CHAPTER THREE

BRUCE

"I didn't know you were on speaking terms with Wonder Woman."

My date... girlfriend... (I was going to have to get used to calling her that) was studying me from across the table, chin rested on steepled fingers. Her name was Sasha Bordeaux. She had stylishly tousled honey-blond hair, cut short and streaked with just a hint of silver in the front. Behind the tinted lenses of her glasses were large green eyes that radiated warmth and intelligence in equal parts. She had a heart-shaped face with high cheekbones and a slightly lopsided smile. I was one of the few people who knew about her combat tour and the shrapnel wound that had damaged some of the nerves on the left side of her face and left faint, almost-imperceptible hairline scars on her nose and cheek.

I took my time with the sip of wine, considering how best to reply. Sasha was no fool-possibly one of the most perceptive people I knew. A former Secret Service Agent, she had entered Bruce Wayne's employ as a bodyguard. The position was short-lived but only because she had bigger ambitions than VIP protection. So she started her own private security firm, Bordeaux Security Solutions, which last I'd seen, was trading at $200 a share. There was a lot to admire there. I'd done well in making Wayne Enterprises the second-most successful corporation on the planet. But it was an inheritance. Sasha, who had grown up on a dairy farm in Wisconsin, had built a Fortune 500 company from scratch.

"Wonder Woman and I first met a few years back at a gala Paris," I said. The lie came out as smoothly as all the others I've ever told to hide my identity, but I still felt a pang of guilt at the deception.

Sasha nodded. "The Kasnian thing? Queen Audrey- well I guess she was a princess back then-almost got kidnapped by some revolutionaries, right?"

"Good recall," I said, impressed. "Fortunately, Wonder Woman was on the scene. Our paths don't overlap often but it's always good to see her."

Sasha arched an eyebrow. "Any history there between you two?"

I waved the question off. "I'm flattered you think I'm in her league."

"Why shouldn't you be?" She took a sip of her cocktail. "These superheroes aren't better than us, just because they have powers and terrible fashion instincts."

"We had a wonderful waltz near the Louvre. That's it." Which resembled the truth. Despite the sparks, nothing had ever really happened between Wonder Woman and Bruce Wayne, in or out of the mask.

Sasha nodded, accepting the answer with a wry smile. "Do you have any idea how disorienting it is to date you?"

"Disorienting? It's been a week."

"And yet here I am at a fifty-thousand dollar UN dinner with a hundred ambassadors, three former First Ladies, and half the Justice League."

"Technically only two former First Ladies."

"Oh, well in that case I feel right at home."

"You are," I said. "Home, I mean." I tried my best to mean it. She beamed at me and reached across the table to squeeze my hand. No cameras around to document the perfunctory display of affection. And truth be told, there was nothing perfunctory about it. The attraction was legitimate. I hadn't felt this way with a woman in years. Not since. . .

The mere thought forced me to steal a glance at the bar, where Diana was still nursing a steady supply of cocktails.

I hadn't felt this way about a mortal woman in years, at any rate.

Sasha squeezed my hand and let go. "You know," she said, her voice lowering to a more discreet volume, "I might feel at home in other places too."

"Oh?"

She sighed. "Your charming habit of calling a private limo to take me home, alone, after our dates has been...charming-"

"You said 'charming' twice," I observed. "That bad?"

"Have you recently taken any monastic vows I should be aware of?"

I chuckled. "No."

"Do you secretly find me repulsive?" she asked with a sly smile.

I stroked my chin in mock-thoughtfulness. "You wear a lot of navies. Not my favorite color," I joked.

She glanced down at her blazer and matching, form-fitting dress slacks. "Easily remedied. Under the right circumstances, I could be out of these offending garments in a flash. You could even help."

Damn. Now there was a thought. I wasn't immune to Sasha's allure and it was hard to see a reason to pretend otherwise. We were both adults after all. And I actually liked her. She was smart, tough, straightforward...and unlike Diana (a comparison I had to actively try to keep from making) a relationship with her was actually possible.

Sasha was studying me again. "Something tells me you didn't start picturing me naked just now."

A relationship with her is actually possible. This time, I was the one who reached across the table, my hand brushing hers. "Just now? No, I started picturing that months ago."

That lopsided smile was back as her fingers played with mine. "They say imagination is a poor substitute for the real thing."

The intoxicating rush of lust, simple and uncomplicated. The background music seemed to fade as I pictured making all the promises in the curve of her lips and the smolder in her eyes come to fruition.

"Let's get out of here," I said.

Her lashes fluttered demurely. "You and I? In the same vehicle? Headed to the same destination?"

"More efficient that way. In fact, probably best if you stay at the manor for the night too."

"I like your sense of efficiency, Bruce."

I rose from my seat and, in some absurdly chivalric impulse, helped her from hers as well. Sasha usually hated those kinds of gestures, but to my surprise, she rewarded me with a peck on the cheek. As we donned our jackets, I couldn't resist stealing another glance at the bar.

No Diana.

"Everything alright?" Sasha asked, looping her arm through mine.

"Never better," I told her.

To be continued

Author's Note: Long-time comics fans might recognize Sasha Bordeaux from some of the early 2000s Batman story arcs. She was an accomplished martial artist, soldier, and bodyguard to Bruce Wayne when he was framed for murder by David Cain. Rest assured she will have more to do in this story than hold up her end of a love triangle. But I thought it might be interesting to give Bruce's relationship with Diana some real stakes and tension rather than serve it up as a foregone conclusion. I suppose we'll see how successful I am in the attempt.

As always, comments appreciated. Thanks for reading.