Kiss.

Vince could pretend that all of this really began that time Eric kissed him after the party in Malibu, when they both know it's been going on for more than twenty-five years.

It was the night of Vince's 31st birthday party when he first noticed it. There were a million people in the room, music blaring in the crowded VIP lounge of some random beach house that belonged to some Hollywood producer Ari had found. The alcohol had been pouring for hours, and Turtle had managed to land some of California's finest. Girls were everywhere, spread out on red velvet sofas and grinding to the hypnotic bass line in pairs and trios on the crowded dance floor. A content buzz filled the room as the party-goers celebrated the birthday of some guy they only knew from movie posters and tabloid fodder.

Eric had been wrapped up in a lanky brunette with coal-black locks and ice blue eyes all night. If she were only a few inches taller and had a few less curves, she could have easily been Vince's twin. Eric didn't seem to notice, however, as she bent to whisper into his ear while they waited in line to order at the bar. Turtle had mentioned it when she had walked in the door, Drama's jaw had literally dropped and Vince hadn't been able to tear his eyes away. While the other two may have been intrigued by the resemblance, Vince was only left feeling jealous. If his best friend could fall so instantly for a girl like that, why couldn't he look at Vince with those same adoring blue eyes?

And so, Vince had left the blonde playmates on the dance floor and sauntered toward the bar. He slung his arm around E's shoulder affectionately, squeezing him to his side like he had a million times. Eric looked at him with a cocked eyebrow before shaking his head with a wry grin. "Allison, this is my best friend, Vince," he introduced the young woman. "You might have heard, but tonight's his birthday."

"Happy birthday, Vince," she smiled politely. Vince wanted to hate her, he really did, but there was something so likable about her. He noticed the predatory glint in her eye, the easygoing lilt to her Eastern accent, the careful but messy way she was put together. She was the female embodiment of him. "How old are you?"

"Thirty-one."

"Same as me!"

Vince rolled his eyes. "Of course you are," he muttered under his breath. Eric looked up at him again in confusion. He couldn't understand why his best friend was being rude. That wasn't like Vince at all. "Look, E, I just wanted to tell you that I'm gonna head out. There are too many people here. Johnny and Turtle are set up. I think I'm just gonna go back to the house and crash. I have an early call tomorrow."

Eric looked up at the girl as if he was contemplating staying behind. Vince couldn't wait around to be left going home alone, so he just shrugged and waved before turning on his sneakered heel and heading for the nearest exit. He tucked his head down as he wove through the crowd, letting the sounds drown out the questions bumping around in his brain. He never got jealous, certainly not of E's girls. It didn't make sense.

The cool sea air crashed over him as he hit the beach, his Chuck Taylors sinking into the sand as he treaded toward where the limo was idling nearby. Just as he was about to open the door, a single voice stopped him dead in his tracks. "I said wait up. Couldn't you hear me calling?" Vince shook his head without turning around. "Jesus, Vin, what the fuck's up with you?"

"Why her?"

Eric shook his head. "What?"

"You heard me," Vince shot back. "Why her? Out of everyone, why her?"

His best friend shrugged. Why was anyone attracted to another person? "I don't know, I thought she was beautiful," he answered truthfully. "There was just something that drew me in."

"Maybe because she seemed familiar?"

Eric thought for a moment. "Maybe, yeah."

"You really don't see it?" Vince laughed humorlessly. "God, E, she's me."

"You're insane. Is your ego really that big?"

"Why her and not me?" This question was quieter and far more loaded than perhaps any other in their friendship. Vince had thought about it once, fleetingly when they were still kids, before they knew what it was to be gay or straight or whatever it was that Vince seemed to be tonight. "It could have been me, E. It should have been me."

Eric took a few timid steps forward, the sounds of the party getting lost beneath the gush of the crashing tide. "How long have you felt like this?"

"Tonight, forever, somewhere in between. I don't know," he admitted. He didn't recognize his own voice. Gone was the usually confident guy who knew exactly what he wanted and how to get it. He didn't have E to figure this out for him. He just had to hope that his best friend would see it, too. "I just saw you with her and something broke. There were a million girls at that party, and you had to go for the one that was exactly like me. That has to mean something." Eric was quiet, unnerving Vince to uncomfortable proportions. He closed the gap between them and started to reach up to touch his best friend like he had so many times before. His knuckles brushed over E's smooth cheek. "Tell me it means something."

He was on the edge of telling Vince that this was all in his head, but then he realized he had turned his face involuntarily into Vince's palm. Even Eric couldn't deny that left to his own devices, his natural instinct was to find comfort in Vince. "Yeah, it means something," he finally allowed.

So maybe they hadn't figured it out at six or thirteen or eighteen or even twenty-five. Maybe it took countless one-night stands for Vince and a few serious relationships for Eric. Maybe it took two major cities on two different coasts, a string of box office hits and a couple of failures. Maybe it took one last straw. Maybe they had to go through all of that to realize that their longest relationship, the one they had with each other, was the one that really mattered. Vince could pretend that all this began with a kiss on a beach after the party in Malibu, but that was a lie. This kiss was twenty-five years in the making, and as E's lips met his, Vince knew that it was worth the wait.