Dinner

It was only a few minutes before six when the two made it to the restaurant. La Cime was instantly impressive. Located as it was on the edge of town it felt truly separate from the chaotic bustle of the city. It was a free-standing building made from, or at least with a façade of, irregularly shaped masonry. And unlike so many buildings in the heart of Metropolis, it had its own parking lot. The whole of which was surrounded by lush greenery, most of which was already covered in vernal buds.

Tara truly felt like she was in another place and another time as the valet opened the door for her. At first, she was in an old-world village. But when she found herself linked arm-in-arm with her beautiful date, she was in a fairytale.

The two women entered through the ornate double doors. The interior of the restaurant was, like the outside, astounding to the musician. Even after everything Tara had seen and done today she still felt a bit overwhelmed by it. The soft lighting, created by a multitude of candles and several crystal chandeliers, was absolutely romantic and (as far as the skinny girl knew) very French. But it was more than just that. It was everything. The dark, hardwood floor. The original artwork in gilded frames. The finely crafted tables and chairs. The gentle music of a pianist floating through the air. And the alluring, mouthwatering smell of fine French cooking accompanied it. For what felt like the thousandth time that day, the musician felt out of place.

Though the feeling of silk against her pale skin helped to remind her she was now at least dressed for the occasion.

Karen by contrast seemed as comfortable and confident as ever. She led her short date by the arm up to the hostess’s podium. But rather than being greeted by the hostess herself, it was a man next to her that welcomed the two.

“Ah, Madame Starr.” He spoke with a subtle French accent in his hoarse voice. “It is wonderful to see you again. May I presume this enchanting specimen is your companion for the evening?”

“She is indeed,” Karen answered politely. “This is Tara.”

“Ah, the hill of kings!” The middle-aged man said excitedly, offering the skinny girl a bow. “I lived in County Meath for a few years you know."

Tara did not know. She had no idea what the portly man was talking about. So she just did her best to nod and smile.

“I am Hadrien Pelletier, the owner of this humble bistro.” The way Hadrien spoke made it very clear that neither he nor his restaurant was particularly humble. "Tonight you are my honored guests. Come, come, come. I'll show you to your table."

He led the two to a small table covered in a fine white cloth. It was perfect for a couple on a date, tucked as it was into a more secluded corner. There was also the single red rose that sat in a short crystal vase. And a handful of tea candles scattered around the table. It was the perfect ambiance for a romantic rendezvous.

Karen pulled the chair out for Tara as they settled at their table. Monsieur Pelletier did not hang around for long. Instead, he quickly introduced their waitress (Tara almost instantly forgot her name) and returned to his duties. Whatever those were. And soon enough the waitress left them alone as well, walking off to fetch water for them.

The couple sat in silence for a moment, neither sure of exactly what to say. So instead they turned their attention to the leather-bound menus in front of them. Of course, part of that choice was also that Tara had not eaten anything since a breakfast bar that morning. So she opened her menu and began reading.

And then her eyes bugged out of her head. The musician had never seen prices in the triple digits on a menu before. And now she was seeing a lot of them. When she glanced up at Karen she caught the blonde smirking at her.

“I’m guessing you don’t want to go Dutch?” The heroin asked sarcastically. She chuckled before she spoke again. “Don’t worry I wasn’t expecting you to pay.”

“I-It’s really expensive.” And not just the meal Tara realized. The trips to the boutique and salon couldn’t have been cheap either.

“Trust me, I’m good for it,” Power Girl said calmly. “I… just want to make sure tonight goes well. Spare no expense, y’know?”

“Y-You didn’t have to…” The black-haired girl muttered quietly.

“I wanted to,” The blonde said honestly. Tara took several moments to digest that statement. Its candor was disarming. So she stayed silent, returning her eyes to the menu. Eventually, she felt too awkward being silent. So she spoke again, deciding to change the subject.

“I’ve never had French food before,” She offered.

“I hope you like it. It’s my favorite cuisine,” Karen said pleasantly.

“It’s also my first date.” Tara wasn’t sure why she said that. It just sort of slipped out. But maybe it was for the best, that knowledge might earn her some leeway in case she screwed up.

“Oh,” Karen said in surprise. “I… I’m honored. I hope it’s going well.”

“I-It’s wonderful.”

After they ordered their first course and a bottle of wine (Karen ended up doing most of the ordering) the two chatted about their families and origins.

“I’m not surprised you haven’t heard of it,” Tara said awkwardly. “It’s a town of like three hundred people in the middle of nowhere.”

“You’d be surprised. My job makes me travel a lot. I’ve seen a ton of small towns all over the place.” The heroine said, taking a sip of their sparkling rosé. “Does your family still live there?”

“I… I d-don't… Talk to them... anymore.” Tara tried to **** the words out. She thought about her family every so often. It wasn’t fun, but it was hardly this hard. But she had never really said the words out loud before. “They don’t…”

“Sorry…” Karen said softly. “I shouldn’t have pried. You don’t have to talk about it.”

“Thanks,” The black-haired girl sniffed. She didn’t want to cry, especially after her date spent so much money on her make-up. So she tried to keep the conversation moving.

“Wh-What about you?” It was only once it was out of her mouth that she realized how stupid it was to ask that question to a Kryptonian. “I-I mean-” Fortunately Karen answered calmly.

“Yeah, I’m not exactly from Metropolis originally,” She said calmly. “I lived in New York for a while, but the company wanted to open a branch office here. And well my cousin’s got a lot on his plate right now.”

“Y-Your cousin... as in?” Tara asked, not wanting to say the wrong thing aloud.

“Yeah, Kal.” Power Girl confirmed. “He’s a fucking square and a massive dork. But he’s still a good guy. So with what’s going on right now, I know he could use a hand or two.”

The skinny girl knew better than to press her date for the wrong details. So she spoke about someone else.

“And your sister lives here too, right?” She asked casually. As casually as one could ask about Supergirl, anyway. It took a moment for Karen to respond to that.

“Oh! Uh, yeah my… sister.” The blonde was a little awkward as she started but quickly regained her composure. “Yeah. Don’t get me wrong we care about each other. It was awkward early on, but we’re good now. It’s actually been really nice getting to catch up with her.”

The conversation ebbed as their food arrived. But continued again as they waited for their entrees. Though now that they were most of the way through their wine, it was distinctly more romantic.

“D-Did you really have a crush on me when we first met?” Tara asked, the rosé fortifying her courage and loosening her tongue. “At the s-salon you said… Uh, that.”

“I did, didn’t I?” Karen said, blue eyes twinkling with mirth. “In retrospect, yes. I didn’t figure out the words for what I was feeling until that night. At the time I just couldn’t get over how cute you were. It was like chatting with a bunny rabbit!”

“Wh-What!?” Tara squawked indignantly. “Shouldn’t you at least say I was, I don’t know pretty or something?” Did Power Girl not think she was pretty? The blonde chuckled at that.

“Oh, you were, and still are, beautiful,” Karen said, making her date blush deeply. “But I was just totally overwhelmed by how cute you were. You were so small and shy, and you were buzzing with all of this nervous energy. So yeah, I just couldn’t stop thinking of you without big, floppy ears and a cotton ball tail.”

Tara wasn’t sure how she felt about that. Sure part of her was flattered, but another part of her wouldn’t mind words like beautiful and fewer bunny comparisons.

It was as they waited for dessert (and were into their second bottle of wine) that Tara got what she wanted. And then some.

“I hope you don’t think that I don’t think that you aren’t beautiful,” Karen said after their plates were cleared away.

“Huh?” The black-haired girl said. There was a fuzz in her mind that made figuring out her date’s sentence troublesome. The blonde leaned towards her date and spoke again.

“Let me tell you a story. It was that Friday, the day we met.” She told the story in a low voice, her husky words only barely audible above the ambient noise of the restaurant. “After I left I had to get back on patrol. It was so long. At least it felt long. There was a fire in an apartment building. I hate dealing with fires like that. Out in the country, I can just blow it out. But people in a building, you’ve got to go in and get them out. So by the time I got home, I was a mess. I was covered in soot and grime. I stank of smoke. It was awful. And yet I had this huge smile on my face.” With that, Karen demonstrated said smile. One of pure happiness, and unbridled joy.

“Do you know why?” The blonde asked her date. But Tara could only shake her head dumbly. She was too distracted by the other woman taking her hand in her own.

“It’s because I was thinking of you.” She teased. “That cute musician I met. The girl with the wild, black hair, and flawless, porcelain skin. And man, her music was like nothing else. The best part of all though was that I knew where to find her again. I couldn’t wait for tomorrow.” Either Karen was a terrific actress or she was able to think clearly back on that moment because the joyful energy she talked about was present in her voice.

“Do you know what I did next?” The Kryptonian asked, her voice growing heavier. And when Tara failed to answer her, Karen kept going.

“I took a shower.” Suddenly Tara jumped and her eyes bulged, as she felt something beneath the table.

It was a foot. Karen’s foot, gently brushing up against her calf. Searching for the slit in her dress.

“That’s what dirty girls like me have to do, see? So peeled my costume off and got the water running.”

The foot finally found its way beneath Tara’s skirt. It began at the bottom of her slim calf and began working its way up. Prodding, stroking, and massaging as she went. The girl didn’t know what to do. It was a wonderful sensation, but they were in public. She should stop this, but when she opened her mouth the words didn’t come out as she wanted.

“K-Karen. Please.” It didn’t come out as a protest. It came out like she was pleading with the other woman to keep going.

“So once everything was bare and bouncing free, I got in the shower. After everything that happened, feeling the hot water running down my body was just what I needed. That and getting nice and sudsy. And I mean seriously sudsy. Like between the bubbles and the steam I was almost decent. Almost. But the bubbles kept popping. And I was still thinking about you.”

Tara was so caught up in imagining Power Girl wearing nothing but soap, that she hardly noticed the foot against her leg reaching her knee. Or what Karen said about thinking of her.

“It started so innocently.” But the woman’s tone and pouty expression seemed anything but innocent. “But then I started thinking about your fingers. They were so skilled on your guitar. So I started thinking about what else you might be able to do with them. What else you could use them on. And then my own hands started to wander. It felt wonderful. Touching myself. Thinking of you."

What also felt great was her foot. It crept up the inside of Tara's thighs, finally passing the top of her stockings. And it was inching ever closer towards her already wet core. This was going to happen. Her heart was racing wildly. Her mouth had dried out. And she was beginning to worry her new thong may not be absorbent enough for what was to come. And that she didn't want to leave a wet spot on her chair.

"And when I c-"

"Here's your dessert." The oblivious waitress said as she served them. "Crème brûlée and molten chocolate cake."

And just like that, the spell was broken. And all that was left were two women. Tara for her part was left frustrated, but mostly embarrassed. For Karen, it seemed that the realization of what she did, caught up with her. And it took her a moment to get her swagger back. But the mood was gone. The story cut short.

So the two were left pecking quietly at their desserts.

But Tara was left with two thoughts turning over and over in her head. The first was the fact that there was a very real possibility that while the first time Tara masturbated thinking about Power Girl, Power Girl was doing the same thinking about her. The second was a question.