Momoko and Tommy didn't say a word about their run-in with the odious Bobby, but merely went on stage and made sure their equipment was ready. Then Momoko gave the nod to Nell, who gave the signal to the announcer.

"Here they are, New York City's own Peppermint Silk!"

The lights went up, and they started off with "Bounce," which was a very fast, very upbeat number. Momoko always thought it dragged, so she'd asked the guys if they could speed it up a little. She moved around the stage, making lots of eye contact with each band member and with the audience.

Tonight she was wearing a form fitting sparkly pink dress that picked up the lights and black tights, along with her lucky pink pumps. Her hair was in a high ponytail that bounced between her shoulder blades, and she was wearing long, shiny earrings that nearly touched her shoulders.

And while she knew she had an amazing belt, she was always careful never to yell, never to let her voice cross over into just shouting. She controlled her vibrato and kept it on this side of crazy, kept it controlled, kept it pretty.

And tonight they were ending their set with "Like A Painting," the one where Momoko played the drums, and Tommy switched to bells, which Momoko was looking forward to.

There was whooping from the audience when they saw her moving to sit behind the kit, and the boys joined in.

Tommy gave her a smile as he moved the mic closer and adjusted the levels for her.

"Knock 'em dead, Peaches," he told her with a wink.

Momoko nodded and gave him a smile as Sullivan played the first chords on the guitar, giving a little flourish as he did so.

The song went off without a hitch, and it was lucky happenstance that on this stage the drum kit was raised, so the audience could see Momoko very well as she drummed her heart out, body moving in rhythm as she sang, smiling, twirling the sticks like a pro.

The applause when the song ended was immediate and huge. Momoko stepped to the front of the kit to bow, but Tommy and Jude put their arms around her and lifted her off to carry her to the front for their line bow, so it looked like she was flying for a moment. She gave a huge laugh of pure joy, and the five of them, with Momoko in the middle, took a long bow.

They left the stage for a few minutes to make it clear the show was over before going back to begin clean up.

"It would be so nice if we had a road crew, you're right," Momoko said as they began to pack their stuff away. This job was made exponentially more of a pain in the ass by the fact that all the other acts with equipment still on the stage had to get theirs off as well. "We could just get whisked off in a car or whatever, and leave all this crap for them."

"Someday," Dane said, unplugging his keyboard and beginning to wind the cord. "Besides, when we're a huge act, when we're all dissipated and tired of life, with people to wipe our asses for us and stuff? This right here is what we're going to remember and get all nostalgic about."

Momoko stopped what she was doing so she could hug Dane and kiss his cheek. "What a sweet thing to say. And 'dissipated,' used in this context, how marvelous. I do love me a smart man."

Dane smiled beatifically at Momoko and continued to wind his cord.

At this moment they noticed Nell, smiling like the Cheshire Cat. "Guys? There's someone here who wants to meet you."

Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to see who was with her.

"Vaughn Berriman of Berriman Management, Peppermint Silk," Nell said, waving her hand with a flourish. "Dane, Tommy, Jude, Sullivan, and Momoko, the lead singer."

As they were all shaking hands, Tommy flashed Nell a look of gratitude.

Thanks for remembering all of our names, it makes us look so good.

Nell smiled back at him, tipping him a little wink.

Congratulations, you guys are good, you deserve this.

Vaughn Berriman was not as tall or imposing as they were expecting him to be. He was only a little taller than Momoko herself, a portly man with thinning hair and a salt and pepper beard. He exuded confidence, however, and had a voice that commanded attention.

"I've heard about you guys here and there," he said. "I'm glad I got the chance to see you in person, finally. I didn't know your lead was a woman, though?" He made the statement sound like a question.

"It's relatively recent," Jude explained. "A definite improvement, we believe, sir."

"Yes, well, you did sound marvelous," Vaughn said to Momoko. "Are you singing songs that were written for you, or are you still singing old stuff? Written for the old singer?"

"It's old stuff," Momoko admitted, hoping this was an okay thing to say.

"Wow," Vaughn said. "You'd never know it, the fit is seamless. "That means you're going to sound that much better when you move on to songs written specifically with you in mind, you know? You're going to be that much stronger as a band. You five already have an absolutely amazing chemistry, absolutely amazing." He looked between the five of them.

"Well, I'm sure you know why I'm here," he continued with a smile. He pulled a card out of the breast pocket of his shirt, and Momoko almost jumped up and down. Dane put a hand on her shoulder to keep her calmed down. Vaughn pulled out a pen and wrote something on the back of it. "I'd love to rep you guys, that's about the size of it."

He handed the card to Momoko, presumably because she was the lead singer. "Please call my office on Monday, but call the number on the back, and ask for Quinn. She's my personal secretary, that will save you a few minutes, okay? We'll see about finding you a manager and getting you a few people to help with your equipment, wipe your asses for you, all that good stuff." He grinned at Dane with a quirked brow.

Dane squeezed Momoko's shoulder, but managed to hold his tongue.

Momoko accepted the card and then bowed because she was so flustered. "Whoops! God, how embarrassing! I'm half Japanese," she explained. "What I meant was thank you, so much," she corrected, holding out her hand.

"Oh, I thought you looked Hawaiian or something," Vaughn said with a chuckle, accepting her hand. "Please don't apologize, it's quite charming. "Doitashimashte," he responded with a bow of his own. "How was that? Hope it didn't butcher it too badly? We had an exchange student stay with us, he taught us that."

"Sounded great," Momoko assured him.

"Anyway, don't forget, call my office first thing Monday, all right? We'll get you all fixed up. Good night, then." He waved, turned and walked away.

By then, many of the members of the other bands were aware of what was going on and were standing around watching, some with joy, some with a little jealousy. Among them was Bobby, guitar case in hand. He looked on as Momoko and the guys erupted into shouts of joy, hugging each other.

"Watch this,  here's how I ruin their big break with one sentence," Bobby said to the person next to him.

"Hey, Tommy, what happens to your band if I tell Sully what you and that cute little singer of yours were getting up to right before you went on stage tonight, hm? What happens to the great Peppermint Silk if I tell everyone that Sully's slutty little girlfriend was grinding one out against a wall with the drummer right before their set?"

He smiled and looked around at everyone before looking back at the members of Peppermint Silk to see the effect of his words.

Tommy gave Bobby a look of disgust and shook his head. Sully didn't even look over at Hammerlink's guitar player.

Momoko did, however. "Wow, Bobby, your mouth is just as sloppy and low-class as your guitar playing," she said coldly. She turned to Dane, whose hand she was still holding, and kissed him warmly on the mouth. "Come on, guys, let's go home. You ready?"

Bobby just stared, speechless for the moment.

Jude slipped an arm around Momoko from the other side. "I'm ready," he said, kissing her temple.

"Me too," Sully said, picking up his equipment. "Let's go home and celebrate."

And they walked off stage without another word to anyone.

"Did she just say 'let's go home?'" they heard Bobby repeat as they headed toward the van. "Do they all live together?"

They managed to keep silent for a few more seconds, then Momoko erupted in laughter, and the boys soon joined her.

"Wow, what a motherfucking great end to the day!" she shouted when they got to the van.

They were higher than kites all the way home, and Momoko passed the card around while they were in the van, so everyone could hold it and read it, though it was just a simple business card.

They had just parked the van when Dane said, "I don't want to go home yet. I'm going to Clive's for a drink, who's with me? Peaches?"

"Yes," Momoko said immediately.

"I'm in," Sully assented.

"Me too," Jude agreed.

"Are you out of your minds?" Tommy said. "We had a gig last night, and a gig tonight, too. I'm exhausted. I'm goin upstairs, taking a shower, and going to bed. All these late nights are bad for my skin."

"What are you a hundred?" Jude teased. "Whatever, you can sod off to bed, we'll be out having fun with our girl, won't we?" He leaned into the front seat and kissed Momoko on the cheek.

"Come on, Tommy, come with us," Momoko begged. "What are you going to do when we're on tour and we have two hour shows to put on, every night?"

"I'll be the most boring person you ever met," Tommy said with a firm nod. "I need my sleep, I'm sorry. Have to take care of the bod."

"Good night, Tommy," everyone called as he resolutely climbed the stairs.

He didn't look back, but merely waved his arm at them as he continue climbing.

They headed down the street toward Clive's still high from the show and from their meeting with Vaughn Berriman.

"We're getting an agent, you guys! And a manager!" Dane crowed, bouncing down the street in front of everyone, turning around backwards to address them.

"And people to wipe our asses, apparently, thanks to Dane," Jude added, making everyone laugh at his pronunciation of "asses."

They arrived at the bar, which was crowded and noisy. They were greeted by everyone, and introduced Momoko, who was an immediate hit, and explained to Clive what they were celebrating that night.

"She's our good luck charm," Sully declared, picking her up and kissing her neck, making her laugh.

"I just wish Tommy were here," she complained as he set her down. "It's not the same without him."

"He'll be here," Dane told her with a smile. "We usually take bets on how long before he shows up."

"Really?" Momoko smiled hopefully.

Jude nodded. "That boy is the poster child for fear of missing out. He can't stand not being part of things. He'll usually take a shower, change his mind and come running up."

"Sometimes he'll actually get all the way in bed before he decides he wants to be with us," Sully added. "Once he showed up at a party where we were actually in his PJs because he didn't take the time to change before coming over.

They were just getting set up at the bar with their first rounds when Momoko felt a hand on her shoulder.

She turned around to find Tommy, freshly showered and in fresh clothes, grinning at her.

"Changed my mind," he declared, as if it were the most normal thing in the world. "YOLO, right?"

"Oh, I thought the appropriate acronym was FOMO," Momoko said innocently.

"What?" Tommy asked, leaning in to hear her better.

"Nothing, it's not important," Momoko said with a smile, leaning in to kiss him. "Mm,  you smell nice. And look, I got you a beer, just in case." She gestured to the bar, where a Corona sat, wedge of lime pushed into the top and everything.

"Hey guys, look who's here," she said brightly, turning to speak down the bar.

"Tommy!" they shouted, smiling at him. "Just in time for the toast!"

Clive joined them, of course, and they toasted in the noisy roar to their incredible stroke of good luck.

Just as they finished their toasts, a very nice looking guy came and asked Momoko if she'd like to dance.

"Well, um--" Momoko began.

"She promised this dance to me," Tommy interjected smoothly, taking her hand and leading her to the dance floor.

Momoko gave the guy a heart melting smile over her shoulder as Tommy led her away.

"Thanks, I didn't want to hurt his feelings," Momoko said as they began to dance.

Tommy just smiled at her, putting his hands on her hips and pulling her a little closer.

"Man you're hot in that dress," he declared, putting his lips right next to her ear to speak.

"Thanks," she said, putting her hands around his neck.

He could feel her body next to his, the heat radiating from it as they moved to the beat of the music, and it was so nice after just watching her from behind his drum set all night long. He put his fingers into the groove that ran down her spine, loving the feel of her smooth skin under the thin material of the sparkly dress.

He looked into her eyes, enjoying the long lashes, her pretty mouth, then kissed her again, just as the music changed to a slow number.

Perfect.

His thumbs were touching the bottoms of her breasts, and the feeling was making him wish he'd somehow convinced her to stay home with him. There was no resistance in her, even though they were standing in the middle of a hundred people. Her mouth was open, he could taste her, and his erection was slotted perfectly into her front.

He lifted one hand to cup her jaw, moving his thumb to pull her chin down a little more, licking into her mouth. The sensation was close to sublime.

He didn't care who was watching.

"Oh, shit, Tommy, I wish we were at home," Momoko murmured into his mouth.

"Me too, Peaches, me too."

Momoko finally lowered her head so her forehead was against his mouth and they continued swaying to the music. When she finally looked over at the bar, the boys were all talking and laughing with Clive, and no one seemed to have noticed her dance floor make out session with Tommy.

"Are you decent?" She asked Tommy with a little laugh when the song ended. "Can we walk back to the bar without you scandalizing anyone, or do you still have wood?"

"I think I'm good," Tommy answered, surreptitiously adjusting himself.

They moved to a table, ordered some food, and continued celebrating, ordering round after round. Some girls came to hit on the boys, of course, but they were politely sent on their way.

Finally, around 3 AM, Momoko began yawning.

"I think we'd better get our little peach blossom home," Sullivan declared. "She's beginning to wilt."

"I'm sorry, but I admit it, I'm no longer the party girl I once was," Momoko declared with a grin.

"Hey, we're all pooped," Dane assured her. "We're not in college anymore, are we?"

They all agreed, and Sully went up front to settle the bill.

Once they were out on the street, still laughing and talking about what a fantastic day it had been, Sully asked, "You want one of us to carry you, Peaches?"

"No," she answered with dignity. "I'm perfectly capable of walking home, I assure you."

"But you're tired, we know that." Then Sully staggered and nearly fell.

"You'd kill me if you tried to carry me. You're bombed off your ass," Momoko politely pointed out.

"Well spotted," Jude said, enunciating carefully.

"Good thing I'm still shober," Dane said.

"Shober?" Tommy asked. "Is that a Chinese word?"

"Oh my god. I hope nobody kidnaps me," Momoko said dourly. "They'd succeed, and I'd get sold into white slavery somewhere and you guys wouldn't even notice."

"But you're half Japanese," Sully said indignantly. "Is Japanese slavery a thing?" He looked around. "Hey you guys?" he said, his original question forgotten. "I think we missed the turn off for our apartment."

"Turn off?" Momoko looked around. "We weren't in a car, were we? Oh my god, you guys, did we forget the van somewhere?"

"Jesus, you guys are all pissed," Jude declared, drawing himself up to his full height as he looked around. "Our apartment is obviously right back there. Follow me." He then proceeded to turn around in a complete circle and nearly walked into a lamp post.

Momoko stopped him, grabbing him by the arm. "Oh my lord," she said, shaking her head. "You idiots, follow me, follow me, okay?" And she managed to lead them to the apartment and get them all inside.

"Good thing I'm not drunk, or who knows where we would've ended up?" she said as she face planted on her bed.