Lick Me Up If You Can Novel (Completed) - Chapter 71

Hours earlier.

“Ash, I can’t make it to skate practice today. There’s a cheerleading team meeting at Green Bell. See you tomorrow. Sorry. -Koi”

Ashley, seeing the message from Koi, quickly moved his fingers to send a reply.

“Have a good meeting, Koi. See you tomorrow. -Ash”

While he watched the screen briefly after sending the message, the ‘unread’ indicator disappeared, and soon another message came in.

“Okay, thanks. See you tomorrow. -Koi”

Only then did Ashley close his phone with a faint smile. In fact, they could send messages like this all night. Koi always replied to messages, and because of that, even though he had greeted first, if Ashley returned the greeting, Koi would send another greeting. It seemed he thought he had to reply whenever a message came in.

Cute.

Ashley chuckled softly, then lifted his head, a smile still lingering on his face. He saw the ice hockey team members training, gliding across the ice.

A sigh escaped his lips. While the other guys were sweating, he was sitting in the stands just watching, and his body was itching to move. But he couldn’t help it. He was waiting for the coach’s decision.

Before his ‘awakening,’ Koi’s practice usually ended around the same time as his, so it was their routine to go to Ashley’s house together for skate practice before parting ways. But because of the awakening, their consistent schedule had been disrupted.

Koi had told Ashley to go back to the mansion first and he would come find him after practice, but Ashley chose to wait. No matter that Ariel had given him a new bike, how arduous would it be to ride it up the mountain? If he made the person he liked go through such hardship, he was absolutely no man.

Moreover, Ashley wasn’t pleased that Koi was riding the bicycle Ariel had given him.

I need to buy Koi a new bike as soon as possible.

He found it hard to watch Koi tenderly caressing Ariel’s bike. But he couldn’t just buy a new bike without permission, and most importantly, it had to be something Koi liked. Because of that, while looking for an opportunity, all he could do was drive Koi around in his car as much as possible, including to and from school. Of course, Koi always brought that damn bike and put it in Ashley’s car trunk, but even that was better.

Should I pick him up at Green Bell when the meeting ends?

That was a good idea. The distance from Green Bell to Koi’s house was quite far, and although it would be better than his old bike, even a new bike wouldn’t make the distance easy. Plus, he’d get to see Koi again, and Koi wouldn’t have to ride that bike. It was all advantages.

If Koi asked how he got there, he’d say he just happened to be passing by and decided to stop. Of course, Koi would believe him. He believed anything Ashley said. Thinking that far, he checked his wrist-watch. The shop closed around 10 PM, so there was still plenty of time.

When will the coach tell me? He was stretching widely, tired of the boredom, when he heard footsteps and saw the coach walking towards him. He crossed his arms and waited for him to approach. The coach soon sat down one seat away from Ashley.

“Hmm, have you been waiting long?”

“About an hour?”

Ashley deliberately checked his watch and smiled, and the coach smiled back awkwardly.

“Well, it’s not an easy decision.”

“Yes, I suppose not. I’m prepared for it.”

If he said no, there was nothing he could do. It was a shame, but ice hockey would be over. Perhaps it was fortunate that he never intended to go pro in the first place. The coach then asked,

“You’re only playing until this school year, right?”

“Yes. I need to prepare for college too.”

Speaking of which, how did Koi’s college exams go? He didn’t seem to do well. Does he have to retake them? It’ll be tough if it overlaps with college prep later.

He’s not thinking of not going to college, is he?

Then Ashley remembered Koi saying he wanted to go to NASA and dismissed the last thought. He’d have to prepare for the college entrance exam again. He’d check on it.

“Ash, from what we’ve discussed…”

Ashley returned to reality at the coach’s voice and refocused his attention on him. He scratched his neck and cleared his throat. Is it a no after all? Just as Ashley thought that, the coach spoke.

“We’ve decided to let you play for the team just this season.”

Ashley paused at the unexpected answer, and the coach continued.

“It’s your last season anyway, and we also need time to strengthen our team. You know that some players were planning to quit after this season, and we were preparing for replacements next year, right? It’s only one season, and besides, your playing doesn’t go against the rules.”

Having said that, the coach paused and added,

“We’ll monitor any difficulties you might have, like your rut cycle, as we go along. For now, we’ll have a replacement ready to go immediately. It doesn’t just come on suddenly, does it?”

“No… probably?”

Ashley lightly raised and lowered both hands.

“I don’t know since it hasn’t happened yet, but I hear there are premonitory signs. I also have suppressants.”

“Right, if that’s the case.”

The fact that Ashley had awakened as an extreme Alpha, not a typical Alpha, was known only to Koi, his father, and his secretary. They also didn’t know that regular suppressants weren’t very effective for extreme Alphas. In fact, there were no extreme Alphas who took suppressants, so no one knew what the effect would be.

But for now, he could control his pheromones, and as long as it wasn’t a rut, he could probably manage it well enough. Besides, the coach said he had prepared a plan for the rut.

“Then can I join practice?”

At Ashley’s question, the coach nodded and checked the time.

“Today’s almost over, so let’s have you rejoin practice starting tomorrow.”

He stood up first, smiling for the first time, and patted Ashley’s arm a couple of times as Ashley followed him up.

“We have a homecoming game soon, you know. I’m really looking forward to your performance. Let’s finish strong.”

“Yes, thank you.”

The coach smiled at Ashley once more, then turned and walked away. Ashley watched his retreating back for a moment, then turned his head and met Bill’s eyes.

Bill had stopped training and was watching Ashley. Seeing the worry and anxiety on his face, Ashley smiled and gave him a thumbs-up. Bill immediately cheered, and then the other guys, surprised, looked between Ashley and Bill, then followed suit, shouting and vigorously waving their arms.

He had been skipping practice, using the excuse that “his cold was better, but he wasn’t feeling well.” When he said he would discuss it with the coach and make a decision, the ice hockey team members had no choice but to accept it. It had only been a few days, but it seemed they had been quite eager for Ashley to return.

Ashley gathered his things to leave, but first took out his phone.

“Koi, I’m rejoining practice starting tomorrow.”

Ashley paused while typing the message. Soon, a good idea occurred to him. He deleted the message he was about to send and put his phone back in his pocket. Just then, the coach’s whistle blew, signaling the end of practice.

“Bill!”

He shouted as he descended the stands, and Bill, who was about to go inside, stopped and looked at him. Ashley then spoke to Bill, who approached the fence.

“To celebrate rejoining, want to go to Green Bell? My treat.”

“Sounds good! Hey!”

Ashley watched Bill’s retreating back as he immediately turned and conveyed the good news to the other guys, and thought,

This way, I’ll naturally join the cheerleading team.

Traditionally, the cheerleading team and the athletic teams were close. His relationship with Ariel had also developed because they often saw each other for that reason, and if the two teams happened to meet in the cafeteria, it was natural for them to combine their tables.

I’ll just stall for time and then leave with Koi.

Ashley whistled, picked up his bag, and headed outside. When the guys came out, they would each take their cars to Green Bell. The plan was perfect.

Until reality unfolded before his eyes.