Trick Me Once - 24. A New Horizon

We've come a long way, with 24 chapters, hundreds of comments and thousands of views. 
I'm stunned at all the positive reactions this story has gotten, and I can't thank you enough!
But, of course, we had to come to an end one day. I hope you enjoy this final chapter.

The day after Cody’s birthday party did not start as Trick had planned at all. First of all, he overslept terribly, waking up at eleven with a headache that just wouldn’t quit. He knew he was a terrible drinker so he only had a few beers last night, but that was obviously enough for his lightweight body to succumb to the effects of alcohol. Plus, all the skating and excitement from last night obviously took their toll on the poor guy, tiring him out.

Brad wasn’t in a much better condition, although he woke up earlier and already had his coffee and aspirin. He was now functional enough to be able to make them a quick breakfast, which he had just started to do when Trick raised his head up from the pillow.

“Rise and shine,” Brad said sarcastically, unable to hide his smirk as he prepared an omelet with bacon. “Had too much fun last night?”

“Way too much,” Trick muttered.

“There’s some aspirin and a glass of water on the nightstand, thought you’d need it.”

“Ughhh, thanks. You’re the best,” Trick said as he got up and tried to adjust to daylight. He popped a pill in his mouth and downed it with a full glass of water.

“Yet you’re still leaving me,” Brad teased. “Tsk, tsk, tsk… See if Cody will make you breakfast this good!”

“Make this hangover go away and I’ll never leave you,” Trick whined.

After quickly washing up, he returned to the room and sat down at the dining table opposite of his best friend. As they nearly inhaled their food, they felt their strength returning.

“So, you guys are really doing this?”

“Yeah, why? You think it’s too soon?”

“No, I’m kinda surprised you didn’t do it sooner, to be honest. I think you guys are great together,” Brad was honest. He was very glad his best friend had finally found happiness he deserved and got over all the problems from the past.

“Thanks, Brad, you’re the best, I mean it,” Trick smiled appreciatively at him.

“Ditto, man,” Brad grinned at him. “So, when are you going apartment hunting?”

“Umm, we haven’t decided yet. I’m going over to his place to meet him now and then we’ll talk. Are you gonna find a new roommate, or stay alone so you can have Cathy over anytime you want?” Trick winked at Brad.

“Pretty sure someone’s gonna snatch your bed as soon as you’re gone,” Brad chuckled. “You know there are always students waiting for rooms.”

After the breakfast and a quick clean-up of dishes, which Trick insisted he do since Brad did the cooking, Trick headed out and caught a city bus to Cody’s house. Being winter and all, he didn’t really feel like walking for so long.

Having received a text from Trick telling him that he was close, Cody put on his jacket and eagerly waited for him on the street outside his parents’ house. He grinned when he saw the familiar black-haired boy with glasses approaching rapidly.

“Hey, baby!”

“Hey! Happy birthday,” Trick said, kissing Cody on the lips. “It’s today, right?”

“Thanks! I thought you’d forgotten!” Cody teased and took him by the hand, noticing that the guy seemed agitated. “You look nervous.”

“Well…” Trick looked up to meet Cody’s eyes. “Can you blame me? I mean, we need to talk to your folks about our plans.”

“Oh, baby, you don’t have to worry about it,” Cody laughed. “They’ve been joking for months how they’re gonna turn my room into an entertainment room once I move to live with you. I’m sure they’ll support us.”

“God, I hope so!” Trick exclaimed as they entered the house.

As soon as they told Cody’s parents about their plans, there were congratulations and hugs all around, and even a few tears of joy were shed.

“Finally, you’re gonna get your entertainment room!” Cody’s mom told her husband, elbowing him jokingly.

“Well, it was about time!” he replied, showing his teeth through his bushy beard. “We’re happy for you, boys! If you need any help with finding a place, moving your stuff or anything, we’re here.”

“Thanks, Mr. Henderson,” Trick said gratefully.

While the talk with Cody’s parents went without a hitch, the talk with Cody was less successful. As soon as they were alone and started discussing their moving-in plans, Trick realized that his boyfriend’s plans didn’t actually match his own. While he suggested finding an apartment in an upscale neighborhood with new, modern buildings, Cody quickly shut that idea down, much to Trick’s surprise.

“Trick, that area is too expensive, I think we should go for something more affordable,” Cody said as they sat at his computer and looked at apartment ads online.

“But I make enough money from the app, it’s not too expensive,” Trick replied, confused. He didn’t understand why Cody was so worried about the budget.

“I know you do, but I don’t,” Cody explained. His own job at the park didn’t really pay that much, and while he appreciated Trick’s offer, he didn’t want to feel like his boyfriend is paying for everything.

“Baby, did you think I was gonna let you pay for all of it? If we’re really gonna do this, I want us to contribute equally, or as close as possible.”

Trick just blinked and after a few seconds finally realized what Cody was saying. He felt so stupid! How did he not think about that before? If it was the other way around, no way would he want Cody to pay for his rent, food, utilities and everything else.

“Shit, you’re right… I’m sorry, babe. I didn’t think of it that way,” he said, taking Cody’s hands and kissing each of them gently. “You’re so right, I was just… stupid.”

“Hey, it’s ok, no harm done,” Cody smiled.

“It’s just that… Well, this was supposed to be my birthday gift to you, so I wanted to pay for it.”

“Just asking me to move in with you was enough. It was the best gift you could’ve given me.”

“I love you,” Trick said and gave him a quick peck on the lips. “But I still wanna get you something. You’re not wiggling out of this one,” he put his arms around Cody, preventing him from moving away.

“Ok, ok!” Cody laughed. “If you really wanna get me something, how about you buy me the new Xbox One X for our new place?”

“Hmm, I like the way you think!” Trick grinned, thinking of all the games they could play together.

“I know you do,” Cody gave him a smile. “Ok, back to our search, let’s expand it. What about this neighborhood, it’s nice and close to college?” he said as he clicked on another link, opening a new page of ads.

They spent the better part of that afternoon looking for apartments online and discussing their moving plans. They would definitely have to wait until the holiday season was over, but it couldn’t hurt to start looking in advance and see what they actually want and can afford.

Eventually, sitting so close together and constantly rubbing their legs and arms against each other got the better of them, so they closed the browser and moved to the bed to take care of their growing erections. Taking Cody by the hand, Trick laid down on his boyfriend’s bed and pulled him on top of him.

“Is the door locked?” he whispered, his lips an inch from Cody’s.

“Yeah,” Cody replied, loving the feel of Trick’s warm breath on his lips. He lowered his head, pressing their lips together in a hungry kiss.

--

(One Year Later)

Dressed in winter coats, wrapped in thick wool scarves and with warm hats on their heads, Trick and Cody were walking down the street, carrying shopping bags filled with items for their upcoming Christmas party. It would be their first Christmas in their own apartment, as well as their second anniversary, making it a very special day in their lives.

This year, they decided not to go to their respective parents’ homes, but instead organize their own Christmas celebration and invite their closest friends over.

Since February, they have been living in a lovely one-bedroom apartment on the third floor of an old, but well-kept apartment building in an area that was close to college, as well as to Prescott Park, where Cody was still working. A few months ago, Trick had decided to quit his part-time job in the music store and focus on app development, which was working out really well for him.

“I hope we didn’t forget anything,” Trick said, mentally going through the list of all the things they planned to buy for tomorrow’s party. Cody and he had decided to prepare all the food, Theo and Zoe said they would bring dessert, while Brad and Cathy took it upon themselves to bring refreshments.

“I don’t think so, we checked everything off the list,” Cody said. “Unless we forgot to put something on the list in the first place.”

“We’ve got turkey, chicken meat, eggplant, tomatoes, potatoes, olive oil, cheese…” Trick started going through the list and then remembered something. “We just need to buy fresh bread tomorrow.”

“Yeah, I’ll get it in the morning,” Cody replied.

Lost in their thoughts and plans for the party, they almost didn’t notice when the clouds above them started spilling little snowflakes all around them.

“Look! We’re gonna have a white Christmas,” Trick’s mouth spread into a grin as he looked up into the sky.

“Fucking finally!” Cody exclaimed, excited for the holidays ahead.

As they slowly walked hand in hand, heading to their apartment and watching the snow fall, they noticed a familiar figure across the street. Once the guy saw them, he stopped for a moment, gave them a nod and waved. Stunned to do anything else, they also stopped and waved back. He gave them an awkward smile and continued on his way.

“What the hell was that? Did Mason just wave at us?” Trick asked, trying to make sense of it.

“Yeah, I saw it too. I wonder what’s up with him,” Cody said as they continued walking. The last time they saw him, they weren’t exactly on good terms.

“No clue. Maybe we’re not on his ‘to kill’ list anymore.”

“Weird… Gonna have to ask Anders about it, maybe one of his buddies knows something.”

“Yeah, but you’re gonna have to wait till he comes back,” Trick reminded him.

“Oh, yeah,” Cody nodded.

He almost forgot that Anders wasn’t there – a few months ago, he got invited by some of his relatives from Sweden to visit them for the holidays, which he and Blaine readily accepted. Anders was excited to go back to his homeland as he hadn’t visited it once since he moved to America with his parents, while Blaine just wanted to spend the holidays with his boyfriend and didn’t mind the location as long as they were together. Therefore, the two guys decided they’d be spending Christmas and New Year’s in Anders’ home country. In fact, they would be absent for a whole month.

“It sucks that they won’t be with us tomorrow, but I’m sure they’re having fun in Sweden even without us,” Trick chuckled.

“Oh, I don’t doubt that one bit!” Cody laughed.

The doorbell rang around seven that evening and Cody got up to open the door, letting the guests in. Theo, Zoe, Brad and Cathy all filed in, their cheeks rosy from the cold and their winter hats and scarves covered in snow. By the time they all greeted Cody and took of their jackets, Trick appeared from the kitchen to welcome them.

They quickly made themselves comfortable and found their way to the living room, having been in the guys’ apartment hundreds of times already. The group was still seeing each other regularly at college, with the exception of Theo, who had graduated and stopped working in Prescott Park with Cody. He was now working in a successful local landscaping company.

After Trick moved out of the dorms, Brad got a new roommate, Diego – a foreign exchange student from Brazil. He was friendly, but didn’t really hang around with them a lot, much to the chagrin of Zoe, as Diego was pretty much the perfect example of a Latino hunk.

“We’re so glad you could all make it!” Trick exclaimed.

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world!” Zoe said, sitting next to Theo and leaning against him affectionately. “Although I know I’ll never hear the end of it from my mom, she was expecting me to come home for Christmas,” she chuckled.

“As did our folks,” Cody joined in. “But we’ll visit them tomorrow.”

“I love what you guys did with the place,” Cathy said, looking around the room and admiring the decorations.

A medium-sized, beautifully decorated Christmas tree was placed by the window, adorned with red and gold ornaments and yellow sparkling lights, topped off with a gold star. Curtains were covered with strings of white lights that had long, narrow tubes, and when turned on looked as if tiny droplets of light were slowly falling like rain. A Christmas-themed centerpiece was on the table, with pine cones, red globes and a red candle in the middle. Of course, as the guys’ favorite piece of decoration – mistletoe was hanging from the chandelier in the center of the living room.

“What ‘we’ did?” Cody rolled his eyes. “You know it was all him,” he smiled, pointing at Trick.

“Well, I asked and you said you’d leave it up to me,” Trick replied, putting his hands up in defense.

“I know, and I’m not complaining. I love it! I just don’t wanna take credit for your work.”

“Well, it looks great, Trick,” Cathy repeated.

“Thanks,” he replied with some pride in his voice.

As all four guests sat down at the dining table, with their hosts standing nearby, Cody spoke, holding a hand on the small of Trick’s back.

“Besides Christmas and our second anniversary, we have one more thing to celebrate tonight,” he said, met by curious looks of their four friends. “Trick’s app just reached two million downloads, and I think that’s a big cause for celebration, right?”

“Yaasss!” Zoe shouted and everyone started clapping, making Trick blush.

“Congrats, man, that’s awesome,” Theo said.

“Thanks! And thank you everyone for coming, we really appreciate it,” Trick replied as Cody and he sat down and joined the others for dinner.

“And by the way, he…” Cody said without thinking, as he heard Zoe chatting with Trick about the app. “Well, never mind, Trick is gonna kill me if I say a word,” he grinned and looked at his boyfriend.

“Ok, tell them, I know you’re dying to!” Trick rolled his eyes at him and pursed his lips.

Cody almost jumped from his chair, excited like a kid in a candy store.

“You guys won’t believe it, but he’s started receiving fan mail!”

“Who? Trick?” Brad asked, looking suspiciously at Cody and then at his best friend.

“Yep!” Cody nodded. “People who use the app, they’re sending him fan mail – e-mails, Facebook messages, even gift packages in the mail!”

“Seriously?!” Zoe asked in a loud, high-pitched voice. “You’re a celebrity!”

Trick burst out laughing as Cody put his arm around his shoulders, bringing him closer.

“Let’s not get carried away,” Trick said. “But we did get a lot of stuff, it’s crazy,” he admitted.

“Just the other day, someone sent him a jumbo-sized pack of condoms,” Cody added.

“And you probably spent half of it already,” Brad deadpanned, causing everyone to burst into laughter.

As the playful banter continued, the meals were served and everyone quickly dug in, chewing and filling the room with the clatter of cutlery. The dinner was a delightful affair for everyone, filled with ‘mmms’ and ‘ahhhs’, laughter and loud conversation.

“This is fucking delicious,” Brad said without waiting to swallow the piece of chicken he had in his mouth. “And you say you two made all of this?” he asked, still not entirely convinced of Trick and Cody’s cooking skills.

“Of course,” Cody said, pretending to be offended. “We’ve been cooking all the time since we moved in here.”

“Well, then, hats off to you,” Brad replied, nodding.

After the dessert – a cake with three types of chocolate – was served and vanished from their plates in record time, everyone moved to the living room, where they spent the rest of the night playing games, opening their presents early and enjoying a playlist made by Cody. At one point, they even got a Skype call from Anders and Blaine, wishing them Merry Christmas and saying how sorry they were that they weren’t there.

It wasn’t until way past midnight that the guests were finally too tired to keep their eyes open. Even though Trick and Cody assured them they could make room for all of them to sleep over if they wanted, they didn’t want to impose, and so they called their Ubers and went their way.

Finally alone, Trick and Cody found themselves under the mistletoe, their arms wrapped around each other, gazing into each other’s eyes.

“Alone, at last.” Trick pulled Cody in for a kiss. Their lips melted together as their passion grew, as if they hadn’t kissed each other for months.

“Merry Christmas, baby,” Cody said, looking lovingly into Trick’s misty eyes.

“Merry Christmas, my love.”

Another quick peck on the lips ensued.

“And happy two million downloads,” Cody smiled. “My big celebrity guy!”

“Thanks,” Trick chuckled.

“And most importantly, happy anniversary. You make me so happy, baby. I love you more and more each day, I hope you know that,” Cody said, his face just an inch from Trick’s. He cherished that closeness, never wanting to be apart from him. Trick nodded and put his hands gently at Cody’s shoulders.

“Happy anniversary, babe. You are so perfect and I can’t imagine being without you. I love you so much. I’m the happiest guy in the world, all because of you,” Trick whispered, wanting Cody to know just how happy he makes him every single day. Their lips found each other once again, hungry to taste the other person.

“Are you tired?” Cody asked with a tinge of naughty in his voice as they finally broke the kiss, their foreheads still touching.

“For what?” Trick smirked, his pants already struggling to contain his fully hard cock.

“You know what.”

Slowly, Cody felt Trick’s hand moving from his chest down onto his abs and finally stopping at his crotch, groping his erection.

“You mean this?” Trick asked. “Never!”

“Me neither!” Cody shouted and in one sudden movement picked Trick up in his arms as if he was made of paper, carrying him to their bedroom, grinning from ear to ear.

Slamming the door behind them with his leg and dropping Trick on the bed, Cody got on top of him, their lips smashing against each other in a wild, hungry kiss. They both knew what was about to happen and they couldn’t wait to start.

“Now, where’s that jumbo pack?” Cody asked, ready to give the man of his dreams a night he would never forget.

~ THE END ~