moved on.

“Then let’s do the research now and decide how to divide the table of contents and chapters accordingly.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to divide it like, you do coffee, and I do sandwiches? If there are overlapping parts during research, we can organize and compare them separately.”

“Oh, good. Let’s do that.”

Koi brightened at Ashley’s rare suggestion and readily agreed. He had a good feeling about this. Starting with that, the two finally had a conversation. Ashley was mostly listening, but occasionally offered opinions or disagreed, and Koi actively listened to his words.

Unexpectedly, Ashley was easy to talk to. Or perhaps Koi was just excited. What was certain was that Ashley’s popularity wasn’t just due to his looks. After only about 30 minutes of conversation, Koi was completely captivated by him. Such a charm that could mesmerize someone with just a few words, it was hard to believe he was his classmate.

Especially when his silver-blue eyes gazed intently at him and then smiled, Koi’s heart pounded, forgetting they were both men.

No wonder everyone’s crazy about him.

Koi inwardly agreed and diligently took notes. He roughly skimmed through material on his phone, piecing together their conversation, when their ordered food finally arrived.