Saturday 7am
Lex stared down at the girl that lay curled beside him. It was still early, but he knew that the rising sun would soon flood the room with streaming light. Lana had her head on his arm and her hand pressed against his chest; their legs were tangled up in the sheets and with each other. He stroked the hair around her face and lifted a strand to his lips.
She hadn't been slumbering for long, but she slept like she was in a coma. Lex envied that; he always slept lightly, hearing every sound the house made. Even now when he was drained and exhausted, he couldn't sleep. For once, Lex didn't mind his erratic, sleeping patterns. If he hadn't been awake, then he wouldn't have been able to watch Lana.
He had an irrational fear that if he closed his eyes, even for a minute, that he would wake to find Lana gone from his bed. So, he stayed alert, holding her, caressing her body, calming her when she stirred in her sleep. Lex knew that there was a danger of him becoming dependent on this, on her, but at this minute he didn't care. He wanted it, all of it, no matter what the consequences.
The first, big problem would be Clark, of course. He hated what the truth would do to his friend and he knew that hurting Clark was sure to upset Lana because she cared for him, but Lex would just have to find a way to tell him. He wouldn't let Lana shoulder that burden; it would be too difficult for her to break Clark's heart. Plus secretly he wondered if it came down to it, would she be able to do it? Lex really hoped that Clark would understand, but was prepared if he didn't.
Nell would be a problem too, not as big of a hurdle as Clark, but Lana's aunt could be unpredictable. She loved the Luthor name and money, so that should take care of some of her objections. But she was pretty protective of her niece. Lex would just have to convince her that Lana being with him was the best thing for her, and Nell.
The way Lex figured it, the biggest problem would be Lana herself. Last night was one thing, but she was still young and in the harsh light of day, things always looked more complicated and scary. He would just have to make this as easy as he could for her. Lex wondered if he should slip out and buy her something? In his experience, a woman liked to be given tokens of affection by her lover. But he couldn't move without Lana waking up, so he decided that shopping would have to wait.
Lex placed one hand on Lana's flat belly and traced small patterns, planning his strategy. His course of action was obvious; he would just overwhelm her, then she wouldn't have time to think about whether a relationship with him was a good idea or not. He would bring her to the city on the weekends and show her the life that she'd always dreamed about. And during the week, he would have that life of sophistication and glamour flown to Smallville for her. Lex smiled as he imagined it all working out the way he was planning.
Lana wasn't sure what that awful noise was, but it was loud and it was reverberating inside her head. She stirred slightly at the faintest touch on her stomach; it was light and caressing and sent shivers though her body. But the second it stopped, that awful pounding overtook her.
She tried to open her eyes, but the light burned and she squeezed them shut again. Lana rolled to her side and hit something solid and warm, which was not a good sign. She snatched her hand away from the warmth it molded to and tried to calm her churning stomach.
Where am I, she thought frantically, only remembering bits and pieces from different places, a restaurant, a club where there was a lot of noise. Why was that noise still in her head? And why couldn't she remember what had happened at those places? Where am I now, she wondered as ice-cold panic began to set in. She wanted to open her eyes and just look, but her throbbing head rebelled at the notion.
Skin, someone's bare skin, that's what she'd just been touching. Oh God, there was a body beside her, a man's body, who could it.Lex! Lana's eyes flew open and she was greeted by the sight of Lex lying next to her. Lana groaned and ran a shaky hand across her forehead, wiping away the gathering beads of sweat.
"Lana, what's wrong?" Lex asked worriedly. He knew that something was off the minute that she'd opened her eyes and looked at him. Her expression was not the contented one that he'd hoped for, nor was it the regretful one that he'd expected. It was confusion and it emanated from every pore of her lovely face.
Lana tried to block out his voice and prayed that if she just ignored him, Lex would go away. But he didn't. Instead, it seemed like he was suddenly closer. He wasn't exactly lying beside her like she'd thought when she first woke up; their limbs were wrapped around each other so that when she turned over, the action just burrowed her deeper in to his arms.
Lana lifted her gaze up slowly until she was staring straight in to Lex's troubled eyes. With a moan of distress, she rolled away from him, trying desperately to disengage her body from both the twisted sheets and Lex. He didn't attempt to stop her and she made it to the edge of the bed before she had to cease moving for fear of passing out.
"What is this? What's wrong with me?" she managed to croak out after her head had stopped swimming.
Lex slid over to where she sat at the edge of the bed, head in hands, her long hair tangling around her shoulders. He slipped behind her and pulled her body back against his, rubbing her head with soft, soothing motions. "I don't know. You were fine last night. Maybe it's some kind of food poisoning? How do you feel?"
Lana didn't want to, but she allowed herself to be dragged back against his body. His naked body, she groaned again. Of course, she was in the same state, so it didn't really matter, did it? And besides she felt too ill to worry about modesty right now. She rested her head on Lex's chest and prayed that the room would stop spinning crazily. It was like being on the Tilt-A-Wheel after eating too much cotton candy.
"The room is spinning and I feel sick, really sick. My head is pounding too," Lana muttered in a raspy voice a few minutes later.
Lex did his best to straighten her sleep-tousled hair as he stroked the silky length of it, a sinking feeling settling in. "Sounds like a hangover," he said quietly.
In an effort to stop his gentle, caressing hands, and her own body's reaction, Lana pulled away from Lex and staggered to her feet. She turned back towards him, not caring about her undressed state. "Hangover? What did you do?" she hissed at him accusingly.
Suddenly, Lex was reminded of how he'd felt on that fateful day in Smallville when his Porsche had hit that bale of wire on the overpass and spun out of control. He'd known with a dreadful certainty that he wouldn't be able to stop the car as it skidded towards Clark, just as he knew now that there was no way to avert Lana's suspicion and recrimination.
"Lana, it isn't like that," he defended himself as his mind raced ahead, trying to figure out a way to assure her and salvage this. "You had maybe two glasses of wine all night..."
"That's not possible. I feel terrible, Lex, and I...we...oh God, I'm going to be sick." She flew to the bathroom with her hand over her mouth and slammed the door shut behind her.
Lex was right on her heels. "Lana! Lana, damn it, open the door. Did you smell the cologne in the green bottle, Lana? Did you? Answer me!" Lex shouted through the locked door, but was rewarded with nothing but silence. He banged angrily on the door a few, more times, then gave up.
What the hell was going on, Lex wondered? Today was starting out a total mess and getting worse by the minute. How could you have been so stupid, he chastised himself? Of course, Lana had somehow inhaled that damn serum. Wasn't last night just a more advanced version of what happened last time? Lex stormed around the room until he found his trousers, which had somehow ended up under the bed and jerked them on, pulling his shirt on next and stomping out of the now eerily quiet bedroom.
Lana heard Lex yelling at her and then, pounding on the door, but ignored him. She lay on the cold tile and waited for the nausea to abate, but she couldn't stop the tears that flowed down her cheeks. How could this have happened, she asked herself over and over?
Lana wasn't sure how long she lay there, but finally, she felt well enough to try and get up. She leaned over the marble-inlaid sink and ran the cold water, splashing it on her face before even daring to glance in the mirror. Lana was surprised at her own reflection. She didn't look nearly as bad as she felt. She was a little pale and her hazel eyes were red-rimmed, but it was her mouth that captured her attention. Her lips were red and swollen and when she ran a shaking finger over them, she found that the skin was sensitive to the touch.
What... she started to ask, but stopped when she realized she already knew the answer. Lex. Last night.
"Oh God," Lana moaned and sank down to the floor again. How did that happen, had he slipped something in to her drink? She shook her head slightly and tried to focus on the events of the previous evening. What did she remember? Lex and his hands and mouth on her body.
Stop thinking about that, she commanded herself, and made a concerted effort to put all thoughts of Lex's strong, experienced hands out of her head. What had happened before they came back to the penthouse and ended up in bed together?
Slowly, it came back to her. The club and the provocative music and Lex's hands on her waist and his deep, sexy voice vibrating in her ear. She also remembered her hand running up and down his leg and that she had wanted him to bring her back here so that they could be alone, so that they could...
Lana didn't want to remember any more than that, so she forced herself to go back further in to her memory. She recalled the restaurant and how perfect the evening had seemed, the wine, the incredible food, the conversation, the flirting. Then, before that to the balcony and that amazing kiss.
But that wasn't all; she knew that there was more. What had Lex asked her, she struggled to remember?
"What do you want me to feel, Lana?"
"I want you to want me, Lex. As much as I want you."
Oh God, she started to cry again. This wasn't his fault, it was her's, all her's. She had done this to herself and to Lex. Once again, she laid her dark head down on the cool marble and let the tears flow freely.
Lex leaned against the bathroom door and squeezed his eyes shut tightly as he listened to Lana weep. Each, plaintive sob made his heart clinch painfully. Great job, really great, he admonished himself. So what that no one could say he'd seduced her or taken advantage of her? He knew that she wouldn't be in there crying her beautiful eyes out if he hadn't had that serum delivered to the house. He knew that he should have just had the damn stuff sent straight to LuthorCorp, but he'd wanted to see it first.
Good plan, Lex. Now how do I fix this?
Lana finally ran out of tears and realized that as bad as things were, she couldn't lay in the bathroom all day. She was relieved that, at least, she was beginning to feel a little better. Well, her stomach didn't, but she wasn't as dizzy and her head didn't throb unless she moved too quickly. She crawled over to the large, walk-in shower and turned on the hot water. She carefully raised herself to her feet, then stepped under the spray, letting it pound against her body.
Her skin was hypersensitive in spots and she winced when the steamy water hit those places, but slowly, it relaxed and calmed her. Lana closed her eyes and let her mind drift and her body melt into the hot spray. She didn't even jump when hands encircled her waist and soft lips nuzzled at her neck. She knew it was wrong, but she leaned back against Lex and let his hands soothe her body.
He whispered tender words over and over in her ear; they were said so softly that she had to strain to hear each of them. Lana, he called, the sound growing more and more insistent. She struggled to turn around and answer him, but his hands were driving her crazy. But he insisted on a response, repeating her name again and again, sounding increasingly urgent each time.
Lana jerked awake with a start. She had fallen asleep, sitting on the floor next to the shower. So, Lex had never been there with her; she'd dreamed it. He was calling her name though; screaming it in fact from outside the bathroom door.
"What?" she finally answered in a tired, tiny voice, wondering if what she'd done would haunt even her dreams.
"Open the door, Lana, it's okay. Just open the door, it's going to be all right." Lex coaxed, trying to keep any hint of frustration out of his voice. He was afraid that if he was too demanding, then he might scare her and she would never come out.
"Lex...I-I-I don't know why...I mean, I can't...believe that I d-d-did..." she didn't know what to say, but she figured that it was better said on this side of the door without him in the room with her. Lana knew that he would overwhelm her and make her feel silly and small and then, she would be struck dumb.
"Lana, it's okay, I promise. Just open the door," he repeated the request.
Lana stood on shaky feet and realized that she didn't have any clothes. She looked around for something to put on. Her eyes landed on a soft, black robe, which hung on a silver stud behind the door. She slid it off and over her shaking body. It was too big, but she gathered it around her while she opened the door.
Lex took a step back as he heard the lock unlatch and the doorknob turn. He started to say something, but Lana stepping out of his bathroom with his robe clutched around her naked body made him stop. He had imagined that same thing on her while they sat on the balcony eating this morning. Of course, she hadn't been sick and crying in his fantasy.
"Lana, drink this, it'll help," he instructed tersely as he thrust out the glass that he'd sat on the table earlier. She took it and sniffed at it hesitantly before lifting it to her lips.
Well, at least, she didn't think that he was still slipping something in her drinks, Lex mused.
"What is it? It tastes awful," she queried when she had taken a few swallows.
"It's supposed to taste that way. It will make you feel better soon." Lex couldn't look at her standing before him enveloped in his robe, so he paced around the room.
"Lex! Stop it, you're making me sick with that pacing," Lana groaned and lay back down on top of the mussed sheets. She rolled over and buried her face in the silk of the bed. It smelled like musk and earth, like Lex, she realized. But also like her, lighter, floral.
"Lex, I don't understand what happened..." Lana started as she turned away from the memory that their combined scents stirred.
"It doesn't matter. It was a mistake; that's all. It's probably best to just forget it," Lex said from the other side of the room where he stood, staring out the window at the brightness of the early morning sun.
Lana drank more of the nasty-tasting liquid before answering, "Of course, it matters. I.we...I mean, last night w-e-e...."
Lex shoved his hands in his pants pockets and finally, turned to face her, "Look, Lana, like you said, it must have been something...you drank," Lex concluded, not wanting to hear any more of her attempts to make sense of what she obviously considered to be an unthinkable act.
"Actually, the more I think about it, the more I realize now that you did have more to drink than I thought last night...I just wasn't aware of it at the time. It's probably more my fault than yours. Sorry," Lex mumbled a hasty apology, then spun around and walked out of the room.
Lana watched him leave and heard the words that he tossed out, but as much as she wanted to believe them, to make them true, she couldn't. Deep down she knew that this wasn't Lex's fault, she hadn't drunk too much and she had wanted to be with him.
"Lex. Lex, wait," Lana slid off the bed and padded carefully out to the living room where Lex was already talking on his cell phone.
"You should get dressed so that we can get back to Smallville. I can have someone else take care of the business that I needed to do here," he said without looking at her.
Lana started towards him, but found herself at a loss for words, so she dutifully returned down the hallway, leaving Lex alone.
******************************************************************
"Ms. Lang, did you have a nice trip?" Phillip asked as he opened the car door for her while Lex threw their bags in to the back seat.
"You could say that," she replied, glad for the dark sunglasses that Lex had tossed her in the elevator. Whatever he had given her to drink had made her feel better, but she was still a bit green.
She saw Lex staring at her; he started to say something, but changed his mind and slid behind the steering wheel instead. After Phillip told her that he hoped she'd came again and moved aside, Lana lowered her body carefully in to the seat beside Lex. She was already dreading the drive ahead of them.
Lana didn't need to worry about what she was going to say to Lex on the trip home because he talked on the cell phone to one business contact or another the whole way back, for which she was grateful. She finally fell asleep and didn't wake up until they were almost in front of her house.
She stretched and yawned and was surprised to realize that she felt fine again. "Look, Lex..." she began, gazing out her window and away from him.
"We're there," he announced as the car screeched to a halt in the driveway.
Lana watched Lex jump out of the car, drag her bags out from the back seat, and stalk towards the porch with them. She took a few, steadying breaths and slowly, got out after him. Lex was already walking back down the steps by the time she'd gotten to the bottom of them. "Lex, please I need to..." she tried again, reaching for his arm.
He shook off her hand. "It's no big deal, Lana. It's just something that happened, so let's just forget about it," he commanded in an edgy, distant voice; he just wanted to get away from her as soon as possible.
Not knowing what to say or do to make things right, Lana stepped aside and let Lex walk off. His expensive car threw dirt out behind it when he tore out of the driveway. She guessed that he had a right to be mad at her, but watching him leave made her feel more alone than she had since she was a child. She watched the road until his car disappeared and then, slowly picked up her bags and went inside.
Lex stared down at the girl that lay curled beside him. It was still early, but he knew that the rising sun would soon flood the room with streaming light. Lana had her head on his arm and her hand pressed against his chest; their legs were tangled up in the sheets and with each other. He stroked the hair around her face and lifted a strand to his lips.
She hadn't been slumbering for long, but she slept like she was in a coma. Lex envied that; he always slept lightly, hearing every sound the house made. Even now when he was drained and exhausted, he couldn't sleep. For once, Lex didn't mind his erratic, sleeping patterns. If he hadn't been awake, then he wouldn't have been able to watch Lana.
He had an irrational fear that if he closed his eyes, even for a minute, that he would wake to find Lana gone from his bed. So, he stayed alert, holding her, caressing her body, calming her when she stirred in her sleep. Lex knew that there was a danger of him becoming dependent on this, on her, but at this minute he didn't care. He wanted it, all of it, no matter what the consequences.
The first, big problem would be Clark, of course. He hated what the truth would do to his friend and he knew that hurting Clark was sure to upset Lana because she cared for him, but Lex would just have to find a way to tell him. He wouldn't let Lana shoulder that burden; it would be too difficult for her to break Clark's heart. Plus secretly he wondered if it came down to it, would she be able to do it? Lex really hoped that Clark would understand, but was prepared if he didn't.
Nell would be a problem too, not as big of a hurdle as Clark, but Lana's aunt could be unpredictable. She loved the Luthor name and money, so that should take care of some of her objections. But she was pretty protective of her niece. Lex would just have to convince her that Lana being with him was the best thing for her, and Nell.
The way Lex figured it, the biggest problem would be Lana herself. Last night was one thing, but she was still young and in the harsh light of day, things always looked more complicated and scary. He would just have to make this as easy as he could for her. Lex wondered if he should slip out and buy her something? In his experience, a woman liked to be given tokens of affection by her lover. But he couldn't move without Lana waking up, so he decided that shopping would have to wait.
Lex placed one hand on Lana's flat belly and traced small patterns, planning his strategy. His course of action was obvious; he would just overwhelm her, then she wouldn't have time to think about whether a relationship with him was a good idea or not. He would bring her to the city on the weekends and show her the life that she'd always dreamed about. And during the week, he would have that life of sophistication and glamour flown to Smallville for her. Lex smiled as he imagined it all working out the way he was planning.
Lana wasn't sure what that awful noise was, but it was loud and it was reverberating inside her head. She stirred slightly at the faintest touch on her stomach; it was light and caressing and sent shivers though her body. But the second it stopped, that awful pounding overtook her.
She tried to open her eyes, but the light burned and she squeezed them shut again. Lana rolled to her side and hit something solid and warm, which was not a good sign. She snatched her hand away from the warmth it molded to and tried to calm her churning stomach.
Where am I, she thought frantically, only remembering bits and pieces from different places, a restaurant, a club where there was a lot of noise. Why was that noise still in her head? And why couldn't she remember what had happened at those places? Where am I now, she wondered as ice-cold panic began to set in. She wanted to open her eyes and just look, but her throbbing head rebelled at the notion.
Skin, someone's bare skin, that's what she'd just been touching. Oh God, there was a body beside her, a man's body, who could it.Lex! Lana's eyes flew open and she was greeted by the sight of Lex lying next to her. Lana groaned and ran a shaky hand across her forehead, wiping away the gathering beads of sweat.
"Lana, what's wrong?" Lex asked worriedly. He knew that something was off the minute that she'd opened her eyes and looked at him. Her expression was not the contented one that he'd hoped for, nor was it the regretful one that he'd expected. It was confusion and it emanated from every pore of her lovely face.
Lana tried to block out his voice and prayed that if she just ignored him, Lex would go away. But he didn't. Instead, it seemed like he was suddenly closer. He wasn't exactly lying beside her like she'd thought when she first woke up; their limbs were wrapped around each other so that when she turned over, the action just burrowed her deeper in to his arms.
Lana lifted her gaze up slowly until she was staring straight in to Lex's troubled eyes. With a moan of distress, she rolled away from him, trying desperately to disengage her body from both the twisted sheets and Lex. He didn't attempt to stop her and she made it to the edge of the bed before she had to cease moving for fear of passing out.
"What is this? What's wrong with me?" she managed to croak out after her head had stopped swimming.
Lex slid over to where she sat at the edge of the bed, head in hands, her long hair tangling around her shoulders. He slipped behind her and pulled her body back against his, rubbing her head with soft, soothing motions. "I don't know. You were fine last night. Maybe it's some kind of food poisoning? How do you feel?"
Lana didn't want to, but she allowed herself to be dragged back against his body. His naked body, she groaned again. Of course, she was in the same state, so it didn't really matter, did it? And besides she felt too ill to worry about modesty right now. She rested her head on Lex's chest and prayed that the room would stop spinning crazily. It was like being on the Tilt-A-Wheel after eating too much cotton candy.
"The room is spinning and I feel sick, really sick. My head is pounding too," Lana muttered in a raspy voice a few minutes later.
Lex did his best to straighten her sleep-tousled hair as he stroked the silky length of it, a sinking feeling settling in. "Sounds like a hangover," he said quietly.
In an effort to stop his gentle, caressing hands, and her own body's reaction, Lana pulled away from Lex and staggered to her feet. She turned back towards him, not caring about her undressed state. "Hangover? What did you do?" she hissed at him accusingly.
Suddenly, Lex was reminded of how he'd felt on that fateful day in Smallville when his Porsche had hit that bale of wire on the overpass and spun out of control. He'd known with a dreadful certainty that he wouldn't be able to stop the car as it skidded towards Clark, just as he knew now that there was no way to avert Lana's suspicion and recrimination.
"Lana, it isn't like that," he defended himself as his mind raced ahead, trying to figure out a way to assure her and salvage this. "You had maybe two glasses of wine all night..."
"That's not possible. I feel terrible, Lex, and I...we...oh God, I'm going to be sick." She flew to the bathroom with her hand over her mouth and slammed the door shut behind her.
Lex was right on her heels. "Lana! Lana, damn it, open the door. Did you smell the cologne in the green bottle, Lana? Did you? Answer me!" Lex shouted through the locked door, but was rewarded with nothing but silence. He banged angrily on the door a few, more times, then gave up.
What the hell was going on, Lex wondered? Today was starting out a total mess and getting worse by the minute. How could you have been so stupid, he chastised himself? Of course, Lana had somehow inhaled that damn serum. Wasn't last night just a more advanced version of what happened last time? Lex stormed around the room until he found his trousers, which had somehow ended up under the bed and jerked them on, pulling his shirt on next and stomping out of the now eerily quiet bedroom.
Lana heard Lex yelling at her and then, pounding on the door, but ignored him. She lay on the cold tile and waited for the nausea to abate, but she couldn't stop the tears that flowed down her cheeks. How could this have happened, she asked herself over and over?
Lana wasn't sure how long she lay there, but finally, she felt well enough to try and get up. She leaned over the marble-inlaid sink and ran the cold water, splashing it on her face before even daring to glance in the mirror. Lana was surprised at her own reflection. She didn't look nearly as bad as she felt. She was a little pale and her hazel eyes were red-rimmed, but it was her mouth that captured her attention. Her lips were red and swollen and when she ran a shaking finger over them, she found that the skin was sensitive to the touch.
What... she started to ask, but stopped when she realized she already knew the answer. Lex. Last night.
"Oh God," Lana moaned and sank down to the floor again. How did that happen, had he slipped something in to her drink? She shook her head slightly and tried to focus on the events of the previous evening. What did she remember? Lex and his hands and mouth on her body.
Stop thinking about that, she commanded herself, and made a concerted effort to put all thoughts of Lex's strong, experienced hands out of her head. What had happened before they came back to the penthouse and ended up in bed together?
Slowly, it came back to her. The club and the provocative music and Lex's hands on her waist and his deep, sexy voice vibrating in her ear. She also remembered her hand running up and down his leg and that she had wanted him to bring her back here so that they could be alone, so that they could...
Lana didn't want to remember any more than that, so she forced herself to go back further in to her memory. She recalled the restaurant and how perfect the evening had seemed, the wine, the incredible food, the conversation, the flirting. Then, before that to the balcony and that amazing kiss.
But that wasn't all; she knew that there was more. What had Lex asked her, she struggled to remember?
"What do you want me to feel, Lana?"
"I want you to want me, Lex. As much as I want you."
Oh God, she started to cry again. This wasn't his fault, it was her's, all her's. She had done this to herself and to Lex. Once again, she laid her dark head down on the cool marble and let the tears flow freely.
Lex leaned against the bathroom door and squeezed his eyes shut tightly as he listened to Lana weep. Each, plaintive sob made his heart clinch painfully. Great job, really great, he admonished himself. So what that no one could say he'd seduced her or taken advantage of her? He knew that she wouldn't be in there crying her beautiful eyes out if he hadn't had that serum delivered to the house. He knew that he should have just had the damn stuff sent straight to LuthorCorp, but he'd wanted to see it first.
Good plan, Lex. Now how do I fix this?
Lana finally ran out of tears and realized that as bad as things were, she couldn't lay in the bathroom all day. She was relieved that, at least, she was beginning to feel a little better. Well, her stomach didn't, but she wasn't as dizzy and her head didn't throb unless she moved too quickly. She crawled over to the large, walk-in shower and turned on the hot water. She carefully raised herself to her feet, then stepped under the spray, letting it pound against her body.
Her skin was hypersensitive in spots and she winced when the steamy water hit those places, but slowly, it relaxed and calmed her. Lana closed her eyes and let her mind drift and her body melt into the hot spray. She didn't even jump when hands encircled her waist and soft lips nuzzled at her neck. She knew it was wrong, but she leaned back against Lex and let his hands soothe her body.
He whispered tender words over and over in her ear; they were said so softly that she had to strain to hear each of them. Lana, he called, the sound growing more and more insistent. She struggled to turn around and answer him, but his hands were driving her crazy. But he insisted on a response, repeating her name again and again, sounding increasingly urgent each time.
Lana jerked awake with a start. She had fallen asleep, sitting on the floor next to the shower. So, Lex had never been there with her; she'd dreamed it. He was calling her name though; screaming it in fact from outside the bathroom door.
"What?" she finally answered in a tired, tiny voice, wondering if what she'd done would haunt even her dreams.
"Open the door, Lana, it's okay. Just open the door, it's going to be all right." Lex coaxed, trying to keep any hint of frustration out of his voice. He was afraid that if he was too demanding, then he might scare her and she would never come out.
"Lex...I-I-I don't know why...I mean, I can't...believe that I d-d-did..." she didn't know what to say, but she figured that it was better said on this side of the door without him in the room with her. Lana knew that he would overwhelm her and make her feel silly and small and then, she would be struck dumb.
"Lana, it's okay, I promise. Just open the door," he repeated the request.
Lana stood on shaky feet and realized that she didn't have any clothes. She looked around for something to put on. Her eyes landed on a soft, black robe, which hung on a silver stud behind the door. She slid it off and over her shaking body. It was too big, but she gathered it around her while she opened the door.
Lex took a step back as he heard the lock unlatch and the doorknob turn. He started to say something, but Lana stepping out of his bathroom with his robe clutched around her naked body made him stop. He had imagined that same thing on her while they sat on the balcony eating this morning. Of course, she hadn't been sick and crying in his fantasy.
"Lana, drink this, it'll help," he instructed tersely as he thrust out the glass that he'd sat on the table earlier. She took it and sniffed at it hesitantly before lifting it to her lips.
Well, at least, she didn't think that he was still slipping something in her drinks, Lex mused.
"What is it? It tastes awful," she queried when she had taken a few swallows.
"It's supposed to taste that way. It will make you feel better soon." Lex couldn't look at her standing before him enveloped in his robe, so he paced around the room.
"Lex! Stop it, you're making me sick with that pacing," Lana groaned and lay back down on top of the mussed sheets. She rolled over and buried her face in the silk of the bed. It smelled like musk and earth, like Lex, she realized. But also like her, lighter, floral.
"Lex, I don't understand what happened..." Lana started as she turned away from the memory that their combined scents stirred.
"It doesn't matter. It was a mistake; that's all. It's probably best to just forget it," Lex said from the other side of the room where he stood, staring out the window at the brightness of the early morning sun.
Lana drank more of the nasty-tasting liquid before answering, "Of course, it matters. I.we...I mean, last night w-e-e...."
Lex shoved his hands in his pants pockets and finally, turned to face her, "Look, Lana, like you said, it must have been something...you drank," Lex concluded, not wanting to hear any more of her attempts to make sense of what she obviously considered to be an unthinkable act.
"Actually, the more I think about it, the more I realize now that you did have more to drink than I thought last night...I just wasn't aware of it at the time. It's probably more my fault than yours. Sorry," Lex mumbled a hasty apology, then spun around and walked out of the room.
Lana watched him leave and heard the words that he tossed out, but as much as she wanted to believe them, to make them true, she couldn't. Deep down she knew that this wasn't Lex's fault, she hadn't drunk too much and she had wanted to be with him.
"Lex. Lex, wait," Lana slid off the bed and padded carefully out to the living room where Lex was already talking on his cell phone.
"You should get dressed so that we can get back to Smallville. I can have someone else take care of the business that I needed to do here," he said without looking at her.
Lana started towards him, but found herself at a loss for words, so she dutifully returned down the hallway, leaving Lex alone.
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"Ms. Lang, did you have a nice trip?" Phillip asked as he opened the car door for her while Lex threw their bags in to the back seat.
"You could say that," she replied, glad for the dark sunglasses that Lex had tossed her in the elevator. Whatever he had given her to drink had made her feel better, but she was still a bit green.
She saw Lex staring at her; he started to say something, but changed his mind and slid behind the steering wheel instead. After Phillip told her that he hoped she'd came again and moved aside, Lana lowered her body carefully in to the seat beside Lex. She was already dreading the drive ahead of them.
Lana didn't need to worry about what she was going to say to Lex on the trip home because he talked on the cell phone to one business contact or another the whole way back, for which she was grateful. She finally fell asleep and didn't wake up until they were almost in front of her house.
She stretched and yawned and was surprised to realize that she felt fine again. "Look, Lex..." she began, gazing out her window and away from him.
"We're there," he announced as the car screeched to a halt in the driveway.
Lana watched Lex jump out of the car, drag her bags out from the back seat, and stalk towards the porch with them. She took a few, steadying breaths and slowly, got out after him. Lex was already walking back down the steps by the time she'd gotten to the bottom of them. "Lex, please I need to..." she tried again, reaching for his arm.
He shook off her hand. "It's no big deal, Lana. It's just something that happened, so let's just forget about it," he commanded in an edgy, distant voice; he just wanted to get away from her as soon as possible.
Not knowing what to say or do to make things right, Lana stepped aside and let Lex walk off. His expensive car threw dirt out behind it when he tore out of the driveway. She guessed that he had a right to be mad at her, but watching him leave made her feel more alone than she had since she was a child. She watched the road until his car disappeared and then, slowly picked up her bags and went inside.