I pace back and forth in front of her place, the nervous knot in my stomach refuse to untangle. Lois finally says yes to my dinner invitation and I'm the one going crazy out of my mind. I want to make a good impression on her, and she's the kind of person that easily gets bored and that's the last thing I want our dinner date to go.
The door swings unapologetically open.
"Wow.' She looked absolutely gorgeous. Her hair was wavy, slightly curling in the ends but it's always her eyes that have me entranced. I swallowed hard. "Wow," I repeated and she gave a low chuckle.
"Thanks"
Another thought came to mind and I look curiously behind her.
"Johnny is back in New York. Family business. Something about a planned launch to a space station," she reveals quickly catching my curious gaze.
"Oh." A space station, huh. Imagine that.
Coming back to reality, I give her a bouquet of white lilies, her favorite.
She took in the flower's scent savoring it at the same time. "You still haven't told me how you get these this time of year," she says smiling.
I smiled, gaining the upper hand. "I can't. It'll take away the mystery." The mystery of his alien super-powered abilities, but that's an explanation for another time. Baby steps, Clark. Baby steps.
"So what do you have planned for us this fine evening," she says imitating that of an English debutante.
I grin at her playfulness. I'm never bored around her. "May we walk first?" I hold my hand out and she takes it. I lead her out, opening the exit doors first for her to walk through.
Cutting across campus, I take the opportunity to get to know her more.
"So did you and Johnny date?"
"That's a forward question for a first date." She sounded amused.
"Depends. Would you answer it?"
She took a moment before answering the question. "We met in Belgium while I was backpacking through Europe one summer. I wanted to take the scenic route so I hired a pilot to co-fly with me."
I stare at her in surprise. I didn't know she could fly.
She caught me staring and smiled. "I tend to have an affinity to guys that can fly"
I grin at the revelation. I selfishly take a mental note to head back to Smallville this weekend and see if I can get this 'flying' ability to work. A minute ago, it was a hardly a passing thought, now I really want to fly. Heights be damned.
"So that's how you met?"
"Uh-huh. Total hot-shot, but he was very passionate at what he did and lived every day as if it was his last. I couldn't begrudge him of that feeling"
"And things got serious?"
"Yeah"
"This might be a bit forward as well, but why didn't it work between you two?"
"We had entirely different ambitions in life. He's in a constant state of high-stakes death-defying moments. I wanted to be a journalist. It's a mutual decision"
"And now you two are friends"
"Good friends"
"When I was with Lana, being friends with her was just as complicated as dating her, and even that didn't last long"
"I'm sorry it didn't work out between you two"
"Don't be – I'm glad I've moved on – I hope she has too." I kicked a pebble in my way, careful not to put my strength into it and end up kicking it to the moon.
"First loves can be too big a memory to move pass"
"She was my first crush – I can hardly call what we had love. A large part of me wishes it had been though. I watch my parents and I wonder if a love like that can happen to anyone. Most of the time, it ends up disappointing you"
"It's love, Smallville. Anything you do for love is a risk whether it be romantic love, family love – heck, even corporate love if you can believe it"
The more I talk to her, the more the nervous knot in my stomach releases itself. I feel like a whole other person around her. Wait, no, I'm still the same person, but I'm a lot more. She makes me feel safe, like I can be whoever I want to be and not feel guilty about it. I wonder how she does that.
"Here we are"
She looks up and notices two beautiful horses attached to a white carriage and a man with a top hat at the helm. She raises her eyebrows and looks at me seemingly impressed.
"Smooth moves, Smallville"
I shrug. "Ah, it was nothing"
We both laugh, and then I lead her in first. I already knew she was too independent to let me help but I did anyway and I was equally surprised that she put down her tough girl act to allow me to help her.
Underneath the moonlight, she looked ethereal.
We sit and sights see the rest of the way, talking about anything that comes to mind.
"What's your favorite kind of painting?" She asks me.
"Impressionistic," I answered. "You?"
"Abstract. Favorite movie?"
My hands clasps together. "This is an easy one. To Kill a Mockingbird"
"The movie?" her eyes go wide in disbelief.
"Yeah. What's wrong with it?"
"I prefer the 1960 novel"
"Well, it's based on the novel"
"Did the movie win a Pulitzer?"
"No"
"See my point"
I throw her a taunt look. "The plot is pretty much the same thing"
"I prefer the novelization than any movie. Except Lord of the Rings. Man, that movie pissed me off"
I laugh. "Why?"
"Because it's the one series I refuse to read and my date didn't warn me about the ending. Suffice to say, I wasn't in a very good mood when Frodo and Sam suddenly faded into black and I had to wait a year to see what happened"
I'm so amused by this. "You could have picked up the book and read it from there – "
"And ruin my Hobbit-Elf experience. I think not"
About half an hour later, we were nearing our destination and a take out a blindfold. Lois looks at me teasingly.
"If you wanted to take advantage of me, Smallville, all you had to do was ask"
I blush at the remark before encircling the blindfold around her eyes.
"Okay, I can play this your way," she says.
"Let me lead you," I whisper by her ear, the heat emanating between our bodies colliding. I'm a bit overwhelmed by it.
Even off her guard, she had to give off a smirk. "Be gentle with me, it's my first time," she says playfully. She made me feel things I didn't realize were even possible.
Ten minutes later I remove the blindfold. Lois remained silent. I couldn't tell whether she was surprised, shocks or completely horrified. I've planned this for days. On the roof of the world renowned Daily Planet, I had set up a table for two with food, wine and music. I even managed to put lights all around like it was Christmas time.
"What do you think?"
She remained silent a little longer before responding. She faced me, her eyes glistening. "I didn't expect – It's amazing Clark. You didn't have to go through all this trouble"
I shake my head proving the contrary. "It was no trouble at all – I liked doing it – For you, I mean. Even if things – didn't work out between us I wanted this night to mean something"
"I don't know what to say"
"Say you'll dance with me." I walk up to the radio and press play. Smooth Jazz begins playing. I hold out my hand for her to take.
And she does.
Moving into my embrace, I put one arm around her waist as the other I held to my heart. And we swayed.
Slowly.
Softly.
Perfectly.
"You can dance," she says and I smile.
"I've been taking lessons"
She looks at me, twice as impressed as she already was. "You're a neverending surprise, Smallville"
"So are you"
At the top floor of LuthorCorp, with a glass of scotch in one hand and binoculor's in the other, Lex Luthor looked out and watch his best friend dance in the arms of his growing enemy. He gulped the entire glass down before throwing it across the room, it shattered upon impact.
"Why did it have to be you"
To be continued...