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We already had our friends’ birthday trip with him planned, so we figured that would be the perfect place to hook up. We’d agreed on the vacation rule ahead of time because it seemed like the easiest way to ensure nothing in our normal day-to-day life was interrupted. Our home was still fully ours, and it could make vacation a little more fun.

We ended up enjoying our night with Scotty even more than we expected, though. There were many times we debated inviting him to stay at our apartment for a repeat after that first night, but he stopped flirting with us and never even joked about doing it again, so we figured he truly was after a one-night situation with us, and we never pushed it. Our easy friendship continued on as normal, and he started dating someone only a couple of months later. Shortly after that, Joey’s eighteen-year-old nephew, Jace, moved in with us, and we decided to continue our vacation-only rule with other men.

“Okay, I thought that Joey was a fluke. How the hell did you both get even hotter with age?” Scotty’s voice cuts through the noise of the bar, pulling my attention back to the present as he approaches.

“I could say the same for you,” I assure him with a smile as I slide out of my seat to greet him and take him in. His brown hair is styled perfectly; he’s still clean-shaven, and it’s clear he’s kept up his toned physique. When he steps into my arms for a hug, he fits exactly like I remember.

Even though we’ve enjoyed our vacation rule for fifteen years now, no one has really lived up to our first time with Scotty. We’ve talked a lot about why that could be. Maybe because of the thrill we felt having sex with another man together for the first time, or because he’s the only person who we had any sort of friendship with; we aren’t sure.

Regardless of why Scotty’s remained our top experience, our vacation hookups have worked really well for Joey and me. It’s never caused a fight or drama between us. If anything, it’s deepened our relationship and our love for one another with how open and honest we are about absolutely everything. Radical honesty is our one and only rule, and we have it all the time, not just when discussing our vacation fun. Anything can be tackled together with that approach, and it’s helped us immensely through the years.

When Scotty and I break apart after a moment, he walks over to give Joey a hug as well. My eyes rake over the two of them together, and my mind flashes back to our first and only time with him all those years ago.

Fuck, that was fun.

“I’m not sure what’s doing it for me more,” Scotty teases, pulling me back to the present as he looks between us. “Joey, your perfectly full mustache, or Patrick, your bald-with-a-thick-beard look.”

We both laugh as we all settle back into the booth. “Good to know we both still do it for you,” Joey teases as he slides in beside me, and Scotty ends up across from us. I know it’s the “normal” thing to do because we’re a couple, but for some reason, having Scotty feel so separated from us feels wrong. I wish we were in a round booth instead.

“So how are you?” I ask, trying to ignore the odd thought. “It’s been forever.”

His blue eyes lock on me, crinkling in the corners as he smiles. “I said that to Joey earlier when I ran into him.”

I don’t miss the way he ignores my question, but before I can push, Joey adds, “So happy I did. What got you to finally move back?”

Scotty swallows, looking down as he fidgets with the end of his tie. It’s obvious he hates this question. “Well, Harry and I broke up last spring.”

“Oh shit. I’m sorry things didn’t work out,” Joey responds sympathetically, placing his hand on Scotty’s arm.

“It’s for the best, really,” Scotty assures us. “He’d accomplished all of the career goals he’d talked about when we first moved out to California, and I was going nowhere with the company I’d been with. I missed New York, never shut up about it, really. I always felt like something was missing there. So when I got the job offer for my current position, I assumed he’d move back with me, that it was his turn to follow me. But Harry had no interest in leaving LA.”

“Asshole,” Joey mutters, and I bite back my laugh while Scotty shrugs.

“We probably should’ve broken up earlier. Our relationship always felt like effort, especially toward the end. But it was too hard to let go when I felt like I’d been working toward it for so long. Looking back, though, I think we both knew it wasn’t forever. We were together for over ten years and never even talked about getting married.”

“Well, I’m glad you ended it if you weren’t happy,” I reply, swallowing down my frustration that he was unhappy for so long and we had no idea. We texted a bit when he first moved, but over the years, our conversations just faded. “When did you get back?”

“This spring. It’s been a big adjustment being on my own again after so long, but New York has always been my home, and it was definitely the right decision.”

“I’m sure you’ve been busy, but we would love to hang out. Go catch a game or something. Obviously, Joey still works at SEN,” I throw out there. One of his perks is getting great seats at games, but they rotate through the office, so we have to time it right.

Scotty nods immediately. “I definitely will. I have a couple more holiday parties to see through next week, but then I’m free until after Christmas.”

I glance at Joey, whose eyes lock with mine, and I recognize the silent question in them. Should we invite Scotty to join us on our Christmas getaway?

At that moment, the waiter comes over to take our order, and when they walk away after writing everything down, I look back at Scotty. “What are you doing for the holidays then?”

“Probably curling up with a bottle of wine and pretending it’s not Christmas.” He chuckles, but from what I remember, Scotty loves this time of year just as much as Joey and I do.

“Not a Christmas fan anymore?” Joey asks, our thinking in sync. As usual.

“Oh, no, I definitely still am. I’ve had a blast planning the Christmas events. But since I moved back, I’ve really thrown myself into work, so I don’t have anyone to spend it with. Other than Tara, I lost touch with most of my New York friends, and she visits her parents for the holidays. I didn’t want to go back to LA to see anyone either; they’re all friends with Harry too, and since he’s still there….” He trails off.

I nod, glancing back at Joey, who’s already staring at me again. I can tell from the pleading look in his eyes what he wants me to do.

Before I can open my mouth to ask, Scotty’s phone rings and his expression falls when he sees whoever is calling. “Ugh. It’s the guy who was in charge of the breakdown of the event at the museum tonight. Hopefully it’ll just be a second. I’ll be right back.”

“Okay,” Joey acknowledges with a smile as Scotty scoots out of the booth. I’m not sure if Joey even realizes he’s doing it, but he turns his whole head to watch Scotty walk away, and it’s adorable.