Chapter 38

You only needed to backtrack once, realizing you’d made a wrong turn, and the night remained warm even though the sun was nearly gone - though it had disappeared behind the buildings of the city before then. You and Gemma laughed and bantered, and you managed to only mention Sabrina once while talking about the silly things from the office.

Gemma was enjoying being an intern in a US law firm. She’d wanted to be a lawyer since she was a kid and watched A Few Good Men.

“So it was ‘I want the truth!’?” you asked as you walked down the street, doing your best Tom Cruise impersonation.

“You can’t handle the truth!” Gemma responded, doing her Jack Nicholson and then chuckling. “Yes, definitely. Then I watched every Lawyer movie I could. Rainmaker, My Cousin Vinny, Philadelphia - pretty much anything from the ‘90s.”

“Not Legally Blonde?” you asked.

She actually turned and punched you in the arm, hard.

“Ow!” you said.

“That movie actually made me cry, I hated it so much,” she said and sighed roughly. “Seriously. Everyone in high school called me ‘Legally Blonde’ when they found out I wanted to be a lawyer, and I fucking hated it. I almost went to school for journalism instead.”

“OK, but would you rather they called you Vinny?” you asked.

“Yes,” Gemma chuckled. “At least then it would be a good story for a nickname.”

You could see the park ahead, the lights bright in the evening air as a festival-like atmosphere was lit up by the dozen or so food trucks. “Well, Vinny, I’m sure you’ve heard this while you’ve been here, but-”

“If you’re about to say you love my accent, I’m going to punch you again,” Gemma smirked. “It’s a line every guy uses when he’s trying to pick me up.”

“-but I think you would have made an excellent journalist,” you finished, quickly pivoting what you were going to say.

Gemma narrowed her eyes at you. “Well played.”

In the park, you browsed the various food trucks, arm in arm, until Gemma settled on an artisanal taco truck. You chatted in line, and ordered a 6-pack bundle of various tacos to try together, and once you’d gotten your food you went and found a bench to sit on. You snagged it as another couple were just leaving, and you noticed the guy eyeing Gemma. His date wasn’t bad looking either, but Gemma was- well, she was Gemma.

The tacos were made with hard shells made of purple tortillas but had white soft-shell tortillas around them, and each one had either a different meat or vegan protein and accompanying toppings.

“Mmm, I’m starting with this one,” Gemma said, immediately taking the standard ground beef taco and crunching into it, trying to catch the spillage in her other hand. “Mmmmm- fuh dis i’ goo’!” she groaned.

You picked up the next one in a line, a chicken taco with a spicy kick coming off of it, but Gemma put her hand on yours to stop you. “Mm-mm, I wan’ tha’ one ‘oo,” she said, still chewing.

“Wait, wait,” you said. “Are you trying to claim the meat ones and make me eat the vegan ones?”

Gemma swallowed and got a mischievous look on her face. “Maybe,” she said.

“Why didn’t I just order more meat ones then?” you asked.

“Because I want you to tell me what the vegan ones taste like?” Gemma said, giving you a wincing smile.

“Well, I want the second half of that beef one,” you said. “And then you have to eat the second half of a vegan one I think is best.”