Reunited Longing Ignites at the Office Party

The ballroom of the downtown Marriott glowed under strings of warm fairy lights, the annual company holiday party already thick with forced laughter, clinking glasses, and the low thrum of a DJ who thought “corporate fun” meant recycled Top 40. Ryan stood near the open bar in his charcoal suit, second whiskey neat warming his palm, scanning the crowd the way he always did—half out of habit, half because two years of quiet ache still lived under his skin.

Then he saw him.

Franklin stood by the far windows, thirty feet of polished floor and milling bodies between them, a glass of something clear in his hand. Twenty-eight now, still built lean and sharp under a navy jacket that hugged his shoulders just right. Software engineer, the transfer to the Seattle branch, the one who’d left Ryan’s bed and his city with a last sweaty kiss and a promise that never quite stuck. Their eyes locked. Franklin’s mouth curved—slow, filthy recognition—and Ryan felt his cock twitch hard against his thigh like it had been waiting for permission.

Ryan crossed the room without pretending he was heading anywhere else. Franklin watched him come, dark eyes dragging over Ryan’s chest, his hips, the thick line already pressing the front of his dress pants.