Lick Me Up If You Can Novel (Completed) - Chapter 52

The sofa, clearly prepared for customers, was covered in luxurious fabric with delicate embroidery. Its size, shape, and everything about it made it look so expensive that Koi felt he couldn’t buy even one leg of it if he sold everything he owned. The thought of sitting on such a chair made his body freeze.

“Koi.”

He hesitated, unable to bring himself to sit, when Ashley called him. He looked at Ashley in confusion, and Ashley extended his hand. Puzzled, but cautiously taking his hand, Ashley suddenly pulled him with force.

“Ah!”

Koi, who had involuntarily screamed, came to his senses to find himself slumped on the sofa. More precisely, he was nestled in Ashley’s arms.

“S-sorry!”

Koi hastily pulled away and apologized. Ashley tilted his head to one side, then immediately spoke to Joanna. “I’ll have a Spanish latte. Koi, what would you like?”

“Uh…”

Koi blinked in confusion, then quickly replied, “G-give me the same.”

“Understood. Would you prefer it hot or cold?”

At Joanna’s question, Koi’s body stiffened again. Ashley smiled and looked at Joanna.

“I’ll have mine cold, and Koi, please give him a hot one.”

And he added, “My friend doesn’t eat ice.”

Should I clear up Ashley’s misunderstanding now?

Koi suddenly thought, but the sight that entered his vision overwhelmed him, and he couldn’t speak. Shrinking back, Koi just nodded, saying, “Yes, that’s right,” and listened silently as Ashley ordered refreshments.

How grateful he was that Ashley remembered and was so considerate. Koi thought so and decided, What does ice matter?

A moment later, on a wide, long plate brought by another staff member, macarons, strawberry tarts, scones, and chocolates were arranged in a line at regular intervals. All of them were about the size of a macaron, small enough for one bite. Koi was surprised once again by these unfamiliar desserts, thinking, Such things exist in the world.

“You must be hungry, try some, Koi.”

Ashley offered him food first. Hunger belatedly washed over him, but he couldn’t readily reach out. He hesitated, lacking courage, when Ashley, who had been watching him intently, reached out first.

The first thing he picked up was a deep purple macaron. Koi just stared blankly, and Ashley held the macaron out to him.

“Here, Koi.”

Ashley smiled at the belatedly surprised Koi.

“Open your mouth.”

“Uh…”

Koi instantly felt embarrassed and quickly looked around, but fortunately, there was no one else around. After confirming they were alone, Koi straightened his posture again.

Ashley was still holding the macaron out to him, waiting for Koi to eat it. Koi took a deep breath and cautiously opened his mouth.

Heat rose in Ashley’s eyes as he gazed at the red flesh and soft tongue revealed between Koi’s parted lips. The moment he thought of putting something else in that mouth, Koi took the macaron.

He almost let out a gasp. Ashley didn’t let go of his hand, watching as Koi ate the macaron. He casually raised his hand to take it and eat it himself, but Ashley stopped him with his other hand. Koi, puzzled, only raised his eyes to look at him, and Ashley spoke, his voice lower than usual.

“Don’t bite hard, Koi.”

A strange breath mixed with his voice.

“It hurts.”

Koi, who had half the macaron in his mouth, paused and then nodded. He had only seen macarons before; this was his first time actually eating one. Because of that, he didn’t understand what Ashley meant, but Koi thought that was how one was supposed to eat a macaron, so he tried his best to let it melt in his mouth and swallowed it.

“Did you swallow it all?”

Ashley, who had been watching silently until then, asked Koi, who had put the remaining half in his mouth, slowly chewed, and finally swallowed.

“Yeah, all of it.”

As he nodded and wiped the corners of his mouth with the back of his hand, Ashley narrowed his eyes and smiled.

“Good boy.”

He asked, his gaze particularly fixed on Koi’s mouth, “How does it taste?”

Koi answered without hesitation. “It’s delicious, very. Thank you, Ash.”

Ashley, who had been silent for a moment after Koi added his heartfelt thanks, asked, “…You don’t know what I’m talking about, do you?”

Koi paused and looked back at him. “Aren’t you talking about the macaron?”

Did I make a mistake? Seeing the clear anxiety on Koi’s face, Ashley tried to act nonchalant and said, “…You’re right.”

Ashley said that, then pretended to drink his coffee, averting his gaze. Guilt and desire boiled up simultaneously, making it impossible for him to look at Koi’s face.

If you knew what I was thinking inside, you would never smile at me like that.

Ashley hid his embarrassment and crunched the ice in his mouth, making a loud sound. Just then, Joanna and a staff member returned with clothes hanging on racks.

“Have you been waiting long? Do you like refreshments?”

At her kind question, Koi blushed and replied, “Uh, yes. It was very delicious. Thank you.”

His ears twitched briefly. Ashley thought he should take him to a macaron specialty shop next time and let him eat his fill. He could tell the house staff to make macarons, but it was better not to. If Koi were to eat macarons when they were alone at home, Ashley didn’t know what he might do. Because of today’s terrible fantasy, he would never be able to look at macarons innocently again.

“You said you were looking for clothes for your friend today, right? I brought sizes based on a rough guess, but if they don’t fit, I’ll bring new ones.”

Koi was momentarily stunned by Joanna’s explanation. What? She’s clearly speaking English, but why do I not understand anything? He looked back at Ashley in confusion, who said nonchalantly, “That’s right, we came to buy clothes for you.”

“Clothes? Why? Suddenly?”

Koi exclaimed in a high voice without realizing it, then hastily lowered his voice to a whisper. “Why are you buying me clothes?”

Koi was clearly in a panic, but for Ashley, it was an expected question. He replied calmly, “It’s the homecoming party soon, isn’t it? Did you forget?”

“Homecoming… party?”

Koi, repeating Ashley’s words, then said, “Ah,” as he remembered. As if he had expected Koi to forget, Ashley continued, “You’ll need clothes to go there, won’t you? Am I wrong?”

“Uh…”

Koi was extremely flustered but had nothing to say. He had just eagerly said, “Okay!” because Ashley said they were going, but it was an act of not knowing his place. He had been wearing the same clothes for years, and the situation was the same for his other clothes. Even all of them combined didn’t amount to ten outfits.

To Koi, who couldn’t bring himself to honestly reveal his situation and just hung his head, Ashley said, “Of course, there’s still time, so you can rent or buy new ones. But you bought the coupon, didn’t you?”

“I didn’t buy it, the teacher gave it to me…”

“Anyway, you gave it to me.” Ashley interrupted him. “So, in return, I’m going to buy you clothes. Is that okay?”

“Uh…”

His words were correct, but Koi wondered if the situation was right. It was a free ticket anyway, and even if he considered the actual price, Koi knew that this would be several, no, dozens of times more expensive. No matter how rich Ashley was, accepting something like this was wrong.

“Um, still, Ash, this is…”

“Koi, everyone has their best fit.”

At the sudden remark, Koi closed his mouth and looked at him. Ashley continued, “Your best was the ticket, and my best is these clothes. Do you understand what I mean?”

Ashley seemed to be saying the right things, but Koi couldn’t quite grasp it. The words themselves were definitely correct, but why did it feel wrong? To Koi, who was just rolling his eyes, Ashley looked into his eyes and said seriously, “Koi, why do rich people pay a lot of taxes?”

“…Because they have a lot of money…?”

“That’s right.”

Ashley nodded at his cautious answer, then immediately continued, “Alright, so go change your clothes. We need to check the size.”

“Huh? Huh?”

Koi instinctively stood up, looking back and forth between Ashley and Joanna. To Koi, who was still bewildered, Ashley deliberately checked his watch and said, “Go quickly, I’ll wait.”

When Ashley frowned, Koi’s confusion was evident. Ashley added to Koi, who was vaguely following Joanna, “If you can’t do it alone, call me, Koi.”

“Uh, okay.”

Koi nodded and was pushed into the fitting room. Ashley leisurely crossed his legs and leaned on his elbows. He slowly propped his chin and whispered, “I’ll watch everything.”