THE GAMBLER
SUMMARY:
This
story takes place at the beginning of season 6. Lois and Clark play a
game of poker that changes their lives forever... DISCLAIMER:
RATING:
PG-13
Clark is alone at the farm. His mother is away for the weekend in Topeka. Chloe is busy with Jimmy Olsen – her new boyfriend. And Lana…Lana has moved in with Lex. He can't help but feel a little lonely. It's okay, he tells himself. Sometimes you need to be alone. He unloads the final feedbag; his chores finally done. He walks back to the house as it starts to rain. He decides sit out on the porch for a while. He sits down on one of the chairs and takes his shoes off – propping his feet on the side table. He closes his eyes; listening to the rain. But an unwelcome voice breaks the silence.
"Hey Smallville," Lois greets him as she sits down on the chair across from him while shaking the water out of her hair.
"What are you doing here Lois?" he asks, annoyed by her presence.
"I'm staging an intervention – that's what I'm doing here."
"What are you talking about?" he asks, getting up from his chair and looking down at her.
She gets up and walks over to him. "You've been moping about Lana long enough. It's time for you to go out and have some fun. Forget about her."
"I appreciate your concern, but I'll be fine," turning away from her and opens the door to the kitchen. She walks in right behind him as the door slams closed – hitting her on her backside.
"I mean it Smallville," she retorts as she observes him getting something out of the refrigerator. She walks over to one of the draws and pulls out a towel – drying her hair with it.
"I'm not in the mood to go out Lois. Now if you don't mind…" holding the kitchen door open for her. She ignores the gesture and instead walks into the living room and sits down in his father's old recliner. He frowns – but then walks into the living room and plops down on the couch.
"Fine, then if you don't want to go out, then we'll do something here. How about another Guitar Hero weekend?"
"I don't think so," he retorts.
"Okay then, how about a few games of poker?"
"Since when do you
play poker?"
"Since always. I'm a military brat,
remember?"
"'Brat' being the operative word," a smirk on his face.
"Very funny Smallville. I happen to be a damn good poker player. I could whip your butt with no problem at all."
"Is that a promise?" he asks – raising one eyebrow.
Lois is stunned by that remark. Did Clark Kent just flirt with me?
I can't believe I just said that. What made me say it? But that look on her face is priceless.
"Okay smart aleck," she retorts. "Do you want to play or not?"
"Sure, what the heck." After a moment he asks, "So what are the stakes?"
She thinks about it for a minute. Then a smile slowly forms on her face.
She has that look in her eye. The look I could never figure out. What's going on in there? I'm almost afraid to ask. He waits anxiously for her response. There's no need to be anxious Kent, he tells himself. It's Lois, for Pete's sake. But when she finally speaks, her words surprise him.
"How about some strip poker?"
"You're kidding – right?" he stammers.
"What are you – 'chicken' Smallville?" she asks, raising one eyebrow and getting up from her chair to kneel in front of him; putting her face close to his with their noses almost touching.
He gulps – a little nervous at how close she is to him. He tries not to notice now nice her hair smells. Is that Jasmine? Come on Kent. So she smells nice. Big deal. He peers intently into her eyes. She's waiting for me to say something. I want to kiss her. Where did that come from? Not her. She's the most annoying woman I've ever met. Out loud he says, "I'm NOT chicken. I don't back down from a challenge."
"Okay then. Where do you keep the cards?"
"I forgot to tell you. I don't think we have any," acting all disappointed.
"Not to worry Smallville," pulling out a deck of cards out of her purse. "I came prepared."
"Great," Clark responds, groaning inwardly.
She gives him a cryptic smile, then sits down at the dining room table and starts to shuffle the cards.
"Do you want a soda?" he asks her.
"Don't you have anything stronger Smallville?"
"If you're talking about beer, then I don't think it's a good idea."
"Come on Smallville. Live a little."
"I don't think so Lois," disappearing into the kitchen and returning a minute later with a couple bottles of soda – tossing her one and sitting down opposite her.
"You really are a boy scout – aren't you? Haven't you ever for once in that flannel buttoned-up life of yours done something impulsive?"
"Of course I have," Clark retorts, a little on the defensive.
"Uh huh," she mutters – not believing a word of it. She decides to cut him some slack – for now.
"Okay Lane, deal those cards and let's see if you can put your money where your mouth is," adding "That is, if you can keep it shut long enough." He can't help thinking now nice it would be to stick his tongue in her mouth. That's crazy. Knowing Lois, she'd probably bite down on it.
She glares at him; unaware of the thoughts that are starting to run through his mind. She finishes shuffling the cards and starts dealing until they both have 5 cards. They eye each other as they check out their respective hands. "So Smallville, how many do you need?"
"Who says I need any?" he retorts. She raises her eyebrows at him. "Alright, fine," he says. "I need one – okay?" a little snippy. He discards one card and she deals him a new one; taking one for herself.
He decides to really piss her off. He starts singing to himself while he's checking his cards.
You've got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em. Know when to walk away and know when to run.
She stares at him for a moment; her eyes narrowing.
You never count your money when you're sittin' at the table. There'll be time enough for countin', when the dealin's done…
"Are you finished Smallville?" a fierce look on her face.
"I think so," he says. "So," he says, "Lets see what you got Lane."
She smiles back at him; laying her cards on the table. "A straight," he mutters. "Gee, I wonder if I could beat that." He lays his cards on the table.
She stares at them. "Damn it!" she mutters.
"Four of a kind," he remarks with a smirk. "Okay Lane, pay up," he says.
"Alright, FINE," she scowls; taking off her socks – having taken off her shoes when Clark was in the kitchen.
"That's all? You disappoint me Lois. Pretty tame if you ask me," he says with a wicked smile on his face.
"Just you wait Smallville. You'll get your turn."
"Looking forward to it," flirting back with her. Why am I flirting with her? Since when do I flirt with Lois? Because she's a hottie that's why. Damn it Kent! Don't think of her that way. She's your friend after all. He gathers up the cards and shuffles them so fast that she could swear that he didn't shuffle them at all. Then he deals the cards.
"Okay Smallville, whata got?"
"Full House," he says.
"That's pretty good – but not good enough." He looks at her in puzzlement, and then is surprised to see what she has.
"A straight flush?" Well, he thinks to himself, she's better than I thought.
"Okay Smallville, your turn."
He takes off his socks. She stares at his bare feet. Is it a mans foot or his hand that determines how big…she starts to think. It doesn't matter anyway. Both his hands and feet are nice and big. LOIS! She tells herself. I can't believe you just went there. Get a grip.
He happens to glance up at her and she averts her eyes; reshuffling the deck. Was she just staring at my feet? He asks himself. And why is she blushing? He puts his elbows on the table and rests his chin on his hands – gazing at her as she shuffles the cards.
Why is he staring at me? She wonders. Out loud she says, "What are you staring at Smallville?"
Okay Kent, think of something. "You have something on your face," reaching out a finger to brush away a non-existent speck on her cheek. He starts to pull his finger away when she puts her hand to her face – touching his finger. Their eyes linger on each other for a moment.
"Okay then," she says, breaking the spell and dealing another hand. He gathers up his cards and checks them out. "How many do you need?" she asks.
"Two will be just fine," he replies, discarding the two as she deals him two more.
"I need two myself," taking two cards from the deck and shuffling them in her hand. "Alright Smallville, lets see them." With a smirk, he lays his cards out on the table. "Another four of a kind, huh?" she says. "Gee, that's too bad" – spreading hers out with a smirk to match his own. She chuckles in amusement at seeing his jaw drop.
"ANOTHER STRAIGHT FLUSH???" he exclaims. "I don't believe it!" ****! He thinks to himself. Why didn't I wear a belt with these jeans? He glances at her; the smirk still on her face. Alright Lois, the gloves are off. He puts his hands on the edge of his tee-shirt and slowly pulls it up and over his head; tossing it on the floor.
Her eyes linger on the smoothness of his chest; the 6-pack abs. She finds herself breathing a little heavier; beads of sweat starting to form on her forehead. She's feeling a tingle in her body that takes her by surprise. Why does he have to look so damn good? I just want to put my hand on his chest and…Forget about it Lois. This is Clark Kent we're talking about.
He notices how flustered she's getting. Is she becoming attracted to me? She can't seem to keep her eyes off of me.
She finally averts her eyes. "Your turn to deal," she finally manages to say. He shuffles them and deals them. They both eye each other again as they check out their cards.
"How many Lane?" he asks.
She frowns. "Three." He chuckles and deals them to her as she discards the three from her hand.
"Lucky me. I don't need ANY," he retorts. "These will suit me just fine." Then he asks, "What do you have?"
"Two pairs, what about you?"
He smiles back at her with the kind of smugness that she just wants to smack off his face. "FULL HOUSE! Read them and weep!" spreading them out on the table with a flourish.
DAMN IT! She thinks, throwing her cards down and glaring at him. She's about to take off the belt to her jeans but changes her mind when she sees the look of smugness still on his face. Okay Smallville, let's see what happens when I do this. She gets up from her chair and pulls her sweater over her head – revealing her black lace bra. She tosses her sweater on the floor; landing right on Clarks tee-shirt. She sits back down; her finger gliding underneath the black lace down to her cleavage.
Clark's eyes linger on her finger as it continues to stroke the lace of her bra. He gulps a little nervously; his stomach churning. He tries to ignore the tingling sensation that's starting to go through his body. Damn she's good. Okay Kent, do something.
"It's getting hot in here," he says suddenly – getting up from his chair and walking over to the window to open it; a soft breeze coming in through the open window as the rain continues to fall. He turns back around to find Lois standing there.
"I don't think it's hot," she remarks, reaching over his shoulders to push the window back down; the silkiness of her bra brushing up against his bare chest. He grabs her wrists before she could do it. They stare at each other for a moment. He has a strong desire to kiss her. But he gives himself a mental shake. She's toying with you, he tells himself. Don't give in. You're venturing into dangerous territory here Kent.
"I think I've had enough," he says suddenly – letting go of her wrists and walking away from her to go back to the table. He starts to gather up the cards when he feels a hand over his; taking the cards away from him. He looks up at Lois – who puts the cards back down. She pushes him back into his chair and sits down on his lap; her legs straddling him on both sides of his.
"Lois?" What are you doing?" putting his hands on her waist in spite of his best intentions not to. She puts her face very close to his until their lips are only a couple inches apart; her hands resting on his bare chest.
"It's your move Smallville," she says to him in a sultry voice that he's never heard come out of her mouth before.
He swallows hard; at a loss what to do next. His mind is a total blank. He gazes at her for a moment, then without a word wraps his arms around her waist and finally presses his lips against hers; softly at first. At that moment it starts to thunder outside. Then he sticks his tongue in her mouth; his lips devouring hers. She lets out a moan as he continues to explore her mouth. Her arms come up and around his neck. He stands up; her legs wrapped around his waist. He sits her down on the edge of the table – still kissing her. She puts her hands on the table behind her to support herself. He starts to kiss her at the base of her throat; making little sucking noises as he continues to make his way down to her cleavage. He reaches behind her to unhook her bra. He slips it off of her; exposing her firm yet supple breasts. He removes the rest of her clothing; taking a minute to remove his. He lies down on top of her as they start to kiss again; their hands caressing each other's body…
ONE HOUR LATER…
They lay in each other's arms. Not a word is spoken; the only noise being the rain that continues to fall. There are a million thoughts running through their heads.
Lois doesn't see the stunned look on his face as it hits him. I just had sex with Lois. My best friend Lois. I can't believe it. But then something occurs to him. I didn't hurt her! All these years of worrying about being physically intimate with a woman. About being with Lana. I didn't even think of it with Lois. Then he realizes something else. I think I'm in love with her. Did I just think that? How can I be in love with her just like that? He wonders. You know why Clark. Those feelings were always there – ever since you met her in that corn field. You just never acted on them because you were obsessed with Lana. But then a worrisome thought comes to mind. What if she doesn't feel the same?
While Clark is having those thoughts, Lois is having some of her own. I just had sex with Smallville. My best friend. How could I? I didn't plan it. It was supposed to be an innocent game of poker. Face it Lane – there was nothing innocent about it. You knew what you were doing. And you know why. Those feelings were always there. You just tried to deny them. What feelings? She asks herself. That you love him. Her eyes pop open at that thought. Just at that moment, Clark lifts his head off her shoulder and gazes intently at her. What is he thinking? She wonders. Does he feel the same? What if he doesn't? He smiles at her; caressing her cheek with his fingers. Then he says the words she was hoping to hear.
"I love you Lois." When he says those words, a tear starts to roll down her cheek. He brushes it off with his finger.
"I love you too Clark," she whispers back. He looks lovingly into her eyes. Then he gets off of her and stands up; picking her up in his arms and carrying her upstairs to his bedroom.
THE END