Chapter 8: Done and done with.
Chloe stretched her arms above her as she noticed the daylight streaming through the windows. She sighed and pushed Marco off her. It wasn't until she stood up did she realize there was another body on the couch in very close proximity to where she had been. "Lex." she whispered lightly tapping her foot to his shin.

"Mmmmm." he stirred but didn't wake.

She picked up the phone and dialed Pete's room.

"Temporary living quarters of one Mr. Ross." Pete said into the phone.

"Hey, babe, how ya feelin?" Chloe asked as she yawned.

"Actually I'm coming home...Shit, ummm, Ivy, Clark's here." His voice dropped to barely a whisper.

"So? What am I supposed to do about that, hurry over and shoot up the place?"

"No, I mean, we invited him back to our place, I thought you'd be with Lex since the nurse said you two left together."

Chloe's eyes grew wider as the words sank in. "I am with Lex, we stayed here last night."

Pete shook his head and handed the phone to Keith. "Hello?" Keith said cheerfully into the receiver.

"Keith, please tell me Clark and Lois aren't coming to your place." Chloe pleaded with him.

"Ivy, what a surprise. Actually, we have visitors at the moment so right now really wouldn't be the best time to talk with Pete, however, I'll have him call you back...at your friends." Keith hung up on her.

"Shit, Shit, Shit." Chloe yelled. "Dammit. And then some other naughty words I can't think of."

"Fuck." came from the voice from the couch, "you forgot Fuck."

She looked down at Lex who stretched across the couch, Marco had climbed back up onto him. She turned away silently after tossing the phone onto the recliner. She gathered up some stuff. "I have to go. Ummm, it was nice seeing you again." She whistled and Marco trotted up to her from the couch stopping at her feet.

Lex was right behind Marco. "What do you mean you have to go? Says who?" he crossed his arms over his chest and Chloe sighed to lean against the door.

"I called to see how Pete was and Clark and Lois were there and...they inadvertently invited the back here thinking I was with you, wherever it is you live since stupid nurse from last night told them we left together." She inhaled and exhaled smoothly. Lex stared down at her.

"Still haven't lost that whole, 'I can tell a story in one breath' notion, huh?" He pulled her to him in a hug. "So, home as in New Haven?"

Chloe nodded fighting back tears. Lex and she had warmed up to eachother in the last 10 hours they had been asleep. "I just, I have to."

Lex nodded. "But, right now?" he said pulling her closer to him.

"Lex, I wasn't lying last night. I can only handle the platonic end of a friendship right now."

He sighed and stroked her auburn waves with his hand. "I know. Maybe in due time..." his voice trailed off and Chloe broke free from him.

"I really have to go. Look, it really was nice seeing you again, and hey, if you're ever in the neighborhood, drop me a line." She took Marco and clipped his leash on, grabbed what little she had strewn around the apartment and headed down the stairs to her car. Lex had followed her back here last night.

She had just shoved Marco into the car before a familiar face bounded out of the fire exit door for the stairs calling her name. "IVY, WAIT."

His breath shallowed as her neared her. "I'm...I'm..."

"Out of breath?" she finished his sentence with a grin.

He put one hand against her cardoor to keep her from opening it, "I'm coming with you." he blurted out.

Chloe's eyes widened. "Huh?" she sputtered out.

"Let me come with you. I don't want you to leave again. I can't watch you leave again. I, I love you, Chloe." She saw the tears well up in his eyes as he blinked them back.

She took everything he had done for her into consideration. "Fine. But I'm driving." She pulled her arms across her chest and stared as he absorbed what she had said.

"You mean you want me to?"

She shrugged and couldn't stop the grin pulling at the corners of her mouth. "Lex, I love you too, regardless of what has happened in the past. But just because I'm letting you come with me, back to my own little world, temporarily, that is, doesn't mean you should expect anything beyond that. I'm not going to fall head over heels in love with you. We will not be a 'couple'. And although you can stay with me, we won't be sharing a bed." As she counted off points on her hand Lex let go of the cardoor and stood over her.

"But, honey, baby, we did share a couch." A twinkle in his eye shut her up.

"Remind me not to make that mistake again. But like I said, I'm driving, so hop in monkey boy."

She opened her car door and settled behind the wheel. "I don't have any clothes."

"Hmmmm," Chloe pretended to think of a solution. "More reason for you not to stay long?" She said with a shrug and a grin.

"You do have a devious way of thinking, Ms. Alexander." He smiled and walked to the passenger door shoving Marco into the backseat and buckling himself in.

"And it took you how long to figure that out?"

He patted her hand that rest on the gear shift. "Thank you for letting me come with you."

She glanced over at him as she pulled out of the parking lot of the apartment building. "Thank you for coming."

He squeezed her hand with his. "Your Welome."

~The End~

A/N: Now before anyone starts to complain, I'm going to finish up 'Kisses' with a few more chapters and then I'll most likely be doing a sequel to this depending upon the wonderful feedback everyone sends. ;) Actually, I'll probably be doing a sequel anywho, so yeah...

Blaire