Trick Me Once - 5. The Master Plan

Take a seat

The day started off wonderfully, bringing promise of something great about to happen. The weather was unusually warm for autumn, with no clouds in the sky. Unlike the past few days, which were rainy and slightly cold, Thursday was perfect for taking walks and just being outside, soaking up those last rays of sun before the winter inevitably came.

Cody woke up early that morning, feeling nervous, but as the day went on he started feeling better, more confident in himself and his ‘date’ with Trick later that day. Yeah, he realized it wasn’t an actual date, they weren’t even going out as friends, but it was the best he could hope for, at least for now.

His sister Angela was encouraging, telling him to just relax and not to feel like he has to impress anyone. She even helped him pick out what to wear. It never hurts to look good, especially when you’re meeting your crush.

“When are you guys meeting?” she asked.

“At 2, but I have classes first. Ugh, I can’t wait for them to be over. I’m not gonna be able to concentrate at all today.”

“Seriously, relax, don’t stress out,” she advised him. “By the way, that outfit is great!” She was rather pleased of her choice of clothes for her big brother.

“Yeah, not like that’s gonna matter. He’s not gonna suddenly start liking me just because of what I wear.”

“Ugh, just get going and don’t think about it too much!” Angela said and practically pushed him out of the house.

He had several classes that day, which meant he had to be in college for three hours before he could finally go to the coffee bar to meet Trick. Of course, those three hours went by so slowly, it seemed like ten hours, but after all the (surprisingly interesting) classes were over, he was finally free. He had fifteen more minutes, so there was no need to rush. He checked his cell phone to see if maybe he had any messages from Trick, but then he realized he didn’t even have his number. He left Trick his own number in the letter, but never got back from him.

After checking himself in the bathroom mirror, he went outside and slowly walked to the coffee & juice bar. It was almost two o’clock, so he decided to just sit and order a coffee and wait for Trick. A minute after he sat down, two men and a woman came and sat at a table behind his, ordering tea and muffins. As Cody started looking around to see if Trick was there, one of the men quickly put up his newspaper in front of his face. Cody paid no attention to them, still waiting for Trick to arrive.

The wait didn’t take long, as the curly-haired guy arrived after just a few minutes. He seemed to be in a good mood, at least for his standards. Spending the day out among the crowd was not exactly Trick’s idea of a good time, but the bar was relatively small and nearly empty, so he felt comfortable.

“Hey, I hope you haven’t been waiting long,” Trick said, sitting down opposite of Cody and putting a shy smile on his face.

“No, it’s cool, I just got here a minute ago,” Cody replied cheerfully. “So, did you have fun at the party the other night?”

“Yeah, it was ok…” Of course, Cody didn’t know that Trick didn’t like going to parties because he was not comfortable in such settings, and that was partly his fault. Trick thought how Cody doesn’t know him at all. Just as he was thinking whether to make a bitter remark about that, the waiter appeared seemingly out of nowhere to take his order.

“Uh, one orange juice for me, thanks!” Trick said and the waiter was promptly on his way to get his drink. “So, how’s work in the park?” he asked, turning his attention back to Cody.

“It’s great, to be honest! I just wish I started the job earlier. I could’ve started it during the summer and make some more money for college,” Cody was animated talking about his job. “We planted some new trees yesterday, should look very nice once they grow bigger! You should come over and check it out sometime! It’s not that far away from here.”

“Yeah, maybe I will,” Trick replied, not wanting to make any promises he may not keep.

“So what do you do when you’re not in college?” Cody asked.

“Well, I work part-time in a music store, the one on Fifth Street.”

“Cool, maybe I’ll drop by one day, if it’s not a problem.”

“No, of course not.”

As the guys continued talking about music, Trick mentioned the app he was working on and Cody thought it sounded cool. Of course, Cody knew nothing about app development, but the idea itself was interesting to him.

“So I started making an app, just out of boredom really – like a dating app, but it matches people based on the music they like.”

“Really? That sounds interesting! Is it available for download?”

“Well, I’m still working on it… It’s functional, but not complete yet. I can send you a link so you can install it if you want? You can test it and let me know what you think?”

“Awesome, I’d love that!”

“Great, thanks. So what kind of music do you like?”

“Umm, why don’t I install the app and then you can see it there?” Cody said, smiling. “That way, you can check if it’s working properly.”

The casual talk continued, and any traces of nervousness or fear they might have felt these past few days gradually vanished, especially in Cody’s case. They were able to just sit there and have a conversation like two acquaintances who hadn’t seen each other in a long time, although Trick was still reserved. Cody was having a really good time, enjoying Trick’s company and wishing they could do this more often. He wondered if Trick felt the same way, but he didn’t want to ask him outright, out of fear that it might ruin the mood and that he might seem pushy.

Trick didn’t want to admit to himself that he was also having a good time. He wasn’t bored or repulsed, but he was still anxious and kept thinking if Cody would say or do something to ruin the day. He didn’t want to get carried away and get his hopes up. “Just remember the plan…” he kept thinking.

However, that’s when Cody came up with a suggestion.

“Hey, uh, would you like to go for a walk? We could go and get some ice cream? It’s a great day…” Cody said slightly nervously.

“Uh, sure, why not,” Trick replied. “Who doesn’t love ice cream?”

“Great! Have you ever been to The Fat Bee?”

“What?” Trick laughed at hearing the ridiculous name.

“The Fat Bee, the ice cream shop in the center,” Cody said, grinning. “They’ve got some crazy flavors, you have to try it!”

“Ok, now I’m kinda curious.”

About twenty minutes later, after a slow walk down the street, the boys were in the city center, in front of Cody’s favorite ice cream shop. As they were checking out the menu, Trick couldn’t believe all the unusual flavors they had. In fact, there were no ordinary flavors, like chocolate, strawberry or vanilla. He had a tough time picking out, but in the end he made up his mind.

“Ok, I’m gonna risk it and try Salty Caramel & Coconut,” Trick said hesitantly. “Have you tried it?”

“Yup, that one’s pretty good! I’ll go with Apple Pie & Pineapple this time, see if it’s any good… Oh, who am I kidding, I’ll probably love it,” Cody grinned.

The boys got their orders right away and sat at a table in front of the ice cream shop, so they could enjoy the nice weather and their dessert at the same time. After a few slow and reluctant licks, Trick found that he actually liked the flavor he picked out.

“Hmm, it’s not that bad actually. I like it. Now I’m definitely curious to find out what others are like.”

“See, I told ya? You’ll soon get addicted just like I did.” Cody was pleased at his decision to bring him there.

Sitting there and enjoying the ice cream, Trick realized he was still a bit apprehensive. Even though the entire day was enjoyable, he couldn’t help but feel anxious, with his guard up all the time. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he was still expecting Cody to start laughing at him and tell him he’d been pretending this whole time, that he’d never be friends with a ‘fucking faggot’ like him. Of course, that moment never came, but he thought it was still a possibility and it scared him.

Cody seemed to notice this in Trick’s eyes for a second, as if a shadow quickly passed across his face, but he didn’t think much of it. After all, they were just sitting and eating dessert, nothing complicated about that. Unfortunately, in Trick’s brain, everything was complicated.

As soon as they finished their ice cream and paid, Trick said he should get going and got up from his chair. He wanted to get this over with so he could go home and think, away from people.

“Uh, thanks for today, it’s been fun,” Trick said.

“Yeah, I had a lot of fun, too. Maybe we could do this again, huh?” Cody was all smiles. As he stepped toward Trick to say goodbye, he leaned in an extended his arms, unsure of whether to go for a kiss on the cheek or just a hug. His hopes were quickly dashed as Trick stepped back and looked at him strangely.

“Uh, sorry, I was just…”

“Don't!” Trick snapped.

“I didn’t mean to…” Cody started, but didn’t know how to finish the sentence. He didn't know what he did wrong, but looking at Trick’s eyes and angry face, he saw that there was no trust there. Trick was still wary of him, and it hurt so much to see that the guy he had feelings for didn’t trust him.

Trick stood there for a second, thinking about his master plan, how he would get even with Cody. He wanted to hurt him and make him feel miserable, tell him that he’d never be able to forgive him, that they would never be friends. He wanted to tell Cody that he ruined not only his high school years, but also his whole life and that he could never trust him.

However, standing there in front of Cody and seeing the sad and defeated look in his eyes, he just couldn’t do it. He realized he could never be so cruel. Even though he didn’t trust Cody, he couldn’t bring himself to hurt him on purpose. As he felt his eyes getting teary, he just shook his head.

“Trick, what’s wrong?” Cody said with concern in his voice. He was aware that his own eyes were also getting watery, but he didn’t care.

“I can’t…” Trick whispered and turned around, leaving in a hurry. Once again, Cody was left standing, feeling sad and puzzled, looking at Trick as he disappeared in the distance.

Again, thank you for reading and pls let me know what you think of this chapter  See ya soon!