Trick Me Once - 9. Fingers Crossed

Monday was a busy day for Cody. He had classes late in the afternoon, so he was working the morning shift at the park. This was unimaginable for most of his friends, but he was a true morning person. He loved getting up early in the morning, watching the sun rise, seeing drops of dew on the wet grass and feeling that cold air at the crack of dawn.

He got to the park around eight, ready to get to work, knowing there’s a lot to be done. Also, he didn’t want to have to stay longer than needed because he had plans to see Trick later that day, before classes.

There was so much he wanted to talk to him about, about their past, as well as the present. He wanted to know all there is about Trick, get to know him better and make up for all the time they’ve lost. But most of all, he wanted to just be with him, look at his cute face and hold his hand. He couldn’t stop thinking about their kiss from a few weeks ago and how it made him feel. He wanted that feeling back, more than anything. Now the truth was out in the open, he felt so much better and more certain that now they had a real chance to make it work.

After greeting his fellow workers and making plans about what to do for the day, Cody grabbed his pruning shears and started trimming the hedge. He was soon joined by another worker, Theo, who started working on the hedge from the other side. Theo was three years older, also a college student. His father worked in the park and got him the job so he can have extra income while he was in college. He was a good guy, although he often seemed aloof and had a weird sense of humor. Despite him and Cody being on friendly terms, they never really spoke much. It was just the way Theo was – he liked to keep his distance from people. However, this day was different. After some hesitation, he approached Cody and they struck a conversation.

“So, uh, the guy you were with the other day, you seemed pretty close,” Theo inquired casually.

“Oh, Trick? Yeah,” Cody immediately broke into a big smile.

“That your boyfriend?”

“No, not yet anyway. Hopefully soon…”

“So, you’re gay, huh?” Theo asked, not looking Cody in the eyes and hoping the question wasn’t too forward.

“Yeah. Is that a problem?” Cody asked curiously.

“No, no, of course not, just askin’…” Theo replied, biting his lip. Cody could see that the guy had something else to say, but didn’t want to press him. After some thinking, Theo continued.

“I, uh, think my little bro might be gay. He didn’t say anythin’ to me, but I’m pretty sure. I’m, uh, not really good with words, but… Do you think I should ask him, or do I wait for him to tell me?”

“Well, how do you feel about it?”

“I honestly don’t care, dude, as long as he’s happy. It’s just that we never talk about this stuff, I don’t really talk about feelings and all that, but I just wanna let him know I’m there for him. You know, in case he’s afraid or somethin’…”

“I think that’s great of you, he’s lucky to have your support. I don’t know, maybe he’s not ready to talk about it yet, at least not with you… Or maybe he’s afraid of how you’d react. You could just let him know indirectly that you’re ok with gay people. For example, tell him that you have a good friend working with you at the park, and that he’s gay.”

“Yeah, I guess…”

“Just make sure you’re there for him. I know all about people struggling with being gay and coming out, so trust me, he’s gonna want your support. He’ll need someone to talk to.”

“Thanks, dude, I appreciate it,” Theo looked at Cody and nodded. That was as far as his display of gratitude went. Cody guessed that Theo was not a hugger or a kisser, so he just smiled at him.

“No problem, man. Let me know if anything happens, ok? If you need any help, I’m here.”

The rest of the work day went almost without any small talk, as they were all very busy. Fortunately, things were going as planned, so they finished that day’s work right on schedule. Great! Now he can go home, get cleaned up and go see Trick!

Although he liked to sleep, especially when he didn’t have morning classes, Trick got up early that Monday to work on his app a bit more. Over the past few weeks he didn’t get much work done – at least not as much as he had expected – because he was spending more time with Cody. They were only seeing each other as friends for now, and Trick was ok with that – at least for the time being.

Cody made him feel good, there was no other way to put it. Trick began to realize how kind, friendly and funny Cody was. They always had something to talk about, whether it was music, video games, college or work. So far, they’ve been avoiding the topic of their past, ever since that meeting in the park when they had their first – and only – kiss.

The kiss… That was another thing they’ve been avoiding and Trick wasn’t sure how he felt about that. He wanted a repeat of that amazing moment, but he also didn’t want to go too fast. In the end, he decided to just let things happen in their own time and try not to think about it too much. Yeah, that was definitely going to be hard.

Just as he was finishing the work on the new features for his app, the phone started ringing and Cody’s cute face appeared on the screen.

“Hey!”

“Hey, what’s up?”

“Not much, just working on the app. You?”

“I just got back home from the park. How’s the app coming along?”

“So far so good, hopefully no major bugs appear!”

“I’m sure it’s gonna be great! Hey, wanna grab a cup of coffee later?”

“Sure! How about in… maybe two hours?”

“Sounds great. I’ll come and pick you up! I’ll text you when I’m nearby.”

“It’s a deal.”

Trick almost said ‘date’, but managed to correct himself on time. They never really had an official ‘date’, even though they were well aware of their feelings for each other. Cody didn’t want to rush, and Trick just expected Cody to make the first move, as he always had so far. That’s not to say they didn’t enjoy spending time together as friends; they just didn’t want to ruin the delicate balance they managed to achieve.

His thoughts of Cody were quickly interrupted by someone knocking on the door. Zoe said she’d come to hang out and help him test the app, but she was running a little late.

“Hey, come on in!” Trick smiled as he saw his friend. “Do I have a treat for you!”

“Really?” Zoe smirked, thinking Trick was about to share something about Cody now that they started hanging out more. “What is it?”

“I bought us cheesecake,” Trick grinned and went over to the fridge.

“Oh,” Zoe frowned.

“If you don’t want it, I don’t mind eating both pieces…” Trick teased her.

“Ha ha, hand it over!” she said sarcastically as she practically ripped one of the plates from his hands.

As they sat on the bed and ate their dessert, Trick took out his phone to show Zoe the new version of his app.

“Look, I’ve been working on some of the features you mentioned, what do you think?” He handed her the phone so she can look at it herself. “You can now set your preferences, like age, gender and location. It’s still a work in progress, though.”

“I like it! And you’ve changed the design a bit, it looks much cleaner now!” She was clearly impressed.

“Yeah, that was actually Cody’s idea. I guess he’s got a knack for more than just landscaping design,” Trick said, smiling.

“Speaking of, how are things going between you two?”

“It’s been good. We’re just hanging out, talking...”

“I’m glad for you. For both of you, actually. I know what I said about him before, but I guess I see him in a different light now. To think that he’s been having feelings for you for so long…”

“I know. It was hard for me to believe it too.”

“And for all these years, he never said anything. It must’ve been so hard for him, poor guy,” Zoe said sympathetically and Trick slowly nodded.

It suddenly hit him that she was totally right. How had he never thought about this? All this time he was focused on himself and his own suffering, but he never considered how the whole thing must have affected Cody.

“It’s funny, right… How quickly one can go from being a bully to being a victim,” Trick said, thinking about Cody’s realization that he was gay, but having no one to share it with.

“Just goes to show you never know what someone might be going through,” Zoe wisely concluded.

Soon after she left, Trick got a message from Cody saying that he’s coming over, so he quickly got changed for their not-date. Less than ten minutes later, he was in the passenger seat of Cody’s car.

“So, where do you wanna go?” Cody asked, all upbeat. His good mood was even better now and Trick could feel it, it was infectious.

“Just somewhere quiet where we can sit and have a cup of coffee, if that’s fine with you?”

“Sure, whatever you want,” Cody replied, wanting to please Trick and make him feel comfortable. He liked to let Trick choose where to go instead of forcing him to go to places he might not enjoy. Maybe later, once they spend more time together, he can work on helping him get out of his shell.

A few minutes later, they settled on a small café in one of the tiny cobbled streets with colorful old buildings. As they entered it, Cody led Trick upstairs, to a table in a secluded area where they would be alone, away from the eyes and ears of other visitors.

Little things like that didn’t go unnoticed by Trick. He realized that Cody was arranging things so that he wouldn’t be uncomfortable, and he appreciated it very much.

At first, Trick was glad that it wasn’t crowded so that they could relax and talk freely, but after a while, Cody and he were so deep in conversation that he didn’t even notice any of the people around them. It was as if they were in his room, all alone, laughing and having a great time.

Although they’ve been avoiding talking about the past, Trick decided to broach the subject once more. Thinking about what Zoe said earlier that day, he got the urge to learn more about Cody, if the guy was willing to share.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Sure,” Cody replied, looking Trick in the eyes as if he was trying to find the question there.

“When you realized you were gay… Did you date a lot of guys?” Trick felt a bit stupid for asking the question, but he couldn’t help it. He wanted to know. Since Cody was so attractive and confident, Trick assumed it must’ve been so easy for him to find a date.

“Well, no, not really. You see, after you left…” Cody had a sad expression on his face, he couldn’t help it, “I, uh, stopped hanging out with Logan, Mason and their crowd. Other kids also avoided me because they still saw me as that annoying asshole, so I was basically a loner for a while. I started hanging out with Peter… You know, the guy who never talked to anyone?”

Trick nodded.

“Yeah, he turned out to be not that bad actually. He was basically my only friend for a long time. I wasn’t out to anyone yet at that point, plus I couldn’t stop thinking about you, so I didn’t date anyone… It wasn’t until the senior year that I finally had the guts to come out. I dated two guys for a while, but I knew there was no point in it. I was still stuck on you,” he chuckled. “I saw you a few times on the street, you know… But I never approached you. I didn’t have the courage.”

Trick just sat and listened, letting Cody tell the whole story without interrupting him. He realized that it wasn’t a walk in the park for him either. Sure, some people might say that he had it coming for being a bully, but Trick wasn’t one of those people. He used to think he was, but now he realized that there are more important things than revenge – things like forgiveness and redemption.

Now that he was finally getting to know Cody after all these years, Trick came to the unexpected realization that forgiving him would actually be easier than he first thought.

“What about you? Did you date anyone in high school?” it was Cody’s turn to ask.

“There was one guy in the new school, but we dated out of convenience more than anything else. We didn’t know any gay person other than each other, so we thought we’d give it a try. I never had any romantic feelings for him, and I don’t think he had any for me either. We eventually ended it and just stayed friends for a while. I, uh, I was kinda interested in someone else,” Trick laughed.

“Oh, I see…” Cody chuckled. “Well, fingers crossed for you and that someone,” he winked, looking at Trick’s smiling face.

“Yeah,” Trick winked back and crossed his fingers.

Big thanks to all the readers, as well as @glennish, you are all amazing