Sierra was very lucky that Emmett was able to squeeze in her husband's retirement party, since Emmett's Fabulous Festivities was nearly booked solid for the next several months. She had to push it back an hour, due to Emmett catering a large fundraiser earlier in the day.

Emmett had gotten curious about who would or wouldn't be at the party while on the phone with Sierra, specifically one person. "Um... will Drew Boyd be there?"

"Oh, probably not," Sierra said, blatantly lying. "Now that he's been picked up by the Patriots, he's busy finding a place in Boston and rehabbing his ankle."

Emmett arrived at Jeff and Sierra Campbell's mansion in the ultra-affluent Bradford Woods suburb about two hours before the party was to begin. He preferred to do his events with a minimum of two people handling food prep, two servers, and one bartender, adding more employees depending on the number of party attendees. Sierra had estimated that there would be about one hundred people at the party, including several football players with big appetites. Emmett decided to employ three cooks, four servers, and two bartenders that evening. There would be a variety of fancy hors d'oeuvres for the partygoers to enjoy along with an open bar.

With an hour left before the party was to begin, Emmett noticed that two of his servers had not yet arrived at the house as they were supposed to. He checked his phone and found that he had a voicemail from one of the servers claiming that she was unable to find a babysitter that evening. The second missing server called soon after, saying that he had a migraine and couldn't get out of bed.

"Okay, well you just rest up and get better," Emmett said into the phone, trying to keep his voice calm despite how much he was starting to freak out.

He hung up his phone a few moments later and yelled, "Fuck me, what am I going to do? I can't do a party of this size with only two servers!"

Sierra walked into the kitchen and noticed Emmett's frustration.

"What's wrong?" she asked, although she knew exactly what was going on and was glad to see that the first phase of the plan was going well.

Emmett bit his lip. "I'm afraid that I'm down two servers this evening. All of my other employees are still at the venue downtown where we had a big party earlier, cleaning up. I don't know if they'll make it here in time or if any of them will want to pull a double shift."

"Oh no," Sierra said, feigning concern. "There's no one else you know that can pitch in at the last minute?"

He thought about it for a moment. "Well, I have a friend who used to serve for me, but I don't know if she'll be able do it. She's in medical school and might be too busy with homework. She still helps me from time to time when she's free."

"Why don't you try to call her?" Sierra suggested.

Emmett did as his client said and called Daphne, who picked up on the first ring.

"Hey Emmett," Daphne answered as casually as she could manage, having been waiting for his call for the past hour.

"Hi Sweetie... um, I hate to ask you this, but do you think you can help me out at an event tonight? I had two servers punk out on me and-"

"Sure!" Daphne said. "Luckily, I'm all caught up with homework."

Emmett put his hand over his heart in relief. "Oh, thank you so much. I hate to do this on short notice, but the party starts at eight - it's a retirement party for Jeff Campbell with the Ironmen. Even with your help, we're still going to be cutting it close with only three servers for one hundred guests."

"Actually, I'm sitting here with Justin at my place..." Daphne said before asking Justin if he'd be willing to pitch in. Her fellow schemer happily agreed to help.

"Congratulations Em, you've just picked up two capable servers," Daphne said. "Just tell us where to go and we'll be right there."

Daphne and Justin showed up at the house fifteen minutes later, both in white button-up shirts and black pants that they had already been wearing when Emmett called.

Sierra became worried that Drew would notice Emmett's big pink catering van parked in the driveway out front and leave before coming in, so she offered to move it toward the back of her property, claiming that she wanted to have more parking available for her guests. Emmett, distracted by his preparations, handed over his keys without question.

The guests started trickling in soon after and Emmett had his four servers begin to circulate among them with food and drinks.

Drew arrived at the party around eight-thirty. Justin noticed him standing in the living room and brought a tray with plastic cups of Bud Light and fruit punch over to him.

"Hey Drew, it's nice to see you again," Justin said to the hunky football star. "Drink?"

Drew smiled at him and happily took a beer. "Thanks. You're Kinney's boyfriend... Justin, right?"

"Yes," he confirmed, glad that he remembered him. "How've you been?"

"Good, good," Drew said, not seeming to really mean it as he stared into his cup. "So, you've moved on from serving at the Liberty Diner to serving for a catering company?"

Justin was surprised that Drew recalled his previous occupation from so many years before, figuring that Emmett must have told him all about his friends and their lives.

"Oh, I'm sort of in between jobs now. I'm going back to school in the fall and plan to work with Brian in Kinnetik's art department after I get my degree. I'm just helping Emmett tonight, since-"

"Emmett?" Drew asked, suddenly looking around the room. "He's throwing this party?"

"Uh, yeah," Justin flippantly stated before walking away to continue serving the drinks.

Meanwhile, Daphne was in the Campbell's massive kitchen with Emmett, where she was exchanging her empty food tray for a new one.

"There are lots of people out there," she said to her friend. "Lots of hot, hunky football players. If only I were single... How about you grab a tray and help us serve?"

Emmett raised an eyebrow at the beautiful young lady, wondering if he needed to remind her who the boss was. He could see that Daphne seemed to be a bit frazzled, most likely out of practice from not working at his events very often, so he took a tray of finger sandwiches and walked out into the living room behind her.

Daphne soon saw Drew talking with a few of his old teammates in the living room, so she went to another part of the house so that Emmett would hopefully go into the living room where there was less serving coverage at the moment. Justin was hiding behind some big football players, peeking around them at where Emmett was walking.

The next phase of the reunification plan began when Emmett and Drew finally locked eyes with each other. Drew of course was not surprised to see Emmett there, but Emmett was shocked and nearly dropped his serving tray.

Drew excused himself from his friends to walk over to Emmett.

"Hey stranger," he said to his former lover, whom he hadn't seen or spoken to in three long years.

Emmett couldn't speak for several seconds. "Um, hey Drew. I didn't think you'd be here tonight."

"Jeff and I have been friends for years. I wouldn't have missed this for anything."

Emmett slowly nodded before he remembered that he was there in a professional capacity.

"Finger sandwich?" he asked, awkwardly holding out his tray. "We have turkey and brie, chicken salad with almonds, or roast beef and swiss."

Drew just smiled at him before openly checking him out head-to-toe. "You look really good, Em."

Emmett returned his smile and giggled a bit. "You do too, Drewsie... uh, Drew. Really, really good."

The head coach of the Ironmen called for a toast, ending the beautiful moment as everyone crowded into the living room. Many of Jeff's teammates and friends said a few words about the recently-retired linebacker's career, including Drew. Once the last person had spoken, Jeff and Sierra thanked their guests for coming.

"And..." Sierra added with a big smile, "we're pregnant!"  

The room erupted in cheers, with everyone raising their glasses to toast the happy couple.

Later on after most of the guests had left, Emmett noticed that Drew was still hanging around and figured that he was just waiting to say goodbye to Jeff and Sierra. Emmett walked into the pantry to put away some of Sierra's fancy dishes that she had wanted to use that evening when he heard the door shut.

Turning around, he saw Drew standing there smiling at him. Wondering what was going on, Emmett smiled back warily.

Walking up to Emmett, Drew took the confused queen's face in his hands. "I've missed you... a lot. If you're free after this, I'd really like to go somewhere and have a drink."

Emmett, whose heart was pounding so loud that he thought it might just burst out of his chest, could only nod. He remembered the last conversation he had with Drew, where he told him that they could have a drink once Drew turned twenty-one, the sign that the newly-out man was ready for a real relationship.

Walking out of the pantry, they saw Justin and Daphne smiling conspiratorially.

Justin smirked and said, "We can take care of everything from here Em, if you need to go. I have the keys to the van and I can drop it off at your office."

Emmett started to protest, but Drew grabbed his hand.

"Thanks, guys. See you later," he called out as he dragged the blue-eyed queen behind him out to his new black Range Rover parked down the street.

Justin, Daphne, Sierra, and Jeff were all very pleased to see their friends leaving together. Justin and Daphne gave each other high fives, thrilled that their plan had worked so perfectly.

Drew drove himself and Emmett to his house. After going inside and sitting on the couch, he told the still-quiet man, "I think we needed somewhere private to talk. I have a lot I need to say to you and I don't want any interruptions."  

Finally, Emmett found his voice. "Before you start, I just want you to know that I didn't plan for this and I really had no idea that you would be at the party tonight. If you're upset that I was there, I'm sorry. I wouldn't have taken the job if I thought you'd be coming. Something tells me that Justin and Daphne set this whole thing up, and Sierra may have had a hand in it, too. I wouldn't be surprised if they paid off my two servers who called out."

"Emmett, I'm thrilled that you were there tonight, and if any of our friends planned for this to happen, we owe them a huge thank you. I've been trying to find a way to run into you for the longest time, because I've missed you so much. I wanted to call, but I was too chickenshit, afraid that you'd turn me down or would be taken. You're not taken, are you?"

Emmett shook his head. "Single as a slice of American cheese."

Relieved, Drew continued. "Trust me, I've sewed all of my gay oats over these past few years. I know that you were trying to do what was best for me by letting me go, but I also know that you're the only man that I've ever really wanted to be with and loved. I never stopped loving you and I hope that you feel the same way."

Emmett had tears pouring down his cheeks. "Oh Drewsie, I love you, too."

The kiss that followed could have rivaled one of Brian and Justin's for the heat and sparks. Parting, they stared into each other's eyes as their clothes started flying off. Both desperate to be physically connected again and not wanting to take the time to go upstairs to the bedroom, the men got comfortable on the soft rug, exactly where they first had sex, which now seemed like a lifetime ago.

Emmett, always careful and prepared, grabbed the condom and lube that he carried in his satchel and handed them to the man that he knew in his heart he belonged with. Drew took the supplies and leaned down to continue kissing his man as he prepared him, wanting to make what would hopefully be their "final first time" something that they would both remember fondly. Emmett, who was not normally very vocal during sex unless it was especially good, was moaning and keening like a bitch in heat, so happy to be back with the man that he loved.

Drew was also much more vocal and romantic than usual, kissing and leaving hickeys all over Emmett's chest, causing him to arch his back and beg for his man's huge hard cock inside him. He wrapped Emmett's long legs around his back and slowly entered the man that had stolen his heart. Drew rarely ever fucked men face-to-face, but Emmett wasn't just any man. He wanted to see Emmett's handsome face as they reaquainted themselves with each other.

They both tried to keep things slow and sensual, but this being their first time together in a very long time, it was hard not to just race for the finish. Drew remembered well just how much Emmett had enjoyed being fucked by him, slowly and thoroughly. Emmett was crying silent tears as he realized that his Drewsie was using every special move that he had showed him during their time together.

"Please don't ever leave me again," Emmett panted.

"I dare you to try to get rid of me again," Drew answered.  

Finally, neither man could hold back any longer and they came together, screaming in ecstasy. After separating and getting their heart rates back to normal, the reunited lovers made their way up to the bedroom to continue their reunion into the early morning before finally falling asleep in each other's arms.

***************

Brian was getting out of the shower the following morning when he noticed that Justin was up and making a call on the cordless phone. The blond was naked and sitting on the couch, his hair tousled. Justin normally didn't get out of bed until he absolutely had to, so Brian listened from the bedroom to makes sure everything was alright.

"Hey Em, I didn't know if you'd be awake or not. I planned to just leave you a voice mail. I wanted to let you know I left the van at your catering office and gave your keys to Darren. How are you?" Brian heard Justin ask nervously.

Brian wondered why Justin would have been driving Emmett's catering van, so he continued to eavesdrop.

"Uh huh.... Yeah, you caught us..." Justin chuckled. "Well, that's great, Em. I'm glad everything worked out for you guys. I'll let Daphne know... You're very welcome, I did owe you after what you did for me and Brian... Okay, I'll talk to you later, bye."

Justin returned the phone to the charging dock on Brian's desk and turned to find Brian watching him with a curious look on his face.

"Uh...  hey Brian, I thought you'd still be in the shower," Justin said his partner, looking slightly guilty.

"And I thought you'd still be asleep, Sunshine. So, what's up? It's kind of early for you to be making phone calls, isn't it?" Brian asked, wondering what sneaky twink was up to.

"Yeah, well I was just letting Emmett know where I put his catering van," Justin said as he tried to get around Brian and head back to bed.

"Not so fast, Sunshine," Brian said, holding Justin's arms. "Why would you have been driving Emmett's van in the first place?"

"Um... he was shorthanded at a party last night, so Daph and I pitched in."

"Out of the kindness of your hearts?" Brian asked.

Justin shrugged and looked down at his bare feet. "There wasn't anything interesting on TV, so..."

Brian grabbed Justin's chin and forced him to look at him. "I smell bullshit. Spill."

With a loud exaggerated sigh, Justin confessed what he, Daphne, and Sierra had done to get Emmett and Drew back together. Brian listened intently, nodding and biting his lips to keep from smiling. He had also hoped that Emmett and Drew would get back together someday, but he wasn't going to interfere. He had asked his partner to stay out of it, too.

"... and the best part is, it worked! They're back together now, isn't that great?" Justin concluded, looking rather smug.

"Justin, didn't we agree that we were going to let nature take its course?"

"Yes, but we did owe Emmett for how he helped us get back together," Justin pointed out. "If it wasn't for him, I'd probably still be in New York. We may have even broken up, for good this time, if you-know-who's plan had been successful."

Brian knew that he was probably right, but he wasn't going to admit it. "Maybe you need to be punished for not listening to me, little boy."

"Yeah, I probably do deserve to be punished for disobeying you, Master," Justin said in a sensual tone, licking his lips.

"Bedroom, now," Brian ordered before opening their toy drawer and selecting a riding crop.

Brian was very late for work that day.