Lick Me Up If You Can Novel (Completed) - Chapter 5

“Wow, I thought I was going to starve to death.”

Ashley, who spoke exaggeratedly loudly, first picked up a hamburger and bit into it. It was a double patty hamburger with two slices of cheese. The amount of food he ordered was enormous, but his eating speed was also terrifying.

Ashley finished one hamburger in just three bites, then started on a sandwich. And then another double patty hamburger, and cut a pancake soaked in maple syrup and put it in his mouth. Meanwhile, Koi slowly sipped his glass of coke, which came without ice.

“Will that really be enough for you?”

Ashley, who had emptied three bottles of sparkling water and ordered a fourth, asked. Koi replied, “Yes,” and demonstratively raised his coke cup, taking a tiny sip. Ashley tilted his head, seeing that.

“It’s unusual to drink coke without ice.”

So I can drink a lot of it.

Green Bell didn’t offer drink refills. Because of that, Koi had to make one glass of coke last a very long time. With Ashley Miller gorging himself in front of him.

“You’re amazing, being able to eat so much.”

“I do very intense workouts every day.”

As Koi mumbled, trying to appear nonchalant so as not to reveal his envy, Ashley, demonstratively cutting a large piece of steak and putting it in his mouth, added,

“And I’m also still growing.”

“You’re growing more? From there?”

Koi asked in shock, and Ashley said casually,

“I grew 4 centimeters last month.”

“…How tall are you now?”

Koi asked, despite his fear. Ashley replied with a perfectly calm face,

“192.”

He barely managed to stop himself from shouting at him to stop eating immediately. He wanted to angrily ask if he was going to be a basketball player, if his goal was 2 meters, or why he wasn’t aiming for the Guinness Book, but he managed to suppress himself because he knew all these feelings stemmed from jealousy and envy.

“Ice hockey involves a lot of body checking, so the bigger you are, the better.”

To Ashley, who gave a refreshing smile, Koi inwardly retorted, You’re already more than big enough.

And he’s the biggest among the main players on the ice hockey team.

If he said that, Ashley would simply brush it off with, “Because I’m the captain.” Koi didn’t want to argue with him anymore. From Koi’s perspective, it might be an argument, but for Ashley, it would be as insignificant as kicking a soccer ball rolling on the ground.

“Are you thinking of going pro?”

As he blurted it out, it sounded like the whine of a pathetic loser consumed by inferiority, no matter who heard it. He couldn’t help it; it was the truth. But Ashley Miller, who seemed to have never had even the faintest shadow of hardship in his life, once again replied cheerfully.

“No, I’m only going to play sports until high school.”

His answer was strangely realistic, and it made Koi feel odd. As Koi unconsciously stared at him, Ashley, cutting a large piece of his half-eaten pancake, said,

“I don’t have enough talent to become a professional player.”

“No way.”

Koi unconsciously denied the unexpected words coming from the guy he had thought was the ultimate narcissist. Then Ashley gave the refreshing smile he had shown so much of for the past couple of hours.

“Thanks.”

Ashley, who simply acknowledged it, added,

“I’ll probably inherit my father’s business, so I’ll go to college that way too.”

He murmured it like a soliloquy, in a calm voice as if talking about the weather, but Koi couldn’t just let it pass.

“Your father’s business? Does he run a company?”

Just seeing the car he drove, Koi had already vaguely assumed his family was quite wealthy, so his curiosity grew considerably. Ashley, finding Koi’s sparkling eyes amusing, narrowed his eyes and replied,

“He protects the assets of the rich from the poor.”

Is this a quiz?

Unable to grasp it, he immediately blurted out what came to mind.

“Are you a devil?”

“Oh.”

He expected him to laugh, but unexpectedly, Ashley looked surprised.

“Something similar. He’s a lawyer.”

“Ah…”

Only then did Koi realize that Ashley’s words weren’t far off. If he was that rich, he must be a pretty famous lawyer, right? As if reading Koi’s thoughts, Ashley added,

“It’s a pretty famous law firm on the East Coast. If you say ‘Lawyer Miller,’ everyone thinks of my father.”

Even while saying such impressive things, he showed no sign of pride or arrogance. He spoke casually in the same tone as before, then demonstratively drank his sparkling water.

“So you’ll go to the East Coast after graduation? Will you go to college there too?”

“Probably.”

From the general flow, it seemed he would go to the same university his father attended. Koi hesitated, wondering if he should ask this, then cautiously opened his mouth.

“Then why are you here? Is your whole family here?”

Is only his father on the East Coast? Maybe he comes here for vacations.

To Koi, who was making various guesses, Ashley readily replied,

“I’m the only one here. My parents are on the East Coast.”

“You’re alone? Why?”

Koi, who had asked without thinking, reflexively clamped his mouth shut at Ashley’s expression. Ashley had answered everything so readily that he had overstepped. They weren’t that close, but he had asked too much about his private life. As he looked around regretfully, Ashley then spoke in the same tone as before.

“I wanted to live alone.”

“Wow, me too. That’s nice.”

Isn’t that the life every teenager dreams of? A nice car, a comfortable life, and his own place. This guy really has everything. As he unconsciously admired, Ashley chuckled. Koi paused again at his somewhat self-deprecating, bitter laugh.

“B-but it must be lonely living alone. Don’t you hate cleaning? And laundry?”

He hastily stammered, but this time, the answer was again unexpected.

“Well, I don’t do it myself… A company comes every weekend. So, I can live like a person, I guess.”

…What did I just hear?

Koi was utterly dumbfounded. He felt like his brain was overloaded from hearing such otherworldly things. He wanted to ask if his house was that big, but he barely managed to hold back. He had already pried too much. He had crossed the line. Ashley Miller and he weren’t that close.

He inwardly scolded himself, but then the awkward silence that followed instantly flustered Koi. Ashley continued to finish his meal as if nothing had happened, but Koi couldn’t stand this silence.

I need to find something to say, quickly, fast.

“Uh, hey. Speaking of which, no one on your team has presented yet, right?”

He quickly asked, recalling someone in his class had recently presented as an Omega, and Ashley readily nodded.

“Well, most people don’t present.”

Numerically speaking, the probability of becoming an Alpha or Omega was indeed very low. Koi also believed he would live and die as a Beta.

If this guy presents, he’ll definitely be an Alpha.

An Alpha Ashley Miller seemed to suit him quite well. He already spread pheromones wherever he went, so it wouldn’t be much different.

“Isn’t it hard to exercise if you present?”

“Most people quit. Going pro is completely impossible.”

Alphas and Omegas faced several restrictions due to their heat cycles, and not being able to become professional athletes was one of them. If a heat cycle occurred during the season, they couldn’t play properly and would affect the team. While individual sports might be manageable by skipping a season, team sports were a different story. Although there were cases where players took suppressants and played through the season, this significantly lowered the player’s condition, and the prevailing opinion was that it put severe strain on the body. Consequently, professional teams only recruited Betas or Gammas who didn’t have heat cycles. No team owner would risk millions of dollars in a game.

“Have you ever had a presentation prediction test?”

Koi asked, and Ashley shook his head.

“No, have you?”

“I haven’t.”

Koi answered honestly.

“Anyway, I’ll probably be a Beta.”

“Me too.”

Koi somehow felt that Ashley had brushed off the topic. Maybe he didn’t like this kind of conversation.

He looked around for a new topic when his eyes fell on the clock on the wall. It was already almost 9 o’clock. The restaurant would close soon. Koi, belatedly coming to his senses, realized he had been too excited in front of the school’s celebrity.

We met for the assignment, snap out of it!

Koi sternly scolded himself and hurriedly got down to business.

“Uh, hey, so how about we organize it like this? We each do our own research and exchange it by email. We can divide the organization, and then when we meet next, we can divide the table of contents and chapters. What do you think?”

“Sounds good.”

After speaking, he picked up a napkin and wiped his mouth. The plates that had filled the table were now completely empty.

“So, we’re done talking, right? Can I go home now?”