Chapter Three
Lois was fuming, how could Tess do this to her? It simply wasn't fair. She worked hard here, had put her life on the line on more than one occasion just to get a story and this was the thanks she got?
Although she could admit that it didn't look good for the Daily Planet, but no one really had to know about it. That thought made her pause, Clark had heard enough to know that something went on last night and judging from his reaction to her face earlier, she knew he would be asking questions sooner or later.
And after the way the she had rubbed it in about having a date, she really didn't want him to know that it had all gone horribly wrong. After all, she still had her pride if nothing else.
As she walked back into the bullpen to get her things, she stopped. Clark was standing by her desk, checking his phone. He looked up and smiled as she walked over.
"You okay?" He asked.
"Just peachy Smallville," She huffed as she went about gathering her stuff. "I could lose my job but you know, apart from that I'm great." She glanced up to see him frown as he lowered his head and she suddenly felt guilty.
"I'm sorry you got suspended too. I didn't think she would do that." She said, softly.
"It's okay, besides, that's what friends are for right?" He said with a wide grin and she suddenly found herself smiling back.
"Yeah I guess." She mumbled as they made their way to the stairs. Lois didn't particularly feel like being cramped with him in an elevator. She would rather not have to do deal with the silence that would inevitably take over once they were alone.
"So do you feel like grabbing some lunch?" She turned to face Clark in surprise as they made their way out of the building.
"What? Oh um…I can't sorry Smallville I have a uh…" She stuttered, and tried desperately to think of something to come up with. She couldn't use Chloe as an excuse as she was always busy at Isis and patching things up with her husband and she couldn't very well say she had a deadline. She had nothing and sadly it made her realise just how much of her life was spent at work or out chasing stories.
"Lois come on, it's just lunch and I know that you probably skipped breakfast. Besides, we hardly talk anymore and I…well I kinda miss you." He said that last part so quietly she wasn't sure that she'd heard him right.
"You miss me huh?" She said with a smirk, never one to miss an opportunity to tease him. She was expecting him to do his usual, blush a little, and avoid looking at her.
She felt her breath catch in her throat as his eyes stared deep into hers and he nodded, the corners of his mouth tilting up into a small smile.
"Yeah, I miss talking to you. Come on, I'll buy." She stood rooted to the spot as he began to walk off.
"Lois, you coming?" He called. She shook her head and looked over at him. What harm could a little lunch do between friends right?
Clark smiled as they walked into the little café that Lois had become fond of. It didn't escape either's notice that this was the very same café at which Clark had stood her up.
They sat down at a table next to the window and quietly waited for the waitress. He was pleased that she had decided to come here with him but now that she wasn't saying much, he wondered if it had been a good idea. He just wanted things to get back to normal between them, he hated that she wouldn't look at him or tell him what was happening in her life.
Why couldn't things just be simple for him, just for once? Over the past few weeks he had come to terms with the fact that he and Lana could never be. Not only because of what Lex did to them, but because he honestly didn't know if things would've ever worked out. He knew that he loved her, but would that have been enough?
It had taken him a while to let the truth sink in that she was really gone and never coming back but once he had dealt with it, he had gone through their entire relationship in his head. And he was ashamed to admit that there had been flaws there that he had been only too willing to over look.
Their entire relationship had more pain and drama in it than it had happy times. He had to face the fact that even though Lana claimed to love him so much, he clearly wasn't important enough for her to tell him what she was up to. And she had left him so many times in the past, why should this one have been any different? Loving Lana was easy, comfortable, safe.
Lois on the other hand, well he somehow felt that things with her would be a little more intense. Over the last couple of weeks, whenever he had pictured Lana in his head, an image of Lois would pop up instead, Lana's face fading into the background.
He couldn't forget the look of hurt on Lois' face when she realised that he wasn't going to tell her his secret, she had thought it was because she wasn't important to him. She was so wrong.
It wasn't until the waitress came over that he realised that he had been staring directly at Lois and luckily, she was looking the other way and hadn't noticed.
"What can I get you?" The waitress said, flashing a broad smile at Clark.
"Um I'll have the uh…" Clark paused to look at the menu. "The chicken Caesar salad please and a coke. Lois?"
"I'll just have a coffee thanks." She said with a smile that Clark could tell was fake.
Was it really so much work to just sit and have lunch with him? He wondered. She looked like she wanted to bolt straight for the door. Though he couldn't help but feel that he deserved it. He had been a complete jerk to her but he wanted to make up for it.
"I thought we were having lunch?" He asked and she turned her head to look at him.
"I'm really not that hungry Clark. I'm fine with just a coffee, it's still a little early for lunch yet anyway."
"Okay well in that case I'll just have the coke thanks," He handed his menu back to the waitress, and turned back to Lois. He wasn't really that hungry either, if he was honest, he knew that this was just an opportunity to spend some time with Lois.
"I think that waitress has a crush on you." Lois chuckled. It was good to see a real smile for a change, he thought.
"She does not." He said, shifting in his seat.
"How would you know farm boy? You wouldn't be able to tell she liked you even if she came right up to you and kissed you." Lois let out a short burst of laughter and even though he wanted to be annoyed at her statement, he couldn't because her laughter was like music to his ears.
He studied her for a second, why couldn't he just pin point whatever it was that he was feeling for her? At least he had finally admitted that there was definitely something there. But after everything that had happened, was he willing to risk everything he knew to find out what. Whether he liked it or not, things were changing between them. It was a fact he could no longer deny.
"Maybe you should go ask her out." Lois teased with an evil glint in her eye.
"Lois." Clark warned.
"Why not Smallville, she seems nice and she's cute. Or are you still too scared to go for it?" She said raising her eyebrows in a challenge.
Her words struck a chord within him. He didn't know if she had said that to annoy him or if it was some kind of message. Either way, the question stayed lodged in his mind. What was he so afraid of?
An hour and three coffees later Lois was starting to feel better. Her anger from earlier had dissipated and she actually found herself having a good time with Clark. They talked about anything and everything, deciding to ignore the elephant in the corner. He had asked about her time in Star City and she had told him about Jimmy's recovery and what she had been up to.
"There wasn't really much else to do there and besides, I couldn't leave Jimmy alone. He needed someone there when he woke up." She said, her smile fading as she remembered sitting alone in the quiet hospital room waiting for Jimmy to open his eyes and say something.
She had been scared for him and for Chloe and there really was no one left she could turn to but she had refused to fall apart. Her eyes opened as she felt a strong hand clamp down over hers on the table and she looked up to see Clark smiling sympathetically at her.
"I'm sorry Lois I…" His pity was too much for her to bare. She could handle anything that was thrown at her, but to have him sit there and feel sorry for her was too much. She slowly withdrew her hand and ignored his frown.
"Don't worry about it Smallville, it was no big deal. Are you ready to leave, I think I've had more then enough coffee to keep me going for the day," She chuckled lightly but the truth was she just really wanted to get out of there. Clark nodded and went up to the counter to pay the bill as she walked outside.
"Excuse me miss." A little voice said and she looked down to see a little girl standing next to the building. Lois estimated that the girl was about nine or ten years old. She was standing behind a little table that was adorned with little wooden figurines.
"Are you alone? Shouldn't someone be with you?" Lois asked, concerned that a child was out on her own in the city. It was not a safe place to be.
"I'm with my dad, he went inside to get us something to eat. Would you like to buy one of my figures?" She said with a bright smile, gesturing towards the table.
Lois took a moment to inspect them, they really were quite good. Each one was carved into the shape of angels or fairies and each one had a red gem stone in the centre of them. It was obvious that a great deal of work had gone into them.
"Hi…" She heard the girl say and Lois looked up to see Clark standing next to her.
"Would you care to buy one sir?" Lois chuckled at the politeness in the girl's tone. Clark was clearly impressed as he bent down next to Lois to look at them.
"Wow these are really good, did you make them?" Clark asked with a big smile. Lois had to suppress a giggle at the expression on the child's face. What was it about Clark Kent that had all the girls eating out of his hand?
"No my dad did but I help out when I'm not at school. He likes to make them and sell them, he says shops are too expensive." The girl replied.
"Well how much is one?" Lois asked, taking her purse out of her bag.
"Two dollars each miss."
"Two dollars huh? Wow that is good. Here you go, I'll take…" She browsed the table and eventually settled on a little fairy figure. "This one here."
"Thank you." The girl replied, then she looked to Clark with an expectant expression.
"Come on Smallville, pay up." Lois said. Clark shot her a playful glare but took the money out of his pocket, paid the girl and chose his figure.
"Thank you both. You're very kind."
"You're welcome." Clark replied as he steered Lois away and started walking down the street towards his truck.
"I hope she's got someone with her," Lois muttered, looking back over her shoulder.
"I'm sure she wouldn't be out here on her own Lois." Lois nodded and smiled as she saw a man holding two sandwiches, walk up to the girl who smiled and sat down to eat.
She held her recent purchase up to look at as they walked into the nearby alley which would lead them back to the Planet's car park where she could collect her car.
"You know he must be incredibly talented to make these like this. It's amazing." Lois replied, her fingers playing with the gem stone in the middle.
Clark took a look at his and put it in his jacket pocket as his other hand went to loosen his tie. Lois couldn't stop her eyes from roaming over him, he looked so handsome in his suit and with the top button of his shirt undone and tie hanging loose, he looked incredibly hot.
She hadn't realised that she had been gripping the little figure in her hand so tightly until she felt the little gem fall loose into her palm.
"Well I guess that's what you get for two dollars." She chuckled, holding up the stone to get a better look at it in the light.
"I've never seen this kind of stone before, have you?" She asked, tossing it to him. He caught it and took a look.
"Clark? You okay?" Lois asked, noting how he was hanging his head and standing completely still. She hadn't seen the instant glow of red in his eyes. "Clark." Slowly he raised his head, his wide grin momentarily knocking her off her guard.
"Are you okay?" She asked again when he didn't reply. He was just staring at her with such intensity as he pocketed the gem.
"Never better Lois." He said, taking a step towards her. She backed away until she felt her back meet with a brick wall. He stopped barely an inch away from her, his eyes taking in every detail of her face. Something wasn't right.
"Are you sure, you don't look like yourself." Lois said with a frown.
"Well I do have a confession to make. I asked you to lunch because I wanted to spend some time with you. I wasn't lying when I said I miss you. I just…" She put her hands up to stop him as he leaned in close. She sidestepped him and shook her head. What on earth was he playing at?
"I don't know what's gotten into you Clark but you better snap out of it. Now." She said curtly.
"I'm sorry Lois, it's just…I like you. A lot." He said again with that grin.
She had wanted to hear those words for so long, but she couldn't believe he was actually saying them to her. Something had to be wrong. But apart from the almost predatory smirk he was wearing, she couldn't see anything wrong with him.
"You like me? Yeah right!" She snorted. But he still kept stalking closer to her, the look in his eyes rooting her to the spot.
"I do Lois. I've wanted to tell you for a while now but I didn't know how to."
"What about Lana? She just left you Clark." She squinted her eyes and studied his face, there was no flash of pain or regret and she wondered for the first time if he really was over her.
"What about her? She's gone…for good this time. We were never meant to be together I see that now. No, what I want is right in front of me." He said in a low voice, his head leaning slowly down to hers.
She wanted to tell him no, wanted to tell him to stop. But as his lips found hers, she was powerless to do anything but respond. His hands grasped her waist possessively as hers found their way around the back of his neck.
He tasted so good, his tongue gently battling with hers. She felt him pull her up against his body and she could already feel his arousal. It was too much. She ended the kiss and took a step back, her lips burning where his had been.
"Clark, what are you doing?" She whispered.
"What I've wanted to do since the first time I met you." He replied, leaning in close again. She was so confused, she didn't know what was happening to him but it clearly wasn't normal.
"So if this was what you wanted for so long, why did you stand me up that night?" He paused for a moment, thinking about his answer.
"I was an idiot." He replied. She pushed him away again and crossed her arms. He was still grinning at her.
He's enjoying this, she thought to herself.
Maybe it was time to fight fire with fire. She knew that he would soon buckle under the pressure so she grabbed his head and forced it down to hers, his lips crashing against hers. Her plan however didn't work because soon she felt his hands gliding down her sides and reaching round to cup her butt as he started trailing red hot kisses down her neck.
She closed her eyes and tried to push him away again but he wouldn't budge. She wasn't sure how much longer she would be able to say no to him, her legs were starting to feel weak and she knew that despite how much she may protest, this was what she really wanted.
She slowly pushed him away yet again and felt her mouth go dry at the sheer lust she saw in his eyes. She needed to find out what was going on with him so in a bid to buy herself some more time, she said. "Not here. Let's go back to my place,"
His grin widened and he nodded, so she took his hand in hers and began walking back to her car. He stopped and dragged her back to him.
"I have a faster way." He said, picking her up and before she even had time to react, she felt a gust of wind so strong that it literally took her breath away. She looked around in shock. They were standing in her apartment.