L*ck Me If You Can-Chapter 38

“All done.”

“...Yeah.”

Koi quickly cleared his throat, worried his voice might shake.

“Thanks.”

“Sure.”

Ashley gave a simple reply and then started putting on his own skates. Unlike how carefully he had tied Koi’s laces, he finished his own setup quickly. Watching that, Koi asked,

“When did you start skating?”

Ashley stepped onto the rink and answered,

“Hmm, when I was four?”

“What?”

Koi’s shocked voice slipped out, but by the time he spoke, Ashley was already gliding far ahead. Still seated on the bench, Koi watched as Ashley effortlessly skated across the ice. After making a test lap around the wide rink, Ashley returned to stand in front of him.

“Alright, your turn.”

Ashley held out his hand. Koi took a deep breath and stood up, mustering his courage. The moment he lost his balance, Ashley quickly grabbed his arms.

“T-Thanks.”

“No problem.”

Ashley brushed it off lightly and began walking backward, holding both of Koi’s hands. Guided by him, Koi took slow, tentative steps forward. And when he finally stood on the ice with both feet—

“Waaah!”

“Koi!”

With a scream, Koi collapsed straight down. His whole body landed with a slap on the ice, but thankfully, his hands were fine. Ashley had kept a firm grip on them.

“It’s okay, Koi. Here, I’ll hold you, just take it slow...”

Ashley bent over to help lift him up little by little. Koi tried to stand on his own, but his body refused to cooperate. Every time he tried to place his feet down, the blades slipped out from under him, and even when he barely managed to stand, the skates would tip sideways and fall.

After repeating that a couple of times, Koi completely lost his confidence.

How the hell am I supposed to dance in these things?

Would he even be able to join the cheerleading team like this? And if he couldn’t, what would happen to his extracurricular points? Without those, his college application would fall apart. Sure, he didn’t have money or connections, but failing because of his own lack of ability was a whole ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) different kind of despair. Was he really going to be shut out of college without even reaching the doorstep?

Even with Ashley’s help, he couldn’t stay upright on the ice, constantly falling. It all seemed hopeless. His vision blurred with panic, and his face gradually hardened. That’s when—

“Koi. Koi. Koi.”

Ashley called his name over and over, like he was trying to snap him out of it. He peered into Koi’s face, now frozen in panic, and spoke calmly.

“It’s okay. Relax. I’ll help you. You can do this.”

Ashley spoke softly, like he was soothing him, but Koi’s face quickly crumpled and he shook his head.

“I can’t...”

He felt so defeated by how pathetic he looked that tears sprang to his eyes. Maybe it was because Ashley was being so kind, but the emotions surged even faster. Everything from the past came flooding back, and words full of frustration tumbled out.

“I’m really bad at sports. Why do they even count this in your GPA? Some people are good at physical stuff, and some people aren’t! I can’t make friends, I can’t move my body right—I suck at all of it! It’s so unfair! What, are people like me just not allowed to go to college? That’s seriously messed up...”

Embarrassed, frustrated, and upset, Koi couldn’t stop crying.

Isn’t just trying hard enough?

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Even with everything stacked against him, he really was doing his best. Hanging on for dear life. But everyone kept saying it wasn’t enough. That he had to succeed at the things he couldn’t do too. Even if he gave it his all, there were just things he couldn’t do. Look—everyone else could skate, and he couldn’t even stand. What was this? It’s over. He was completely screwed.

Everything was a mess. While Koi sobbed uncontrollably, Ashley didn’t say a word. He just silently waited for the crying to slow down.

After a while, once Koi had cried himself out and was just sniffling quietly, Ashley finally spoke in a low voice.

“Feel a little better now?”

“...Yeah.”

Koi nodded. Once the wave of emotion had passed, everything became clearer, and the guilt started to set in. Ashley had made time for him even though he was busy and tired, and Koi had just lost it and bawled like a child. He couldn’t even look Ashley in the eye.

“I’m sorry, Ash...”

He apologized in a small voice, but Ashley shook his head.

“It’s fine. Everyone breaks down sometimes.”

“Everyone?”

Koi looked up. Ashley let out a laugh at the sight of his red, puffy nose.

“Yeah, everyone.”

Koi knew full well that “everyone” didn’t include someone like Ashley Miller, but he didn’t bother saying it. This wasn’t the time to whine any more.

“I’m sorry, Ash. I’m okay now.”

Koi took a deep breath.

“I’ll try again.”

“Alright. But first...”

Ashley slipped his hands under Koi’s arms and pulled him up in one swift motion. Suddenly upright, Koi blinked, stunned. What just happened?

And it didn’t stop there—Ashley suddenly lifted him into his arms.

“W-What are you doing?!”

“Hold still. Don’t thrash around, it’s dangerous.”

Startled, Koi instinctively struggled, but at Ashley’s warning, he quickly froze. Ashley skated smoothly across the ice and returned to where they had started.

“Here.”

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He set Koi down on the bench and brought over a bottle of water. Koi thanked him again and took the bottle. After all that crying, his throat was parched. He drank deeply and set the bottle down. Ashley spoke.

“Once you’ve calmed your breathing, we’ll start again.”

“...Okay. Thanks.”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it. You’ve said thanks enough. No need to say it again, alright?”

Ashley added that last part and looked at him expectantly, like this time he had to respond. Koi quickly nodded.

A different song was playing from Ashley’s phone now. He turned it off and casually tossed the phone aside. The quiet returned. Koi tried to steady his still-shaky breaths and finally asked,

“How’d you get into skating? I mean, at such a young age.”

“It’s kind of a boring reason.”

Ashley replied.

“My dad made me.”

“Ah...”

Koi tried to picture Ashley’s father—the terrifying, high-achieving East Coast lawyer with an obsession for education. Ashley added, almost to himself,

“I actually started with figure skating.”

“What? Figure? You?”

It was the last thing Koi expected. He gasped, and Ashley laughed.

“Yeah. Why? Doesn’t suit me?”

“N-No, that’s not it.”

Still dazed, Koi asked,

“So why’d you quit?”

“Eh,” Ashley answered offhandedly again, “I got too big.”

It made sense, somehow. Koi found himself accepting the answer and changed the subject.

“When did you start playing hockey, then?”

“Fourth grade. Kind of late, actually.”

“But you already knew how to skate by then, right? So it must’ve helped.”

Koi asked, but unexpectedly, Ashley shook his head.

“Nope. The blades are different depending on the sport, so I had to learn all over again. It was rough.”

“R-Really?”

Caught off guard, Koi looked down at his own skates. Before he could ask, Ashley answered for him.

“You’re wearing figure skates. These are mine.”

Ashley held up his skates for him to see. Koi hadn’t noticed before, but the difference in the blades was clear. As he examined them curiously, Ashley said,

“Feeling better now?”

“Huh? Oh... yeah.”

Hearing that snapped Koi back to the moment. At some point, his sobbing had stopped.

“I’m okay now.”

“Good. Then stand up.”

Ashley smiled.

“You’ve cried enough. Time to make up for it.”

Wow.

Koi felt the blood drain from his face as he looked at him.

This is why not just anyone can make it onto the athletic team.