Lick Me Up If You Can Novel (Completed) - Chapter 55

Even during their usual lunch gathering, Koi’s attention was entirely focused on Ashley. Ashley joked, laughed, and chatted with the other guys as usual, but Koi couldn’t do any of that. His heart was pounding, and he was too distracted to do anything. As he put another bite of the tough, dry hamburger into his mouth, Bill’s voice reached his ears.

“Speaking of which, that guy who posted on the bulletin board saying he liked Ash, they never found him, did they?”

Gasp.

Unaware that Koi had unconsciously held his breath, the other guys continued talking.

“Well, he’s probably some loser living somewhere. He might not even be from our school, Ash is so famous.”

“That’s true.”

The guy who agreed let out a short laugh.

“He must be an Omega, right? Otherwise, it’d be weird.”

Gulp.

This time, he audibly swallowed his drink. But no one paid him any mind.

“Of course. It’s only Alphas or Omegas who do that with the same sex, Betas have no reason to, right?”

As he looked around, seeking agreement, Ashley suddenly interjected, “Liking someone isn’t always about wanting sex.”

At those words, Koi stared intently at Ashley’s face. Ashley was still looking at his friends, but Koi somehow felt as if those words were directed at him.

“Uh, of course, that’s true, but…”

Another guy cut in. “Then, Ash, if you like someone, you don’t need to have sex? You won’t even kiss them?”

“Oh, come on, as if.”

“Boo, Ashley Miller. Liiiiees.”

Ashley chuckled at his friends’ jeers, who were giving him a thumbs down. Koi looked at Ashley’s profile as he turned his hamburger. Before taking a bite, he answered, “Of course I would. I’m practically burning with desire right now.”

Finishing his last words, Ashley suddenly looked at Koi. With narrowed eyes and a somewhat persistent gaze, Koi’s heart sank, and the guys gathered around him shouted, vying for attention.

“What?”

“What?”

“What did you just say?”

All eyes in the cafeteria turned to them, but everyone ignored it, busy badgering Ash. Koi was no exception. But his mind was working differently. The hand holding the hamburger trembled slightly. He was definitely hungry, but his chest was so full that he didn’t want to put anything in his mouth. Koi just fiddled with the half-eaten hamburger, not bringing it to his mouth at all. Meanwhile, the guys were busy asking Ashley all sorts of questions.

“What, did you start dating someone new?”

“Who is it? When? Since when?”

“Wow, and you didn’t tell us?”

“Not from our school? I haven’t seen you with anyone.”

“That’s right, you’ve only been hanging out with Koi lately.”

At that moment, for the first time, everyone’s gaze focused on Koi. Koi, belatedly coming to his senses, startled and hastily shook his head.

“I, no, no.”

“Hey, have you guys seen the St. Paul High School player list? The captain changed, didn’t he?”

Suddenly, Bill changed the subject. The conversation soon shifted, and Koi finally let out a sigh of relief, patting his chest.

That was a close call.

He subtly glanced at Ashley again. He was participating in the conversation normally. But the fervent gaze that had just been directed at him came to mind, and he felt a strange sensation.

Has Ash always looked at me like that?

“Koi.”

When lunch was over and everyone stood up, Ashley suddenly spoke to Koi. Koi, caught off guard, almost stumbled but managed to recover.

“Uh, uh-oh.”

He hastily straightened himself and looked up, and Ashley, who had reached out to steady him, smiled. Is he going to talk about what happened last time? Here?

The noisy chatter of the students brushed past them. To Koi, who was secretly anxious, Ashley said, “You have your second test today, right? Let me know the results when it’s over.”

“Huh? Uh…”

Koi nodded, flustered. He was right. Today was the day of the cheerleading team’s second tryout. What Ashley said was perfectly normal, but to Koi, it sounded different today.

“Let me know the results when it’s over.”

Could this mean…

Could he be asking me to tell him how I feel after it’s over?

His heart pounding, he looked up, and Ashley kindly added, “Work hard.”

Koi fixed his gaze on him and nodded.

“Okay.”

His heart pounded as if it would burst out of his mouth.

“…I will.”

He said. Today.

Koi decided. I’ll ask Ash. If he likes me. Even if I’m wrong, Ash won’t laugh at me.

I…

I…

His heart trembled, and Koi couldn’t even form another thought.

Thump, he stopped his feet in time with the beat, and silence instantly fell around him. Koi panted, waiting for the reactions of the girls who were watching him. The girl at the center was Ariel, the team captain.

Her hair tied high in a ponytail as usual, she watched Koi’s choreography with a serious expression, her brows furrowed. With one hand crossed over her other arm and the other hand rubbing her lips, she remained silent, and Koi faced her, secretly anxious.

“Hmm.”

After a long moment, Ariel finally spoke. “Not bad. No, it’s definitely improved.”

Koi’s face immediately brightened. Ariel continued, still with a strict expression, “But it’s still far from enough. There’s absolutely no way you can join our team with this. As you know, we’re the Buffalo High School Cheerleading Team.”

“Uh, uh-huh.”

As Koi, tensed again, nodded, Ariel looked around behind her once and said, “We’ve worked incredibly hard to get this far. You’ll be in trouble if you don’t have that kind of determination too.”

“O-of course. I’ll work hard, no, I’ll do my best.”

Koi hastily replied again. He was so anxious while waiting for the answer. His mouth was dry, and his hands were clasped as if in prayer.

“Connor Niles, you passed the second test.”

“…!”

“But.”

Just as Koi was about to shout with joy, Ariel immediately continued, “Your current physical condition is very serious. Being thin is good, but being pathetically thin is a problem. You’ve been hanging out with those gorillas for months, and you still haven’t even become a chimpanzee?”

Ariel, frowning and crossing her arms, added coldly, “You’ll have to manage your physical fitness strictly before the season officially begins. We absolutely won’t go easy on you, so be prepared.”

“Yes, I will!”

“Good.”

Ariel nodded. “We’ll accept you as our provisional member. Congratulations, Connor Niles. It’ll be about three months, but please follow along diligently.”

Ariel, who spoke the last words, smiled for the first time. Along with her, those around clapped and congratulated Koi. Koi was so happy with the desired result that he couldn’t speak. Koi, who just stood there with his mouth open and eyes blinking, awkwardly stammered greetings to the kids one by one.

“Th-thank you, thank you. I, I’ll work really hard. Thank you…”

After exchanging greetings for a while, Koi joined their basic physical training for the first time. And just as Ariel had said, it was several times more rigorous than anything he had experienced before.

Haaah.

Koi walked unsteadily across the field, his steps heavy with exhaustion. He had never imagined that the girls who always smiled prettily and moved as lightly as the wind would undergo such harsh and strict training behind the scenes.

Well, that’s why they can do those moves so easily, I guess.

Realizing their greatness anew, he soon puffed out his chest. Even though he was only a provisional member, since he was part of that group, he had to do his best not to be a burden. Of course, he was confident in that. The only thing Koi had was that he always did his best in everything.

First, I’ll tell Ash about this.

The thought of Ashley suddenly made his steps lighter. Of course, Ashley would be very happy. Koi realized for the first time how happy it was to have someone to share his good news with. All the fatigue that had accumulated disappeared, and his whole body felt light. He was humming a tune as he hurried along.

Training must be over by now.

Other times, he would have gone to Ashley’s car and waited for him, but today he was too impatient to do that. Eager to see him as soon as possible, Koi headed straight for the ice rink.

“Oh.”

Perhaps training had ended earlier than usual today, as he saw the familiar group of guys in the distance. Happy, Koi was about to greet them when a mischievous impulse struck him, and he tiptoed, walking stealthily.

He planned to surprise Ashley, who always surprised him. Hiding behind these big guys, Koi’s figure would definitely not be seen.

Smiling faintly as he got closer to them, Koi realized that Ashley was not among the group.

His joy soon vanished, and his heart felt empty. Just as he opened his mouth to ask where Ashley was, one of them said, “Hasn’t Ash been acting really strange lately?”

The other guys agreed and chimed in.

“Right. He doesn’t hang out with us like he used to.”

“He didn’t even show up at the party himself, did he?”

“And I don’t know why he broke up with Al.”

Everyone agreed here and there, and then someone asked, “Doesn’t it seem like he’s been like that ever since he got close to Koi?”

At the sudden mention of his name, Koi startled and quickly hid behind a nearby building. The guys’ chatter continued to reach him from behind.

“Now that you mention it, Ash has been sticking with Koi a lot lately, hasn’t he?”

“Dude, now that I think about it, my heart really froze earlier.”

“Surely it’s not Koi, right?”

Soon, shouts erupted from all over. Koi’s face turned bright red, and he covered his mouth with both hands. Oh no, they all know!

“No way, that guy and Ash? How dare he?”

When someone said that, Bill said, “That’s right, Ash is just letting Koi hang out with us because he feels sorry for him.”

“…Huh?”

Koi’s thumping heart suddenly sank chillingly.