christian borle x reader one shots

late-night encounters | joe x f!reader

1,101 words
terms used:
cads - rude people
speakeasy - a bar that sells illegal booze
barney mugging - having sex with
cake-eater: a ladies' guy
kinda proofread but not really lol
enjoy
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It was currently the middle of the night at some dive bar that you once frequented. The dimly-lit lights made it hard to see with the dark decor, but everything could somehow be seen due to the spotlight shining on the stage.

On that said stage, there was currently a jazz band playing soft and sensual music. You didn't exactly understand what they were saying because their voices were so low and gravelly, yet you still found your foot tapping to the slow beat.

As you turned your face away from the band, a glimpse of two men running in caught your eye. The click-clack of their shoes rang out throughout the bar, making everyone look at them.

The taller of the two looked rather nervous, but the shorter quickly took the attention away from him. He didn't exactly do anything extravagant, it was just his confident aura that made your eyes immediately drawn to him.

A whisper could be heard towards the sax player of the band that was currently playing, then they quickly packed up their stuff.

You threw a curious glance towards the bartender, who shrugged; he looked just as confused as everyone else.

The man in the blue vest (AKA, the shorter man) grabbed the mic and spoke into it. "Hello! My name is Joe, and this here is Jerry. We're the 'Tip-Tap Duo'. As our name might suggest, we tap! We also sing, but that isn't as important." He chuckled, obviously hoping that it would gain a reaction from the crowd. It did not.

After a beat of awkward silence, he spoke up again, "...Okay! Well, here goes nothing." He mumbled before distancing himself from the mic.

Their act was amazing. It had everyone cheering and applauding by the end, including yourself. You even caught Joe staring in your direction, making your cheeks dusted with a faint blush.

After the show, you decided to stick around whilst everyone else left. Perhaps you wanted to drink a little bit longer? Maybe you wanted to talk to the 'Tip-Tap Duo'? You were too buzzed to tell.

Needless to say, you walked up to Joe, since Jerry was talking to the bartender.

"Fantastic show... You're a hella good performer." You chuckled while sitting down in a chair that was right in front of the stage.

He was seemingly brought out of a daze when hearing your voice, quickly looking towards you. "Huh? Why, thank you..." He trailed off, hoping that you would fill in your name.

"(___)."

"Ah, (___). A lovely name for a lovely dame." He chuckled while hopping down, taking your hand, then kissing it.

"Such a charmer." You snorted while drawing back your hand from him.

"My mother always used to tell me that," He laughed, "Then she and my father fled the country because they made counterfeit money." The man deadpanned, which made you laugh. After a few seconds of him keeping his straight face, you stopped.

"Wait... Are you being serious?"

He nodded. "I moved in with my friend, Jerry, over there," He explained while gesturing to the bass player, "When they were confirmed to not be in the U.S. anymore."

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry—"

He cut you off with a quick laugh. "Don't be. My parents were real cads, anyways."

You nodded before an awkward silence fell between you two. Assuming that he probably didn't want you there, you grabbed your coat and started to leave. He responded to this by grabbing your sleeve and turning you to face him.

"Wait! Uh, how about I buy you a drink?" He quickly offered, a rather desperate look in his blue eyes.

You took a moment to consider the offer. It could very well be that he was just trying to get you to sleep with him, yet you couldn't help yourself from walking over to the bar counter with him.

"So, I told you my story, now you tell me yours."

"It's nothing interesting. I grew up middle class in a suburban neighborhood. I moved to Chicago when I was around 10. Ever since, I've just been barely making ends meet." You weakly chuckled before sipping on whatever fruity drink he assumed that you'd like.

"Ah." He simply said before doing likewise with his own drink. "What do you do for work?—Assmuning that you don't have a husband."

"Small jobs. Like, working as a maid for random hotels, singing for jazz bands, waitressing resteraunts..." You trailed off.

"You sing?" The man quickly jumped in, a look of curiousity shining in his eyes.

"Mhm. I'm not the best, though, so don't get your hopes up." You giggled.

"No, no, I'm sure that you're wonderful! Give yourself some credit, doll! You've been making means by all of that?" He exclaimed while making a frantic hand motion, referring back to the jobs you told him about. "Not a lot of people can do that, believe it or not. Also, nowadays, jazz bands don't just take anyone—"

"I never said I was terrible, Joe. I just said I wasn't the best." You cut him off with a chuckle.

"...You got me there, doll, but! I'm still sure that you're shorting yourself a little bit!"

You playfully rolled your eyes before swirling around your drink in your hands. Suddenly, you remembered Jerry.

"Hey, where'd your friend go?"

Joe looked confused before looking around the bar. "Dammit! Listen, babe, I gotta dip and go find Jer, but... If you'd ever want to see me again, I'm playing at the speakeasy downtown... Just ask the bouncer to see me, and I'm sure he'll let you back." He quickly winked while gathering all of his stuff together.

"I'll think about it."

"You do that, babe. Can't wait to see your pretty face again." He chuckled before throwing some money towards the bartender and running out the door.

After a moment of silence in the bar, the bartender, Tony, spoke up. "Listen, kid. You didn't hear this from me, but I hear that he," He said while gesturing out to the door, "Is out barney mugging half of the female population around here..."

"Is that so?"

"Supposedly. I'm not trying to tell you what to do with your life, or who to sleep around with, but there's a high chance that he probably has an STD of sorts."

You let out a loud laugh. "I'm not even sure if I'll see him again, but," You threw a longing gaze towards the door, "He sure is a character."