Chapter - 21
Kara Kent had never thought that she would want to start dating so soon after her breakup with Barry Allen. But then again she had never thought of a breakup in the first place. Instead, she had thought that Barry was her soulmate. The man whom she would marry someday. The man with whom she would buy a beautiful estate facing the lake. The man with whom she would have children, at least three; adopt two dogs and grow older. Finally, the man with whom she would spend the rest of her life. But destiny was a bitch, and Kara knew that all too well now.
And here she was, looking at herself in the mirror, appreciating Donna's hair and makeup skills. She looked nice. Different too. Kara wore a black one-shoulder cut out mesh cocktail dress. It showed off her skin but also covered it in the right places, and Donna had promised her that she would look lovely in it. Kara wondered if Donna had more dresses like these hidden only for her to wear since she had never seen Donna wear this one.
"Doe, I think this is too reveling! Where is the back?"
"It's a mesh!" Donna shot back. "It doesn't show off too much. You should have worn the red, low back one."
"NOOO!" Kara scrunched her face in horror.
"Fine! You look pretty in this dress. And the makeup is just right. Do you really want your hair tied-up? You can let the blonde locks fall."
"No. This is fine," Kara said as she grabbed her purse.
She was just about to reach out for her glasses when Donna grabbed her arm and said, "Nuh-uh! Don't even think about it! Put on those contact lenses."
"But, Dooooeeee," Kara whined and pouted. She liked wearing her glasses and contact lenses only made her nervous that she would drop them somewhere. But Donna was in no mood to listen.
"Just do what I say, Kent. You won't regret it!" Saying that, she walked out of the room. They were at Winn's place; as Donna helped Kara get ready, Winn was playing the piano and singing to calm Kara's nerves.
She stepped out of the room just as he finished the song. Winn gave her a big smile. "Aw, Kare bear, you look adorable!"
Kara looked at Donna helplessly. What if Bruce Wayne called her adorable too?
"You look hot, Kara, get out now!" Donna said, a bit bored already. She hugged Kara and made her wave goodbye to Winn, dragged her all the way out to Martha's car and gently pushed her in. "Have a great night, Kare bear. We need details. Buh-bye!"
Once the car pulled out of the driveway, Donna went back in and grabbed a cushion and threw it at Winn's face. "ADROABLE? YOU IDIOT!"
"What? What did I do now? I was just complementing her!"
"I cannot believe you have already forgotten our plan, Winslow! Damn, you are sooo slow!" Donna yelled. "1. She wore a hot dress. 2. Her date is Bruce freakin' Wayne. What does that mean?"
Winn placed a finger under his chin and thought for couple of seconds before another cushion hit his face. "WHY ARE YOU HITTING ME?!" he cried just as Donna shouted, "PAPS, YOU IDIOT!"
"What?"
"Winn, seriously? Paps will be out where they are dining. They will take pictures and guess who just happens to be a gossip columnist?"
"Umm… am I supposed to answer to this?"
Donna rolled her eyes at him. "I'm talking about Cat Grant! She gets all the pics ASAP. And next day she breaks the news. We all know Mike, if he isn't hanging out with Kara or you, he's with Cat. So what happens then?"
Winn raised his hand, literally jumping with excitement. "Oh, I know! I know! Mike will see the picture because Cat will show it to him and he will get jealous and our plan to bring them together works!"
"Brilliant, monkey!" Donna clapped her hands for him proudly. "See, you are not that stupid. So now, I want you to call Mike and see where he is. And if he's not with Cat Grant, we have to make sure he is with her!"
"But what will I ask him?"
"Just call him and ask him where he is! Put it on speaker." Donna came to lean on the piano, glaring at Winn who was hesitating to call Mike. "Do it, Winslow, or I'll swear I post the love letter you wrote to me on your seventh birthday on Twitter!"
Winn groaned and pulled out his phone. Dialing Mike's number, he put it on speaker and placed the phone over the piano.
Mike picked up the call in the third ring and answered, "Hey man, wassup?"
"Mike! Heeeyyy! I just called to ask how you are doing?" Winn scratched his head just as Donna facepalmed herself.
"Ha-ha! I'm good, bro! What about you?"
"I'm super cool! Yeah. I'm excellent. Just brilliant… Anyway, I was just playing something on the piano for Donna. Do you play?"
"Oh yes! I do," Mike said with a hint of excitement in his tone. "I play the guitar. Do you sing as well?"
Winn smiled. "Sure do, buddy! Hey! That reminds me. There's this bar in my neighborhood. It has karaoke; join me sometime? Donna DJ's there sometimes."
"I would love to, buddy! Not today, I hope?" Mike chuckled. "I'm at a friend's place, watching a movie."
Donna's eyes lit up hearing that. She looked at Winn and mouthed, 'Ask him who?'
"A friend? Wow! Who is this… friend, by the way? Do I know this friend?"
"Maybe." Mike was being coy and all Donna wanted to do was hunt him down and smack the smirk out of his face.
"Is that friend… Cat Grant?" Winn asked and let out an inaudible sigh.
"Ha-ha! Someone is curious today. Yeah, man. I'm at Cat's place. She has a TV and I don't. She also has lots of other good stuff."
Donna gestured for Winn to end the call. He nodded and said, "Then I should probably let you get back to watching whatever you were watching, Mike. See you tomorrow, dude!"
"Yeah, buddy! See ya!" Mike cut the call.
Donna moved closer to give Winn a fist bump. "Okay, Mike is all set. Now we wait and see what the photographers see and share."
Winn nodded. "Please don't make me do this again, Doe. It makes me anxious and my BP increases and I—"
Donna cut him off by asking, "Wait, where was that love letter again? I'm gonna go get that now."
"I'M SORRY!" Winn cried, running after her to stop her.
Kara sat in her mother's car talking to her drive, Jeff about his family. Her parents had gone to a charity dinner so Martha's chauffeur driven car was at her disposal.
"When do you want me to pick you up, Miss Kara?" Jeff asked as the car pulled outside the hotel where she was meeting Bruce.
"I'm not sure. But I'm guessing I'll get a ride back home with Mr. Wayne."
Jeff's eyes shot up to look at her in the rearview mirror. "Mr. Wayne? Okay. You be careful now, Miss Kara and have a great evening."
Kara smiled and nodded. "Thanks, Jeff. You too. Say hi to Nancy and the kids from me. I'll stop by to see baby Amanda soon."
"I can always drive you there," Jeff replied, with an equally bright smile.
The door opened and Kara saw it was Bruce. "Hello, Kara," he greeted her, holding his hand out for her to take.
"Hi, Bruce!" Kara smiled, slipping her hand in his. They made their way in, arm in arm, and Kara couldn't help but notice all the photographers trying to take their pictures.
"Why are there so many paps here?" she asked curiously.
Bruce shrugged lightly. "I heard there's a celebrity dining here tonight. They might be here for them. Just smile." He gave the paps a brilliant smile, making sure they got some good pictures of him and Kara together. Bruce didn't really want to lie, he was the celebrity in question here, but this obviously looked like Kara's first time and he didn't want her to panic.
Kara let out a small sigh as she walked in with Bruce. She really hoped no one recognized her in those pictures, if they ever got out.
Bruce led her all the way up to the restaurant in the rooftop. That's when she realized they were pretty close to the Space Needle. He held the chair out for her and was the gentleman she knew he would be.
Kara was busy taking in the view or that's what Bruce thought as he chose the wine. But she was busy thinking about the stapler she stole from Mike's desk earlier. Currently it was freezing inside a Jell-O in Winn's freezer. Kara smiled thinking about Mike's reaction when he would finally see how expertly she pulled off a prank.
"You look beautiful when you smile." Kara heard Bruce say, as he looked up from reading the menu. She blushed and thanked him. "You should smile more often, Kara."
She bit her lower lip and nodded. "Are you staying at this hotel?" she asked just as the waiter returned with a bottle of Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes 2006.
"Not really. I've a penthouse nearby. But I used to stay here before I bought the property," Bruce explained. "So how about you? Where do you live?"
Kara took a sip of her drink before replying, "With my parents. I have been looking for a place of my own, but I don't know which one is right for me."
Bruce nodded in understanding. "Even though I've a family estate in Scarsdale, I like living at my penthouse in Upper West Side. Close to work."
"That's nice!"
"Have you been to New York before?" Bruce asked just as he gestured to the waiter.
Kara nodded but waited till they ordered. Once they were done, she said, "Yeah. Once. No… twice, actually. It's… nice."
Seeing her shrug, Bruce laughed. "I gather you don't like New York?"
"No. It's not like that." Yes, it was like that. Barry Allen lived in New York, and she didn't want anything to do with that place. Kara grabbed her glass of wine and finished it in one big gulp, making Bruce raise a single brow at her.
"So how was it working with Mr. Matthews?" Bruce asked, deciding to change the topic since Kara was not interested in talking about NYC. "Your first case with Valor himself."
Kara's eyes lit up when hearing Mike's name; smiling, she said, "You know how it is to be on a rollercoaster, right? That thrill. The adrenaline rush! That's how it is to be working with Mike."
Seeing Kara's excited grin, Bruce asked, "Am I sensing a romance here?"
Kara's eyes widened and she shook her head. "NO! No. No. Mike and I can barely stand each other's presence. He's that one person I don't think I'll ever fall in love with. Ever!"
"So others stand a chance?" Bruce asked with a small smirk on his face, leaning over the table.
Kara could see the raw passion in his eyes. He was that forbidden apple she had been warned about. But then again she had already taken a bite of that apple when she first slept with Mike Matthews. What did she have to lose?
Smiling shyly, she replied, "Yes. Others do stand a chance."
A/N: Oops! What just happened?
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