Lick Me Up If You Can Novel (Completed) - Chapter 68

“Ash!”

“Ash, you!”

As soon as Ashley appeared, chaos erupted everywhere. Koi watched from a few steps away as the ice hockey team guys swarmed towards Ashley.

“What happened? A cold again?”

“Are you really allowed to get sick this often? What are all these muscles for?”

“Wow, you look pretty fine for someone who took a few days off, don’t you? You didn’t just ditch because you didn’t want to come out, did you?”

“No, you idiot.”

Ashley smiled and lightly tapped the chin of the last guy who spoke. The guy pretended to fly back with an “Ugh” and then returned to his spot, and the group chattered noisily. Koi watched them, feeling a strange sensation inside.

Is that what friendship is?

He had eaten with them and occasionally hung out, but it was only for a very short time. It was incomparable to the time they shared, and it would continue to be so. After all, their relationships must have been deeply built even before Koi came along.

I’m a little… envious.

Just as he felt a pang of loneliness at the weight of a friendship he could never have, Ashley turned around and extended his hand towards Koi.

“Come over here, Koi.”

Huh?

Everyone’s gaze instantly focused on Koi. Koi, standing awkwardly, looked around in embarrassment and then back at Ashley. Ashley smiled and then crooked his finger, signaling him to come.

“Ah… okay.”

Koi nodded in a daze, then hastily approached him. Ashley naturally put his arm around Koi’s shoulder, pulled him close, then leaned his head against Koi’s and looked at his friends. Koi stumbled for a moment as Ashley’s weight poured onto him, but Ashley’s arm around his shoulder held him, and he quickly regained his balance.

The silly jokes continued. Koi still didn’t say anything among them, but he was no longer an outsider. Koi was now listening to Bill’s jokes with a flushed face.

“You didn’t reject me because you like Bill, did you?”

As soon as they were alone, Ashley asked, and Koi shook his head in horror.

“What… no, absolutely not.”

Koi, who had vigorously shaken his head and even waved his hands, felt dizzy and barely managed to stop, gasping for breath. Ashley stood with his arms crossed, looking displeased, then soon uncrossed them.

“If not, then it’s fine.”

“Absolutely not.”

Koi emphasized once more, then turned his head. The one I like is you.

He couldn’t say it, though…

As Koi became dispirited, Ashley rested his chin on Koi’s head and draped both arms over his shoulders.

“H-Heavy!”

“I like it.”

Koi struggled, grabbing Ashley’s arms to pull them off, but they were too heavy for him to lift even one with both hands. His arms were so thick, and the weight was considerable. Koi changed tactics, trying to push one of Ashley’s arms away with both hands, but eventually gave up, exhausted.

“Eek, eek.”

Ashley walked slowly, almost covering and pressing down on Koi from behind as Koi swayed forward. Just then, a classmate in the same class acknowledged them, and Ashley, leaning on Koi, raised one hand and waved lightly. All the while, Koi was grunting and walking desperately. He had carried quite heavy loads while working part-time, but this was heavier than anything he had ever lifted. Of course. This was a person weighing almost 100 kilograms.

But it was definitely incredibly hard, yet on the contrary, his heart felt a little more at ease.

Don’t we feel like we’ve gone back to how we used to be…?

It felt like they had returned to the time before Ashley confessed to him, before Koi had feelings beyond friendship for him. Ashley was that unreserved, and Koi also forgot the awkward atmosphere. It seemed possible. If they continued to be like this, like before, it might pass as if nothing had happened.

“Ash.”

Koi spoke first. He was out of breath from the effort. Ashley answered from above his head.

“Yeah, why?”

Koi grunted and asked.

“What about the ice hockey team? Are you still going to be on it?”

“Hmm… I don’t know.”

Ash paused as if recalling something, then answered.

“I still don’t know. The teachers know, and I’ve talked to the coach, but they probably need time to think. Even if I play, it doesn’t violate any rules, but…”

Every time Ashley spoke, his chin tapped against Koi’s crown. Koi endured it and listened to his words. Ashley continued in a nonchalant tone.

“It’s hard to make a decision right away since it hasn’t been long since I presented, and we don’t know anything about my rut cycle or anything. But they’ll probably give an answer within a week, right?”

“I see.”

Koi said, panting. Would it be a secret from the other kids until then? Judging by the conversation they had earlier, everyone seemed to think Ashley had another cold. Maybe they would announce it after deciding Ashley’s position, or perhaps they would keep it a secret until graduation. After all, whether or not to disclose one’s presentation status didn’t really matter, and it was a personal choice whether to disclose it or not. Even if he played, he would only be a risk factor for their team, with little impact on the opposing team. All that remained was the coach’s decision.

Even without Ash, the team would be in danger anyway…

Just as he thought that far, a forgotten memory suddenly came to mind. If he had presented, he would naturally have a pheromone scent, but the other kids didn’t seem to notice it at all.

What happened?

Koi couldn’t smell, so he had no idea if Ashley had a pheromone scent. But the other kids would smell it, so they would have reacted. Did he take an inhibitor? To Koi’s question, Ashley readily answered.

“I can control it to some extent. It’s not perfect, but I brought an inhibitor for now.”

“I see…”

Koi dragged his feet, carrying Ashley, then cautiously began to speak.

“Um, Ash.”

“Yes?”

Ashley responded immediately. Koi confirmed there was no one around, then continued.

“Um, about what we were talking about earlier… It seems I had a pheromone scent on me yesterday. That was your scent, right?”

“Well…”

Ashley hesitated before answering.

“That’s right.”

He didn’t want to, but he had to say it. Ashley reluctantly detached himself from Koi, where he had been clinging until then, and instead walked beside him. To Koi, who was dazed by the sudden disappearance of the weight, Ashley confessed honestly.

“I can’t help it while I’m at school, but when I go back to the mansion, I have to release my pheromones. If pheromones build up, it’s bad for my brain.”

“Oh, I see.”

The day before, Koi had tried to gather as much knowledge as possible about extreme Alphas online, but there was still much he didn’t know.

“Um, you presented as an extreme Alpha, right? Your father’s secretary told my father that. Saying it was lucky I didn’t get caught up in it and become an Omega.”

“…Yes, that’s right.”

Ashley answered after a slight pause, unlike before. Koi, who had raised his head to look at his face, suddenly felt something strange. He quickly realized the difference.

“Your eyes.”

“Huh?”

Koi stared into his eyes and asked.

“Um, your eye color looks a bit different. Is it because you are presented as an extreme Alpha?”

His previously clear silver-blue eyes had turned a dark indigo. Recalling information that extreme Alphas’ eye color changes to purple, he asked, and Ashley readily answered.

“Well, for now, yes. I’m wearing colored contacts right now.”

“Ah…”

So that’s why they were that color. Koi, who had readily accepted it, then frowned.

“Didn’t your friends think it was strange?”

Seeing his worried expression, Ashley chuckled.

“Anyway, no one cares about other people’s eye color.”

Ashley then added in a light tone.

“Do you remember my eye color before I presented?”

He thought Koi wouldn’t, but Koi immediately responded as if he had been waiting.

“Of course. They were such beautiful silver-blue eyes!”

“Uh…”

This time, it was Ashley who was flustered. He looked at Koi’s face, then, unexpectedly, seeing his serious expression, he averted his gaze, embarrassed.

“Most people don’t care that much about other people’s eye color.”

He said it very lightly, but Koi thought differently. That can’t be true. No one remembers Ashley’s beautiful eyes? That’s impossible!

Ashley doesn’t seem to realize how much other kids admire him.

Koi thought that and looked up at him seriously. If I tell him, will he understand even a little?

“Why?”

Ashley looked down at him and smiled.

“Am I too handsome?”

“Uh…”

Hearing his playful remark, Koi accepted that his previous thought was wrong. Ashley Miller knew very well how amazing he was.