Chapter 7: The Art of Bedroom Judo
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"How about this one?" Lex asked holding the sparkling ring up to Chloe.
"Please, you can't even see the diamonds," Chloe said looking at the piece of jewelry with a tiny magnified eyepiece.
The two of them were at yet another pricey jewelry store in Metropolis. The manager had personally come out to show them the collection, but so far nothing had really appealed to Chloe's eye.
"There are hundreds of diamonds on this one," Lex retorted, they're just all really tiny. It's a French piece... eighteenth centaury."
"So you're telling me it's old?" Chloe asked.
"I'm starting to think that nothing will satisfy you Sullivan." Lex said, tossing the ring back on the counter. "What was wrong with that other one two stores ago with the giant heart shaped ruby?"
"Well sure, that would have worked... if you were proposing to a middle aged truck driver named Steve." Chloe stated.
"Ugh! Remind me never to shop with you! My feet hurt so much you might have to carry me to the car," he countered.
"Might I remind you that you were the one who dragged me here to help. If my dad knew I was here he'd freak out." Chloe said fluidly, discarding a few more rings.
"Might *I*remind you that I sent Gabe to a two week convention in Singapore so that I could enlist your help." Lex said wondering if the next piece of jewelry would please Chloe... he'd learned that very few things could satisfy her taste.
"I'm sure you know plenty of people who's advice you value more than mine." Chloe laughed gazing through the glistening display cabinets critically.
"Well that's true... but I need a woman's opinion and you're the only woman I know who I haven't slept with then never called." Lex explained slowly.
"Wow, and here I was thinking we were friends." the girl rolled her eyes.
"I don't consider us friends. I just like whatever it is we are right now," Lex explained as an employee appeared with a tray of champagne.
"Thank you..." he said taking two glasses and offering one to Chloe. He saw her hesitation and smiled.
"I won't tell if you don't Sullivan..."
"You know I have had champagne before," Chloe commented, picking up the glass and emptying the contents in a single gulp. She caught the fleeting expression of surprise on Lex's face that was quickly replaced with a smile.
Chloe had just handed the glass back to the shocked employee when her eyes fell upon the a stunning ring.
Lex almost choked on his champagne as he heard the girl release a moan unlike any other he'd ever heard.
"Lex it's perfect..." Chloe's voice faded away as she gazed at the beautiful ring behind the display case.
"I see you have an excellent eye for quality madam," the manager said with a grin, unlocking the glass display.
Lex glanced at the jewel, wishing Chloe would stop making those distracting sounds of delight.
"I'm certain this will satisfy your lady friend Mr. Luthor." the manager said, "This is in fact one of our most unique piece. We imported it from India two weeks ago. We call it the morning star, it's one of a kind. See this centerpiece? It's a diamond shaped like a star, you can tell the quality by the way it glitters in the light. The diamond is set in white gold and the remainder of the ring is yellow gold with two delicate rows of silver lining the outside," the man paused when he saw the girl's eye's transfixed on the ring.
"Would you like to try it on Miss?" the man asked, gently taking a hold of Chloe's right hand and slipping the priceless jewel onto her ring finger.
"Oh, it's not for... niiiiiice..." Chloe said, parting her lips in awe. She quickly removed it when she saw the smirk on Lex's face.
"Yeah well, I suppose it will do," she said quickly, covering up her fascination and returning the ring.
"Then we'll take it." Lex smiled, glad that the hours of searching had paid off.
"Hold on a second... how much is it?" Chloe asked warily, giving the ring back.
Lex laughed. "It hardly matters Sullivan," but he let the manager reveal the number anyway.
Chloe almost passed out when she'd heard the price.
"What the hell? Does the ring bring world peace too? Because I can't imagine what else could make it cost so much." Chloe said to the visibly flustered manager.
"The price is fine. We'll take it, it's exactly what we need and-" Lex stopped when Chloe grabbed the sleeve of his shirt and dragged him to a corner of the store.
"Sullivan, is there a problem?" Lex asked, quite amused by her behavior.
"What do you think you're doing?" Chloe hissed, "That ring costs about as much as an island in the Pacific!"
"Oh, I went through the Pacific Island phase, but Greenpeace gave me hell- wasn't worth it," he smirked.
"Lex I'm serious. Look, you're not even going to love this woman, why are you willing to spend so much on her? I mean you're a Luthor, she won't care whether the ring costs five thousand or fifty thousand dollars." Chloe said in a breath.
Lex wore a confused smile and leaned in closer to Chloe.
"This is really upsetting you, isn't it?" he asked.
"I-I don't know what you mean," Chloe stated, backing away. "You asked for my opinion so here it is: if you're going to buy something that expensive you better make *damn* sure that she's the one. Since you have only three days left I doubt you'll find her." the girl snapped, the waited for Lex's response.
"Okay." Lex said, "We'll get the French one instead."
"Wow," Chloe said after a pause, amazed that the man had taken her advice.
Lex laughed at her expression as they headed back to the manager. "You've got a point Sullivan. I haven't even proposed to her yet, for all I know she could yell at me and hurl the ring at my face. If I had a choice I would want her throwing the one with the smaller diamonds, at least then I the doctors might have a chance of saving an eye or something."
"Well do you know who you're going to ask?" Chloe asked curiously.
"Yep. It's between Mercedes, Cassidy and Sylvia." Lex said, catching the disgusted look on Chloe's face.
"Oh my God are you sure they'll take the time off their strawberry-flavored glitter lipstick commercials to marry you?" the girl asked.
"Hey, they're not models! Okay... they're not *all* models. I think Mercedes finished high school." Lex said trying hard to remember.
"Well I guess you won't have to worry about having marital disputes, because they probably couldn't hold an actual conversation anyway," Chloe said with a shake of her head.
"Good point. I don't recall doing much talking when I was with them."
"Eeeeww."
"What?"
"Bad mental image,"
"Of what?"
"You and three airheads together."
"Oh really? What were they wearing?"
"Hey, get your own bad mental image and let me forget mine!"
"Have you come to a decision?" asked the manager, suddenly appearing before them wearing a huge smile.
"We'll take the old French ring." Lex said, giving Chloe a smiling glance.
"Excellent choice sir. Please follow me and we can get that check signed?." the manager said smoothly.
"I'll be back in a second," Lex said to Chloe, touching her arm lightly.
"Don't forget to ask for a discount." Chloe called after him, "...and for a coupon, you know, buy one ring and get the other half price?"
"I'll be sure to do that," Lex called over his shoulder.
Chloe smiled and took a seat on the plush couch at the front of the store. She was glad that she had come. This was the first time she'd ever spent time with Lex without drilling him for information about LexCorp or his choice of coffee.
The girl glanced across the room she saw something out the corner of her eye. It was a necklace. Very unique. It had delicate threads of silver and gold intertwined and there was a beautiful teardrop shaped pendant with a gem that changed shades of green. Curiosity got the better of her and she went over to study it.
"Would you like to have a closer look young lady?" an older woman saleswoman asked, appearing in front of Chloe and picking up the necklace.
Chloe laughed and shook her head, "Oh no, I can't, I wouldn't even be able to afford the clasp I'm here with- ooooh, shiny. " Chloe grinned as the woman put it around her neck.
"You look beautiful my dear," the lady smiled, holding up a mirror for her, "Your eyes complement the color of the gem."
"I believe it's the gem that contemplates her eyes..." a low voice corrected.
Chloe whipped around and saw Lex standing there watching her with interest.
"I'll be right over here if you need any help," the older woman said, walking off with a knowing smile.
"I-I was just looking at it," Chloe said, thoroughly embarrassed that she'd been caught gazing at the piece of jewelry. She lifted her arms around the back of her neck to remove the necklace.
"Don't," Lex said. His usual smirk was gone for a change. Chloe put her hands back down and held her breath as Lex ran a finger over the outline of the piece across her neck.
"It really does look beautiful..." he continued softly. "I want you to keep it."
Chloe managed to suppress the blush that was crawling through her body and snapped out of the vivid fantasy involving Lex and her handcuffs.
"I don't think so Lex, it wasn't meant for me. It was meant for someone who goes to snazzy upscale parties and blows their noses in twenty-dollar bills. Besides, we came here for a ring, nothing else." Chloe stated removing the necklace and replacing it on the counter.
"Firstly, those 'upscale party people' are all morons. I've slept with enough of them to know that for a fact-"
"Yeah, well if they slept with you then they must be morons." Chloe said, then paused. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that."
Lex laughed, "Yes you did. I have my faults Sullivan- I'm not going to deny it, but when it comes to bedroom judo I know my way around,"
The girl immediately broke eye contact with him and looked out the door. "Uh... I guess we should go since we have everything," she said quickly.
"Not quite. I want to get you that necklace... for helping me today," Lex stated adamantly.
"It was my pleasure, I really had a great time giving those store employees hell, you don't need to thank me," Chloe laughed.
"Sullivan, stop being so stubborn and accept the gift, it was presumed that I'd get you one anyway."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Don't tell me you weren't expecting something for yourself when a millionaire businessman asked you to help him ring shop for his future wife at several of Metropolis's most exclusive stores..." Lex laughed, but stopped when he saw the horrified yet angry expression on Chloe's face. He realized that he'd made a mistake.
"Of all the egotistical... arhg! Luthor I can't believe what you just said. You can't just buy my friendship whenever you need it. I was here because you have no taste in jewelry and needed some help. Never once did I *presume* you were going to get me something in return." Chloe hissed then turned to leave. All she felt for the man right now was blind rage. The nerve of him... to think she wanted some sort of payoff.
Lex watched the Chloe bomb blow up like it was in slow motion. She'd gone from hot to cold in less under five seconds. That must be some sort of a record.
"I'm sorry Chloe, I thought-"
"Well you thought wrong," she said icily.
Chloe retrieved her jacket and burst through the doors of the store, closely followed by a confused Lex.
"Will you just stop for a second and listen to me? Why are you being so stubborn? I said I was sorry, what more do you want?" he asked, holding onto her wrist and preventing her from getting into her car.
"I want you to realize that I'm not one of those intellectually challenged women you surround yourself with, who are in constant need of your monetary validation!" Chloe yelled, kicking him decisively in the ankle before escaping into her car.
"Ouch!!" Lex said, shaking away the pain, "Dammit, Sullivan, I didn't even understand that sentence!" Lex yelled as the girl sped off in her red convertible.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Please review ^__^
I'm pissed of with my comp right now because I wrote a few more chapters to this fic and it got deleted. Computers should just automatically save stuff *for* you! I mean who remembers to hit the save button these days?
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"How about this one?" Lex asked holding the sparkling ring up to Chloe.
"Please, you can't even see the diamonds," Chloe said looking at the piece of jewelry with a tiny magnified eyepiece.
The two of them were at yet another pricey jewelry store in Metropolis. The manager had personally come out to show them the collection, but so far nothing had really appealed to Chloe's eye.
"There are hundreds of diamonds on this one," Lex retorted, they're just all really tiny. It's a French piece... eighteenth centaury."
"So you're telling me it's old?" Chloe asked.
"I'm starting to think that nothing will satisfy you Sullivan." Lex said, tossing the ring back on the counter. "What was wrong with that other one two stores ago with the giant heart shaped ruby?"
"Well sure, that would have worked... if you were proposing to a middle aged truck driver named Steve." Chloe stated.
"Ugh! Remind me never to shop with you! My feet hurt so much you might have to carry me to the car," he countered.
"Might I remind you that you were the one who dragged me here to help. If my dad knew I was here he'd freak out." Chloe said fluidly, discarding a few more rings.
"Might *I*remind you that I sent Gabe to a two week convention in Singapore so that I could enlist your help." Lex said wondering if the next piece of jewelry would please Chloe... he'd learned that very few things could satisfy her taste.
"I'm sure you know plenty of people who's advice you value more than mine." Chloe laughed gazing through the glistening display cabinets critically.
"Well that's true... but I need a woman's opinion and you're the only woman I know who I haven't slept with then never called." Lex explained slowly.
"Wow, and here I was thinking we were friends." the girl rolled her eyes.
"I don't consider us friends. I just like whatever it is we are right now," Lex explained as an employee appeared with a tray of champagne.
"Thank you..." he said taking two glasses and offering one to Chloe. He saw her hesitation and smiled.
"I won't tell if you don't Sullivan..."
"You know I have had champagne before," Chloe commented, picking up the glass and emptying the contents in a single gulp. She caught the fleeting expression of surprise on Lex's face that was quickly replaced with a smile.
Chloe had just handed the glass back to the shocked employee when her eyes fell upon the a stunning ring.
Lex almost choked on his champagne as he heard the girl release a moan unlike any other he'd ever heard.
"Lex it's perfect..." Chloe's voice faded away as she gazed at the beautiful ring behind the display case.
"I see you have an excellent eye for quality madam," the manager said with a grin, unlocking the glass display.
Lex glanced at the jewel, wishing Chloe would stop making those distracting sounds of delight.
"I'm certain this will satisfy your lady friend Mr. Luthor." the manager said, "This is in fact one of our most unique piece. We imported it from India two weeks ago. We call it the morning star, it's one of a kind. See this centerpiece? It's a diamond shaped like a star, you can tell the quality by the way it glitters in the light. The diamond is set in white gold and the remainder of the ring is yellow gold with two delicate rows of silver lining the outside," the man paused when he saw the girl's eye's transfixed on the ring.
"Would you like to try it on Miss?" the man asked, gently taking a hold of Chloe's right hand and slipping the priceless jewel onto her ring finger.
"Oh, it's not for... niiiiiice..." Chloe said, parting her lips in awe. She quickly removed it when she saw the smirk on Lex's face.
"Yeah well, I suppose it will do," she said quickly, covering up her fascination and returning the ring.
"Then we'll take it." Lex smiled, glad that the hours of searching had paid off.
"Hold on a second... how much is it?" Chloe asked warily, giving the ring back.
Lex laughed. "It hardly matters Sullivan," but he let the manager reveal the number anyway.
Chloe almost passed out when she'd heard the price.
"What the hell? Does the ring bring world peace too? Because I can't imagine what else could make it cost so much." Chloe said to the visibly flustered manager.
"The price is fine. We'll take it, it's exactly what we need and-" Lex stopped when Chloe grabbed the sleeve of his shirt and dragged him to a corner of the store.
"Sullivan, is there a problem?" Lex asked, quite amused by her behavior.
"What do you think you're doing?" Chloe hissed, "That ring costs about as much as an island in the Pacific!"
"Oh, I went through the Pacific Island phase, but Greenpeace gave me hell- wasn't worth it," he smirked.
"Lex I'm serious. Look, you're not even going to love this woman, why are you willing to spend so much on her? I mean you're a Luthor, she won't care whether the ring costs five thousand or fifty thousand dollars." Chloe said in a breath.
Lex wore a confused smile and leaned in closer to Chloe.
"This is really upsetting you, isn't it?" he asked.
"I-I don't know what you mean," Chloe stated, backing away. "You asked for my opinion so here it is: if you're going to buy something that expensive you better make *damn* sure that she's the one. Since you have only three days left I doubt you'll find her." the girl snapped, the waited for Lex's response.
"Okay." Lex said, "We'll get the French one instead."
"Wow," Chloe said after a pause, amazed that the man had taken her advice.
Lex laughed at her expression as they headed back to the manager. "You've got a point Sullivan. I haven't even proposed to her yet, for all I know she could yell at me and hurl the ring at my face. If I had a choice I would want her throwing the one with the smaller diamonds, at least then I the doctors might have a chance of saving an eye or something."
"Well do you know who you're going to ask?" Chloe asked curiously.
"Yep. It's between Mercedes, Cassidy and Sylvia." Lex said, catching the disgusted look on Chloe's face.
"Oh my God are you sure they'll take the time off their strawberry-flavored glitter lipstick commercials to marry you?" the girl asked.
"Hey, they're not models! Okay... they're not *all* models. I think Mercedes finished high school." Lex said trying hard to remember.
"Well I guess you won't have to worry about having marital disputes, because they probably couldn't hold an actual conversation anyway," Chloe said with a shake of her head.
"Good point. I don't recall doing much talking when I was with them."
"Eeeeww."
"What?"
"Bad mental image,"
"Of what?"
"You and three airheads together."
"Oh really? What were they wearing?"
"Hey, get your own bad mental image and let me forget mine!"
"Have you come to a decision?" asked the manager, suddenly appearing before them wearing a huge smile.
"We'll take the old French ring." Lex said, giving Chloe a smiling glance.
"Excellent choice sir. Please follow me and we can get that check signed?." the manager said smoothly.
"I'll be back in a second," Lex said to Chloe, touching her arm lightly.
"Don't forget to ask for a discount." Chloe called after him, "...and for a coupon, you know, buy one ring and get the other half price?"
"I'll be sure to do that," Lex called over his shoulder.
Chloe smiled and took a seat on the plush couch at the front of the store. She was glad that she had come. This was the first time she'd ever spent time with Lex without drilling him for information about LexCorp or his choice of coffee.
The girl glanced across the room she saw something out the corner of her eye. It was a necklace. Very unique. It had delicate threads of silver and gold intertwined and there was a beautiful teardrop shaped pendant with a gem that changed shades of green. Curiosity got the better of her and she went over to study it.
"Would you like to have a closer look young lady?" an older woman saleswoman asked, appearing in front of Chloe and picking up the necklace.
Chloe laughed and shook her head, "Oh no, I can't, I wouldn't even be able to afford the clasp I'm here with- ooooh, shiny. " Chloe grinned as the woman put it around her neck.
"You look beautiful my dear," the lady smiled, holding up a mirror for her, "Your eyes complement the color of the gem."
"I believe it's the gem that contemplates her eyes..." a low voice corrected.
Chloe whipped around and saw Lex standing there watching her with interest.
"I'll be right over here if you need any help," the older woman said, walking off with a knowing smile.
"I-I was just looking at it," Chloe said, thoroughly embarrassed that she'd been caught gazing at the piece of jewelry. She lifted her arms around the back of her neck to remove the necklace.
"Don't," Lex said. His usual smirk was gone for a change. Chloe put her hands back down and held her breath as Lex ran a finger over the outline of the piece across her neck.
"It really does look beautiful..." he continued softly. "I want you to keep it."
Chloe managed to suppress the blush that was crawling through her body and snapped out of the vivid fantasy involving Lex and her handcuffs.
"I don't think so Lex, it wasn't meant for me. It was meant for someone who goes to snazzy upscale parties and blows their noses in twenty-dollar bills. Besides, we came here for a ring, nothing else." Chloe stated removing the necklace and replacing it on the counter.
"Firstly, those 'upscale party people' are all morons. I've slept with enough of them to know that for a fact-"
"Yeah, well if they slept with you then they must be morons." Chloe said, then paused. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that."
Lex laughed, "Yes you did. I have my faults Sullivan- I'm not going to deny it, but when it comes to bedroom judo I know my way around,"
The girl immediately broke eye contact with him and looked out the door. "Uh... I guess we should go since we have everything," she said quickly.
"Not quite. I want to get you that necklace... for helping me today," Lex stated adamantly.
"It was my pleasure, I really had a great time giving those store employees hell, you don't need to thank me," Chloe laughed.
"Sullivan, stop being so stubborn and accept the gift, it was presumed that I'd get you one anyway."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Don't tell me you weren't expecting something for yourself when a millionaire businessman asked you to help him ring shop for his future wife at several of Metropolis's most exclusive stores..." Lex laughed, but stopped when he saw the horrified yet angry expression on Chloe's face. He realized that he'd made a mistake.
"Of all the egotistical... arhg! Luthor I can't believe what you just said. You can't just buy my friendship whenever you need it. I was here because you have no taste in jewelry and needed some help. Never once did I *presume* you were going to get me something in return." Chloe hissed then turned to leave. All she felt for the man right now was blind rage. The nerve of him... to think she wanted some sort of payoff.
Lex watched the Chloe bomb blow up like it was in slow motion. She'd gone from hot to cold in less under five seconds. That must be some sort of a record.
"I'm sorry Chloe, I thought-"
"Well you thought wrong," she said icily.
Chloe retrieved her jacket and burst through the doors of the store, closely followed by a confused Lex.
"Will you just stop for a second and listen to me? Why are you being so stubborn? I said I was sorry, what more do you want?" he asked, holding onto her wrist and preventing her from getting into her car.
"I want you to realize that I'm not one of those intellectually challenged women you surround yourself with, who are in constant need of your monetary validation!" Chloe yelled, kicking him decisively in the ankle before escaping into her car.
"Ouch!!" Lex said, shaking away the pain, "Dammit, Sullivan, I didn't even understand that sentence!" Lex yelled as the girl sped off in her red convertible.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Please review ^__^
I'm pissed of with my comp right now because I wrote a few more chapters to this fic and it got deleted. Computers should just automatically save stuff *for* you! I mean who remembers to hit the save button these days?