Lick Me Up If You Can Novel (Completed) - Chapter 89

At first, he didn’t understand his words. Koi barely felt as if some sound had reached his blank mind.

“…Hm?”

Koi, who belatedly turned his head, met Ashley’s gaze, who was looking down at him. Ashley’s face looked unusually red.

Am I also flushed like that?

Thinking that, his face and neck grew hot, and his skin began to tingle. Seeing that, Ashley let out a short breath and opened his mouth.

“Koi.”

“…Hm.”

Koi answered, not knowing what it meant. His mind was completely blank, and only one thing remained. Ashley’s dark purple eyes, almost black, filled his vision.

Ashley’s large hand grabbed Koi’s wrist. He blankly offered his hand as Ashley instructed. Until then, Koi had no thoughts. He just stared blankly at Ashley’s face.

…Huh?

A strange sense of unease woke a part of his mind. Koi blinked, looked up at Ashley, then slowly lowered his gaze. And he saw it. The enormous anaconda about to touch his hand.

“…!”

He couldn’t even scream, his eyes just widened. Koi realized for the first time that when a person is too surprised, no sound comes out at all. His whole body stiffened, and he couldn’t speak. Unable to even breathe properly, he only shrugged his shoulders, just staring at the unknown creature standing stiffly erect towards him. Ashley also noticed his reaction.

“Koi.”

Ashley’s voice was laced with desperation. He had never wanted something so much. I won’t put it in, he whispered.

“Just touch it once.”

Ashley again guided Koi’s hand towards him. But Koi, without realizing it, resisted with force. That wasn’t just a snake. How could such a creature, rearing its entire body and angrily bobbing its head, be simply called a snake?

Right, that can’t just be a part of his body.

Koi swallowed dryly and thought. It must be alive, no, it is alive. I’m sure of it. Seeing his frozen appearance, Ashley couldn’t bear it any longer and called his name.

“Koi…”

“S-sorry!”

Driven by a sense of crisis, his words burst out. Then, his previously stiff lips began to move frantically.

“I-I can’t, I can’t, absolutely, absolutely…!”

At his fierce refusal, even shaking his head, Ashley stopped moving. Seeing Koi’s terror, a part of his reason barely returned.

“Koi.”

“S-sorry, sorry.”

“Koi.”

“B-but, but this, this is too, too!”

“Koi.”

Finally, Ashley released his hands and instead grabbed Koi’s shoulders. Koi belatedly came to his senses and lifted his head, seeing Ashley looking down at him. To Koi, who had finally calmed down, Ashley said,

“Okay, Koi. You don’t have to. I’ll stop.”

“Oh…”

Koi looked up at him blankly. He should have felt relieved, but he couldn’t. Of course, he never thought Ashley would force him to do anything. But the question, ‘Can I stop here?’ immediately came to mind.

As his panicked mind somewhat returned, he realized something else. It would be very painful to be that aroused. Koi had never been that excited, and even if he had, there was a fundamental difference, so it wouldn’t have gotten that big, but he was still a man. Koi could understand how hard it was for Ashley right now.

Gulp, he swallowed dryly without realizing it. Then shouldn’t I try to help him? He’s my boyfriend. If he’s having such a hard time, I can help him a little, can’t I? It’s just my hand, after all.

Since I only need to touch it, I can just close my eyes…

Koi, who had thought that far, immediately denied it. No, then Ash will be hurt. No matter what, it’s his body, and if I’m scared to even look at it, I wouldn’t feel good either.

What if Ash starts to dislike me?

“Koi.”

Just as he felt momentarily anxious, Ashley opened his mouth. To Koi, who looked up in surprise, Ashley forced a smile. Koi knew that he was trying to reassure him somehow. To the even more flustered Koi, Ashley continued,

“It’s okay, can you go out first? I’ll come out in a bit.”

“Oh…”

Koi blinked blankly. He belatedly understood Ashley’s thoughts. Then, both apology and pity washed over him simultaneously.

“S-sorry, I… I, I’ll… I’ll try…”

The last words truly sounded like they were squeezed from his vocal cords. Koi fell into a panic at his voice, which even to himself sounded clearly distressed. Ashley must have noticed. He was definitely not as dull as Koi.

What do I do!

Just as he wanted to tear his hair out, Ashley said,

“It’s okay, Koi.”

He added in a low voice,

“I can do it alone, so please go out.”

“Ash…”

“Koi.”

Ashley cut off Koi, who was about to speak again.

“Please leave before I do something I’ll regret.”

Ashley was no longer smiling. Koi also knew that he didn’t have the余裕 (leeway/room to spare) for that. Since he had even heard the word “please,” he couldn’t hesitate any longer, so Koi gave up and retreated. Koi, who paused, hesitating as he passed by Ashley, stopped.

“Ash.”

He looked back, but Ashley was still turned away. Koi looked at Ashley’s back and asked,

“Is there really nothing I can do to help?”

His voice was trembling, but he couldn’t help it. Koi bravely offered him another chance. Of course, Ashley also understood the meaning.

After a moment of no reaction, he let out a short sigh, then tilted his head back. Still not looking at Koi, his gaze fixed on the ceiling, Ashley opened his mouth.

“Give me your cheerleading uniform.”

“Huh? Uniform?”

Koi was puzzled, but there was no time to hesitate. Still not understanding, he quickly ran out of the shower room. The uniform was right next to where he had taken off his clothes. Koi snatched it up and went back inside.

Ashley was standing with one hand on the wall, the water turned off. Koi hastily offered him the clothes and said,

“H-here.”

Ashley still didn’t turn around, only extending his hand. After he grabbed the clothes, Koi released his hand, then hesitated and asked,

“Um, do you need anything else…”

What Ashley wanted was simple.

“Go out and wait.”

His voice was lower than usual, and seemed slightly hoarse. He felt so sorry for him, but he had no choice but to do as he was told.

Koi left, looking back worriedly several times. He thought he heard a faint groan beyond the closing shower room door, but he wasn’t sure.

It was about an hour later when Ashley came out of the shower room. Since quite a long time had passed, Koi, who had already changed and was sitting on the bench waiting, was getting anxious and wondered if he should go inside to check.

He didn’t collapse or anything, did he?

Just as he finally decided to wait exactly five more minutes while looking at his watch, Ashley came out.

“Ash…”

Koi jumped up in delight, but then paused at the sight of Ashley’s complexion. He had never seen such a pallor before. His father’s face after three days of continuous drinking and being hospitalized seemed to have looked like that.

Oh no, he must be really tired.

Koi’s mind raced, quickly coming up with thoughts. In case of emergency, I should call 911, right? But it would be troublesome if his designation became known, wouldn’t it? Then what do I do? Right, the coach and director said they knew, didn’t they? I should contact them first… Wait, I don’t have their contact info. Does the security guard know? Bill would know. Right, if I look through Ash’s phone, there might be emergency contacts…

While all sorts of scenarios unfolded in his mind, Ashley picked up the towels piled in front of the shower room and immediately headed for his locker. Koi belatedly came to his senses and quickly turned to him.

“Ash.”

Just as he was about to ask, ‘Are you okay?’ he was completely captivated. He had thought the sculptures in art books were beautiful, but the real thing before his eyes was incomparable. Ashley’s two-meter tall body was the very definition of a ‘body forged by exercise.’ Despite his large build, he seemed to have almost no fat. Koi understood why Ashley moved so nimbly despite having such a large body.

Why didn’t I know this until now?

Come to think of it, Koi had never had the chance to carefully examine his body before. It was the same just now during the shower. He was so distracted by other things that he didn’t see such a beautiful body, which was incredibly frustrating.

If he ever had the chance to learn about human muscles, he felt like he could stand Ashley up and memorize each one of their names. His body was that dazzlingly magnificent, with small muscles intricately interlocking between large ones, forming a perfect harmony. Each time he wiped his body with a towel, the subtle muscles stood out, rippling like waves.

Just as he thought he would lose his mind if he kept staring, Ashley suddenly turned his head and looked at him.

“Why, Koi?”