Trick Me Once - 7. Take a Chance on Me

Taking out her phone from her pocket, Zoe checked the time and saw it was quarter to seven. Great, she has plenty of time to get to the cinema and wait for Trick there. She was excited to see the new Murder on the Orient Express with her friend. They were both big fans of detective movies, especially ones with Poirot, Sherlock and Miss Marple.

Just as she got to the cinema and picked up the two tickets she had reserved a few days ago, Trick showed up, coming up to meet her. She gave him his ticket and they went to the food stand to decide which snacks to buy.

“Popcorn?” Trick asked.

“Of course. Big, medium or small?”

“Umm you know we always buy the big ones and we never finish them.”

“Yeah, you’re right. One medium bag of popcorn, please,” Zoe said as she turned to the girl working at the stand.

They had just enough time to buy two bottles of water, after which they headed to the hall, as the movie was about to start. Trick put the popcorn between them, but of course they waited for all the trailers to be over before they actually started eating.

Even though they both knew how the movie would end, as they had watched previous adaptations and read the book, they still enjoyed watching it and just spending time together. Two hours flew by, and before they knew it, they found themselves in the fast moving line of people leaving the hall.

“Wanna shout out some spoilers to the people waiting to go in?” Zoe asked mischievously, making Trick laugh out loud.

“That would be hilarious, but I don’t want karma to come back and bite me in the ass!”

“So what did you think about the movie?”

“Meh, it wasn’t bad, but David Suchet is the only Poirot for me.” Zoe nodded in agreement.

“Yeah, I think we watched too much of the old Poirot, no other one will be able to compare.”

It was only quarter past nine, and neither of them were in a rush to go anywhere, so they just decided to take a walk and enjoy the pleasant evening. Zoe was trying to come up with ways to change the topic of their conversation and ask him about what was going on with Cody, but she didn’t even have to try as Trick broached the subject on his own.

“Hey, uh, can I ask you something?” There was uncertainty in his voice.

“Sure, what’s up?”

“You know that Brad talked to Cody and he said he had something to tell me. Do you think I should go and see him again, talk to him?”

After a period of silence that seemed just a little too long, Zoe turned to him.

“Well… if you’re sure you’re not gonna do anything stupid, I guess it can’t hurt.”

“You mean because…”

“You still have feelings for him, right? I mean, it’s pretty obvious. I’m not judging, just observing. The little grey cells, they know…” She tried to imitate Belgian accent, making Trick chuckle.

“Yeah, I do… I can’t help it.”

“I know, honey.” Another long silence ensued. “Look, to be completely honest, if it was me, I wouldn’t want him in my life, just because of the past. I’d want someone with less baggage, you know? If he’s really changed, I’d be like ‘good for you, I’m glad you’ve learned your lesson, I forgive you, but that’s it. I don’t wanna be friends, I don’t wanna hang out.’ But that’s just me. I’m not you, and I’m certainly not in love with him. If you wanna give him a second chance, that’s also valid and I totally understand it.”

Trick was silent for a while.

“Yeah, I get it… But do you really think he’s changed now? I don’t know if I can trust him…”

“Well, you know I haven’t really talked to him lately, but from what I’ve seen whenever I run into him around the campus or in the library, he does seem a lot different. Like, no one can act that well and pretend twenty four-seven. He seems stable and mature now.”

They kept on walking, occasionally stopping to see shop windows.

“Are you gonna see him?”

“I think so, yeah.”

In fact, Trick had decided even before talking to Zoe, he just wanted to hear her opinion. He was glad she didn’t judge him or try to change his mind. She just offered her honest opinion, which was all he could ask of her.

After waking up the next morning, Trick decided to start the day off by contacting Cody while he still had the courage. He didn’t want to wait any longer. The more he thought about it, the more things made sense. He would just talk to him and hear what he has to say. After all, the worst was already over, right? They had the big talk, Cody apologized and now he knew where he stood. Sure, he hadn’t told Cody that he was in love with him, but that may never happen. It would make no difference anyway. It didn’t matter then, and it doesn’t matter now.

“Fuck!” he muttered as he went through the phonebook on his smartphone. He just realized he doesn’t even have Cody’s number.

“What’s up, man?”

“Nothing, I just… I wanted to text Cody to meet me, but I don’t even have his number,” Trick sighed. “I had it in that fucking letter and I threw it away…” he said, more to himself than to Brad.

Brad realized Trick must’ve been talking about the letter he got a few weeks ago, the one he saw him throw in the trash can. No matter how much Brad had wanted to see what was inside, he didn’t want to cross that line and invade Trick’s privacy. He had just decided to ignore it. Luckily, he quickly came up with a solution to help his friend.

“Why don’t you visit him at his home? I can give you the address.”

“No, I wouldn’t feel comfortable going there,” Trick said hesitantly. “Maybe his family would be there, and I don’t wanna meet all of them.”

“Hey, I just remembered, I have the number of one of the guys I often work out with at the gym. He hangs out with Cody, want me to ask him?”

“That’d be great, thanks!” Trick smiled, happier with this solution.

A few text messages later and Brad had Cody’s phone number.

“Ok, step one – you just have to text him, that’s the easy part,” Trick thought. He took his phone and saw the icon for his music matching app, reminding him that he needed to work on it more. Whatever, he had no time for that now. He opened the messaging window and started typing.

--

After spending the entire morning at college, Cody was heading back home to get some rest, take a shower and maybe get some studying done. That was the plan at least, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to concentrate very much. Ever since he talked to Brad, he’d been thinking about how to say the same things to Trick. Talking to Brad seemed easy now because he didn’t particularly care about his reaction. Sure, he didn’t want to fight with Trick’s best friend, but it’s not like Brad was ever close to Cody.

Talking to Trick would be much more difficult. Cody couldn’t predict how he would react at all. He kept telling himself that he really had nothing to lose. Their relationship was pretty much non-existent as it is, but still, the possibility of driving Trick away for good scared him.

He needed to relax. On his way home, he made a detour and decided to stop by the Fat Bee and get his ice cream fix. After checking out the menu for a minute, he opted for Cheesecake & Cappuccino flavor. He’d never tried it before and he was in the mood to experiment, as usual.

As he was sitting there, enjoying his dessert, his mind went back to the day Trick and he came there. He loved seeing Trick so excited and surprised to see all the crazy ice cream flavors. The way he winced when he first tried that Salty Caramel & Coconut flavor, before realizing he actually liked it. At moments, Trick seemed so happy and relaxed with him, as if they were just two regular guys without any history, enjoying their date.

It just wasn’t the same without him… He was hoping he’d get many more opportunities to bring Trick there. He wanted to go everywhere and try everything with him. If only…

Feeling his phone vibrate in his pocket, Cody reached down and took it out, expecting a text from one of his college buddies, or maybe his sister. He definitely didn’t expect a text from the guy he was just thinking about.

Hey, how’s it going? Wanna meet up today? - Trick

At that moment, Cody completely forgot how nervous he was about meeting and talking to him. The only thing he felt was happiness and excitement!

Hey! Today sounds great, how about Prescott Park at 3?

He thought that being in a place that is so relaxing for him would help. They could walk around, enjoy the nature, he could show Trick various parts of the park, things they have been working on… It would help both of them relax and prepare them for what they needed to talk about. Not even two minutes had passed when his phone vibrated again.

Cool, see you there!

It was one o’clock, which meant that he had two hours to go home, take a shower, get dressed and go to the park – and, of course, mentally prepare himself for their talk. Today was D-Day!

Seeing as how they wouldn’t be going to some fancy restaurant, Cody decided to go casual. There’s no need to dress up, just a nice light blue T-shirt and jeans would do the trick. Pleased with how he looked, Cody stepped outside and headed to the park at half past two with a spring in his step. Deep down, he was still anxious, but he decided to try and be as optimistic as possible. Maybe then things will actually go better!

He decided to wait near the entrance to the park, as he’d easily be able to see Trick coming from that spot. Just a minute later, he spotted him, thinking how cute he looked in his dark green T-shirt and black jeans. His curly black hair was messy as always, just adding to his charm. Cody couldn’t resist him if he tried. He smiled and waved, immediately getting Trick’s attention. Trick calmly waved back and quickly approached him.

“Hey! Nice to see you!” Cody couldn’t help but putting a big smile on his face.

“Hey, you too. How are you?”

“I’m good, thanks. So, first time in this park, huh? You ready for me to show you around?”

“Yeah, I can already see it’s beautiful,” Trick said and really meant it. The park was huge – you couldn’t even see where it ends. Many of the trees in it were very old, with thick trunks and vast treetops that blocked out the sky above them.

They started slowly walking down one of the paths where there were fewer people. If only they could hold hands and kiss – Cody thought. Hopefully soon…

“I’m glad you texted, I… really wanted to see you.”

Trick gave him a shy smile.

“Hey, uh, I’m sorry for the other day, for walking out on you like that,” Trick said, looking down in front of him.

“There’s nothing to be sorry about, really. If anyone should be apologizing, it’s me,” Cody said and stopped. Trick stood beside him.

“You already did, Cody, and it means a lot to me. I know you’re sorry…”

“I don’t mean just about the bullying… I mean about everything.” Cody felt his heart beating harder and faster. He was sure Trick could hear it. Well, this is it. He has started the avalanche and he can’t stop it now.

“What do you mean?”

As Trick looked him in the eyes, Cody thought just for a moment that maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. Maybe he should’ve kept his mouth shut. No! He came here to do this, and he’s going to see it through. Trick is a good person, he’s not going to drive him away, he’ll understand… Cody had no choice but to hope so.

Thank you to everyone for continuing to read the story, it means a lot! And special thanks to @glennish for all the help!