Lick Me Up If You Can Novel (Completed) - Chapter 72

How did it come to this?

Koi sipped his cola, scanning his surroundings. It was his first time in such a boisterous environment.

He knew the ice hockey guys were loud. Of course, the cheerleading team members were the same. But when the two noises combined, he couldn’t understand anything anyone was saying.

The fortunate thing was that because of this, no one noticed that Koi was just quietly drinking his cola.

After practice, the ice hockey guys ate an incredible amount. Ashley’s eating surprised him, but the other guys were no less. Watching them devour the food filling the table in an instant, and then immediately finish the refilled dishes, Koi conceded, ‘Well, they need to eat like that to maintain those bodies.’

His stomach ached from hunger, but there was nothing he could do. Koi waited for the meal to end and the meeting to begin. At this rate, it wouldn’t take long.

Of course, even amidst all this, what concerned him most was Ashley and Ariel. He could barely hear what was being said right next to him, so it was impossible to eavesdrop on what they were exchanging in this noise. But their somewhat serious expressions definitely indicated that something important was being discussed.

<“I can’t wait much longer.”>

Ashley’s words suddenly came to mind. Along with that, he saw Ashley leaning in and Ariel whispering something. For a moment, Koi’s heart sank.

“I’m sorry my sisters acted on their own.”

Ariel said, quite loudly for a whisper. Though, only Ashley could hear it.

“Why are your ‘sisters’ acting like this?”

At his question, made by wiggling his index and middle fingers in a V-shape, Ariel was a little annoyed but replied primly.

“I guess they think you’re close to my level.”

“Oh, what an honor.”

When Ashley said it sarcastically, Ariel punched his side under the table. At the quick jab and retreat, Ashley grimaced in pain and hunched over. Holding his throbbing side, he asked with a pained expression,

“Just out of curiosity, were your sisters the ones who spread the rumor that you dumped me?”

Ariel snorted and tilted her head up.

“I don’t know, I just said we broke up.”

Ashley let out a short gasp of disbelief.

“And then that rumor just spread on its own?”

With an arrogant smile, she continued,

“To those girls, me getting dumped is as ridiculous a lie as you marrying a penniless person and having a string of kids.”

“Why do you think that?”

This time, he couldn’t just brush it off as a joke. Ashley was actually seriously considering it. Of course, that penniless person was a Beta and a man, so he couldn’t have children.

Ariel stared at his face and pointed out,

“Because your father would never allow it?”

Ashley fell silent at the forgotten existence, and Ariel chuckled incredulously.

“Your father was the first man to look at me with such contempt.”

Ariel was cool herself, but she came from a harmonious, ordinary middle-class family with nothing particularly special about it. Ashley liked her for that reason, but conversely, his father disliked her precisely for that reason. However, his father let Ashley do as he pleased because he was still a minor and his relationship with Ariel wasn’t that serious.

Just once, when his father came to school to meet the principal, he found Ashley with Ariel. Recalling the expression his father had made then, Ariel’s reaction resonated deeply. Ashley, guessing the discomfort she must have felt, repeated what he had said back then.

“I’m sorry, I apologize.”

He had said the same thing to her then, but this time he added one more line.

“I’m sorry I have a shitty father.”

“Don’t talk about your parents like that.”

Ariel pointed out sharply, then added,

“Well, I don’t know your family situation in that much detail, but…”

“You’re right. It’s not good to talk about parents like that.”

Ashley agreed with Ariel and smiled faintly.

“But that man is shitty.”

Ariel also smiled back at him.

“I should’ve slapped your other cheek too, after all.”

Ashley laughed out loud, extended one hand, and leaned back.

“Bear with me, it really hurts.”

“Of course it should, I hit you to hurt you.”

Still, Ariel seemed satisfied with Ashley’s reaction, smiling as she poured dressing over her salad. Ashley watched Ariel pick up a large piece of lettuce with her fork and put it in her mouth, then asked,

“You gave Koi a bike, didn’t you?”

“So?”

This time, Ariel replied, sprinkling cereal over her salad and mixing it thoroughly. Koi kept talking.

“Didn’t you used to dislike Koi? Saying he was different from us?”

At Ashley’s question, Ariel readily answered.

“Of course I did. I still dislike them, kids with low self-esteem, who are timid, and depressed.”

She took a sip of her calorie-free soda and looked at Ashley.

“But what can I do? He joined our team. Since we decided to do this together, he’s my sister. Well, technically a jalapeño, but he’s still on the same team.”

Ashley knew how dedicated she was to her responsibilities. It was one of Ariel’s qualities he liked. Moreover, she was genuinely passionate about cheerleading, so in a way, a temporary member who was nothing short of the team’s savior must be quite precious to her.

Furthermore, Ariel was always honest and sometimes brutally scathing. So her assessment of Koi must be genuine. But Ashley had one thing to point out.

“I have one thing to say. About Koi, what you said.”

He added with a smile,

“The first two are right, but the last one is wrong. Koi isn’t depressed, he’s just timid.”

He expected a rebuttal or a displeased reaction, but Ariel was unexpectedly straightforward. As she placed crushed peanuts on the dressing-soaked lettuce, she said,

“Yeah, he’s brighter than I thought. A little cute, too.”

Ashley frowned.

“Cute?”

“Yeah,” Ariel said, putting lettuce on her fork and looking at Ashley.

“Doesn’t he look like that cotton-tailed rabbit that used to come to your house often?”

Wild animals sometimes appeared in Ashley’s mansion garden, and rabbits were the most common. Especially recalling how several appeared at night, leisurely munching on the garden grass, only to scatter in a panic when they sensed a presence, it seemed plausible.

But the problem was that Ariel said it. And a cotton-tailed rabbit, no less—wasn’t that too cute a metaphor? Thinking that, Ashley felt even worse. And Ariel poured oil on the fire.

“I always like people who work hard.”

“You like him?”

He couldn’t let this slide. Ashley asked sharply, but Ariel replied in her usual tone.

“Yeah. So Koi’s fine. It’s good for our club too, having a diligent member, even if it’s temporary.”

That was the end of it. Ariel focused on eating her salad. Ashley watched her for a moment, then also began to eat his hamburger. It would be fine. Koi was definitely not Ariel’s type.

…Right?

His gaze naturally turned to Koi. It wasn’t intentional, but it happened on its own.

Perhaps unaccustomed to this atmosphere, Koi was hunched over, sipping his cola through a straw, and just looking around. He looked like a hedgehog with its quills raised, which made Ashley smile involuntarily. If he were closer, he might have bitten Koi’s cheek.

Just as he bit into the tasteless franchise diner hamburger instead of Koi’s sweet cheek, a cheerleading team girl sitting next to Koi suddenly kissed his cheek. The moment he saw that, Ashley froze, hamburger still in his mouth.

“Oh, sorry.”

A team member, trying to pick up her fallen lipstick, accidentally brushed Koi’s cheek with her face and apologized. Koi said, “It’s okay,” and smiled. She quickly bent down, and Koi, following her, bent at the waist and asked,

“Did you drop something?”

“Yeah, Chanel. …Where is it? I can’t see it.”

What’s Chanel? Koi blinked, then also hunched down under the table. He was looking around to tell her if he saw anything, when suddenly someone slammed the table.

Koi and the team member next to him, who were under the table, flinched at the vibration and froze.

What, what is it?

Confused, Koi poked his head out from under the table again. Ashley was standing up, glaring at him with a menacing expression.