Dinner with Huntress

Trattoria is an upscale Italian restaurant in the hip & trendy part of town, tho Trattoria has been there since long before the area became cool. The recent gentrification means they can charge a bit more now, and the furniture is nicer, but the food hasn’t changed.

Huntress is a few minutes late - seems to be a common thing with heroines - so you’re already seated and sampling the wine when the hostess shows a sexy brunette in a sleek black dress to your table. She's tall (tho not Wonder-Woman-tall) with a slender athletic build that would be called wiry on a man. She looks like if Monica Bellucci were an MMA fighter, and she carries herself with confidence, tho you sense some tension in her beautiful face.

You recognize her instantly of course, having Googled Helena Bertinelli and her mafia princess backstory. But the role requires you to act surprised when she walks up to your table and says "Hi, you must be..." She stops and looks around cautiously.

"Diana's friend, yes." You stand and introduce yourself. "I’m glad you agreed to come."

She shrugs slightly. "If I’m being totally honest, it’s sometimes hard to tell which of Diana’s suggestions are optional and which aren’t.”

“I know, right?” you exclaim as if you’ve been desperate for someone to point that out. “Thank god, I thought it was just me!”

That earns you a small grin. "Call me Rosa," she says as she sits down across from you, crossing her legs perfectly to display a generous amount of lean thigh. Inwardly you chuckle at her use of her middle name; outwardly you gesture with the wine bottle. She nods, you pour her a glass, you clink glasses and drink. "Rosa" nods approvingly, and you make random small talk. She compliments your suit, you compliment her dress. She asks what you do and you make vague noises about security. And so on until the waiter comes to take your order.

"I’m guessing you don’t do this…” you gesture at the two of you, “very often?"

“Eat dinner?” she says with raised eyebrows, "Or go on blind dates set up by Amazon Princesses?"

You chuckle. "I meant going out in civilian clothes with someone who only knows you as your... work persona. I was thinking it might be a little awkward, like when do you react as one person and when as the other?"

She looks thoughtful for a moment. "I hadn't actually looked at it that way, but you're not wrong. I work hard to keep my two personas," she nods at her use of your word, "separate. And they're two very different people. And of course whichever identity I’m in I have to be careful not to give away the other one. So yes, I suppose I'm a little uncertain who I'm supposed to be at the moment."

"Well for what it’s worth, I don’t care who you are.” She gives you a look. “I mean I don’t care about figuring out your real name or anything like that, so you can relax” You give her what you hope is a charming smile. “As much as anyone can on a first date.”

The smile she gives you in return is definitely charming. “Yeah, I haven’t been on one of those in awhile either. But I appreciate the thought.” She does seems to relax slightly, leaning back in her chair.