Chapter 7
Part 5 - The Talk
To Clark's surprise, his parents were out of sight as they entered the Kent residence. He and Lana took turns in the upstairs bathroom and both were feeling refreshed after washing up. After a pit stop at the kitchen to grab some snacks from the fridge they headed back up to his loft.
For a while, they sat beside each other on the red couch in silence while drinking iced tea and sharing a small bunch of sweet seedless black grapes. Clark reached for the last piece of grape just as Lana did, too, but he was quicker and he tossed the grape straight into his mouth, smiling greedily at her.
"Oh no, you didn't!" She shook her head and lunged at him, her mouth landing on his mouth purposely. With her tongue she fought with his and she sucked the grape in as she curled her tongue back into her own mouth. She immediately bit the grape and chewed it with a wicked grin on her face, as if saying "I win!", taunting him.
Clark's jaw dropped - it's not the first time, and for some reason he knew it wasn't the last either - that she had shocked and rendered him speechless. He remained staring at Lana. Even when she was chewing, her seductive charm exuded and Clark couldn't take his eyes off her, zoning in on her mouth.
'That very sexy mouth... and those luscious lips. God, those lips... they seem to be beggin' to be kissed again and again. And that smile... every time she smiles it seems to take me in, sharing the glow from its brightness, making me feel warm and tingly all over. Damn, I'm getting so fricken mushy. Ugh!' Clark tried to shake the last thought.
He gazed into her eyes and then her lips again as he leaned in. The smile on Lana's face slowly disappeared as she, too, leaned in to meet Clark's lips. Soon they were engaged in another impassioned kiss, both sighing into each other's mouths, happy to be connected that way. Their renewed make-out session lasted a long while and when both could barely feel their lips - numb from too much friction, they breathlessly pulled apart and rested on each other's foreheads, panting.
Clark was first to recover and when he did, slowly licked at Lana's lower lip then her upper lip, as if to ease the slight swelling, while he pressed his body against hers on the couch, pushing her gently until she was lying down on her back completely and positioning himself in between her legs.
Lana, on the other hand, though still wanting to catch her breath, just kept her mouth open and savored the feel of his tongue as he nipped and licked her swollen lips slowly, deliberately. However, before things got way too steamy between them she decided to resist his charms.
'But boy oh boy, it's so not easy mainly because Clark "Mr. Charming" Kent is just so dreamy... and so delicious, no girl in her right mind would or could resist. Well, except me now, but just this once,' she pondered.
Just as he was about to take her mouth hostage in his, Lana touched his face gently, stopping him. "Clark," she said in strained pitch, "...we really need to talk... like now, before we take things further between us."
Clark sighed but didn't give it a second thought, fully knowing that she was right. Taking a deep breath, he replied, "You're right, Lana." He gave her a quick peck on the lips first and though obviously unwilling, he slowly got up and sat on the couch again. He motioned her to sit on his lap and she happily obliged.
She cleared her throat and took a deep breath. "Ok, as much as I enjoy doing all these uh, special things with you... I need you to understand that I want to set some limits."
He nodded quietly.
"I really am curious and want to experience certain... things with you, Clark," she paused, then continued, "...but at the same time, I want to save my... virginity... for The really special Someone in my future or near future. Who knows? I mean, that someone could be you... or could be someone else, you know. Right now it's just too soon to tell."
Her nose wrinkled as she continued, "You might find this hard to believe, judging from the way I've been quite bold and aggressive with you lately - and don't get me wrong, I've been loving every minute of it, but..." she paused again.
"...well, I feel that we shouldn't go all the way. Right now I don't think I can handle that 'total surrender' yet. Besides, we barely know each other," she said, blushing at that statement because they actually have been getting to know each other fairly well in the most private sense. "Well, sort'a... kind'a...?"
She pursed her lips and nervously waited for his response. And although silence snaked but a small short path right between them, the rapid pounding of her heartbeat overtook any other sound she could hear... until Clark's voice interrupted everything as he began to speak.
"Yeah, sort'a, kind'a is about right," he agreed. He had contemplated for a while and when he had gathered his thoughts he decided to pour his heart out, thinking there's not much for him to lose anyway, except maybe these very few intense private moments spent with the object of his obsession.
"Know what, Lana, I feel the same way... about saving the going-all-the-way part for that very special someone... in the future. But when that time comes, I honestly hope that you will be that someone for me," he said. With that, he felt his face turn crimson again yet he dared to look her in the eye.
Her eyes widened in surprise at his statement, her heartbeat raced even faster and she felt a swarm of butterflies fluttering ecstatically in her stomach. Lana couldn't believe what she was hearing but was overjoyed by what Clark has told her - and she didn't dare interrupt him since he seemed to be on a roll. She just smiled and kept quiet.
"Anyway," he went on, "I do respect your decision about wanting to remain a virgin. And as much as my body screams to go much, much further with you and my hormones rage endlessly for you, I don't think I'm ready to go all the way, either. I mean, at this age, I consider myself very lucky to be able to enjoy any kind of closeness with a girl, and not just any girl...I'm extremely happy that it's with you."
He paused and took another deep breath before speaking again. "Uhm, I'm sure my inexperience hasn't gone unnoticed...but you are my first kiss... and my first, uh, everything so far," he confessed shyly.
Lana cannot stop smiling and her heart soared. "You are also my first in most of the things we've done so far," she admitted.
"Yeah?" he asked and she nodded.
"So you're feeling a bit awkward, too?" he searched her face, needing the reassurance.
"Ooh yes, me too. Definitely," she nodded again.
"Well I couldn't tell," he said smiling, relieved to hear that he wasn't alone on that matter.
"Yeah, uh huh. Sure, Clark," she retorted.
"I'm serious, Lana," he told her. She just shrugged.
"But you know, I still think all this..." he said, squeezing her leg for emphasis, "...having you here - sitting on my lap no less; having kissed you deeply and savored the taste of your lips; having seen you half naked... and then having you touch me so intimately earlier... Heck, I feel damn lucky and I don't know exactly what I've done to deserve this."
He sighed and paused.
"...Yet still, it feels like I'm only dreaming. I've never expected anything this great could ever happen to me, except in my dreams, you know? It's like I'm trapped in this enormous bubble that could burst any second now... and then I'll land hard - face first - on the ground, back to the harsh reality... my reality."
At his last word, ever so gently, he touched and traced the contours of her face, much like a blind person would, trying to memorize every inch and etching it into his memory bank. Lana closed her eyes at his soft touch and felt shivers tickling their way up her spine.
"Oh, Clark... " she said in a whisper, smiling yet bewildered at his eloquence, his words melting her - body and soul.
"I am not a dream... none of this is a dream," she continued, opening her eyes and placing both hands on the sides of his face. "This (kiss)... is (kiss)... real (kiss)," she said, planting the gentlest kisses on his lips in between words.
He shut his eyes for a couple seconds while the taste of her soft kisses lingered on his lips. Slowly he opened them again, meeting her intense gaze. And then he nodded slowly, deeply exhaling while letting it all sink in.
A few moments of comfortable silence passed between them before Lana spoke again.
"Alrighty, now for the rules." She decided to change the subject and smiled.
"Got to have rules," she added, her nose crinkling again, a habit of hers that Clark found truly adorable.
He quickly composed himself. "Oh, okay then. Bring it on," he challenged.
"You sure?" she asked and he rolled his eyes.
"Yes, dear," he replied nodding and immediately Lana elbowed him, laughing at his mock-sarcasm.
"By the way if you have any concerns at all just let me know right away. And please, Clark, do not hesitate to tell me what you're thinking. I promise not to freak out on you. Okay?"
"Got it," Clark said, nodding.
She took another deep breath and shifted to a more comfortable position in his lap before continuing. He put his arms around her as soon as she had stopped fidgeting.
"So yeah," she said, her eyes sparkling in enthusiasm. "Rules... First and most important, we always have to be careful. At all costs, we are never to get caught in the act."
Clark agreed, "Of course not. Never," shaking his head.
"I seriously have this 'reputation' to maintain," she stated. "I guess it's different for guys, right? When you fellas hang out, you all gloat and boast about your sexual conquests, no matter what age."
Clark just laughed at her comment, unprepared to neither admit nor deny anything.
"Well it's the opposite with us girls. As much as possible, most of us try to keep a squeaky clean rep," she paused and remembered the few girls she'd been acquainted with and the few she'd hung out with as friends last summer in Metropolis.
"Er, okay, I'm mostly referring to myself. I definitely don't want to be known as 'the slutty 'ho' who has gone around the block and back. Plus, I don't want to be the one to drag the clean Potter-Lang name deep into the mud. Can't have that," she said, shaking her pretty head.
"No way, Lana Lang could never be a muddy, dirty slut nor a whore. That's just impossible," he grimaced and Lana slapped his arm gently. They both laugh and eventually got serious again.
"But yeah, most definitely, we cannot get caught. I myself don't want to be grounded for life if my parents ever found us out." He cringed at the thought. "So how, or when, and where can we 'help each other out' then?" Clark asked, while gently pinning some loose strands of her hair back behind her left ear, making Lana smile at his sweet gesture.
"Good question," Lana answered, tapping a finger on her chin, thinking. "How about we agree to meet and 'ease the stress'... uhm...," she paused and couldn't help blushing at the meaning of "ease the stress".
Then continued, "... once a week? maybe Sunday nights?... better to start off the school week stress-free and with a... big smile," she suggested.
Clark raised an eyebrow and an amused smile crept up his face. "Really, a scheduled session? But where?" he asked.
"Yeah, a scheduled session," she repeated. "Where - I don't know... either your room, or my room, or your loft, I guess. As long as the coast is clear, or unless you have a better suggestion. What do you think?" she asked back.
He paused to think for a second and replied, "Yeah, I guess either of those should work. Well, except for my room, that's too close to parent proximity, don't you think? But we can try it and see for ourselves."
"Okay then," Lana said. 'Phew! One down, a few more to go', she thought.
Clark came up with the next question quicker than she expected, interrupting her train of thought. "Hmm... here's another one for you," he started.
"Go ahead, shoot," she replied.
"What if... say, in the middle of the day or middle of the night - on a week day, you or I feel so damn horny and needed help right then?" he questioned.
"Wow, Clark, you seem to be really getting into this," she teased him.
"Only because you're makin' it sound so tempting, I couldn't help but bite the bait," he replied, teasing her back. 'Oh and after what happened earlier... you got me hooked and I want more. More, I say!' he secretly wished to himself.
"Good answer," she laughed and then her face lit up as her inner light bulb turned on. "Well... how about...we throw in one emergency 'help-me-out-quick' session per month?"
"Just one?" he complained. "Remember, Lana, I'm a hot-blooded teenage guy with raging hormones. Give me a break, will ya?"
"Heeey that goes both ways, you know. And I don't care what other girls would care to admit... but I, myself, am a hot-blooded teenage girl with raging hormones as well, not that I'm letting everyone know this fact so you better keep it a secret," she said, tapping a finger on his chest.
"Besides, I just didn't want to sound too eager and overly perverted." She couldn't stop herself from winking at him, as he obviously was surprised at her confession. "So, would two emergency 'help-me-out quickies' a month work for you?" she asked.
"Two? Uhmm..." He thought of it for a little bit. "I don't know... I'm not sure if you're prepared to know exactly how often I'm gonna need you," he admitted nervously, but giving her a very naughty smile and wiggling his eyebrows up and down.
"Really now?" Her eyes widened. "Oh c'mon, Clark, you can't possibly want me that bad…?" she searched his face and saw the truth behind his words even when he was trying to cover it up by teasing her - naughty smile, wiggling eyebrows and all. 'Oh my… Whoa!' she thought. It truly flattered her but she couldn't quite believe it just yet. "Can you?" she wanted to know.
He smiled mischievously. "Oh, you don't know the half of it, Lana."
She raised an eyebrow, wanting further explanation.
He felt extreme heat rise up fast and his face turned crimson again. "Weeelllll, let's just say, you're the object of every single one of my... er..." he swallowed hard. "...wet dream and daydream." He immediately wondered if he had scared her a little now.
'Fuck, I think I've said too much. Nice move, Clark Dorkface Kent!' mentally scolding himself - again.
Not wanting to push his luck, he quickly countered, "But, like I said earlier, let's try and see for ourselves, alright? So two it is, per month."
Still quite amused, she smiled and let it go for now. "Then that's settled," she said.
'Whew, what'ta quick save! That was worth 3 points, for a long shot.' Clark chided himself quietly.
"Lana, can I kiss you?" from out of the blue, he asked for he couldn't push his need off any longer, much to her surprise.
"Clark, you don't have to ask...well, you didn't the past few times, so why start now?" she looked at him funny and said, "Damn, you're weird," giggling softly, clearly teasing him again.
"Oh but you like it when I'm being weird," he smiled as he claimed her lips gently. A couple pecks after, he suddenly stops and Lana quickly leans in for more. "See? Your lips miss mine, too," he pointed it out in a raspy whisper before brushing his lips against hers again. In no time both were swept in torrent passion and they groan as their kiss became deeper, while she wrapped her arms around his neck and he pulled her really close to him.
Suddenly Clark heard footsteps coming into the barn. He struggled to break their kiss fast and practically peeled Lana off of him but she wasn't about to end their mouth to mouth duel nor let go of him. So he pulled back completely and then dove back to bite her lower lip quickly just to get her attention.
It worked. His sudden display of friskiness came unexpected and struck as odd, making Lana stop abruptly. "Easy, Clark!" she whispered breathlessly, opening her eyes only to be met by panic in his.
"Parent alert!" Clark whispered back, as he jumped off the couch speedily to grab the half-empty glasses of iced tea and handed one to her. Lana took a quick sip of the tea and repositioned herself to sit on the other end of the red couch.
"Claaark? Honey, are you up here?" Martha called, proceeding up the steps.
Clark and Lana could hear footsteps approaching closer and closer, going up the steps. They look at each other and giggled then took sips of the iced tea again as if to calm themselves and erase the guilty look on their faces.
"Yeah, Mom...," he replied and as soon as he looked toward the steps, his dad emerged right behind his mom. "...Dad!" he blurted.
His parents' faces were painted with utter disbelief. They surely were not expecting to see Clark with someone up in his loft, and that someone being a girl - well, not just any girl, his dream girl, Lana Lang, at that! The disheveled appearance of the two teens didn't get past them either.
"Hey, there you are, son," Jonathan greeted and then looked at Lana with a quizzical look. "Oh hi, Lana. What brings you up here?"
Martha Kent, however, was more gracious and welcomed her presence. "Well hello, Lana! It's so nice to see you, dear. It's been such a long time since we've all seen you around." Smiling, she walked up to offer Lana a hug to which Lana reciprocated gladly.
"Good to see you, too, Mrs. Kent... Mr. Kent," she replied wide-eyed. "I was just, uhm...stopping by to discuss a class assignment with Clark here. We're supposed to work as partners for our Psychology project."
Clark couldn't help the double take he did at Lana. His trademark jaw-drop, ever since he started getting to know Lana, was evident.
'What the- Lana is my Psych partner, too? She must be pulling my leg... or did I just die and go to heaven?' he wondered.
"Oh, really?" With an arched brow, Jonathan's two-word reply sliced through the silence that suddenly blanketed the loft. Then he and Martha exchanged looks, both thinking and noticing the same thing: there was an obvious non-verbal vibe that the two teens in front of them shared.
"Uh, yeah... project...together. Right," was all Clark could spit out, still staring at Lana gleefully, his eyes can't conceal the laughter caused by the realization of the double meaning of those words.
'Project. Together. Indeed!' Lana found it coincidentally funny herself but kept her laughter inside. It shone in her eyes though and Clark saw it clearly as she stared back at him.
"Well... that's...," Martha nodded and commented slowly, choosing her very few words carefully, "...nice, kids."
Once again she exchanged looks with her husband. Then she turned to Clark, not wanting to prolong the uncomfortable moment. "Uhm, your father and I are headed for Metropolis for farm supplies and stuff... so when you're hungry for dinner, it's in the oven for you. And don't wait up for us, okay, Clark? The long drive back is way too much so we're spending the night there and be back tomorrow."
Jonathan eyed both teens alternately, his eyes swinging like a pendulum ball for a bit, before speaking directly to Clark. "And don't forget to do your morning chores, son." Then he leans in and whispers, "Now be responsible and don't do something you're not ready for," patting him hard on his shoulder. 'Darn raging teen hormones,' he thought, remember just how frisky he was at his son's age.
Of course Clark knew right away what his father was insinuating, surprised that the older Kent hit the nail directly in its head. 'Holy crap! My dad is psychic... and how freaky is that? HA!' he mused.
"Got that?" his father asked with all seriousness.
Clark heard Jonathan's voice ringing with authority loud and clear so he nodded and replied in a low tone, "Yes, sir."
"Good." Jonathan said, ending the conversation. His father almost always had to have the last word.
His mother gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Tenderly she said, "See you later, sweetheart," and as she pulled away she gave him that familiar "you-better-be-a-good-boy-or-else" look.
Clark got the idea and rolled his eyes, smiling. "Take care, Mom... you guys drive safe, alright."
"Lana, good luck on that... project," Jonathan gave her a nod before turning to leave.
"Oh, yeah, thanks Mr. Kent," Lana smiled back at him, giving him the same non-toothy shy-smile she normally gives people as a polite gesture.
"Hope to see you again soon, Lana. And please say hello to your Aunt Nell for us, will you?" Martha waved to her and then followed behind Jonathan down the loft steps.
"Yes I will, Mrs. Kent. Bye," Lana waved back.
Soon as they heard the truck's engine roar out of the driveway, Clark, without warning, quickly grabbed Lana by her waist and pulled her back into the couch. She squealed in surprise as she crashed onto his lap once again.
They laugh and when they both calmed down, Clark asked, "Sooo, where were we?"
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To be continued...
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A/N:Happy New Year, Everybody!
I'm crossing my fingers that I didn't get anyone confused at this point, especially those of you who have followed this fic from its original version. I didn't mean to mess with ya'll in a majorly crappy way. Again, sorry!
(sniffle...)
P.S. (Welcome to my fic, Joseph Benjamin, htbthomas, & CouzTwin!)
