The rumor spread so fast that some people heard he’d been rejected even before they heard that Ashley had confessed to and kissed Koi. As a result, the school was buzzing with talk about Ashley.

“He got rejected again? Ashley Miller?”

“Are you sure it’s not some other Miller?”

“He got dumped by Al and then this, no way.”

“I heard he asked some guy to go out with him, of course he got rejected.”

“He must have been really traumatized by getting dumped by Al.”

“That’s such a turn-off.”

“Honestly, he’s become kind of boring.”

“Yeah, I thought he was so cool.”

“I’m disappointed.”

Ashley and the other guys on the ice hockey team silently watched the girls walking away, chattering amongst themselves. Bill was the first to speak.

“Ash, don’t you think you need to explain this situation?”

At his question, all eyes turned to Ashley. Ashley gave a wry smile and made an awkward face.

“I confessed and got rejected, that’s all there is to it.”

The remaining guys looked at each other, and then one of them couldn’t hold back any longer.

“No, I mean, why did you confess to Koi in the first place?”

“Yeah, how can you do that with another guy?”

Like most people, they couldn’t accept that people of the same gender, who weren’t Alpha or Omega, could like each other. Or maybe it was because the other person was Ashley Miller. Remembering that Koi had initially reacted the same way, this was probably the more common reaction.

The reason Ashley had been able to accept his feelings so easily was because his environment was different from theirs. Would they have accepted it differently if their parents had been a different type than Beta? Ashley thought about the unanswerable question and quickly dismissed it.

“It just happened. You can’t control who you like.”

“That’s true.”

Bill agreed, then paused to think along with the other guys. He didn’t take long, and soon he smiled as usual and spoke.

“Well, we don’t care who you like.”

“Yeah. You’re our friend.”

“Me too.”

“Me too.”

The guys, who always had the best teamwork, rallied together to support Ashley once again. Ashley smiled, feeling grateful for his friends.

“Thanks.”

“What for? It’s nothing.”

One of the guys, feeling a little embarrassed, rubbed his nose, then frowned.

“But why did Koi reject him?”

Hearing that, another guy spoke up.“Right, why did he reject you? I mean, it’s not exactly common for Beta guys to date each other, but it’s not unheard of either.”

“There are plenty of guys who’d be happy to date you, even if you were a guy.”

“Yeah, who wouldn’t want to date Ash?”

Ashley gave a wry smile as he watched his friends nod in agreement. He felt guilty for lying and deceiving them, but he had no choice. It was for Koi’s sake.

He could always invite them all to the wedding instead.

He decided to apologize to them in his own way and casually replied, “Koi doesn’t understand guys liking and dating each other.”

“Whoa.”

“Wow, really?”

“Koi, I didn’t take you for such a prude.”

A chorus of complaints erupted from all sides. It was unbelievable to them that Ashley Miller, the idol of the ice hockey team, had been rejected twice in a row. Ashley said calmly, “I guess I just didn’t try hard enough.”

His friends, who had been busy denouncing Koi, paused. Ashley adjusted his bag and continued, “I just need to try harder. So, it’s okay.”

His unexpectedly calm reaction left his friends bewildered, and they exchanged glances, unsure whether he was being sincere or not. Ashley spoke first, “Well, I’m off. I have another class.”

“Oh, uh, okay.”

“See you later.”

“Bye.”

His friends quickly responded, watching Ashley walk away. Only after he had disappeared from sight did they relax their shoulders and begin to voice their thoughts.

“What the hell happened to that guy…”

The guy who sighed deeply was asked by the friend standing next to him, “What do you mean ‘happened’? Is Koi ‘that way’? Or is liking a guy ‘that way’?”

“Both, I guess.”

Another guy chimed in. Soon, everyone was agreeing.

“Actually, it must have been awkward for Koi too.”

“Yeah, he probably thought they were just friends, and then suddenly Ash said he liked him.”

“I had a feeling Ash was into Koi. He’s said it before, that he’s cute.”

“We said he was cute, Ash didn’t, did he?”

“He did stretch out the word ‘cute’ a lot, though.”

Everyone nodded, simultaneously realizing the same thing.

Could he have liked him since then?

A moment of silence passed before someone muttered with a sigh, “I still can’t believe it, Ash liking a guy.”

Agreeing with him, another guy added, “He must have been really shaken up after breaking up with Al.”

“Should we try to get him back together with Al?”

One of the guys asked worriedly, but another stopped him.

“Hey, Al’s feelings are more important. And you shouldn’t interfere in other people’s relationships.”

Having lived with a mother who was obsessed with dramas, Father knew that much for sure. Everyone agreed with his friend’s unusually strict advice, saying, “Okay, okay.”

“Still, we should take Ash’s side.”

“Yeah, he’s our friend.”

“Then who’s going to take Koi’s side?”

Everyone paused at someone’s question, but soon one of them came up with a solution.

“Koi made his feelings clear, so we should support that. Let’s just support whatever Ash does.”

“Yeah, as long as it’s not a crime or anything.”

“He’s not going to kidnap and imprison Koi or anything, is he?”

Everyone burst into laughter at his words, adamantly stating that Ashley Miller would never do something like that.

*

“Ugh…”

Unable to suppress the moan escaping his lips, Koi squeezed his eyes shut. Ashley lifted his head and pressed his lips to the other side this time.

Koi couldn’t come to his senses with the continued kisses.

Between classes, they couldn’t resist stealing short moments to hide away and kiss and touch each other. They were desperate for those fleeting moments, and then one of the teachers canceled class. Koi received Ashley’s text and snuck around to the back of a secluded building, avoiding the eyes of others. Ashley immediately grabbed him and showered him with kisses.

“Haa…”

Barely managing to break the kiss, Koi let out a breath he had been holding and leaned his head against Ashley’s chest. He couldn’t stand without leaning his entire body against him. Ashley’s hands continued to caress his butt, but he was getting used to it now.

So, you touch butts when you kiss.

That was all he thought. Should I touch Ashley’s butt too…? He vaguely thought, but his body wouldn’t move as he wanted.

He still needed more courage to go that far. Koi quietly leaned against him, letting Ashley touch him all over.

There was something else more important than that.

“The guys have been talking about you all day…”

Ashley nonchalantly replied, “Oh, really?” to Koi’s still dazed words. What was important to him now was how he could touch Koi in his arms more, as much as he wanted. He lowered his head to kiss him again, but Koi subtly dodged it and said,

“Doesn’t it bother you? Everyone’s talking about you like they know everything.”

“Not really, I don’t think anything of it.”

Ashley was only looking at Koi’s lips. Should I put my hand in his pants? His jeans are loose, so I think I can. Seeing that, Koi mumbled, embarrassed,

“It’s true that I asked you to do this, but still…”

He felt bad seeing Ashley pretending to be okay for his sake. Maybe he really was okay. Ashley wouldn’t care about what the other guys were saying. But Koi felt differently.

“You’re such a cool and good guy, and it makes me angry that they’re saying those things.”

Actually, Ashley wanted to shout that he wasn’t. How amazing of a boyfriend was he, to endure such bad rumors for his sake? Seeing him biting his lip in frustration, Ashley said,

“You’re the only one who needs to know that I’m cool and good.”

Koi hesitated before cautiously raising his eyes. Ashley stole a kiss from his lips as if he had been waiting for it, then smiled.

“I’m satisfied as long as I’m cool and good to you.”

Of course. There was no one as cool as Ashley to Koi. There never would be. Koi’s heart was full, and he barely managed to open his mouth. Even then, it took a lot of courage to put the words that had risen to his throat on the tip of his tongue.

“I, I li-ike you, Ash.”

At the shy confession that had barely escaped, Ashley smiled and slipped his hand into his pants, grabbing his butt.

By Zephyria

Hello, I'm Zephyria, an avid BL reader^^ I post AI/Machine assisted translation. Due to busy schedule I'll just post all works I have mtled. However, as you know the quality is not guaranteed. Maybe just enough to fill your curiosity.

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