DO YOU KNOW HOW TO PREHEAT THE OVEN?
Getting away from her cousin was easier than Chloe expected. All she had to do was pretend that she had a bad day at the Planet. It took a few choice curses muttered into the darkness of the guest room she was staying in. Her cousin asked her is she wanted to turn on the lights, and to that Chloe responded with, "Why? My entire journalistic future is shrouded in darkness. I should get used to it." Chloe almost giggled when Lois made a full five steps backwards. The brunette waved and stammered, "I guess I'll see you in the morning, Chloe. Won't bother you anymore tonight. I'll tell your dad you went to sleep early."
And with that, Chloe got Lois to hide her from her dad without having to tell her cousin any juicy details. Because her cousin would not dare to bother her in her black mood, Chloe was certain that Lois won't check up on her during the night. The moment she heard the television in her cousin's room, Chloe slipped out of her own and tiptoed her way to the door.
Of course there was that classic method of stuffing pillows under a blanket. If Lois does come into her room to peek, she would find a rather plump figure tucked under the sheets. Hopefully that will give Lois a reason not to disturb 'Chloe.' You shouldn't wake up someone in a bad mood, especially if she's obviously gaining weight.
Now here she stood outside Lex's place, eager to see him after such a long time. It had been-she checked her watch-a good ten hours since they met in his car during her lunch break. He had been on the way to the hospital and she was sent out to place their coffee orders. Suffice it to say that the entire Daily Planet office was calling the coffee shop because their beverages did not make it up to the staff on time. Lex had only just arrived from Smallville. He couldn't exactly leave the plant while it was still recovering from the tornado. A lot of the employees haven't returned to work yet because of injuries and property damage. And so for the past few days Lex had been commuting to and from Smallville and Metropolis every day. Chloe had promised him a nice, restful night tonight.
She rang the bell and the door immediately opened. "Expected," she said to herself, very satisfied. Chloe walked in with her overnight bag. They had planned for Lex to sleep over in Metropolis for the night and just return home in the morning. He would drop Chloe off at the Daily Planet and he would continue back to Smallville. As far as plans went, this was simple enough. They would spend the night watching movies and talking. They haven't done that in a while. Lex would get all the rest he had been missing and he would get it in the tender care of one Chloe Sullivan. This was something that would never happen in their quaint little town.
"Hey Lee-eex!" she called out as she dropped her bag on the two thousand dollar designer couch. "Where are you?"
"Wait there!" was the reply.
Chloe plopped down and shucked her shoes off while she waited. Seeing the remote control, she turned on the television and settled in to watch Lex's default channel. She scoffed when the tv memory sported the five major business channels and one ESPN. He certainly led a rather boring life apart from his secret love life. She grinned. She was the secret love life. How adorable was that. She wondered how sleazy their cushy relationship would be portrayed should the press ever get a whiff.
Speaking of whiff, Chloe sniffed. That was very odd. Lex's place never smelled of anything other than lavender and sometimes chamomile. He needed the aroma to relax and be rejuvenated. She rose from her seat and followed the burnt scent.
To find herself standing in the kitchen staring at a Lex Luthor whose bare chest had dried drops of fudge batter, his tapered fingers hidden in Bugs Bunny oven mitts and his smooth forehead dotted with perspiration. Chloe cleared her throat and Lex looked up at her in apparent horror. Within a nanosecond, that expression turned into surprise, vulnerability and then one more nanosecond after than, the cool calmness that was just Lex. He said, "I have the plant running smoothly back home, and I closed a deal with a an Australian packaging company that would cut production cost by twenty nine percent."
She chuckled at the rather defensive tone he used. "And for all that, Lex Luthor looks like a ragamuffin in his own kitchen."
His stance relaxed and he smirked. "You wanted a fun night." Chloe walked into the kitchen and surveyed the damage he had caused. "I thought I'd make chocolate cake."
Chloe picked up the box on the table and read the label. "First off, this is Betty Crocker Fudge Brownies, not chocolate cake."
Lex shrugged. "I went to the grocery, saw the picture in front. It looked like chocolate so I picked it up."
She shook her head. Despite her modern woman skills, Chloe prided herself with her talent for putting together instant baking products. She looked into the oven and turned on the light. She held her hand out to Lex, "Hand over the bunnies." With an exasperated sigh, Lex took off the mitts and gave them to Chloe. Chloe opened the over door and the timer went ding.
"It's done!" Lex announced.
Chloe slid out the steaming puddle of mud. With her right foot, she nudged the oven door close. "Lex, this is awful!"
"Thanks."
Hearing the defeated voice, she smiled at her-she really can't say boyfriend because she's shy-maybe future husband-and evil laughter resumes in her brain. "Oh but it's the thought that counts!" she assured him.
"And again, thanks," he replied wryly.
Chloe saw the stack of empty boxes and thought that the Pyrex container on the table contained too little to have consumed all of the contents in those boxes. "Where are the rest, Lex?" He pointed to the sink. Chloe went over to inspect each one of the aborted attempts at brownies. They were either too soft or too hard. When she cracked the top layer of the hard ones, she found the bottom still uncooked. "Beginner's mistake," she pronounced.
"And what did I do wrong? I followed the instructions."
"Did you preheat the oven?"
"It's hot enough!"
Chloe sighed. "Do you have one more box?" Lex strode over to the cupboard and showed Chloe the dozen more lined boxes inside. "What, did you buy out the entire stock?"
He grinned and told her, "I knew this was going to be trial and error, Chloe."
"Okay, get me one box and watch the master at work."
Lex plucked one box from the cupboard and handed it to her. He indicated his appearance and said, "Maybe I should clean up first."
"No!" she said sharply. Lex furrowed his brows. "Sit. Watch. And then I'll clean you up."
"Chloe!" he exclaimed, his eyes sparkling with laughter, "what will your father say?"
She arched an eyebrow at him. Quickly, she worked the ingredients into a rough mixture and looked around for the mixer. "Like you care."
His hand shot out to grab her wrist. "You haven't greeted me yet. After all my hard work to bake you a cake."
Chloe felt herself being pulled into his embrace. She didn't put up much of a fight. Chloe allowed herself to be seated on his lap. She worked her leg over his so that she would straddle him. She sincerely hoped the chair would not give under their combined weight. She missed his hands, and now those hands traveled to the back of her head, leading her lips right on his. "Efforts," she gasped, when he released her for a moment. "They were efforts because he never got around to baking one." But then his fingers made those beautiful movements on her nape. Her eyes fluttered close when those long fingers, previously encased in the cartoon gloves gracing her hands, massaged her scalp. She grabbed his cheeks to deepen the kiss, smearing chocolate fudge on his face.
The whirr of the electric mixer buzzed in their ears, but the music in their ears was the pounding beat of their hearts. "Missed you, Chloe," he whispered. The vibration and his breath against her lips caused a warm throbbing inside her. Lex slid his hand to her exposed neck, feeling the silky skin against his palm. He gazed down at the paleness of her skin and saw her grin. Lex caught his breath when she fixed her gaze on his face. There was an intent in the green orbs that he was certain he had never seen from Chloe before. And then he almost choked on his own tongue when she moved closer. He thought that she would kiss his cheek. Indeed, it started out as a kiss, before her tongue darted out tentatively and she started laving on the dried batter on his skin. "Chloe," he managed to say. Lex groaned. He meant to say it as a protest, but instead it was a sigh of pleasure.
"Tell me about your day." For the life of him, he could not think of how he would be able to do that when she was licking away all the energy he had. When he did not speak, Chloe pushed up and looked down at him.
The loss of the warm flesh of her tongue moving across his cheek propelled him to speak, "Since I'm going on a two-week business trip in a few days, I spoke with the doctors for the final decision. They will begin my father's therapy soon." He released a sigh of relief when she smiled in satisfaction and looked over his face for more dried batter. "Chloe!" he gasped when his vision finally focused on what was going on behind her.
He helped her off his lap. Chloe looked behind her and cried out. Lex pulled her with him to the edge of the kitchen. He bit his lip at the discomfort at the crotch of his pants. The Pyrex bowl was empty now, the mixer continuing to whirr and sputter bits and pieces of the brown batter. Lex carefully pulled the plug and looked back at Chloe. "Turn around." She did, and Lex smirked. "You've got bits of batter all over your back and your hair."
"Oh no, I have to wash up!" She turned to fetch her clothes, but Lex grabbed her hand.
"I'll clean you up."
She stared at him in indecision. Chloe moved into his arms and shook her head. "When we get back to Smallville, we'll tell them. Right now, we'll just sleep. Okay?"
"I'll see you in back home after my business trip then. Come on. I'll show you where the towels are." Lex couldn't help himself. He saw the batter on her once clean shoulder and bent to taste it. "You really do make the best batter," he murmured against her skin.
Getting away from her cousin was easier than Chloe expected. All she had to do was pretend that she had a bad day at the Planet. It took a few choice curses muttered into the darkness of the guest room she was staying in. Her cousin asked her is she wanted to turn on the lights, and to that Chloe responded with, "Why? My entire journalistic future is shrouded in darkness. I should get used to it." Chloe almost giggled when Lois made a full five steps backwards. The brunette waved and stammered, "I guess I'll see you in the morning, Chloe. Won't bother you anymore tonight. I'll tell your dad you went to sleep early."
And with that, Chloe got Lois to hide her from her dad without having to tell her cousin any juicy details. Because her cousin would not dare to bother her in her black mood, Chloe was certain that Lois won't check up on her during the night. The moment she heard the television in her cousin's room, Chloe slipped out of her own and tiptoed her way to the door.
Of course there was that classic method of stuffing pillows under a blanket. If Lois does come into her room to peek, she would find a rather plump figure tucked under the sheets. Hopefully that will give Lois a reason not to disturb 'Chloe.' You shouldn't wake up someone in a bad mood, especially if she's obviously gaining weight.
Now here she stood outside Lex's place, eager to see him after such a long time. It had been-she checked her watch-a good ten hours since they met in his car during her lunch break. He had been on the way to the hospital and she was sent out to place their coffee orders. Suffice it to say that the entire Daily Planet office was calling the coffee shop because their beverages did not make it up to the staff on time. Lex had only just arrived from Smallville. He couldn't exactly leave the plant while it was still recovering from the tornado. A lot of the employees haven't returned to work yet because of injuries and property damage. And so for the past few days Lex had been commuting to and from Smallville and Metropolis every day. Chloe had promised him a nice, restful night tonight.
She rang the bell and the door immediately opened. "Expected," she said to herself, very satisfied. Chloe walked in with her overnight bag. They had planned for Lex to sleep over in Metropolis for the night and just return home in the morning. He would drop Chloe off at the Daily Planet and he would continue back to Smallville. As far as plans went, this was simple enough. They would spend the night watching movies and talking. They haven't done that in a while. Lex would get all the rest he had been missing and he would get it in the tender care of one Chloe Sullivan. This was something that would never happen in their quaint little town.
"Hey Lee-eex!" she called out as she dropped her bag on the two thousand dollar designer couch. "Where are you?"
"Wait there!" was the reply.
Chloe plopped down and shucked her shoes off while she waited. Seeing the remote control, she turned on the television and settled in to watch Lex's default channel. She scoffed when the tv memory sported the five major business channels and one ESPN. He certainly led a rather boring life apart from his secret love life. She grinned. She was the secret love life. How adorable was that. She wondered how sleazy their cushy relationship would be portrayed should the press ever get a whiff.
Speaking of whiff, Chloe sniffed. That was very odd. Lex's place never smelled of anything other than lavender and sometimes chamomile. He needed the aroma to relax and be rejuvenated. She rose from her seat and followed the burnt scent.
To find herself standing in the kitchen staring at a Lex Luthor whose bare chest had dried drops of fudge batter, his tapered fingers hidden in Bugs Bunny oven mitts and his smooth forehead dotted with perspiration. Chloe cleared her throat and Lex looked up at her in apparent horror. Within a nanosecond, that expression turned into surprise, vulnerability and then one more nanosecond after than, the cool calmness that was just Lex. He said, "I have the plant running smoothly back home, and I closed a deal with a an Australian packaging company that would cut production cost by twenty nine percent."
She chuckled at the rather defensive tone he used. "And for all that, Lex Luthor looks like a ragamuffin in his own kitchen."
His stance relaxed and he smirked. "You wanted a fun night." Chloe walked into the kitchen and surveyed the damage he had caused. "I thought I'd make chocolate cake."
Chloe picked up the box on the table and read the label. "First off, this is Betty Crocker Fudge Brownies, not chocolate cake."
Lex shrugged. "I went to the grocery, saw the picture in front. It looked like chocolate so I picked it up."
She shook her head. Despite her modern woman skills, Chloe prided herself with her talent for putting together instant baking products. She looked into the oven and turned on the light. She held her hand out to Lex, "Hand over the bunnies." With an exasperated sigh, Lex took off the mitts and gave them to Chloe. Chloe opened the over door and the timer went ding.
"It's done!" Lex announced.
Chloe slid out the steaming puddle of mud. With her right foot, she nudged the oven door close. "Lex, this is awful!"
"Thanks."
Hearing the defeated voice, she smiled at her-she really can't say boyfriend because she's shy-maybe future husband-and evil laughter resumes in her brain. "Oh but it's the thought that counts!" she assured him.
"And again, thanks," he replied wryly.
Chloe saw the stack of empty boxes and thought that the Pyrex container on the table contained too little to have consumed all of the contents in those boxes. "Where are the rest, Lex?" He pointed to the sink. Chloe went over to inspect each one of the aborted attempts at brownies. They were either too soft or too hard. When she cracked the top layer of the hard ones, she found the bottom still uncooked. "Beginner's mistake," she pronounced.
"And what did I do wrong? I followed the instructions."
"Did you preheat the oven?"
"It's hot enough!"
Chloe sighed. "Do you have one more box?" Lex strode over to the cupboard and showed Chloe the dozen more lined boxes inside. "What, did you buy out the entire stock?"
He grinned and told her, "I knew this was going to be trial and error, Chloe."
"Okay, get me one box and watch the master at work."
Lex plucked one box from the cupboard and handed it to her. He indicated his appearance and said, "Maybe I should clean up first."
"No!" she said sharply. Lex furrowed his brows. "Sit. Watch. And then I'll clean you up."
"Chloe!" he exclaimed, his eyes sparkling with laughter, "what will your father say?"
She arched an eyebrow at him. Quickly, she worked the ingredients into a rough mixture and looked around for the mixer. "Like you care."
His hand shot out to grab her wrist. "You haven't greeted me yet. After all my hard work to bake you a cake."
Chloe felt herself being pulled into his embrace. She didn't put up much of a fight. Chloe allowed herself to be seated on his lap. She worked her leg over his so that she would straddle him. She sincerely hoped the chair would not give under their combined weight. She missed his hands, and now those hands traveled to the back of her head, leading her lips right on his. "Efforts," she gasped, when he released her for a moment. "They were efforts because he never got around to baking one." But then his fingers made those beautiful movements on her nape. Her eyes fluttered close when those long fingers, previously encased in the cartoon gloves gracing her hands, massaged her scalp. She grabbed his cheeks to deepen the kiss, smearing chocolate fudge on his face.
The whirr of the electric mixer buzzed in their ears, but the music in their ears was the pounding beat of their hearts. "Missed you, Chloe," he whispered. The vibration and his breath against her lips caused a warm throbbing inside her. Lex slid his hand to her exposed neck, feeling the silky skin against his palm. He gazed down at the paleness of her skin and saw her grin. Lex caught his breath when she fixed her gaze on his face. There was an intent in the green orbs that he was certain he had never seen from Chloe before. And then he almost choked on his own tongue when she moved closer. He thought that she would kiss his cheek. Indeed, it started out as a kiss, before her tongue darted out tentatively and she started laving on the dried batter on his skin. "Chloe," he managed to say. Lex groaned. He meant to say it as a protest, but instead it was a sigh of pleasure.
"Tell me about your day." For the life of him, he could not think of how he would be able to do that when she was licking away all the energy he had. When he did not speak, Chloe pushed up and looked down at him.
The loss of the warm flesh of her tongue moving across his cheek propelled him to speak, "Since I'm going on a two-week business trip in a few days, I spoke with the doctors for the final decision. They will begin my father's therapy soon." He released a sigh of relief when she smiled in satisfaction and looked over his face for more dried batter. "Chloe!" he gasped when his vision finally focused on what was going on behind her.
He helped her off his lap. Chloe looked behind her and cried out. Lex pulled her with him to the edge of the kitchen. He bit his lip at the discomfort at the crotch of his pants. The Pyrex bowl was empty now, the mixer continuing to whirr and sputter bits and pieces of the brown batter. Lex carefully pulled the plug and looked back at Chloe. "Turn around." She did, and Lex smirked. "You've got bits of batter all over your back and your hair."
"Oh no, I have to wash up!" She turned to fetch her clothes, but Lex grabbed her hand.
"I'll clean you up."
She stared at him in indecision. Chloe moved into his arms and shook her head. "When we get back to Smallville, we'll tell them. Right now, we'll just sleep. Okay?"
"I'll see you in back home after my business trip then. Come on. I'll show you where the towels are." Lex couldn't help himself. He saw the batter on her once clean shoulder and bent to taste it. "You really do make the best batter," he murmured against her skin.