Trick Me Once - 23. Key to My Heart

Sitting in a grand, ornate hall with huge, intricate chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and illuminating the stage with yellow light, Cody was enjoying one of his favorite pieces of classical music, Mozart’s “Turkish March”. The audience was sitting in chairs that were arranged in a semi-circle, mirroring the semi-circular stage in front of them. Cody estimated that there had to be at least five hundred people in attendance, which was impressive for a small local venue, especially having in mind that all the seats were filled.

From time to time, he would start gazing at a random musician and think how he could never play an instrument in front of a crowd – he’d be too nervous about fucking up and embarrassing himself in front of everyone. This made him chuckle silently, squeezing Trick’s hand in his own.

Zoe was sitting on the other side of Trick, nudging him lightly with her elbow and pointing at a hunky violin player that stood near the center of the stage. Trick just smirked at her and nodded. Even though she had a boyfriend, Zoe couldn’t help but notice other hot guys, more as a joke than anything else, especially when she was with Trick. Theo was sitting next to Zoe, completing the group of four friends who came to the concert at the invitation of Blaine and Anders.

After a short interlude and rearrangement of musicians on the stage, the next piece was ready to be played – it was Francis Poulenc’s “Sonata for Flute and Piano”. This time, Anders and Blaine were center stage, all eyes on them. Not only did they sound amazing, but they also looked super elegant, a stark contrast from their usual casual clothes. Anders was wearing a light grey shirt, dark grey pants and a vest of the same color, while Blaine opted for black pants and suit, along with a white shirt.

Their four friends listened intently the entire time, amazed at how well they played together, complementing each other perfectly. They couldn’t help but gain new-found appreciation and respect for the two musicians after seeing them in action.

An hour and a half later, the entire concert was over and the audience slowly filed out of the grand hall. After about ten minutes, Cody, Trick, Zoe and Theo finally managed to find their way out of the building and into the cold winter air. They moved to the side, but remained near the entrance, waiting for their two friends to show up.

With a warm, affectionate hug, Anders and Blaine congratulated each other on the successful concert and went to the dressing room along with other musicians, to change into their everyday clothes. They weren’t used to dressing up, but they didn’t mind doing it occasionally, whenever they had a show. After changing into their casual clothes and winter jackets and returning Blaine’s flute to its case, the two guys headed out to find their friends.

“Hey, thanks for waiting for us,” Anders said as he saw the four friends standing outside.

“So, did you guys enjoy it?” Blaine asked, grinning and holding a hand on his blond boyfriend’s back.

“It was amazing,” Cody said and Trick immediately nodded in agreement.

“You guys were really good,” Theo agreed. “Did that take a lot of practice?”

“Yeah, kinda,” Blaine said. “And I was really nervous at first.”

“Me too, but once you start playing, you get into it and the nerves just disappear,” Anders said.

“And you guys looked hot! I’ve never seen you dressed so smart,” Zoe complimented them. “But that violin player, oh my!” She winked at Theo.

“I know, right, he is so fine,” Trick added, teasing Cody and making him roll his eyes.

“Well, when you’re right, you’re right,” Blaine said, agreeing with their assessment.

Just at that moment, the guy in question walked out and Anders quickly pulled him over.

“Marcus, hey, come and meet my friends, they’re all thirsting over you! Even my boyfriend!”

The violin player, with the build of a quarterback, stopped next to Anders and blushed. He suddenly felt all eyes on him.

“Hey guys! Did you enjoy the show?” he greeted the group of friends.

“Yep, everyone was great,” Cody said.

After a few more minutes of chatting, Marcus left and the group of six decided to go to a nearby bar for drinks to celebrate the successful concert.

Just as the waitress served them their drinks and turned to go, Anders quickly stopped her.

“Excuse me, just one more thing. Could you take a picture of us, please?” He asked, handing her his phone.

“Sure,” she smiled and turned on the camera, as the friends all posed around the table and smiled.

The waitress snapped a few photos of the group and gave the phone back to Anders.

“Here you go.”

“Thanks a lot,” Anders said and moved closer to Blaine to show him the photos.

“So, you guys ready for Saturday?” Zoe asked, completely forgetting that Cody’s birthday party was supposed to be a surprise.

“What’s on Saturday?” Cody asked as Trick shot a death glare at Zoe.

At that moment, Theo “accidentally” spilled his drink on Zoe, making her yelp and almost jump out of her chair.

“Fuck, my shirt!” she whined, looking at her ruined outfit.

“I’m so sorry, babe,” Theo apologized and Zoe went to the bathroom to clean up.

“We have a rehearsal on Saturday for our next big concert,” Anders quickly added, drawing Cody’s attention and hoping he’d believe the white lie.

Trick looked over to Theo and mouthed ‘thank you’, while the tall guy just winked and smiled.

“That’ll teach her to ogle other guys in front of me,” he thought, pleased with his quick thinking.

--

It was still early morning when Trick woke up; the sun wasn’t even out properly, but he just couldn’t sleep anymore. He hoisted himself up in his bed and took his cell phone to see what time it is – quarter past six.

“Ugh, so freaking early,” he thought, annoyed that he woke up before the alarm.

Placing his pillow up against the wall, he leaned his back against it and started playing Meteorfall, a new mobile game he was mildly obsessed with.

He didn’t want to get up just yet so he wouldn’t wake Brad up. Besides, he needed some time to think about everything that’s been going on in his life, and this was as good time as any since he had nothing better to do.

As he absentmindedly tapped on the screen and played the game, he thought about how his life had changed since he started college. Not only did he move to a new city, had a bunch of new friends, but also had a promising career ahead of him. His first app was an unexpected success, downloaded almost 800,000 times so far. That was insane for him to even think about!

Of course, the app was free to download, but the ads in it brought him a large income month after month. He never thought he’d be making that kind of money while still in college, and was even considering quitting his part-time job in the music store to focus solely on app development. He already had an idea of making a premium version of MusicMatcher, which would have a small monthly subscription fee, but also some additional features and no ads.

However, all of this paled in comparison to the most unexpected change that occurred in his life in the last year and a half – the fact that he had a boyfriend, and not just any guy, but Cody. The guy he had thought he would hate for the rest of his life was now a part of his life, a part of him. He couldn’t imagine living without him, and he knew Cody felt the same.

This relationship meant so much to him, not just because of the love they shared, but also because it helped him feel good in his skin again. Now, nearly a year since they started dating, Trick was about to do something bold. A few years ago he never would’ve dreamed of something like that, but now it seemed completely natural. Although Brad reassured him everything would be fine and Cody would love it, Trick couldn’t help feeling a bit nervous, but mostly excited. He could hardly wait for Saturday, to finally tell Cody and see his reaction.

--

When big day finally arrived, Trick was high-strung the entire morning. Luckily, he worked the first shift at the music store that day, which helped him get his mind off of the rapidly approaching party. He tried his best to be polite and patient with all the customers, but in reality he wished he could just kick them all out and close for the day.

Since it was Saturday, he finished earlier than usual, and as soon as the second-shift guy came in to take over, Trick was off to his dorm room to eat and make the final preparations.

“Well, there we go. Monica just texted to confirm she’s coming, so that’s everyone,” Trick said as he and Brad were sitting at their kitchen table, having lunch.

“Who the hell is Monica?” Brad asked, mouth full of casserole.

“One of Cody’s friends from college. I invited a few of them that I know Cody hangs out with the most.”

“Oh, cool. I’ll pick up Cathy and then we’ll come together to the party.”

“Ok. Nine o’clock, don’t be late,” Trick said, pointing his fork at his best friend.

After finishing his lunch, he went out to meet Cody, wanting to spend some time alone with him before taking him to the ice rink.

It was December, almost two weeks until Christmas and their first anniversary – the day Cody and Trick decided to be boyfriends. For this reason, Trick thought about waiting for Christmas Eve to give Cody his special present, but in the end he decided he couldn’t wait that long. Cody’s birthday was just as good of an occasion.

“So, I know your birthday is tomorrow, but I wanted to give you your present early,” Trick smiled as he walked along Cody.

They were wandering aimlessly through the city center – or at least Cody thought so. In fact, Trick was leading him to the great venue where the ice skating rink was located. All the guests were supposed to arrive at nine, so Trick was deliberately walking slowly, wanting to give them time to gather so that he and Cody would arrive last.

“Well I’m not gonna complain about getting presents, especially from you,” Cody grinned. “So, when do I get it?”

“You’ll just have to wait a bit more. I thought I’d take you skating first, we haven’t done that in almost a year.”

“Oh, sweet! I hope you aren’t too rusty, babe.”

“I’m not letting you go, so if I fall, you fall,” Trick smirked.

“Well, here we are,” he announced with anticipation in his voice as they arrived at the venue. He grabbed Cody by the hand and went in, the door automatically opening in front of them.

As they passed the lobby and the hallway, entering the skating hall hand in hand, Cody’s eyes grew wide with surprise, quickly replaced by a big smile as he saw dozens of balloons and a big sign that read “Happy birthday!”

A big group of his friends appeared and almost screamed ‘happy birthday’ at him, making him laugh out loud. Not knowing what to do, he hugged Trick since he was the closest person to him, and Trick squeezed him tight, whispering in his ear.

“Happy birthday, baby,” Trick pulled back and kissed his boyfriend on the lips.

“Thank you!” Cody replied, smiling and feeling his eyes getting watery. “Thank you so much, guys! I didn’t expect this at all,” he turned to everyone and thanked them.

The group consisted of Anders and Blaine, Theo and Zoe, Brad and Cathy, Cody’s sister Angela, as well as his best friends from college – Monica, Trevor and Mickey. One by one, they all wished Cody happy birthday and told him how happy they were to come.

Seeing the look on Cody’s face, Trick knew he didn’t make a mistake for organizing the party and was beyond thankful that everyone was able to come.

Even though he was officially a guest, Anders was in charge of making sure that everyone behaves and is safe – as per his boss’ orders. That meant that they couldn’t get shitfaced drunk and then get on ice skates. The last thing anyone needed was for someone to break an arm or leg.

After some ice skating in pairs, and moderate amounts of alcohol, snacks and soft drinks, everyone was in a great mood. Pop hits were blaring on speakers, and Anders and Blaine were thankful that they didn’t have to provide music this time. They could just enjoy and sing along instead of being in the spotlight and focusing on playing.

About two hours later, when more or less everyone’s legs were hurting from skating, the group decided it was time for Cody to open his presents. He was overwhelmed and didn’t know where to begin, but Trick told him to leave his present for the end.

“Ok, then, let’s start with my sis,” Cody said, taking Angela’s gift and unwrapping it. It was a nice, dark red shirt he saw a few weeks ago when he was out shopping with her.

“Oh, you remembered! Thanks, sis,” he said, hugging Angela.

“You’re welcome,” she smiled, happy that he liked the gift.

“Ok, next up, Theo and Zoe,” Cody said, taking the box that he was sure Zoe wrapped and opening it, revealing a shiny new wireless headset.

“You guys, thank you, this is too much!” he exclaimed.

“We’re glad you like it, man,” Theo said, standing next to his girlfriend.

Next up was a box from Brad and Cathy, which contained several new multiplayer PC games.

“Something for you and Trick to play together,” Brad said, nodding at Cody and Trick.

“Yes, I love them! Thanks, you two,” Cody grinned as he examined each game and then handing them over to Trick to check them out.

Grabbing the next package, he saw the names Anders and Blaine written on it.

“Ok, let’s see what’s insi… Oh my God!” Cody shouted and burst out laughing. “Oh no, you didn’t!”

“What, let me see?!” Trick asked curiously, trying to take the package from Cody’s hands. Seeing the contents, he burst into laughter as well. “You guys are insane!”

The box contained a sexy board game “Naked Fun Times – Gay Edition”, which was like a mix of Monopoly and Truth or Dare, but themed around gay sex.

“What? Do you guys have that game already?” Anders asked, pretending to be clueless.

“Yeah, sure, you perv!” Cody replied.

“Don’t act like you’re not gonna play it first chance you get,” Blaine teased.

“Well…” Cody shrugged and winked at his boyfriend.

Finally, he took the package from his college friends. It was the smallest box of all, so he was especially curious about what could be hiding inside. As he opened it, he saw two tickets – one for him and one for Trick – for the upcoming baseball game, Rays vs. Yankees.

“We know you’re a big baseball fan, not sure about Trick, but you can make a nice road trip out of it,” Mickey said.

“Wow, this is amazing, thank you guys so much!” Cody said, almost left speechless after all the amazing and fun things he received. “What do you say, you going with me?” he asked Trick.

“Of course, it’s gonna be fun, we’ve never travelled anywhere just the two of us,” Trick replied instantly, feeling excited about the prospect of the two of them going away at least for a day or two.

“So, I still haven’t seen your present,” Cody said, turning to Trick.

“What, you mean organizing this fabulous party wasn’t enough?” Trick asked, putting a hand on his chest as if he was in shock.

“Come on, spit it out,” Cody smirked.

“Ok, you’ll get it now, but let’s get outside, I wanna give it to you in private.”

Trick stood up and took Cody by the hand, taking him outside the arena and into the lobby. He fished out a small box from his pocket and handed it to Cody, looking at him nervously and expectantly.

Cody held it carefully, as if it contained nitroglycerin, and slowly opened it. As he took of the lid, he saw the box contained two identical circular keychain pendants, each showing a galaxy with stars.

“Wow, they’re beautiful,” Cody said, staring at them.

“I’m glad you like them,” Trick smiled. “They glow in the dark, by the way.”

Cody looked up and kissed his boyfriend on the lips.

“That’s just one part of your gift, though.”

“Oh? And the other?” Cody asked.

“Well, the other part are the keys that will go on these keychains. The keys to our new apartment,” Trick said, anxious for Cody’s reaction.

“What?” Cody asked, trying to put everything together. He wasn’t sure if he actually understood what Trick was saying.

“That is, if you want it – I’d like for us to move in together,” Trick offered a shy smile and suddenly felt arms wrapped tight around him.

“What?! Are you serious? Of course, I’d love that!” Cody shouted, hugging his boyfriend, before pulling back and looking him in the eyes again. “Are you sure about this?”

“Yeah, a hundred percent! I mean, I don’t have the keys here, I haven’t actually found a place yet. I wanted us to look for the perfect place together,” Trick replied.

“I’d love that,” Cody said, giving Trick another kiss, this time gentle and soft. “Thank you, baby, for everything. This has been the best birthday ever.”

He squeezed Trick even tighter and placed his head on his boyfriend’s shoulder, whispering softly in his ear.

“You’re amazing, I love you so much.”

“Love you too, baby.”

One more chapter, and we say farewell to Trick, Cody & co. 
Thank you so so much to everyone!!