Trick Me Once - 10. All I Want for Christmas…

“Damn it!!” Trick shouted as he got shot and killed.

“Want me to do the boss?” Brad smirked, looking at Trick angrily clicking on the mouse as if he was going to break it with just the force of his finger.

“I can do it, thanks!” Trick said, pouting, as he reloaded the game.

“You know I’ve beaten him already like ten times?” Brad just had to tease him. Finally a game in which he was better than Trick – that didn’t happen very often, so he had to enjoy his five minutes of fame.

“Don’t you need to go and see Catherine? You don’t wanna be late,” Trick grinned, trying to change the topic.

“Yeah, nice try… But you’re right, I do have to go. I’ll help you beat the game when I get back,” Brad said as he was putting on his jacket.

He and Catherine have been going out for a little over a month. It wasn’t anything serious yet, but they got along pretty well. Zoe, being Catherine’s roommate, was less than thrilled when the two would meet at their dorm room and do what couples tend to do. She’s been quiet about it so far, or maybe passive aggressive would be the better term for it. Still, Brad had no intention of not seeing Catherine just because Zoe might have a problem with it.

“Hey, do you mind if I do some decorating in our room these days?” Trick asked before Brad had a chance to split. It was early December and Trick was ready to get into the holiday spirit. Christmas was his favorite holiday – he hated Valentine’s Day because he was always single, and he was too old for Easter. Halloween was another good one, but Christmas just had that magical vibe.

“Sure, man, whatever you want. You know I’m not really good at that, so knock yourself out!”

“Thanks! I’ll probably go with Zoe to pick up some decorations later today.”

“Ok, have fun! See ya later!”

With that, Brad was gone and Trick sat back at his computer to give the game a few more tries. After he failed a couple more times, he decided to turn it off before he broke something… again. After all, Christmas was coming in less than four weeks, and he had a room to decorate!

Later that afternoon, he and Zoe were happily walking downtown, with their destination already set – a big dollar store that had plenty of dirt cheap Christmas decorations of all kinds.

“Good thing about living with a straight guy – they usually aren’t interested in this type of stuff, so I get to decorate however I want,” Trick said as he was rummaging through Christmas ornaments. He briefly glanced over at Zoe and saw a frown on her face.

“What?”

Zoe rolled her eyes and sighed.

“Ugh, Brad and Cathy… It’s just weird, you know – having one of your best friends and your roommate going out? I mean, do they have to get it on in front of me? It’s like watching my parents make out. Like, I don’t wanna see that!”

Trick chuckled while carefully picking his decorations.

“Are you sure you’re not jealous maybe?”

“Yeah, as if!” she scoffed, but Trick wasn’t sure he was buying it. “You’re not bothered by it?”

“Nah, not really. They usually come over when I’m out with Cody, so I hardly see them together. Plus, I don’t think Cathy really likes me, so I just ignore her. I mean, it’s not like we hate each other or anything, it’s just that we have nothing in common, so we never really talk,” he laughed. “You know I’m terrible at making small talk!”

“Nooo, you don’t say!” Zoe joined in the laughter. “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.

The store had a big selection of Christmas trees, but Trick decided to get just a small plastic one for his and Brad’s dorm room. He walked straight past the white ones, thinking how horrible they looked. After some searching, he chose a small green one that would fit in their room quite nicely. He had already chosen the perfect spot for it – on a coffee table just by the window.

“Aren’t you gonna pick a tree?”

“Oh, Cathy already brought one, so no need to,” Zoe said. “By the way, are you spending Christmas at home or with Cody?”

Trick bit his lower lip, realizing he didn’t even think about it properly. This was actually a big question for him, which is why he’d been putting off dealing with it. It did cross his mind a few times, but since Cody and he weren’t really a couple, he wasn’t sure what to do. Maybe Cody would want to spend the holidays with his family?

“Uh, we haven’t really talked about it yet. I’ll probably just go home for the holidays.”

“Oh, right. I just thought…”

“I mean, we’re not even dating, so…” Trick interrupted her, feeling awkward.

Now that he thought about it, he realized he also wanted to buy Cody a gift for Christmas. Cody would probably get him something as well… But what do you buy a guy who’s just a friend, but you’re also in love with him? Ugh, this would require some serious thinking, and probably help from Zoe or someone…

“Yeah, I get it. So, uh, when do I get to hang out with you guys? You know, to check him out, give my seal of approval and all… I am a psychologist, after all,” she smirked.

“Take it easy, you’re only freshman year,” Trick raised his eyebrows. “But yeah, we could get together sometimes, just the four of us, so you guys could get to know him better.”

He liked the idea – he wanted his best friends and Cody to get to know each other. He was proud of Cody and wanted Brad and Zoe to see what a great guy he is. Maybe the two of them still had some misconceptions about him, so Trick wanted them to meet the real Cody!

“The four of us?”

“Yeah – you, Brad, Cody and I.”

“Oh, sure,” Zoe said, trying to sound indifferent and hide the fact that she was annoyed at the mention of Brad. Trick was oblivious to it, as his mind had already wandered off to Cody and his beautiful emerald eyes. He couldn’t wait to look into them again, but luckily, he didn’t have to wait too long for that.

Cody invited him to come to the park the next day after his shift so they could spend some time together, take a walk around the city or grab a cup of coffee somewhere. He was working the first shift, from eight to twelve, which was his favorite. He usually did four-hour shifts, since he was only working part-time.

After he went to the workers’ cabin near the edge of the park to leave the tools and take off his uniform, he headed out to wait for Trick. As he got out of the cabin, he saw Theo walking toward him, motioning for him to wait.

“Hey, man, what’s up,” Theo said as he approached him.

Cody was a bit surprised. Theo usually doesn’t start conversations first. Are they friends now?

“Hey. Not much, just finished work, you good?”

“Lucky! I’m just about to start… Hey, uh, thanks again for the talk the other day…”

“No problem! Did you and your brother talk?”

“Yeah, we started by talking about our day, his school and my work and college; next thing I know – I told him I had a gay buddy… He didn’t say anything at first, but later he came to my room and told me there was a guy from his class that he thought he might have a crush on. He was so nervous at first.”

“Aww, that’s cute. How old is he, by the way?”

“Almost fourteen. Tim’s a clever little guy, but he’s too shy for his own good,” Theo said and smiled. Cody realized that was the first time he saw the guy smile. “Anyway, it all went well. We hugged and he told me all about this guy. He even cried a bit – I think he was really happy he finally found someone to talk to about all of this.”

“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, but Cody suspected that he is more sensitive than he let on.

After saying their goodbyes, Theo went off to work, while Cody went to see if Trick had arrived. He quickly spotted him standing by the lake and watching ducks swimming. As he approached and waved to him, grinning from ear to ear, Trick waved back and put a matching smile on his face. Just seeing Trick’s cute face smiling at him made Cody’s day better. The guy just never failed to make him feel good!

“Hey, have you been waiting long?” Cody said as he approached and hugged Trick.

“No, I just got a minute ago. I saw you talking to someone and didn’t wanna interrupt, so I waited here.”

Cody wasn’t sure, but he thought he saw a tinge of jealousy in Trick’s eyes.

“Oh, that’s just Theo, a guy who works here,” Cody said quickly. Why did he feel the need to justify himself? Oh yeah, because in his heart, Trick was already his boyfriend.

“He’s got a little gay brother so he asked me for advice on talking to him.”

“Oh. Well, he couldn’t have picked a better person,” Trick said, smiling at Cody affectionately. “How does he even know you’re gay?”

“Well, he saw us together in the park that day when we, uh, smooched for a bit,” Cody chuckled.

This was the first time they talked about the kiss and he didn’t want to make it awkward. He looked ahead, trying to keep his eyes away from Trick. He was afraid that if he looked at his face, he wouldn’t be able to resist kissing him again.

“Oh, right, I think I remember a quick peck on the lips,” Trick smiled.

He wanted to keep the atmosphere relaxed and it looked like he succeeded, as Cody just laughed and dropped the subject. They continued their walk through the park, trying to find a new spot to sit and talk. When they found a bench, Trick sat down and Cody told him to wait and that he’d be right back. He then quickly ran off to the nearby popcorn stand at the entrance to the park and after a minute or so came back with a big paper bag full of popcorn.

“Here, something to keep us busy,” he chuckled as he sat down next to Trick and put the popcorn on his lap.

“Mmmm, they’re still hot! Thanks,” Trick said as he popped a few kernels in his mouth. “Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask, would you like for us to get together with Brad and Zoe one day? They’d like to hang out, get to know you a bit.”

“Of course, just say when.”

Cody was glad Trick was bringing him into his world, bit by bit. He never talked to Zoe much, and his last encounter with Brad was rather tense, but he was happy Trick wanted him to spend time with his friends. He wasn’t sure how they feel about him, but he wanted to show them that he’s changed and that he cares a lot about Trick.

“I’d love to get to know them better, we never really hung out much.”

“Cool, we can set something up soon.”

“Deal! So, what did you do yesterday?”

“Oh, I went with Zoe to get some Christmas stuff. Brad let me handle all the decorating activities in our room,” Trick laughed.

“Nice, you have to invite me when you’re done, I wanna see how it turns out!”

“Of course!”

“Angie and I still haven’t set up anything at home either. Probably this weekend.”

Now was Trick’s chance to start the topic of their plans for Christmas, but he wasn’t sure what exactly to ask Cody.

“If I ask him to spend Christmas with me, that would mean we’re boyfriends, right? But he hasn’t mentioned anything about it, he’s been taking it slow… and he’s probably right. Maybe I should just wait for him to make the first move,” Trick thought.

Also, if they were to spend it together, they’d probably be at one of their homes, meeting the other one’s parents. That also sounded like a pretty big deal that he wasn’t sure he was ready for. On the other hand, if they were to be apart on that day… Well, that would just plain suck.

Ugh, why did he have to be so tongue-tied every time it came to expressing his emotions?! He kept hoping some of Cody’s self-confidence would rub off on him, but so far – nothing. In the end, he decided to just bite the bullet and ask him outright.

“So, uh, any big plans for Christmas?” he asked, trying to be cool, not sure what kind of an answer he was hoping for.

Cody could feel Trick’s insecurity and almost read his mind. He just wasn’t sure what to say – he was conflicted between his own desires and what he thought was the reasonable thing to do. On one hand, he wanted more than anything to spend the holidays with Trick. He wanted to kiss him, wish him Merry Christmas and introduce him to his family. On the other hand, he was aware Trick was probably hesitant and insecure and didn’t want to push him too far.

“No, not really, probably just a quiet evening with family, like every Christmas. You?”

“Yeah, same here,” Trick replied.

He wasn’t sure if he was relieved or disappointed. Probably a little bit of both. It took out some of the pressure, but he still didn’t want to be apart from Cody for the holidays. It wasn’t all that bad, though – they would probably see each other the day after, and maybe even for the New Year’s Eve. Yeah, that would be all kinds of awesome!

Cody definitely felt a bit disappointed, but he didn’t show it. He didn’t want to rush into anything. After all, he knew that Trick reciprocated his feelings, so if he was able to wait for him for four years, what’s a few more days or weeks?

For now, he would just enjoy sitting here next to the guy of his dreams, letting their hands touch ‘accidentally’ every time they reached for popcorn at the same time.

Next chapter is Christmas - what will our guys wish from Santa?