“Margaritas are ready!” Michael called out, walking into the backyard with a frosty pitcher in one hand and two glasses precariously tucked into the other. Ben followed behind, impressively carrying six more.

“Careful, Professor,” Brian warned, jumping up to help distribute the glasses.

“Can we be arrested for treason since we’re drinking margaritas on the 4th of July?” Ted quipped as Michael served him a generous portion of the frozen pinkish cocktail.

Emmett snorted. “Lord knows, in this country, anything is possible nowadays.”

“To be fair,” Justin pointed out, accepting the drink Brian handed him, “I don’t think watermelon margaritas count as a symbol of Mexico. These are probably about as American as they could be.” He took a sip before continuing. “But don’t get me wrong. I’m not complaining! These are amazing, guys.”

Ben smiled. “Thanks, I found the recipe in a magazine on campus, and they sounded appropriately festive and easy enough.”

Finally, everyone was settled with their drinks, under the canopy of twinkling lights in Michael and Ben’s backyard. It was a rarity that everyone was together to celebrate Independence Day, but Melanie and Lindsay had mentioned that they missed the holiday, so Michael had suggested they bring the kids down for a long weekend and they’d throw a small chosen-family gathering. Surprisingly, Brian wasn’t hard to convince to join them, though they suspected Justin had played a large part in their ultimate decision to come down from New York, and once they’d agreed, Ted decided to tag along with them, since Blake still had to work. Emmett was an easy sell, never one to turn down a party -- especially because Drew was out of town for work.

“Aww, we’re getting the band back together,” Brian had crooned in a syrupy, sarcasm-laden voice when Michael told him the final guest list -- which was ultimately comprised of their original gang, minus Deb, who had offered to take the kids for the night, so the adults could have some fun. However, as they all sat around the yard, eating, drinking, catching up, and laughing, it was clear that Brian was having as much fun as everyone else, and looked truly relaxed and happy.

It turned out that behind one pitcher of margaritas, there were two more, and by the time eleven o’clock rolled around and the random fireworks displays in the surrounding neighborhoods seemed to be dying out, all eight of them were well beyond tipsy as they sat in Adirondack chairs that were arranged in a circle around Michael and Ben’s backyard fire pit.

“Let’s play ‘Never Have I Ever,’” Emmett exclaimed, clapping his hands excitedly. “We’re all drunk enough to be brutally honest.”

“We’re also drunk enough that some of us could die of alcohol poisoning before the night is over, depending on how that goes,” Ted pointed out, causing Justin and Ben to laugh, and Brian to shrug, as if to say, ‘It is what it is.’”

“What if we switched to water,” Lindsay suggested, half-joking. “At least then, the person who has to drink the most will sober up the quickest.”

“What fun is that?” Brian asked, rolling his eyes good-naturedly.

“We could play strip-’Never-Have-I-Ever,’” Justin suggested, the alcohol clearly speaking for him.

“Uh, not all of us have 30-something-year-old physiques,” Michael argued, looking to his partner for support, but Ben shrugged, smiling playfully.

“Speak for yourself.” And in fairness, it was true. Even in his late-forties, Ben’s body was impressive, and he put in the work to ensure it. But he leaned over to give his husband a kiss, just to emphasize that he was kidding.

“And not all of us want to see tits,” Brian teased, making a face at Lindsay and Melanie.

Melanie laughed and made a face back. “I’ll show you tits,” she declared, flashing Brian quickly, though in the dim light of the fire, it was barely effective.

“Stop it you two,” Lindsay interjected, though she was laughing too. “We are not stripping.”

Justin shrugged. “Anyone have a better idea?”

“If everyone can handle one more, I’ve got enough watermelon left for one more pitcher,” Ben offered, shrugging. A glance around had everyone nodding in agreement, so Ben headed back to the kitchen, with Michael and Ted following behind to help him.

“Let’s see,” Emmett drawled, pulling out his phone. “Should we wing it or see if we can find a list to use?”

“Let’s use a list,” Melanie suggested. “There’s six of you and two of us, so we’ll never finish our drinks if everything involves dicks.”

“Or at the very least, we’d have to work a lot harder to summon the memories,” Lindsay said, chuckling, and then glanced sharply at Brian, who was smirking. “Shut your mouth.”

Brian held up his hands in surrender. “I didn’t say a word!”

A few minutes later, Ben returned with the fresh pitcher of margaritas, and Michael and Ted followed behind, Michael carrying bowls of tortilla chips and pretzels, and Ted carrying a stack of bottled water. Once drinks were refilled and snacks and hydration distributed, Emmett nominated himself to start.

“Okay, we’ll start easy,” he said. “Never have I ever… had oral sex with a woman.”

Lindsay and Melanie both clucked their tongues and rolled their eyes, drinking from their glasses and looked expectantly at the guys. Only Brian reluctantly took a drink.

“Really?” Ted asked, sounding surprised. “You? Got that close to a pussy?”

“Hey, the question wasn’t if I liked it,” Brian muttered.

“I beg your pardon?” Lindsay chimed in, looking affronted.

“You?” Ted repeated, now directing his comment toward Lindsay.

She bristled a little, and said, “You all know Brian and I dated in college. Things… happened.”

“And had I enjoyed it, life might’ve turned out a little differently, so lucky for Melanie, it’s all hers now,” Brian added, dragging out his syllables to emphasize his annoyance. Justin gave him a sympathetic smile.

“Hey now, I never said it was that good anyway,” Lindsay shot back, smirking at Brian, who gave her the finger, but looked amused nonetheless.

“Let’s just get this out of the way then,” Ted said, taking over for Emmett’s turn. “Never have I ever... had intercourse with a woman.”

“Really, Teddy, never?” Melanie asked after taking her drink, along with Lindsay, Brian, Justin, Emmett, and Ben.

“Nope,” Ted replied, popping the ‘p’ for emphasis. “Platinum-status gay here. I’ve never seen one in person nor have I touched one -- inadvertently or otherwise -- not even during birth.”

“Impressive,” Melanie said, nodding. “You either, Michael?”

“Not actual sex, no. And I’m not sorry.”

They all laughed, and looked over to Ben. “Hmm. Let’s see,” he began, tapping his chin. “Never have I ever… been to a nude beach.”

The group glanced around as everyone except for Michael and Ben drank.

“Even you two?” Brian asked, raising his eyebrows at Lindsay and Melanie in disbelief.

“Well, it wasn’t fully nude, technically,” Lindsay started to explain. “But we went topless on the beach in Fire Island a few times, back in the day. Not as exciting as where the rest of you have been, I’m sure.”

“What was your best?” Ben asked, looking first to Brian and Justin.

The two men glanced at each other, communicating with their eyes for a brief second before Brian answered for both of them: “Ibiza.”

Michael snorted. “What a surprise. What about you, Teddy?”

“Oh, definitely Il Buco beach in Italy. When I was in my twenties and traveling through Europe, we took a day trip while we were in Rome. Some of the most gorgeous men I’ve ever seen in my life.”

Ben smiled, nodding. “That sounds… amazing. Emmett?”

“Well,” Emmett said, stirring his margarita, “I’m not quite as exotic as y’all, but I have some pretty fabulous stories from Miami Beach. You two need to branch out and give it a try! It’s so liberating to just… put it all out there and let your hair down a bit!”

“I think that ship has sailed,” Michael said dryly, before continuing. “My turn. Never have I ever… had sex in a moving vehicle.”

Ben hesitated, margarita halfway to his mouth. “Define ‘had sex.’”

“Full penetration,” Michael clarified. “Not just roadhead.”

Ben nodded, setting his glass back down, leaving only Brian and Justin to drink.

“Please tell me one of you wasn’t the one driving…” Melanie said with a smirk, albeit looking somewhat impressed.

Brian snorted. “No, we were in the back.”

“Did anyone know?” Emmett asked curiously.

Justin’s eyes twinkled mischievously in the firelight. “No. And we had a bet about that. I won.”

“What was the prize?” Michael asked.

“None of your fucking business,” Brian snapped, though his eyes glimmered faintly with arousal as he gazed steadily at Justin, clearly remembering what had transpired.

“Anyway!” Lindsay chirped brightly, effectively preventing Brian and Justin from having to drink in case anyone happened to throw out, Never have I ever fucked in front of all my friends at a 4th of July party. “Never have I ever… had an orgasm from anal penetration.”

Seven sets of eyes widened at Lindsay’s uncharacteristic contribution, but all six men shrugged and took a drink, though Brian didn’t look thrilled about having to cop to the admission, especially on the heels of the previous discussion. Fortunately, Justin was the only one familiar with the details of that particular situation.

“Are we talking fingers, dicks, or toys?” Ted asked belatedly.

Lindsay shrugged. “Does it matter?” Quietly, all six shook their heads, at least two of them smiling somewhat ruefully.

Brian, again, didn’t look thrilled, but also didn’t protest, which surprised most of the group, save for, obviously, Justin. It made sense to the others that, after being in a relationship for as long as Brian and Justin had been, there was plenty of room for periodic versatility, but Brian had always openly expressed such a need for dominance and control in his sexual encounters, so it was actually a pleasant change of pace for him to openly admit to having that level of comfort with Justin.

“Alright, I’ll go,” Melanie announced, her voice heavy with the effects of her cocktail. “Never have I ever…” She paused. “Brian’s had to drink for every single one. I’m trying to think of something that will give him a break!”

In his own drunken haze, Justin dissolved into giggles, and Brian, against his best intentions, cracked a smile as he watched his husband, then looked over at Melanie. “Don’t worry about it.”

Melanie shrugged. “Never have I ever… gotten injured while performing a sex act.” She grinned, winking at Brian, as if assuring him that she had him covered. Brian was a master at all things fucking; if there was anything he’d be able to avoid, surely it was a sex-related injury.

Everyone looked at each other, Ted and Emmett picking up their drinks and taking sips. “Not together!” Ted quickly assured.

“Well, technically you were there for at least one of mine,” Emmett pointed out. “Back during my internet stardom days.”

Ted snorted, remembering. “Oh fuck. I forgot about that. Thank god you didn’t burn it off back then with all the jerking you were doing!”

“Brian, did you just drink?” Lindsay asked, noticing that Ted and Emmett weren’t alone.

“Guess you’re not that drunk,” he intoned, causing Melanie’s eyes to widen and Brian to smirk before he added, “I appreciate your assumptions about my sexual prowess, Mel.”

“It was just a pulled muscle,” Justin interjected. “He was fine. And it was worth it.” He glanced at Brian who nodded in agreement.

“What did you do?” Michael asked.

“Made it a point to attempt every position in the Gay Kama Sutra.” Justin grinned, shaking his head in amusement.

“How far did you get?” Ben’s expression was equal parts curious and impressed.

Brian smirked again. “Let’s put it this way. We didn’t let a little pulled bicep stop us from completing the task at hand.”

“Bicep?” Melanie asked, raising an eyebrow.

Brian and Justin looked at each other with amusement, Justin again dissolving into alcohol-induced giggles. “Don’t ask,” Brian replied, winking at Justin, who only laughed harder. “Like he said. It was worth it.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” Melanie acquiesced. “You’re up.”

“Okay,” Brian said, clearly prepared for his turn. “Never have I ever… had sex under my mother’s roof.”

A glance around the circle revealed that only Lindsay and Ben drank.

“Well we know you didn’t sneak Brian in then,” Ted joked, grinning at Lindsay.

“No, this was after Brian, during one of my college breaks. Before they realized Rebecca Tucci wasn’t just my good friend…” Lindsay trailed off conspiratorially.

“Scandalous,” Ted said, nodding in approval.

Michael looked at Brian, his head tilted in disbelief. “Seriously, nothing?”

Brian rolled his eyes. “Michael, you of all people know why that never happened. Lindsay is the only woman I’ve ever fucked, and that was in college. Any men I dared to fool around with while I lived at home happened… elsewhere.” A devilish gleam lit up his face. “I have, however, had sex under your mother’s roof.”

Michael groaned and Justin snickered.

“Actually,” Brian continued. “Never have I ever… not had some form of sex under Deb’s roof!”

For a second Emmett furrowed his brow, his alcohol-induced haze forcing him to take a moment to sort out the backward meaning of Brian’s statement, then laughed and took a drink, along with Justin and Brian, who said, “C’mon, Mikey. Pick up your sippy cup and join the big kids!”

Michael scoffed. “I never had sex with anyone under my mom’s roof.”

“Handjobs co-ount,” Brian singsonged, waggling his finger in the direction of Michael’s still-mostly-full margarita glass.

“Fuck you,” Michael muttered and took a drink as Ted started humming something that sounded suspiciously like Hungry Eyes.

As soon as Justin stopped laughing enough to regain his composure, he spoke up. “I’m the only one who hasn’t gone…”

“Uh oh, better make it a good one, Sunshine,” Ted teased, holding up his margarita glass in salute.

Justin grinned. “I plan to.” He paused, looking around the circle as his smile took on a devilish edge. “Never have I ever... had full-on sex with anyone in this circle besides my current partner.”

Immediately, Ted and Emmett glanced at each other with impish smiles and drank, followed by Lindsay and Brian, who did the same. Ben cast Brian a rueful smile and drank from his own glass, and then Ted gave Brian a quizzical look.

“It was only sort of, Theodore,” Brian said in a warning tone. “It doesn’t count.”

“Wait, what?” Melanie crowed, laughing so hard that some of the contents of her margarita sloshed over the edge of her glass. “How the fuck did we never know that?”

Lindsay laughed too, clearly feeling no pain by that point in the evening. “No, I think I heard about this once… It was summer of 99, right?”

Brian rolled his eyes. “Well, don’t margaritas just turn you into a regular encyclopedia.”

Lindsay just smiled smugly and took another sip of her drink. Fortunately, due to other iterations of the same conversation over the years, no one else looked surprised by this revelation, so Brian was able to put the topic to rest.

“Another round?” Emmett asked, realizing that he still had a little bit of his drink left.

“How about a round where we actually do switch to water once our margaritas are gone?” Melanie suggested, her voice slurring slightly. “I don’t think I can handle more alcohol after this unless I plan to sleep in this chair tonight.”

“We’re all gonna be hungover as shit tomorrow as it is,” Michael added, though he sounded more amused than regretful. “Fortunately Ma offered to keep the kids as long as we need to recover.”

Ted, who, along with Ben and Brian, still seemed to be holding his own against the tequila, unlike the others, took it upon himself to continue the game, throwing out, “Never have I ever… fucked a high profile athlete!”

Emmett rolled his eyes and drank, and the game went on.

Another hour and several water bottles later, they gathered in front of Michael and Ben’s home, saying goodnight as they waited for their respective Ubers to arrive.

“Thanks again for the hotel,” Lindsay was telling Brian, her arm hooked through Melanie’s as the latter wrapped up a conversation with Ted.

Brian shrugged. “What else were you going to do? Stumble into Deb’s house, past our hopefully-sleeping kids, and drunk-fuck in her guest room? You’re too late for that to count in tonight’s game.”

Lindsay chuckled, swatting him gently, but not arguing his logic.

Ted and Emmett’s Uber arrived first, as Ted was staying at Emmett and Drew’s, so there were hugs all around, with promises to get together once more before everyone returned to their respective cities. Melanie and Lindsay departed next, Brian teasing Lindsay with a flick of his tongue and a gesturing motion as she slid into the car behind Mel. Lindsay rolled her eyes, but, again, didn’t argue and smiled coyly instead before pulling the door shut.

“This was such a blast, guys,” Justin told Michael and Ben as the four of them stood on the sidewalk. “Thanks again for hosting.”

“It was so nice to have everyone back together again,” Ben replied, smiling and wrapping an arm around his husband.

Michael, definitely still feeling the aftereffects of his numerous margaritas, leaned into Ben’s taller frame, smiling as well. “We miss you guys so much,” he said, speaking much louder than he likely intended.

Brian, eyes dancing with amusement, gestured for him to lower his voice, then said, “Well, we’re still here for another two days, so I’m sure you’ll see us again.”

“And you’re always welcome to visit us in New York,” Justin reminded Michael, before turning to peer at an approaching car. “I think that’s us.”

Once the car pulled up to the curb, hugs were exchanged again, and then Brian and Justin were on their way as well.

“Think you’re gonna make it much longer?” Brian murmured to Justin, tangling their fingers together in the space between them as the car sped toward the loft.

Justin shrugged. “I’m sleepy and a little drunk still, but I’m open to whatever you have in mind.”

“How about some…” Brian paused, giving Justin a suggestive look before lowering his voice even more and whispering, “‘Pearly Gates?’ Think you’re up for it?”

Justin’s eyes widened, and he let out an unexpected laugh. “Uh, more like, think you’re up for it?” Clearly, Brian’s memories of their foray into the Kama Sutra had not concluded with that night’s game, and clearly his stamina was under no threat.

Brian moved their intertwined hands to his lap, answering Justin’s question sufficiently. Justin hummed quietly and pressed his hand gently into Brian’s erection, causing the other man to moan quietly. The ride home only took another three minutes or so, but to them, it felt like an eternity.

An hour or so later, as they collapsed against each other in bed, sweaty and finally sated, Brian gave Justin a long kiss and then said, “I’m so fucking glad you learned how to handle your margaritas at a young age.”

Justin just grinned, still somewhat breathless. “Never have I ever… regretted it either. Especially not tonight.”