The sun was just dipping below the horizon as Clark drove his truck down the lane toward the house.
Lois had his right hand clasped in her left and their joined hands were nestled in her lap, while he steered with the other. Her head was on his shoulder as she slept and he caught a whiff of her perfume. He didn't recognize the scent and smiled when he realized that she'd worn it for him, for their first date.
His smile grew when he also realized that it wasn't going to be their last. And to top it all off, she agreed to spend the afternoon at the lake with him.
Clark was still having trouble comprehending the fact that Lois wanted to spend time with him. Him.
The same guy she'd derisively called Smallville, Farm boy and Clarkie since the night they'd met and now she was kissing him and making him happier than he ever thought he could be.
How had that happened? How had they let it happen?
And what in the heck were they going to do about it?
All Clark was sure of was that he didn't want to waste a moment of their time together because time with the people he cared about was precious to him; Dad being gone taught him that. And seeing Mom as little as he did reinforced it.
He missed Chloe too, but he'd done everything he could to talk to her but she still refused.
He brought the truck to a stop and squeezed Lois' hand and smiled. "We missed the sunset."
"That's all right. There'll be another one tomorrow." Her sleepy voice answered him and she sighed. "I had a really nice time."
"So did I." He dropped a kiss in her hair. "Should I leave you here or do you want to come in?"
"I don't suppose you'd carry me in?" Lois asked. "I walked a lot today."
He grinned. "I walked a lot too and you don't see me asking you to carry me."
"I'm going to have to talk to your mother about your sarcasm." She scolded him. "It's very unbecoming."
"I thought it was one of the things you liked about me." He kissed her hair again.
"So are you going to carry me in, or what?" She laughed softly, ignoring his sarcasm.
As if he'd do anything else."You have to let go of my hand, then." Clark told her and she seemed reluctant to do so, but finally did. He opened the door and slipped out before he turned back and reached in for her. "Come on sleepy; let's get you upstairs."
"At least you didn't call me Dopey." She laughed again.
"When Shelby's around, I should call you Sneezy." He really liked talking with her like this. He liked it even more when he felt her arms curl around his neck when he gently pulled her toward him and she put her head on his shoulder.
He got an arm around her back and another under her knees as he pulled her out of the truck and shifted her weight in his arms before he pushed the door closed with his foot.
He really liked having her in his arms too, much more than a friend should.
And it hit him; they weren't just friends anymore. He wasn't sure how he felt about that because he wasn't exactly sure what that did make them.
"She wore herself out, I see." Clark looked up to see his mother standing on the front porch, holding the screen door open.
"It's his fault." Lois answered from his arms and Mom smiled at him.
"I'm sure it was honey." She laughed quietly and looked at Clark as he stepped up on the porch. "You can put her up in my room."
"I'll put her in my room." He shook his head. "I don't mind the couch for one night."
"Did anyone stop to consider that I might like the couch?" Lois asked, her eyes still closed.
"Go back to sleep Grumpy." He smiled as he shifted her weight again.
"Hey, I prefer Sleepy if you don't mind." She smiled and he shook his head in amusement. There was no pleasing her sometimes, but he sure liked trying.
"I kind of like Sneezy, myself." He dropped a kiss on her lips as he carried her upstairs and when he got to his room, nudged the door open with his shoulder.
Who was he kidding, he just liked her, a lot.
What in the heck was he going to do about that?
He set her down on her feet and held her against him as he turned down the bedspread and then sat her down on the mattress. He got her arms from around his neck and she frowned before she opened her eyes and looked at him; they were gray. How had he never noticed before how pretty they were?
"Smallville, you like kissing me, don't you?" She was completely serious and he sat down next to her.
"You know I do, why do you ask?"
"Just wondering." She sighed.
"Do you like kissing me?"
She glanced up at him and smiled. "You really have to ask?"
Why did she do that to him?
"So why did you bring it up then?" He frowned.
"How would you feel about no kissing for, twenty-four hours?" Her body stilled and Clark got the feeling she'd been thinking about it for awhile. Needless to say, he didn't like the idea at all.
"Why?"
"Did you ever stop to consider that since we made that minor adjustment in our friendship all we seem to do is kiss?" She wondered.
Did they?
He supposed that if he thought about it, he would see that she was probably right. But he didn't want to think about it because he liked the way things were. "So what's your point?"
"My point is, we had a friendship before that didn't include kissing and we got along fine; I just want to see if we can do that again." And she paused. "Which means we can't touch each other either."
"Why?" Don't roll your eyes.
"Because every time we touch each other, it usually ends with us kissing. So we can't touch."
Clark sighed. "It's that important to you?"
"I just don't want to lose the friendship we have." Her head went down and he thought he understood; her deeper feelings for him were starting to override her feelings of friendship. "Do you?"
"Lois, we aren't losing our friendship." He took her hand and held it firmly to try and reassure her. "We're building on it." And he sighed again. "But if it means that much to you, I'll go along with it."
"You will?" She sounded surprised and he nodded.
"If only to prove to you that underneath it all we're still friends."
"Thank you."
"So when do you want to start the twenty-four hours?" He tried to catch her eye, but she was looking at her watch.
"Nine o'clock." She decided.
"Why nine?"
"Because in twenty-four hours we should be through with dinner. We still have a date, you know." Lois smiled. "Or do we?"
"We still have a date." He nodded. "If you still want to have dinner with me."
"I still want to have dinner with you." Her sigh sounded relieved. "I have another request though."
Clark couldn't help but smile. "It seems to be the night for them."
"Could we go someplace so you can wear that again? I really like the way you look." He felt her head go down on his shoulder and he nodded.
"If it'll make you happy, I'll wear this again."
"Thank you." She grasped his hand in hers.
"You're welcome." He kissed her cheek. "Do you want to sleep a little more or have dinner?"
"I want you to kiss me." Lois was straightforward as always.
"Lois."
"It's not nine o'clock yet." She coaxed him as she sat up. "So what do you say?"
"Twenty-four hours?" He couldn't believe that he was agreeing to it. But he'd told her earlier that he would to anything for her, and he meant it.
"It'll be over before you know it." Lois smiled at him.
"I wouldn't be so sure about that." He glanced down at her lips and then into her eyes and he kissed her. He reached up with his free hand to cup the back of her head as she kissed him back and then felt her free hand grasp his shoulder.
She pulled her hand out of his to put it on his other shoulder and then get her arms around his neck, while his arm found it's way around her waist and he took her down on the bed with him.
Big mistake.Because the weight of her body covering his, her softness and her warmth, warming him was almost more than he could stand.
She leaned up, her face flushed and she smiled at him as her hair brushed his face. "Smallville, what are you doing?"
"Trying to take advantage of you?" He laughed even as his body told her exactly what had been on his mind.
"Nice try." She kissed him and then pushed herself off of him and sat up. "But I smell your mother's pot roast downstairs and I'm hungry."
She was going to drive him crazy.
"I think I've just been insulted." He shook his head with feigned hurt. "You picked food over me."
"Clark, I'm always going to pick your mother's cooking over you, so get used to it." Lois grasped his hand and tried to pull him up. He could have played with her and refused, but instead let her pull him to a seated position.
"I'm sure Mom will be happy to hear that." He kissed her again; stood and held his hand out to her. "Come on Sneezy, Mom's pot roast is waiting."
She took it as he pulled her up off the bed and sighed as they walked out of the bedroom. "It's Sleepy."
oooooo
They took the stairs down to the kitchen and Lois couldn't help but smile. She'd told Clark that she would always pick Mrs. Kent's cooking over him, but the feel of his solid body under hers as they lay together on his bed kissing, made it a less than clear choice. But he didn't need to know that.
"There's my ace reporter." Lois was startled to see Ollie sitting at the island with Clark's mother, and an insufferably knowing grin on his face. "I wasn't aware that I'd sent you to cover the opening the Lowell County Fair."
Chloe.
"I see my cousin has been checking up on me." She frowned and folded her arms across her chest in irritation. "I suppose she called you to verify my lie."
"Lois?" Clark's voice was curious and she turned around. "What's going on?"
"I was packing and Chloe was asking too many questions about why I was coming out here. So I told her that Ollie sent me to cover the County Fair, and I was taking you along as a farming expert."
"I hope you quote me accurately." And to her astonishment, he smiled. "Lois, you said that you wanted to keep it between us and that's what you did."
"Don't worry about Chloe." Ollie chimed in. "I told her that I sent you and that it was my idea for Clark to go with you, so you could get first hand information from a man who farms for a living."
"What happens when my article doesn't show up?" She turned back to face him.
"Lois, why don't you just tell her that you were on a date with Clark? She might surprise you and be happy for you."
She glanced back at the man in question and the look on his face told her that he wasn't so sure. "Because it's none of her business who I'm dating." And she could have kicked herself when he grinned at her again.
"So it was a date." She saw him look at Clark and give him a short nod.
"That's not any of your business, either."
"That's true." He conceded and then sighed. "So what do you want to do?"
The General had told her never to lie, because that lie always found a way to catch up with the liar; and the lie she told had just caught up with her.
"Nothing." Lois finally decided. "I appreciate the fact that you covered for me, but as far as I'm concerned, she doesn't need to know anything else. So if she comes asking questions, or had Jimmy do it for her just tell her that it's not open for discussion."
"Fair enough." He nodded and got up. "Thank you for your hospitality Mrs. Kent. And thank you for the dinner invitation, but I need to get back to Metropolis. I'll see you Monday, Lois."
"I'll walk you to your car." Clark offered as he followed Lois's ex to the front door and then outside.
Mrs. Kent, who'd been silent during the exchange, finally spoke up. "Lois, you're going to have to tell her something eventually. Because if you and Clark start dating, she's going to figure that out and it's better that she hear it from you before she does."
"We already are." And Lois sat down.
"I don't understand." She shook her head.
"We're going out on another date tomorrow night, after we spend the afternoon at the lake." Lois told her. "The lake isn't a date, though."
She was trying not to smile. "Well then, what is it exactly?"
"It's just two friends going swimming." Lois was feeling defensive and wasn't sure why.
"Do you think that's possible, given how things have changed between you?"
"With a hands off policy in place, we'll see."
Did it suddenly sound as dumb as she thought it did?
"Hands off." Mrs. Kent frowned in confusion until understanding seemed to hit her and then she started to laugh. "And Clark agreed to this?"
Lois nodded.
"Why doesn't that surprise me?" She smiled. "For how long?"
"Twenty-four hours, starting at nine o'clock." It did sound dumb.
"Honey; don't be afraid of what your heart's telling you." Mrs. Kent reached for her hand. "Don't be afraid of what his heart is telling you."
"He's my friend."
"You're his too, and you have a solid foundation that you're building on."
"That's what Clark said."
"Then I think you need to believe it." Mrs. Kent squeezed her hand. "So did you have a nice time?"
Lois couldn't stop the smile that broke across her face. "Very nice."
"I'm glad."
And then she suddenly remembered the necklace.
"Before I forget, this belongs to you." Lois reached behind her neck to unclasp the necklace but Mrs. Kent stopped her.
"I'd like you to have it."
She shook her head. "I can't, your parents gave it to you. You wore it on your first date with Mr. Kent."
"And now you've worn it on your first date with his son." Mrs. Kent smiled at her. "So let's just see if it brings you the good luck that it brought me. Please take it Lois."
She knew to fight Clark's mother on this would be futile, so she touched the horseshoe in appreciation and nodded. "Thank you."
"You're welcome." She let go of Lois' hand and stood up. "Are you hungry?"
"I'm always hungry." Lois laughed. "Especially for your cooking."
"You know Lois; it wouldn't hurt for you to learn how to cook." Mrs. Kent suggested as Lois got up and walked to the counter. "The way to a man's heart is still through his stomach."
"I'm guessing that you already have someone's stomach in mind?" She flushed as she got three table settings out of the drawer. "Island or table?"
"Table please. I'm not saying that at all." Mrs. Kent shook her head innocently. "I'm just speaking generally."
"Speaking generally about what?" Clark's voice gave her a start as she walked to the dining room.
"Your mother thinks it's time I learn how to cook." Lois called into the kitchen as she set the table. He followed her in a moment later with plates, bowls and napkins to complete the settings.
"As long as you don't expect me to be a guinea pig, I think it's a good idea." He grinned and then kissed her. "But if you let Mom teach you, I might have to reconsider."
"I'd be happy to do it." Clark's mother nodded as she walked in with a salad bowl in her hands and put it down on the table. "Once I come home for good, I'll have the time."
"What do you say Lois? I've never known you to back down from a challenge." Clark raised his eyebrows at her as he tossed the salad. "Who knows, you might become as good a cook as my mother."
"Don't bet on it." She shook her head as Mrs. Kent sat down and she followed.
"I'll take that bet." He said as he filled his bowl and sat down. "Loser buys breakfast at O'Brien's."
"You're on because I know you'll be buying." She raised an eyebrow of her own at him as he handed the salad bowl to his mother.
"With my mother teaching you, I think you'll be buying. And I won't be worried about having to go to the hospital."
"You keep this up and you'd better worry." And she started to laugh as Mrs. Kent sighed.
"It was quieter in Washington."
"Nice going Smallville, you just gave your mother a headache." She tried to keep a straight face.
"Me? You're the one who started it." He didn't even try.
"Much quieter." Mrs. Kent said and shook her head in exasperation and Lois smiled.
It was nice to have her home.