I’ve been on a total of ten dates in my life. Which might seem like a lot, but considering they were all with the same guy in my senior year of high school probably not. I don’t often date; actually I never date. But in the face of six feet of tall, bronzed, and red head how can I resist?
I’ve had a crush on Koriand’r a.k.a. Starfire since I first saw her flying over the city in a bright red streak. She’s beautiful, even more so dressed fashionably in a purple halter dress with striped black heels. Her pupil-less eyes should be disconcerting, but there’s such a sense of warmth there you can’t help but feel at ease. Everything about her is warm, from her smile, to her skin when she picks me up as if I weigh nothing—considering her super strength, I probably do weigh nothing to her as she whisks us off to the restaurant I’ve chosen.
It’s a quaint place, a local Spanish restaurant that serves the best arroz con gandules (rice and beans) in town. It has bright lighting and a slab of wood flooring near the back where a stage sits. A DJ is there now playing old Selena classics to set the dinner time mood.
We sit and I recommend the carnitas with red rice and beans and tostones. I order a platter of pasteles with rice and beans. We begin talking about our different cultures. Her alien homeworld is much more warlike than anything we have on Earth even with all the super villain mayhem. We discuss what foods we can make from our cultures. She laughs at the story I tell about my mamita teaching me how to make carne guisada Spanish beef stew and how it is a rule in my family to play Spanish music while we cook. Koriand’r’s culture is so different, and the foods she tells me about are as fascinating as they are frightening. Take, for example, a plate of tentacle creatures filled with muscle building proteins, but sweeter than Earth’s brands of chocolate.
When the DJ plays Elvis Crespo’s “Suavemente,” a staple in my family, I drag her over to the dance floor. It’s a laughable sight considering my own short stature Koriand’r is about two feet taller, than me but she comes more than willingly.
We dance, and she’s surprisingly good, teasing about secret dance parties at the Titans Tower. Apparently, Superboy is all talk on the dance floor, but Red Robin is quite graceful, and Wondergirl can’t dance to save her life, but does it anyway. We dance, talk some more, and when all is said and done, chastely kiss each others cheeks.
