Trick Me Once - 12. He Is the One I Want

Trick: I don’t wanna wait anymore, I want us to be together, Cody. What do you say?

Cody: Of course, babe! You know there’s nothing I want more!

Trick: I can’t wait to see you again!

Cody: Me too! Just so you know, I’m gonna smother you with kisses tomorrow.

Trick: Oh I’ll be ready!

The boys wanted to spend the whole night talking on the phone just to stay connected, but they were too tired from all the celebrating and eating earlier that evening. After a while, they finally hung up and went to bed, realizing they have to get some rest so they’d be able to get up and meet early in the morning. At first, Trick thought he wouldn’t be able to sleep from all the excitement, but tiredness soon overcame him and before he knew it, he was out.

It was around nine in the morning when Trick woke up. Opening his eyes, he realized he had left the Christmas lights on in his room all night. Oh well, it is Christmas, so what? When he lifted his head from the pillow, he saw his cell phone right next to it and quickly picked it up. One new message.

Cody: Good morning, baby! I’m on my way!

Could this day have started any better?! Cody was finally his boyfriend and was about to come and take him out for their first real date as a couple! Trick couldn’t wait to give him the present he got him, nervous about whether he’d like it.

With his spirits high and a big smile plastered on his face, Trick got out of bed and started getting dressed. He took out the already wrapped gift for Cody from the closet and put it in a bag, placing it next to the door so he doesn’t forget it when Cody comes.

Wait…

“Oh fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!”

“Cody is about to come any minute now! And I haven’t told my parents about him! Shit!”

He frantically put his socks on, rushed out of his room and practically flew down the stairs to find his parents. How would they react when they see the guy who used to bully their son appear on their doorstep out of nowhere? He had to explain everything and fast! Luckily, his mom and dad were right there, just sitting in the kitchen, having their morning coffee. He rushed in all out of breath, startling them.

“Good morn… Hey, what’s up with you?” Trick’s dad asked, confused, but also sort of amused with seeing his son so flustered first thing in the morning.

“Morning!” Trick said clinging to a chair, trying to catch his breath. “I need to talk to you guys…”

The sound of the doorbell meant only one thing this time.

“Of course!” Trick said, rolling his eyes. “I’ll get that!” He motioned to his parents to stay where they are and went to answer the door. He got out, quickly closing the door behind him.

There he was, the guy of his dreams, standing before him and smiling, looking cuter than ever!

“Cody, we have to talk, and quickly,” Trick blurted out.

“Well hello to you too,” Cody frowned.

“I’m sorry…” Trick came to his senses, realizing how much he missed this sweet guy. “Hey, you look beautiful!” He cupped his face with his hands and gave him a passionate kiss.

“Mmm that’s better!” Cody grinned. “What’s going on?”

“Please don’t get mad at me, ok? What I said before was true, I really want us to be together.”

“I know that, and I want the same. What’s happening?” Cody asked as he took Trick’s hand and squeezed it.

“Well, I didn’t tell my parents about you…”

“That’s it? That’s ok, baby, we can tell them whenever you want.”

At that moment, the door opened and Trick’s mom appeared. Wondering what was taking her son so long, she had to see what was going on. To say she was surprised when she saw him all nervous, standing next to Cody, was the understatement of the century.

“Cody? Patrick, what’s going on? Is he bothering you again? You listen…” she said sharply as her eyes quickly darted between her son and Cody.

“Mom, no, listen…” Trick pleaded.

“Oh my God, your family… They still think I’m a bully who wants to hurt you…” Cody said with a hurt look in his eyes. That was a part of his life that he wanted to leave behind forever, but there it was, coming to haunt him again.

“I’m sorry, I never got around to telling them…” Trick said, looking guilty as he took Cody by the hands. He hated seeing him hurt, all because of him. He couldn’t let things fall apart, not now when they were finally together.

“Tell us what?” his mom asked, still totally baffled with what was going on before her eyes.

“Can we please all go inside and I’ll explain? Please…”

As Trick looked Cody in the eyes, Cody could see nothing but love and sadness. He never wanted to see Trick sad again. If his past came back to haunt him, that was his own fault, not Trick’s.

“Sure, let’s go,” Cody nodded, trying to reassure Trick that things will be alright even though he was feeling hurt.

Trick’s mom came back in first and went to the kitchen to get her husband, taking him to the living room. Trick and Cody followed behind them.

“Cody, what…?” Trick’s dad looked at both guys with confusion, but Trick interrupted him.

“It’s ok, dad. Please, just listen to me, I have something to tell you, guys.” He sat on the couch and motioned Cody to sit next to him. Needless to say, both were nervous, Cody more than Trick, but they were together and that gave them courage.

“So, Cody and I are going to the same college, except he’s studying landscaping. We met on campus a few months ago and started hanging out, talking… I got to know him better and I realized he’s completely changed now, for the better. We became good friends, so you don’t have to worry about anything.”

Trick’s parents exchanged brief looks, concern clearly showing on their faces, before turning to look at Trick and Cody again. His mom was about to say something, but he wasn’t done yet. He wanted to say everything without interruptions.

“The thing is, we both realized that we wanted to be more than just friends.” Their hands connected between them and their fingers entwined. “Cody is such a sweet and loving guy and he’s been nothing but good to me these past few months. You will see it if you get to know him better, just like I did.”

As Trick leaned closer to Cody, they turned their heads and looked each other in the eyes and smiled.

“Well, this is definitely a surprise, I mean… Are you sure about this, son?” Trick’s dad asked.

“One hundred percent,” Trick said confidently. If there was one thing he was sure of, it was this.

His mom was still silent, looking at Cody with caution. She knew how much Trick had suffered in high school and she wished they had intervened sooner. She was there for him every day, helping him when he moved to the new school and working on him to help him build up his confidence and not be afraid anymore. She couldn’t let him get hurt again.

“May I say something?” Cody asked. As Trick’s parents nodded, he continued. “I know what I did was horrible and I will always regret it, but that was years ago. I haven’t been that guy for a long time and I don’t intend to be him ever again. I know you’ve got no reason to trust me, but you can talk to my parents, my sister, friends… They helped me get my head out of my ass and become a better person. I’ve had feelings for your son for years and now that I finally have a chance with him, I will not mess it up. I care about him so much, and all I wanna do is be with him.”

Trick had the sudden urge to hug and kiss him all over right then and there, but he had to contain himself because of the presence of his parents. After a brief silence, they finally spoke.

“You’re both adults, and Patrick, we can’t tell you who to date. Even if we could, we wouldn’t want to…” his dad spoke first.

“If you guys are sure about your feelings, then I hope you’re happy together. And Cody, if Patrick forgave you, then of course we forgive you too,” Trick’s mom said with a smile. “But I do intend to call your mom and talk to her. She does know about you two, right?”

“She knows I like Trick, but she doesn’t know we’re boyfriends. That’s kind of a new development,” Cody said and laughed together with Trick. “Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Pierce, thank you so much. Trick is such a great guy and I can’t tell you how lucky I am that he chose me,” Cody grinned, feeling like a huge weight was lifted from his heart.

As the atmosphere in the room made a one-eighty in a matter of minutes, Mrs. Pierce decided that a family breakfast was in order. Of course, that would now mean a breakfast for four. While she prepared the food, her husband sat the table, and Trick and Cody sat there and basically just looked at each other and smiled.

During breakfast, Trick’s parents tried to find out as much as they could about Cody while being subtle about it. They chatted about college, work, family and other similar stuff, trying not to sound as if they were interrogating him. Just in case things got awkward, Trick rushed his breakfast and once he was finished he stood up and invited Cody to his room for a bit before they went out.

“Come on, I wanna give you your Christmas present!”

“Oh, sweet! I also got you something, let me just go and get it real quick!”

With that, Cody quickly went outside to get his gift for Trick from his car. As they were climbing up the stairs to Trick’s room, Trick tried to sneak a peek to see what he got, but the gift was wrapped so he couldn’t.

Once they were alone in the room, the door was immediately closed and Trick had his arms around Cody’s neck, while Cody gently put his around Trick’s waist. Standing so close, they couldn’t help but grin from ear to ear.

“Finally,” Trick whispered.

“Yeah,” Cody said and pulled him even closer.

“Do I need to remind you of your promise?”

“Nope. I was just about to fulfil it,” Cody grinned and laid Trick on the bed, climbing on top of him and starting to cover him with kisses – from lips, to jaw, to neck and ears. Trick just closed his eyes and enjoyed the exciting feeling of Cody’s soft lips on his skin. The weight of Cody’s body on his own made him feel safe; he wished they never had to leave the bed.

“Hey, we still haven’t exchanged our gifts!” Cody chuckled as he moved to lie beside Trick so that they were face to face.

“Oh, right!”

The boys exchanged the carefully wrapped packages, sat on the bed and started opening them. Trick was faster and Cody stopped to watch his reaction. The first thing Trick pulled out was Call of Duty WWII, which he had mentioned weeks ago that he wanted to buy.

“You remembered!” Trick grinned at Cody and wrapped him in a hug. “Oh, there’s more,” he said as he felt something else wrapped in the paper. It was a CD by The Pierces – ‘You & I’.

“Turn it around,” Cody said, and Trick turned it around to look at the track list.

“We Are Stars, the song from your playlist!” Trick said, hardly able to contain his excitement. “I already know all the words to it!”

“Think of me every time you listen to it,” Cody said, and that earned him another kiss from Trick.

“Thank you, babe, it’s wonderful! Come on, open up yours already!”

Cody quickly tore through the wrapping paper and pulled out a warm brown hoodie. As he unfolded it, he saw that it had a print on it – a drawing of two trees with orange leaves, and a bench between them. Having worked in Prescott Park for months, he recognized it at once.

“This is… the bench where we had our first kiss, isn’t it?”

“Yep. I went to the park and drew it. I knew you’d recognize the trees.”

“I love it so much!” Cody almost knocked Trick down to the ground when he lunged at him to hug and kiss him. “I’m gonna put it on right now!”

He quickly took off his sweater and put on the hoodie. He stood in front of the mirror and Trick came and stood beside him.

“Looks great on you!”

“Thanks, babe, I really love it so much! Well, Merry Christmas to us!”

“It’s the best Christmas ever,” Trick smiled, gently stroking Cody’s cheek. “Look, I’m horrible at expressing my feelings…”

“Can I go first then?” Cody asked, to which Trick just nodded. “I’ve been waiting for this for so long, and I just… I’m so happy right now. I’m in love with you and I don’t want us to be apart anymore. I hope you forgive me for everything.”

“I already forgave you,” Trick said, kissing Cody on the lips. “I’m in love with you, too. How could I not be, you’re amazing. You make me so happy.”

“Right back at ya, babe!”

After some more kissing and cuddling, which quickly became the boys’ new favorite activity, they realized it was already eleven and that they should probably get going. Otherwise, they were going to spend the whole day in Trick’s room. It was so hard to take their hands off of each other, but they somehow managed to get up from the bed and leave. After saying goodbye to Trick’s parents, they got in the car and headed to the city.

Cody took them to one of his favorite restaurants and got them a nice table for two by the window, so they could look at the street decorated with Christmas lights. The table had an intricate centerpiece with roses and a scented candle in the middle, which Trick liked very much.

“It’s really nice in here,” he said. He was worried it would be too crowded or that he would be underdressed, but as he sat there, soaking up the pleasant atmosphere, he realized he shouldn’t have worried. Of course Cody wouldn’t take him somewhere where he’d be uncomfortable.

“You haven’t been here before?”

“No, first time. I’m not really much of a restaurant goer,” Trick smiled shyly.

“Me neither, actually, but sometimes I go with my family. There are a few places we like to visit, and this is one of them. It has great food and great service, people are very polite here,” Cody smiled and Trick could feel himself getting more comfortable.

“Of course, if you wanna go somewhere else, it’s totally fine by me.”

“No, it’s fine. I like it here. As long as I’m with you, I don’t mind.”

As the waiter took their orders and went away, Cody took Trick by the hand.

“Is this ok, I mean, since we’re in public? ‘Cause I don’t know if I can keep my hands off of you for long,” Cody chuckled. Trick raised his other hand from under the table and placed it on top of Cody’s.

“It’s more than ok! I admit it’s a bit strange, but in a good way. I don’t mind people knowing we’re together.”

Cody had to agree, it was unusual and surreal, but only because it was the most important relationship he ever had. He was a bit nervous at first, as this was their first date and he wanted everything to be just perfect. They both quickly relaxed as they ate their meal, which Trick admitted was delicious. He promised Cody they would come back here any time he wanted.

As they shared the stories from their family gatherings from the previous day, Trick also promised Cody he would come to his place and meet his parents, but they both agreed they’d do that some other day. Meeting both sets of parents on the same day was definitely a bit too much. Still, Cody assured him his parents are going to love him and that they’re going to be thrilled their son finally has a boyfriend.

“I may have talked about you a few times… ok, every day!”

“Oh, so no pressure, right?” Trick laughed.

“I’m telling you, they’re gonna love you. They are really laid back. My sister though… You’ll have to impress her.”

“Is she hard to impress?”

“Just compliment her outfit and you’ll have her undying love and support!”

“That’s good to know!”

Having finished their lunch, the boys decided to go for a walk. The weather was cold, typical for the end of December, but they didn’t mind. With their jackets and gloves on, they walked hand in hand, making plans for when they return to college next week.

Cody had so many ideas and wanted to take Trick to a lot of different places, but didn’t want to overwhelm him, so he mentioned only those that he knew Trick would enjoy for sure. Meanwhile, Trick was content with just sitting at home and watching TV or playing video games together, but he didn’t want to disappoint Cody, seeing how excited he was as he was making suggestions about what they could do together. Besides, some of those things did sound like a lot of fun, and Trick wanted to make a conscious effort to get out more and be more sociable. It was much easier when he was with Cody – his anxiety wasn’t so bad and he was less introverted. However, every time he was alone, he couldn’t help but feel self-conscious and insecure. It’s something he promised himself to keep working on.

After a while, both guys felt they had enough of the cold winter air and went back to Cody’s car. Just a few minutes later, they were all warmed up and on their way back to Trick’s house. When they arrived, Cody hesitated with getting out of the car. He didn’t want to say goodbye, but he didn’t have to worry about that just yet. Trick got out, went around to the driver’s side and pulled Cody out, wrapping his arms around him and giving him a hungry kiss.

“Wanna come inside? We can play some Call of Duty, I got it for Christmas from my boyfriend.”

“Nice, he sounds like a keeper!”

“Umm, I haven’t decided yet,” Trick smirked.

“You ass!” Cody laughed and playfully squeezed Trick’s butt as he followed him into the house.

So that was the boys' first official date as a couple! I hope you enjoyed it (this chapter was a bit longer than usual, it sort of got out of hand).  Big thanks to each of you for reading and entertaining me with your comments! Special thanks to @glennish for his feedback!
In the next chapter things might get naughty! Also, we'll finally meet Theo's little brother Tim.
song of the chapter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6xqeRxsO-k&list=PLv3ufHZH3bOX-DMdojEoozGeFbUMN2EsE&index=10