Chapter Three

What had his father said about people like Victoria? Buy them for what they were worth and sell them for what they thought they were worth? He'd get a king's ransom for her. But would Lex be the one pocketing the change?

"Yeah, so that was on my father's midsized boat."

"The one with the..." Lex trailed off trying to remember something.

"Yeah, with the thingy on the tip."

"That works, I guess."

"You know the one that we went-"

"Red sea diving and saw all of those-"

"The crashed-"

"Sunken boats."

Victoria smiled. "Right."

They shared an intimate look and turned back back to Lana and Clark. There was no way the to of them could ignore the thick layer of discomfort in the Talon. Lana was smiling as politely as ever, but underneath the table her napkin lay in a thousand fiercely shredded pieces. Clark was trying desperately not to look at Lex or Victoria's breasts which were clinging to the outskirts of her plunging neckline like she was clinging to Lex.

He had noticed Lex trying to catch his eye the entire time Clark had been there, but didn't care. He didn't feel the slightest bit guilty that he hadn't met Lex's eye all night. Vicky was a whore that had again and again proven where her loyalty stood. He didn't understand what she was doing back here with Lex or why everything seemed peachy between them. He didn't care. He just wanted to leave, go home where he could mope in peace.

Lana stretched and checked the time. "Wow. It's late."

Lex caught the drift and stood. "I should really be heading back to the castle."

Vicky stood up, turning her body toward Lex and stretching. "Am I coming with you?"

"What's the matter? Your hotel only rents rooms by the hour?" He thought it was very, very unlike him to say what he was thinking, and everyone's expressions told him they thought so too. However, Vicky wasn't to be trusted. He didn't know where he'd found a pair, but he was going to hold on to them as long as he could.

Lana was looking at him, her mouth agape her eyes wide. Vicky looked insulted and Lex... he looked amused.

Though that gave Clark a good feeling in his stomach he still didn't meet Lex's eyes.

"Quite the sense of humor, Kent. He meant nothing by it, Vicky, it was-"

"Yes, I did."

The room was that kind of thick quiet that no one ever wants to hear and Lex now had an unreadable expression on his face. Lana urged him with her eyes to shut up. He was on a role, though.

"What did you mean by it, then?" Vicky asked, her voice all silk and venom.

"I was implying that you're a whore."

Lex's mouth dropped open and his eyes were staring right at Clark. Asking for him to explain, for him to stop or to at least look at Lex.

He refused to do so. Vicky looked stumped for something to say, bewildered which, if he listened to Lex's stories about the skanky vixon, didn't happen often. Or, really, at all. He supposed it was because it was so utterly unexpected.

He stood, kissing Lana on the cheek and whispering "Sorry." He walked toward the front door, stopping right by Vicky and looking her straight in the eye.

"You don't deserve, Lex."

Lex didn't say a thing, but Clark saw that the older boy was breathing harder than normal. And Lana was watching Lex with an odd expression on his face.

He just didn't care. He walked out of the Talon.

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