Even More Adventures of Bruce and JC
Netflix and Chill
“Do we have plans for this evening?”
“Not unless I have to work. You know, crime never sleeps. What would you be up for?”
“Let’s just get a pizza and watch something.”
“Okay, I’ll call in the order and you pick something. Anchovies?”
“Only if you like them, Bruce. Let’s see. Ben-Hur, no. King of Kings, no. Hey, have you seen the Barbie movie?”
“Yeah, a couple of times.”
“The Dark Knight Rises?”
“Hard pass. Christian Bale? Come on. Okay, the pizza should be here in forty-five minutes.”
“Great, that gives us a little time to. . .”
“Mmm. Yeah.”
Frenemies
I’m reading the morning crime report. I sigh. The Joker again.
You put your arm around me.
“Have you ever been in a situation where there’s someone who seems to love you so much that they hate you, or maybe they love hating you so much that they love you?”
You’re quiet. Then, “Uh-huh. This guy I used to hang around with. Well, he was in the group I was part of. I thought we had something, a friendship, anyway, but then he sets me up to get jumped by some guys up to no good.”
I exhale. “People.” “Yeah.”
New Year’s Eve
At a fancy New Year’s Eve party, I get involved in a long conversation with this guy, Jim Gordon. He’s talking about his son, in trouble with the law. It’s hard to know whether people can change, and hard to see people you love make bad choices. I was not the easiest kid.
All of a sudden, it’s eleven fifty-five. Jim gets dragged off by his wife. I look around for Bruce. He’s on the balcony, alone. Far away, people are shouting a countdown. As he pulls me in just at midnight, I dissolve into the heat of his kiss.