Thirdly

“Sure, why not,” Trick said. “Hey, is Theo gonna come as well? Maybe I can bring Zoe along.”/“Oh, you wanna be a matchmaker, huh?” Cody laughed. - So clever! Theo sounds like a great prospect for Zoe!

Kissing Brad for her felt like kissing a brother. - Oh noes! The kiss of death! Well, at least they gave it a shot. “Yeah. I mean, he doesn’t tell us the details about him and Cody, why should we share our secrets? Although, they’re so loud I can almost hear everything anyways,” Brad chuckled./“WHAT?!” Zoe almost screamed. “Oh my God, those horny pervs! What did you hear?!” she asked as Brad got up, laptop in his hands, opening the door. - LMAO! "Sorry, I've willingly REPRESSED those memories. Can no longer go into detail about them for fear of traumatization!" Whew, thank goodness Trick spilled the beans about Mason. You'll be alright, Trick, you'll be alright. “Yeah, hey Anders,” Trick said as Cody was eyeing the blond guy suspiciously.- LMAO! Can't blame him, Scandinavians are hot. The two guys shook hands and exchanged polite greetings, but Cody seemed to notice that Anders was trying to hide his disappointment. - Whoaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. Sorry, Anders. “Sure! Watch this,” Cody said as he started showing off, spinning around and doing some of his fancy moves on ice, while Trick stood by watching./“Wow, that was impressive!” Trick said./“Want me to teach you that?” Cody asked. - Nope, Trick probably likes his tailbone and nose and would like them to remain unbroken. Trick looked at Anders, feeling sorry for the fact that he found himself in the middle of this. “How did he get caught up with Mason anyway?” - Yeah, poor guy.

Yet another catchy song about "it's too late" !

Looking up, he almost froze in shock as he saw the guy who made his life miserable in high school – Mason.- Oh shit. He's Anders' friend? Drat. “Yeah, I should,” Brad nodded, but didn’t move. Suddenly, before either of them realized what was going on, they leaned in and pressed their lips together. - *GASP* My inner girly squeal could have just made the whole planet explode. “Uh, I was actually hoping we could postpone it for some other day. I don’t think I’ll have time on Sunday,” Trick said. - Uhoh...the root of all miscommunications starts with deviation! “You know what, it’s stupid, we should go.” - Trick, buddy, just tell him. "I saw muck-face...I mean, Mason, while I tested out some skates with a Scandinavian dude."

“How much time do we have before Brad returns?” /“No clue, he’s with Cathy. But who cares. Even if he comes, he won’t enter my bedroom. I told him we’d be here.” - LMAO! Trick's like 'let his eyeballs burn if he forgets.' Completely surprised and turned on with this side of Trick that he hadn’t seen before... - HA! Cody's like "I just won the lottery." “Ok, what’s the worst that could happen?” - Uh-oh, nothing good ever comes from those words!

*rolls around in joy* I loved it! I'm a total sap at heart and this was executed beautifully. Well worth the journey to this point. Well done! 👏

*GASP* OMG, Zoe! Do you have secretly buried, unrequited feelings for Brad? “Cathy’s ok, but yeah, I can see why you two don’t have anything to talk about. I mean, unless you’re into makeup, selfies and fashion.” / “Totally, that’s what my next app is gonna be all about,” Trick said sarcastically. - Actually, that kind of app could also rake in the dough. Don't turn the idea down that fast. A-HA! There you are, Cody's eyeballs! Emerald, huh? Hot. I'm sure Trick tries not to get lost in them too hard all the time. “I’m glad for the two of you! And you? I mean, did you shed a tear or two?” Cody smirked./ “Me? Nah, man,” Theo replied, waving his hand dismissively. - Pfft, even more denial, ha ha.

“Yeah, that was actually Cody’s idea. I guess he’s got a knack for more than just landscaping design." - A-ha! Very clever, getting Cody's input on the app. Trick got a message from Cody saying that he’s coming over, so he quickly got changed for their not-date.- Hee hee...denial~

HA! Brad doing that bestie thing again...confronting Cody! "Dude, watchu do to mah best friend?" OH ho ho ho Brad hitting Cody with the hard questions "Why didn't you DO anything back then, huh? Why didn't you help him?"

Thoughts as I read: Ugh, my heart...Cody had me at 'I'm sorry for how I treated you in high school.' The rest of the letter could have been him talking about his suffering from a purple-spotted illness or something and I no longer care past the 'I'm sorry....' lmao. Aww, Cody wants to be friends. Yes, apologize in person...and his phone number! Woo! Wait, what do you mean it's too late? Trick, despite the song, it's never too late to apologize! That song sure gets stuck in my head all the time, though. So catchy. It's too late to apologize~ It's too laaaaaaate~! HA! Brad's a bestie, alright. 'Trick seemed upset reading that letter, lemme go see what it was about *digs it out of trash can* ' The average friend respects your privacy. BEST friends invade that privacy for your own good. Wait, forget his tight-fitting shirt, what color are his eyes!? Dagnabbit, Trick. Eyes above the pectorals, man.

Thoughts as I read: Whoa, working on apps...Trick's gonna be reeling in the dough after college. Oh, Brad and Trick are roomies! That music app sounds sexy *thus says an IT student* Ha! Brad trying to get with Catherine. Ah, so Cody has caramel-hued hair...why am I all of a sudden craving a bar of Caramello? Dagnabbit Cody, stop looking down, we need to know the color of your eyes. Show us your eyeballs! (that didn't sound creepy at all, haha) Mmm tacos...why is this chapter making me so hungry? Pfft, Zoe girl you dropped the ball in not warning Trick that Cody was around. *snicker* Trick's so in denial~ Yay! A letter! I love letters. Hopefully it's good news.

So the title of this drew my attention since I'm a complete dork about word play (PaTrick/Trick Me Once). And after I read the first chapter I panicked for a little bit because I forgot to check to see if it was completed or not, which as of right now it is. So, whew...the only cliffhangers for me will be those I create for myself whenever I have to stop reading to eat. So far so great! Trick sounds adorable (or at least during high school he certainly was). I'm glad Cody got a bit of an awakening there. I hope he matures from it. And now, I'm off to read some more!

Prejudice trouble: Yes, unfortunately this isn't the last we see of it. Vulpine knee-jerk: Yes, good point. But, Caspin's also an alien fox, so that little twitch of his might just be a quirk. Caspin's written by @Rambling Robin so I don't know all the details. Edit: Robin said: Cas likes tickles that make him squeal.

Yes! A lifetime of injuries healed quickly would be nothing short of a miracle. I hope that our silly tale inspires many laughs!

Liam will hang out with all of them often for the rest of his life. You'll see who his parents turn out to be towards the end. As for the hidden contents of the teddy bear, you'll find out soon.

Oh, there are better stories on GA and better collaborations. But, many thanks from both of us, just the same! We're glad you enjoyed this tale!

Yes, we had a lot of fun with that. If I'm not mistaken, Pip's speech is usually fairly formal (I think all Sepida speak that way). He keeps trying to find the words that he would normally use in their English forms and it's nowhere close to perfect, ha ha.

To be honest, neither did we! Nope, that he won't! Though we didn't show it in detail and mostly mentioned it, the crew had one on one time with each other in different combinations at different times, as well. The combinations would have been too many to follow. 😅 But, for this last chapter, we figured it'd be nice to end on that note. Thanks so much for your thoughts and encouragement!

For the time being, in any case! They're so tall they really do look like bodyguards.

Oh we will see a LOT of Phenner's home planet in the sequel. We just can't tell you why until after we catch up on Cuddlefish.

Thanks for all your comments! We did our best to give our KiAO boys a good break. We won't be seeing them again for a good little while, but when we do, it will be such a blast.

Yes, Nix is a trip. We have @Rambling Robin to thank for all his antics and nicknames. Glad you're still having fun reading!

Our characters in KiAO (Kidnapping is Always an Option) are equally as fun, and we literally just finished that one, as well. The Lust and Chastity series also has great characters, but be sure to read the warnings on that one before you dive in.

Your imagination's still better than the rough sketches. I have an effeminate style because I've drawn mostly women for years. You wouldn't believe how many times I keep trying to draw Orin's dad, which you'll read about soon.

Anyone could use a Nix in their lives, ha ha. And by black, we mean pitch black. Though the renditions aren't perfect, we took a stab at drawing some of these guys in the @HinderToyBL gallery. We also have a couple of guest artworks in there. My icon/avatar, for example, is Mycha.