2
"Well well, what we have here...Two ladies and one sir...Just messing with you guys, don't stand here frozen like my front yard, please come in!"
Coming across a beaming Grant Gabriel was the first thing they encountered entering the house. What came right after, was a huge living room, divided in many levels that satisfied all tastes with their stylish decoration, loads of Christmas lights and ornaments, and of course, a place full of ladies and gentlemen of all ages, vividly jabbering in every corner. Chloe smiled at her editor, her eyes though nervously scanning the interior, already sensing the discomfort building up in her two companions. She had promised them a careless Christmas party with other colleagues from the Daily Planet, and they had just landed in the middle of a grand upper class gala.
"Wow...when you had talked about 'inviting the Daily Planet to your new house' , I hadn't really realized you were actually talking about the whole building, including any possible passer by that has ever entered the place"
Grant laughed with honesty.
"Well, you are being a little unfair now Miss Sullivan. Tonight we enjoy the company of our own Daily Planet family, plus a few other interesting personalities. Because , well, it's Christmas only one time every year, isn't it?..That's the reason I'm glad your friends came with you"
Glancing at Clark , Grant winked at him "Ladies' first" and turned to Lana who was just taking her coat off in order to hand it to the maid.
"Miss Lana Lang...our first meeting happened under, what i would call, rather unfortunate circumstances . However, I have heard many things about you".
"I can only hope then you did hear them from a fair source."
At her response, a sudden spark danced in Grant's eyes for a mere second , before he took her velvet hand in his ,placing a soft kiss on it.
"Enchanted". Without wasting time, he turned to Clark again and extended his hand. "And you must be Clark Kent?"
"I m not sure if i should hope for the same source in my case as well" the other man joked while heartily shaking hands with Grant.
"Oh no, not at all" Grant retorted amused. "In fact, in your case Mr Kent, I dare to say i have an even better source. Lois is never reluctant to talk about her adventures in Smallville, you know."
Clark felt his muscles tensing and unconsciously clenched his fist, a reaction that , however, passed unnoticed by Grant.
"Speaking of the Devil, I suppose my cousin is already around?"
"Yes , actually she is back there, near the bar." Grant leaned towards the small group, lowering his voice in a conspiring manner "In fact, she has initiated a rather heated discussion with two well known lawyers and one senator.You gotta love this woman!" he concluded satisfied and glanced over his shoulder towards the bar. "I will go over there and let her know you guys came. Otherwise, she is capable of spending the whole night chatting, you know how Lois is...Meanwhile, please feel welcome to enjoy the party."
They thanked Grant and watched as he dragged his Cheshire smile through the guests and towards the bar, successfully reaching a tall woman in long, black dress that seemed to be the center of small circle of people. They stood there, mesmerized by her words as if she was a magnet. Grant whispered something in her ear and, when another man stepped aside, they saw Lois looking at their way while smiling broadly. And what a sight she was. The long, black dress hugged tightly all her curves, highlighting all the right places. It was one of those dresses with the deep cleavage that tied behind the woman's neck, with the addition of a sparkling pattern on the upper torso. Chloe watched her cousin in amazement.
"Well it certainly seems that at least one of us had an idea of how formal this party would be. Incredible dress..."
"And wait to see the back" Lana added smirking, since she had a better angle of Lois from the spot she was standing.
At that point, Lois turned around to get another drink, gifting the men behind her with an excellent view of a divine back as exposed as the laws of that state allowed.
Clark gulped. Audibly. So audibly, that he felt thankful he was the only Kryptonian around and that the velvet voice of Ella Fitzgerald was meanwhile capturing the senses inside the house.
"Well. Can't say I m surprised. A look at her editor's residence, and we already know that the guy would be full of...revealing gifts like this." ,he sneered with bitterness.And regretted his fumble the next second.
Chloe rolled her eyes at his comment.
"You'd better hold your horses, Clark. In case you didn't notice, we are here tonight for you and Lana, not in order to ignite new flames." she mouthed only for his alien ears to hear. Clark looked at her bewildered, her words, a painful sting to his decency.
"What?..I don't.."
"Hey, here's Jimmy" Lana nudged Chloe as she saw the young photographer coming their way.The blond lifted her right eyebrow and smirked.
"And i had started thinking you were attending the wrong party."
Just like Chloe, Jimmy was also specially invited at tonight's Christmas celebration. Every worker at the Daily Planet was allowed to bring with them an escort , thus Chloe had believed that the idea of Clark and Lana together in a festive, careless atmosphere, away from all the harrowing problems of the latest months, could be the first step for them to free themselves from the morass they were currently stuck. Chloe had added Clark in the office's list, Jimmy had given Lana's name along with his and both of them had hoped they were making the right decision. Truth was that the evening hadn't started with the best of the omens. When Chloe had left her flat in Metropolis to enter Clark's car, since Jimmy had found himself at a friend's place and, after a couple of beers, had stated he would go straight to the party from there, she had come across a rather cold atmosphere lingering between the couple, dangerously reminding of the weather outside. At least now, with the presence of Jimmy, a - most of the times - guaranteed source of laughter, her hopes for a turn of their luck had risen up again.Until...
"Hey guys, what took ya so long? Ok , listen up, man , you won't believe who is here tonight..." Jimmy said in one breath, the incredulous look in his eyes betraying the impossible.
Clark frowned, his confusion apparent. "What do you mean?"
"Jimmy, this is not the right time for 'let's solve the riddle' by the way." Chloe added to her friend's confusion.
But Lana didn't need any further explanations.
For there he was.
At the back of all this loquacious as much as meaningless crowd...leaning at a door frame made out of walnut wood...selectively alone...cloaked in the mystery that had always been both his shadow and his charm all those years...wearing his black , classy suit, matched with silky, black shirt and no tie at all...Cause he had always been like that. Breaking the formalities with style.And it was the first time in her life that she was laying eyes on such beauty , wrapped in so much melancholy. A black melancholy that was elegantly interrupted by a silky , crimson with black stripes, neck-cloth, folded neatly around his neck and into his black shirt, leaving the two upper buttons open. And those blue eyes...nailed on her defenseless, female figure, calmly watching every move she made, every breath she took...piercing through the thin fabric of her dress, penetrating her soft skin, ruthlessly invading her heart , reaching her lonely soul and graving his initials on it...for the second time in this lifetime.
"What is HE doing here?"
Clark's stern voice yanked her off the tumult of emotions and memories she had just found herself sinking and sinking. A glimpse of anger flashed through her exotic eyes as all the unhappy images from her marriage with Lex crushed her thoughts. Whatever game he was playing tonight, she wasn't willing to give in that easily. She was making her own rules now, at least this was something the mastermind himself taught her well.
"I have no idea. But even if masked as a friendly Christmas party, this is still a celebration of Metropolis' top newspaper...and well Lex is still a billionaire with a long list of allies and deals in his back pocket, so i guess seeing him in a place like this, shouldn't be that surprising, should it?" Chloe bit her bottom lip, unsure of what was happening.
"Don't know about you, but I, for once, am not thrilled in staying around to find out. I m going to get a drink" Lana firmly stated, leaving the three of them to deal with the 'Lex Luthor puzzle of the night'. Because, truth was, that she wouldn't trust her own reactions, if she spent one more minute exchanging glances with the only man she had ever let touch her inner self; her husband.
ooooooooooooooo
Unfortunately, it is at times one needs to stay alone and gather their thoughts, that they keep being intrigued to jump back into the vortex of their tempting surroundings. It didn't took long for Clark to run after Lana, trying to calm down his own anger over Lex's presence by finding the wrong moment to express his genuine concerns.
"Lana..." he hesitantly placed a hand on her shoulder "...are you alright?"
At their contact, her body instantly grew rigid, while her right hand tightly clenched the counter.
She sighed.
"I'm fine Clark, why wouldn't I be? As i said, I' m just here for a drink". Searching for some comfort in alcohol, one of the rare times in her life, she had approached the rich buffet. But instead of embracing the old haze only liquor could grace her with, she bitterly discovered that everything tasted like poison when bringing them to her dark red lips. She could feel him now nodding above her shoulder and for a minute , she hoped that he would just stand silent beside her and let her have her precious moment.
"I still can't believe he is here. After everything he has done..."
Maybe she was cursed after all. Yes, that was it. While seeking for some privacy, she was doomed in reliving the old familiar situation with the same predictable people, who had apparently took an oath in eternally disturbing her peace. Like a weird mutation of Groundhog day into a Groundhog moment.
"It doesn't really matter, Clark. It's just a Christmas party, many people are around. Let's just make a favor to ourselves and stick to that." She was really trying here.
"I know...i know. But i want you to know that if i had any idea he would be here, i would never have agreed on us joining this celebration."
A new wave of rage ran immediately through every muscle fibre of her body. Her gaze flickered as she turned her head to face him .
"And may I ask since when you decide for both of us?"
"Lana, no, i didn't mean it that way, i was just saying..." he rushed to explain.
"You were just saying what, Clark? For your information, I'm here tonight on my own accord, and I would still be here no matter what.Now , if you wish to spend the night debating with yourself on why Lex happened to be around as well, then suit yourself. Don't expect me to hold the candle for you though."
With that, she left Clark near the counter with his mouth hagging semi agape at her mild outburst, and sheered off through the crowd. Mixed with that vivacious pack of guests, it didn't take long for the slow, merry music and her overloaded instinct, to bring her closer to the other side of the main room, the one she initially had intended to avoid. Lifting her eyes, she found herself admiring a magnificent Christmas tree, that seemed to carry all the wealth and vanity of the world. Standing there , shutting off the irritating hum that surrounded her, surrendering herself almost completely at the stillness emanating from her core...she failed to notice a smooth movement behind her.
"Impressive, isn't it? Much taller than the one we had last year at the mansion."
His deep, husky voice, instantly replaced any Christmas music in her ears. Every sensitive nerve of her body got alerted before the circling motion of her intruder. Her eyelids shut in ecstasy , as he, oh so lightly, brushed against her exposed shoulder and moved in standing beside her.
"Drinking alone, aren't we?"
Looking at his reflection on the Christmas balls, she subtly wet her lips.
"I didn't know i needed company to drink".
He chuckled as he kept massaging her figure with his eyes.
"No, of course you don't. The booze is your only companion, that's the whole point in drinking."
Still avoiding his gaze, she took a sip from her drink, her voice suddenly getting sharper.
"You do understand you have quite some nerve to show up here tonight. And don't waste your time in pretending you didn't know I would attend as well."
"Well, I don't, do I?"
Lana swallowed. She had kept drinking and drinking, yet her throat had started having unwelcomed similarities with the dessert. Smirking lightly at her silence, Lex continued very naturally;
"It's not that I don't have my share in lying, but i think the one that holds the reigns in that field is also present here tonight, am I wrong?"
Lana made a sarcastic grimace , before finally turning her almond eyes on the chic man beside her. She knew she was taking a risk, and she immediately realized the depth of it , when her legs grew limp under his predatory stare. She had once been a Luthor though, and Luthors always stood their ground.
"Why are you here Lex?"
"For the obvious reasons...the stardust of this party...its big mouth guests...the exquisite buffet...the endless gossiping costumed as 'high class discussions'... ordinary stuff like these..."
"Which we both know you find rather dull...in the best case...", she retorted.."So , why don't you just make some space in this.. overcrowded party" she dismissively waved around her " by hitting the road?"
Lex deviously looked straight into her eyes, the very ones he used to consider as his own windows to the world, before raising his glass to her.
"Because , this party, just started to get interesting."
Lana felt like her body had just grown its own roots, imprisoning her forever in that very spot.Struck by the lightning of an old passion, which she had dared to declare dead., she watched him as he tailed off to join a small buzzing group of middle aged men.All Lana Lang managed to do, was to take another sip.
