Lick Me Up If You Can Novel (Completed) - Chapter 44

“Ash, did you see that post?”

Bill asked as soon as he got out of the car and greeted him. Ashley locked the car door and walked alongside Bill, asking,

“What post?”

“I knew it.”

Bill chuckled, as if he had already expected it, then took out his cell phone and quickly tapped on the keyboard. Ashley, puzzled, adjusted his bag and walked on. He waved back to a kid who greeted him from across the way, and Bill elbowed his arm.

“Hey, look, hey.”

“What is it?”

Ashley, unable to resist Bill’s urging, took the phone he offered. Ashley skimmed the post on the bulletin board and asked,

“Which one are you talking about?”

“Oh, seriously.”

An impatient Bill snatched the phone from him and, looking at the screen, began to read aloud.

“I’m a high school male student. I recently made a friend, and he’s a really cool kid. He’s always kind and treats me very well.”

Ashley let out a dumbfounded chuckle at Bill’s exaggerated, theatrical reading. Bill, however, paid no mind and continued his recitation.

“He’s the captain of the ice hockey team and incredibly handsome. He’s the most popular kid in school, but he doesn’t brag.”

Until then, he had thought it was just a typical story. There were many ice hockey team captains in the world, and most of them were popular and didn’t brag, and being handsome was highly subjective. He was listening without much thought when Bill raised his voice and read the next sentence.

“Plus, he’s smart and takes AP classes in all subjects. He also got a perfect score on his college entrance exam.”

Huh?

At that point, something felt strange. Of course, many students took AP classes in all subjects, and just as many got perfect scores on college entrance exams. But if all of these overlapped, the number would significantly decrease. And Ashley was one of those few.

“Let me see that for a second.”

Ashley snatched the phone from Bill, who was about to continue reading, and quickly looked at the screen. Bill stood motionless, watching him follow the text with only his eyes, then couldn’t hold back and asked,

“Hey, is this you? Right? It is, isn’t it?”

Bill couldn’t hide his excited expression. But Ashley just looked at the screen, saying nothing. Bill looked at him, puzzled. He had expected Ashley to ignore it or laugh it off as a trivial matter, but his reaction was completely different from what he had imagined.

“Ash, hey.”

Bill called him again. Ashley, who had been unable to take his eyes off the screen, suddenly startled and looked up. Seeing his face, Bill was surprised once more. Ashley’s face was surprisingly flushed.

“Hey, you…”

“There are many ice hockey team captains.”

Ashley cut Bill off before he could speak, and handed the phone back. Bill looked puzzled, then quickly followed him.

“No, but look. It’s not just that.”

Bill continued, pushing the screen towards him.

“Look here, AP in all subjects, and he’s incredibly handsome. And popular.”

“I told you, there are many kids like that.”

“A perfect score on the college entrance exam, just like you? Hey, no matter how many ice hockey team captains and perfect scores there are in the world, do you really think there are that many kids who have all of that combined?”

Bill finally shouted, as if feeling wronged. Ashley couldn’t deny his words because he had thought the same thing. So instead, he chose to ignore the First Amendment and suppress the press.

“Don’t talk nonsense. Did you finish your homework? Even if you play ice hockey, if you don’t manage your grades properly, it’ll be hard to get into college.”

“Curse me, why don’t you.”

Bill complained, annoyed, then quickly changed the subject. As they walked side by side, Ashley casually chimed in, but in truth, not a single word registered in his ears. The content of the post he had just read kept swirling in his mind.

Strangely, whenever I see him, my heart pounds and my face flushes.

The moment he recalled the most heart-fluttering phrase, he covered his mouth with his hand to hide his widening grin. Ashley knew immediately. The person who posted this was Koi. If he had been alone, he would have cheered and run across the entire sports field.

Koi likes me!

But he couldn’t do that now. If this was exposed, Koi would be teased terribly. He might even be bullied. The best thing to do was to let it get buried as quickly as possible. To do that, there was no choice but to pretend not to know and ignore it. He had to suppress his excitement and somehow maintain his composure. He desperately suppressed the urge to run to Koi, shower him with kisses, and shout, “I like you too!”

I can’t rush.

Ashley admonished himself and fell into thought. The most important thing was that while it was certain Koi liked him, Koi hadn’t realized it yet. The fact that he posted on a site where such idiots gathered to spout nonsense was proof of that. If he had known what these feelings were, he would never have done such a thing.

So how can I make Koi realize?

He fell into a new dilemma. But if the dilemma was this enjoyable, he would be happy no matter how many there were.

“Ah.”

It was when he forcibly closed his mouth, which was about to open again. He saw someone quickly hiding over there. Of course, Ashley didn’t miss him.

“See you later.”

“Huh? Hey, Ash!”

Bill shouted in confusion as Ashley lightly patted his shoulder and left, but Ashley was already long gone, running far away.

Haa, haa.

Koi leaned against the wall, panting. He didn’t see me, right? He was inwardly anxious but couldn’t stick his head out to check.

He hadn’t slept a wink last night trying to find his password. When his father returned, he had pulled the sheet over his head and frantically typed on the keyboard in the dark, but in the end, he failed. The view count kept rising, and countless comments were posted, but he couldn’t muster the courage to check them.

What do I do!

He finally gave up and came to school, but his mind was completely occupied with the wrongly posted message. Every time he saw kids passing by, he flinched in surprise. Will that kid go to that site too? Did that kid read that post? Maybe that kid even left a comment.

His mind was complicated with thoughts that came unbidden, and his heart felt like it would burst with anxiety. He walked towards his locker, his heart trembling, cautiously looking around.

“Gasp.”

At that moment, he spotted the person he least wanted to see, and Koi gasped. That undeniable physique couldn’t be missed. It was Ashley.

Koi immediately hid himself the moment he saw him. He frantically went around the back of the nearest building, gasping for breath and clutching his chest. But this was only for a moment. He couldn’t avoid him forever. Koi knew that too, but he still wanted to postpone that moment as much as possible. Even if the first class he had with Ashley was less than 30 minutes away.

“Haaaa…”

It was when he took a deep breath, trying to calm his pounding heart.

“Whoa!”

“Aargh!”

At the sudden, threatening sound, Koi screamed in horror. With a laugh, Ashley hugged him from behind.

“A-Ash.”

When he looked back in confusion, Ashley was smiling brightly at him. Ashley spoke to Koi, who was speechless and just mouthing words.

“What are you doing here? The building for class is over there, isn’t it?”

“Th-that’s right.”

Koi stammered, his mind racing. He had to say something, but nothing came to mind. To Koi, who was struggling to figure out what to say and how to say it, Ashley, still smiling, said,

“You’re not running away from me, are you?”

“No, no, never! Absolutely not, why would I!”

Without realizing that his overly strong reaction was actually a strong affirmation, Koi shook his head violently. Seeing him, Ashley narrowed his eyes.

“Koi, do you remember what I said?”

“Huh? Uh-huh?”

As Koi stopped thinking and looked at him, Ashley whispered,

“That you’ll never be able to run away from me.”

Hearing those words, Koi unknowingly held his breath and met his gaze. Ashley added, even sweeter,

“I told you I’d never let you go.”

“Uh, uh-huh.”

Koi stammered in confusion. Ashley’s thick arms, wrapped tightly around him, kept bothering him. Ashley’s body touching him, and his breath on Koi’s face, felt so hot.

I’m scared.

His heart pounded too much, and his breath quickened, making his mind blank. He was even afraid of the excessive excitement and rising thrill.

Why?

Koi thought, staring at Ashley’s face in a daze.

Why do I become like this when I see Ash?

At that moment, the post he had made the day before came to mind, and he belatedly came to his senses.

“Wa-wait, wait!”

Koi shouted frantically, flailing his arms. From Ashley’s perspective, it was just pathetic flapping, but seeing him struggle to escape his arms, Ashley had no choice but to let go. On the other hand, he also felt an impulse to hold him tighter and make him completely immobile out of spite.

But in the end, he chose to grant Koi’s wish. As he subtly loosened his grip, Koi quickly scurried away from him. Ashley was annoyed to see him stand three steps away when one step would have been enough.