Chapter 83

Mosche met you and Gemma at the bar, Tasha in tow.

“Hey buddy,” you said. “That went great!”

“Yeah, thanks,” he said with a grin

“You did really well too, Tasha,” Gemma said. “Congratulations.”

“Ah, I still have a long way to go yet,” Tasha waved off the compliment. “You two definitely set a fire in the back room though. People are pissed no one is getting to you, and Oscar is furiously trying to figure out if he ripped off a joke from some old TV show or not.”

“Oops,” you said, not feeling bad at all.

“Just a forewarning, Tommy Lin came in randomly tonight - he’s one of the hotshots a lot of the semi-pros look up to because he’s a full-time comic. They’re all feeding him info and ideas to rip into you two,” Tasha said.

“Oh, it wouldn’t be that bad I don’t think,” Mosche said. “Tommy doesn’t really do crowd work.”

“I saw him deal with an actual heckler once though,” Tasha said. “He got the guy so mad that he actually took a swing at Tommy.”

You turned to Gemma. “You want to stick around for this, or maybe we take this date on the move and go for a walk?”

Gemma squeezed your hand twice, which you were holding down at your sides, as she seemed to think about it. “I dunno, what were you thinking?”

“There’s usually a gourmet hotdog food truck parked down the block from here on Fridays,” you said. “Let’s grab some food.”

“You just want to see me with a sausage in my mouth, don’t you?” Gemma smirked, making Tasha guffaw a bit and then laugh. It took Mosche a hot second to catch on to the innuendo.

“So what if I do?” you countered. “How’s that Nickleback song go? ‘Cause you look so much cuter with something in your mouth’?”

Gemma scoffed playfully and bit her bottom lip as she thumped you on the shoulder.

“From what I saw, he’s got a whole footlong for you,” Tasha teased Gemma. “If I were you, I wouldn’t even be stopping for food. We’d already be back at my place for some homemade gourmet snacks.”

“Oh, don’t worry,” Gemma said, whispering conspiratorially. “This whole date is just intermission between the real fun.”

“Damn, girl!” Tasha laughed.

Back over at the stage, the host started talking into the mic and calling people back to their tables.

“Alright, we’re on our way out,” you said. “You two have fun with the rest of the night. Mosche, I don’t think you should expect me back at the apartment tonight.”

“Remember what I said,” Tasha grinned. “If a pretty blonde turns up dead on the news tomorrow, I’m letting the cops know you killed her with your cock.”

“Harrharr,” you said.

As you and Gemma turned towards the exit, you thought you heard Tasha say to Mosche, “So, you’ve got the apartment to yourself tonight, huh?”

Once you were outside of the club, you found the night had settled in and things had cooled off nicely. You spotted the food truck down the street and turned towards it.