Page 68 of Disco Witches of Fire Island

“It is,” Fergal said. “That’s why it’s best to find a teammate to … you know.” He blushed, letting the unfinished sentence fall into a moment of awkwardness.

“Hey, I wanted to say—” Fergal blurted.

“I wanted to ask you—” Joe overlapped.

“You go first.” Fergal motioned with a wave of his hand.

“This seems really juvenile,” Joe said, “but I need to know something. That first day I moved here in May, I saw you on the ferry, and you acted like a real asshole. You and the other deckhand laughed at me. And then you laughed at me again that day I saw you sitting with Cleigh in front of the liquor store. Why?”

“We weren’t laughing atyou.” Fergal smiled. “I totally remember both those moments. Especially that time I first saw you. It was drizzling out and you were standing on the upper deck. I told Carl, the other deckhand, that if I was gonna go full-on homo, you’d be the kind of guy I’d want to be a full-on homo with.”

Joe felt a flipping and buzzing in his chest, like his heart was doing gleeful somersaults. “For real? You told him that?”

“Yep. A similar thing happened when I was talking to Cleigh. We were talking about secret crushes we had, and then you walked up at that exact moment. It made me super nervous, because I knew Cleigh clocked that my crush was on you, and that’s why I busted out laughing.” Fergal looked down at Joe’s hands and then back up into his eyes, and with a look of dead seriousness on his face, he said, “So, I guess this means I’m officially a full-on homo now.”

Both men busted out laughing. Joe wanted to kiss Fergal so badly but wasn’t sure if it was the right time. When their laughter subsided, there was another moment of awkwardness. They sipped from their green drinks, took deep breaths, looked at the fireflies playing hide-and-seek in Howie’s garden. All of a sudden, Fergal leaned his tall torso across the table and gave Joe a deep kiss. Joeclosed his eyes, once again astounded by the overwhelming taste and sensation of Fergal’s beautiful mouth. When he opened his eyes, it seemed as if the entire back deck was aflutter with even more sparkling lights.

“Did that kiss make it brighter back here, or is it just me?” Joe asked.

“Um … you know, I think it did. Weird.”

There was indeed more light. Before it had just been the mulberry tree and the deck that were lit up, but now the entire backyard was flooded with the little white lights, as if they were in the middle of a huge Macy’s Christmas display.

“Hey!” Joe shouted toward the kitchen window. “Are you guys watching us?”

“Sorry!” Howie shouted from inside. “That’s our last surprise before we serve dinner! We’ll leave you two alone. I swear to the Great Goddess Mother!”

Joe shook his head and shrugged.

“Those guys are cheesier than a gay Hickory Farms,” Fergal said.

“Yep, and I’m gonna have a talk with them about it later.” Joe leaned over the table again. “But right now, I need you to kiss me again—”

Just as they were about to kiss, the stereo switched to Roberta Flack singing “Killing Me Softly With His Song” as Howie and Lenny emerged through the back door with the feast Lenny had prepared. He proceeded to explain each dish, emphasizing all their romance-enhancing ingredients, including a virility-boosting acorn-and-germanium-stuffed ravioli, with sides of rosemary potatoes, and broccoli rabe with feverfew flowers. Howie sprinkled rose petals on the table and poured them each a glass of red wine.

“I could definitely go for more of that green cocktail,” Joe said.

“Me too,” Fergal added. “That stuff was great.”

“Unfortunately, that’s all we had,” Howie said apologetically. “You’ve had the appropriate amount, anyway. Don’t wanna go crazy. Now, gentlemen, Lenny and I will be in the living room notpaying any attention to what goes on out here—seriously this time. When you’re finished, you can leave the dishes, okay?”

“By the way,” Lenny added, “I left some lube and condoms out on the bottom rung of the attic ladder. Be safe!”

“Guys …” Joe squeezed his eyes closed, begging. “Come on!”

Howie and Lenny scooted through the back door, and Joe and Fergal were finally and completely alone. They devoured Lenny’s feast, drank Howie’s wine, and spent a lot of time laughing about all the ridiculousness that was Fire Island. Neither of them loved the whole party scene, and Joe shared his utter embarrassment at having to be shirtless and wear go-go shorts every day. But both agreed their summer gigs were better than waiting tables.

“So, you’ll be here next summer?” Joe asked.

“Nope,” Fergal said. “This is definitely my last summer on the boat. The ferry business is nice, but I got other plans. I’ve had this dream of moving out to Hawaii.”

“Hawaii?” Joe said, surprised. “That’s really, well, far.”

“I know. But I can’t live on Long Island forever. I met this guy a few summers ago. His name is Buck. He was the first guy I ever fooled around with.”

“You mean you guys are …” Disappointment filled Joe’s face.

“Oh, nothing like that,” Fergal added quickly. “We just did it once. He’s got a boyfriend, and is ancient—like forty or something—but still looks pretty sharp. Also, he’s got platinum -blond hair and is my height, which is obviously not my thing. I’ve always had a thing for swarthy, shorty types like you. The sort you can cuddle and toss around like a teddy bear.”

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