Lick Me Up If You Can Novel (Completed) - Chapter 51

Ashley whispered in a low voice, as if confiding a very secret truth.

“You need to fasten your seatbelt properly.”

Up until then, Koi had just been blinking blankly.

“Uh, uh-oh?”

Ashley smiled faintly.

“It’d be a big problem if we got into an accident.”

“Oh…”

Koi watched, bewildered, as Ashley pulled away from him and straightened his posture. With Koi still staring, Ashley started the car and drove off. As the car moved smoothly, Koi slowly came back to his senses. Soon, his face flushed crimson.

What was I thinking?!

Startled, he slapped his own cheeks repeatedly without realizing it.

“Koi? What’s wrong?”

A flustered Ashley took one hand off the steering wheel and grabbed Koi’s hand.

“What is it? Why are you doing that?”

“Uh… uh, uh.”

Koi stammered, feeling the sting on his cheeks.

“It’s, just, uh.”

He fumbled with his mouth several times before finally muttering in a barely audible voice, “It’s nothing. …Sorry.”

Even so, Ashley held Koi’s hand for a moment, glancing at his face, clearly worried, as if seriously checking his condition.

I need to change the subject quickly.

Koi frantically racked his brain for a topic. Then, as if by miracle, a customer from the shop came to mind. That’s right.

“Um, what’s the name of this car?”

Koi waited anxiously, hoping Ashley would take the bait. Fortunately, Ashley didn’t hesitate and bit.

“Aston Martin.”

He continued, now fixing his gaze straight ahead.

“It wouldn’t do to take a van on a day like this.”

Thank goodness.

Koi breathed an internal sigh of relief and, feeling a little more at ease, asked, “Did your father come?”

“No, it was in the garage.”

The indifferent reply made Koi briefly recall Ashley’s house. Considering the always-closed, massive garage door, it was a perfectly plausible story. Of course, there must be other cars in there besides this one.

“Do you have a lot of cars?”

How many could there be? Now curious, he asked, and a smile touched Ashley’s lips.

“I’ll show you next time. If there’s one you like among them, let’s take it for a drive together.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

Ashley readily replied, changed lanes, and asked, “Do you have a favorite car?”

At the sudden question, Koi frantically searched his mind.

“Uh… Jaguar?”

In truth, that was the only expensive car name he knew. If it hadn’t been an animal name, he wouldn’t have even remembered that much. His heart thumped nervously inside, but Ashley, still looking straight ahead, simply said, “Oh, I see.” Phew, just as he secretly exhaled a sigh of relief, Ashley asked again.

“Model?”

“Uh…”

This time, he was truly speechless. He needed to know something to improvise, but since he knew absolutely nothing, it was natural he had nothing to say. Koi squeezed out his meager knowledge and barely managed to answer.

“Just, a classic car…”

At his small, fading voice, Ashley readily nodded.

“Alright, I’ll bring that one next time.”

Okay, Koi nodded in relief, then belatedly startled and looked back at him.

“You have a Jaguar too?”

“Could you hand me the water in the glove compartment?”

Suddenly, Ashley pointed in front of Koi and spoke. Koi followed his hand, turned his head, and hastily opened the glove compartment to pull out a bottle of water. Just as he was about to hand it to Ashley, Koi paused and asked, “Should I open the cap for you?”

“Thanks.”

At Ashley’s reply, Koi happily twisted open the cap of the plastic bottle. “Here,” he said, handing it over. Ashley, holding the steering wheel with one hand, gulped down the water straight from the bottle. Still watching him place the half-empty bottle in the cup holder, his gaze fixed straight ahead, Koi was surprised to see the car entering the freeway.

“Are we going far?”

Koi, who had expected they were just going to a neighboring town at most, was startled. Ashley nodded and replied, “An hour? An hour and a half?”

“That far?”

That distance would take them to the city center. Where on earth could they be going? Koi felt uneasy inside but trusted Ashley and reassured himself.

Ash wouldn’t do anything bad to me.

He tried to calm his thumping heart, but his curiosity was uncontrollable. He subtly took out his phone to check his location and tilted his head. It was his first time coming out this far, so he had no idea what lay in this direction.

Seeing Koi’s serious expression, deep in thought and unable to find an answer, Ashley tried to force down the corners of his lips, which kept wanting to curl up, but it wasn’t easy.

Koi, you’re really too cute.

How wonderful would it be if I could just hold him all day and roll around in bed? The thought of biting and licking every inch of Koi’s body made a deep sigh escape him. His hand gripping the steering wheel tightened involuntarily, and he deliberately turned on some music.

[Put your XX in my XX and suck on my soaked XX.]

Of all things, the first song that came on was a popular hit famous for its vulgar lyrics listing various sexual acts. Ashley immediately pressed a button and turned it off.

Silence instantly filled the car. Neither Koi nor Ashley spoke. But Ashley, glancing at Koi, saw him with wide eyes and an open mouth, and quickly cleared his throat.

“Koi, aren’t you hungry?”

“Huh? Uh-oh?”

Koi startled and turned his head. Ashley continued, trying to appear as nonchalant as possible. “Just bear with it a little longer. Let’s stop here first and then go for a meal. You can probably get a simple snack here too.”

“Uh… okay.”

Koi nodded, but his heart was pounding wildly. The memory he had momentarily forgotten due to the terrible song resurfaced.

Why did I imagine something so ridiculous?

Even thinking about it again made him embarrassed, and his face burned hot.

To think Ash would kiss me.

It was truly absurd. How could he dare to think such a thing?

If Ash knew, he might be so dumbfounded he’d get angry.

He broke out in a cold sweat on his back but tried his best to act normal, fiddling with his innocent cell phone. Please, please don’t let Ash hear this heartbeat.

“Wow…”

After exiting the freeway and driving for a short while on a regular road, Koi’s eyes widened. He had never been to a place like this in his life. The clean, dazzling streets were constantly filled with beautiful and handsome people coming and going, and the shops lined up were all impeccably clean and filled with luxurious designs. Even the street pavement, trodden by countless people, sparkled and gleamed. Koi felt breathless.

Ashley stopped the car in front of one of these shops. He was puzzled because, unlike the other shops, this one had an awning pulled down over its display window. Ashley, who had gotten out of the car first, opened the passenger door for him. Realizing he had been lost in thought until then, Koi hastily got out of the car.

“Th-thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

Ashley smiled gently, wrapped an arm around Koi’s back, and pulled him closer.

“Let’s go in.”

“Uh? Uh, uh.”

Koi nodded, flustered. A large bodyguard stood guard at the door, and as soon as he saw them, he stepped aside and opened the door. Not only that, he even smiled, alternating his gaze between Ashley and Koi.

Koi, not understanding anything, was led into the shop by Ashley. Until then, he only thought Ashley had something to buy.

“Hello, Mr. Miller. Welcome.”

Mr. Miller?

Koi was surprised to see a stylish woman smiling brightly and greeting them as soon as they entered the store. To call a mere high school student “Mr.”… But what was even more surprising was Ashley’s attitude towards her. He replied to her words with utmost composure.

“Hello. It’s been a while. How have you been?”

Ashley briefly shook hands with her, then turned his head and pointed to Koi.

“This is my friend, Connor Niles. Koi, come closer.”

Koi was just blinking in confusion, but the woman, turning her gaze to Koi, smiled faintly and greeted him.

“Hello, Mr. Niles. I’m Joanna Mondavi. Nice to meet you.”

Among their age group, the only person who used the honorific “Mr.” or “Ms.” for students was the history teacher, who was ridiculed as an old-fashioned geezer by the students. Of course, Koi thought of him as a gentleman and quite liked being called “Mr. Niles,” but he never imagined hearing such an honorific outside of school.

As he stood there bewildered, Joanna, after exchanging brief greetings, turned and led them.

“Please come this way. We’ve prepared the items as you contacted us in advance. And next, you’re going for dinner, right? Ah, that restaurant is very famous. You’ve chosen an excellent place, as expected. Please have a seat here. Would you like some simple drinks and refreshments while you look?”

Koi was once again impressed by her fluent and skillful conversation. Not only that, everything that came into his sight was sparkling and luxurious. Even the staff members, standing at regular intervals, were all so stylish and sophisticated that they captivated his gaze. Koi, looking around distractedly, paused when he saw the sofa Joanna pointed to.