L*ck Me If You Can-Chapter 54

〈Do you know what that means?〉

Ashley’s voice echoed in his mind. Koi opened his eyes and stared blankly at the ceiling. Ashley’s words kept replaying by his ear.

〈Think carefully. What I did for you today, and why I did it.〉

He said it was to return the favor for the homecoming ticket. But even Koi, clueless as he often was, knew that going this far as a thank-you made no sense. It had to mean something. But what?

〈If you really think about it, you’ll {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} figure it out. You already know the answer.〉

His memories of the day returned one by one. Ashley, who had acted different from usual—wasn’t he unusually kind?

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Because he’s rich.

The thought slipped in suddenly. Ash is rich, unlike me. Maybe for someone like him, this kind of return is perfectly normal. Ash had said it himself—rich people pay more taxes, and people like me have different limits when it comes to “the best.” Maybe this was just Ash showing his gratitude in his own way.

No.

A voice inside him immediately disagreed. He knew Ashley wasn’t like that. Not once had he ever shown off his wealth or used money to act superior to his friends.

Buying him clothes, taking him to that fancy restaurant, even the way he dressed and drove today—it was all different.

Wasn’t that... just like a date?

〈The answer’s already inside you.〉

“Gah!”

Koi shot up from bed, startled, then slumped back down and started frantically thinking.

No. What the hell am I even thinking? There’s no way.

He denied it immediately, but the more he thought about it, the stranger it all seemed. Even if Koi had never dated anyone, he still knew what a date looked like. The idea forming in his mind was ridiculous—totally out of line.

But still... even if it was just a favor, wasn’t it way too much?

Then suddenly, a memory he’d completely forgotten came rushing back.

〈I think of those guys as friends, sure. But I’ve never once felt my heart race or gotten flustered around them.〉

...Wait, what?

〈Honestly, it’d feel gross if I imagined having those kinds of feelings for some gorilla-looking dude.〉

What...?

Koi blinked rapidly in panic. His mind kept pulling him toward dangerous thoughts. What had that really meant? And why was it suddenly coming back now?

Ashley’s a good guy, but he’s not the type to throw his kindness around for no reason. Not even with close friends.

Which means...

Which means...

His brain started shutting down—then a beat later, his heart launched into a full-on sprint. Koi jumped straight up from where he’d been sitting, only to tumble right off the bed.

“Ah!”

He yelped, hitting the floor, then scrambled back onto the mattress in a daze. He was so overwhelmed he couldn’t even feel the pain. Only one thought remained in his mind.

N-no way, no way, no way in hell...

But maybe—just maybe...

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But Ashley said he liked someone else. He definitely told me that. Said he broke up with Elle because he’d fallen for someone else.

...Then.

Then, what he said that day...

〈That means you’re in love with that person, Koi.〉

Ashley... l-l-likes me...

Even in his head, he couldn’t finish the thought. Instead, he yanked the sheets over himself, burying his face. It couldn’t be true. It just couldn’t. But if it wasn’t—nothing made sense. The invitation to the homecoming party out of nowhere? That alone was suspicious.

If it was true, though—it explained everything.

“It really might be true! Aaaagh!”

His heart pounded so hard it felt dangerous. His face burned like it was about to explode. He couldn’t think straight. He felt like he was losing it—terrified, excited, embarrassed, proud—every emotion came in waves. If his dad hadn’t been out that night, Koi might have screamed out loud.

Even when he heard the faint sounds of his drunken father stumbling in and opening another bottle, it didn’t matter. His heartbeat drowned it all out. Koi stayed curled up like that, wide awake the entire night.

*

When the weekend passed and school resumed, everyone was buzzing about the party at Ashley’s house. Koi passed through the chatter, parked his bike in its usual spot, and headed to his locker.

“Hey, Koi!”

Bill was the first to notice him and waved. A few of the others turned their heads, and among them, Koi locked eyes with Ashley.

Koi had been about to greet Bill, but the moment his eyes met Ashley’s, his heart sank like a stone. All the thoughts that had kept him up the night before came flooding back. His mind went blank, his face burned red hot.

He wanted to run. Pretend he hadn’t seen them. But the entire hockey team was already staring at him. He had no choice but to walk over—doing everything he could to avoid looking directly at Ashley.

Bill looked him up and down once and gave a short whistle.

“Damn, you look different today. Doesn’t he? Kinda sharp, right?”

“Oh yeah, definitely.”

The others all nodded in agreement. Koi was wearing the shirt and pants Ashley had bought him. Even the shoes were new.

Koi glanced away, stammering out a vague response. Then, cautiously, he looked up—and met Ashley’s gaze again. Without thinking, he held his breath.

Ashley smiled warmly.

“You look great.”

“Uh... y-yeah.”

That was all Koi could say. His heart pounded, and the embarrassment was too much. He couldn’t stay there a second longer—he mumbled something and bolted.

As Koi’s retreating figure vanished, the group quickly lost interest and went back to their conversation. But Ashley kept watching, his eyes fixed on Koi’s back, a soft smile on his lips.

Koi, wearing the clothes he bought for him, looked so adorable. The second he saw him, Ashley wanted to grab him and kiss him all over. The only reason he didn’t lose control was because five giant hockey gorillas were standing between them like a wall.

Should’ve bought him everything.

He’d held back, thinking Koi might feel overwhelmed, so he’d only bought a few of the outfits he tried on. Now he regretted it. But that was okay. There’d be more chances.

Imagining Koi wearing those clothes, lying on his bed, and peeling each layer off slowly—Ashley naturally slipped back into the group’s conversation.

*

“Haa... haa...”

Koi finally stopped running once he ducked behind the side of the building. His heart was about to explode—but not just from the sprint. It had already been racing the second he saw Ashley.

Just remembering Ashley’s gentle smile made it unbearable. Koi groaned and clutched his head in frustration.

Could it really be... that Ash likes me?

The thoughts that had haunted him all night returned to square one. And no matter how much he tried to reason through it, there was only one answer. Ashley had said it. The answer was inside Koi, and he already knew it.

This is the only answer I can come up with, Ash.

Koi took deep, shaky breaths, trying to calm himself. He wanted to ask someone for advice—but there was no one. After the whole post board disaster, there was no way he was putting that kind of question out into the internet again. He’d gotten lucky once. Next time, he might not.

Never again. No more posts. Not for the rest of my life.

Enough beating around the bush.

I’ll just ask him.

It took everything he had to reach that decision. But it was the only way. No matter how much he turned it over in his head, he’d never get the answer alone. Only Ashley knew.

Koi took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

*

At lunchtime, Koi headed to the cafeteria like always. Ashley was already there, standing in line with the others.

“Koi!”

Ashley spotted him and waved. Koi flushed red all over again. Normally, he’d have waved back and run up to him without hesitation—but not today.

He awkwardly pretended not to notice, dragging his feet as he slipped behind Bill, hiding in his shadow. Only then did he finally let out a shaky breath of relief.

But Ashley wasn’t going to let him off that easily.

“Wah!”

Koi yelped as a hand suddenly grabbed his arm and pulled him forward. Ashley caught him effortlessly and laughed above his head.

“What are you doing back there?”

“Uh, uh, I just—”

Koi scrambled to come up with an excuse.

“I-it was cool in the shade.”

“Huh?”

“Really?”

“Hey, Bill. Did you gain weight or something?”

“Screw you! You jerks—”

The usual stream of trash talk bounced around, but none of it reached Koi’s ears. All he could hear was the sound of his own heartbeat echoing through his skull.

Ashley.

He asked silently in his heart.

Do you... really like me?

His heart felt like it was going to burst.