Chapter 3

"You really surprised me when you said it was urgent. Something wrong?" Martha poured him a mug of coffee.

"Well, not really … but … I'm kind of having … problems with Lois."

"Oh, God, is she in trouble again?" Martha shook her head. Lois had this unhealthy tendency to get herself into risky situations and she always dragged her son along with her.

"It's not that, mom. We're … dating."

"Well, that's good news." Martha could not be happier for her son. "I always thought that Lois was the perfect woman for you. I'm glad that you two finally realized that you are made for each other. But why do I sense that you're not that completely happy about this?"

"Don't get me wrong, I am." Clark shifted uncomfortably on his chair. "It's just that … I'm back to the lies, mom. You know what happened with Lana. For years, my secret kept us apart and when I finally told her, it only lasted a few weeks before we realized that it would never work between us."

"Lois isn't Lana, Clark. She's been your friend for years. I think that you have become much closer to her than you have ever been to anyone else. You two are inseparable."

He smiled, "not to mention this thing she has for Superman …"

"For you."

His smile grew wider, then he frowned. "But she doesn't know it's me."

"She cares for you as Clark and God knows she had made public her crush for Superman. I think she'll be delighted when she learns you are both."

"Yeah, maybe, anyway, I don't think we are ready for that yet. It's too soon. We didn't even have …"

Martha raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"We …" he cleared his throat, "we're not intimate yet."

"Oh." For her son's expression, Martha could tell that this was a serious issue for him. "Why, is there a problem?"

"Well … I'm not sure. I … it's been some time since I've been with someone."

Martha waited for him to go on, but when he didn't, something told her that it had been longer than she had imagined. "Since Lana?"

Clark nodded quietly.

"It's been quite a long time," Martha reflected aloud.

He sighed. "I have never tested my abilities in that area yet. Lana and I … it happened during the time I lost my powers."

"And you never tried again after you recovered them?"

"No."

"Oh, my God, Clark. I never thought you would …" she trailed off, trying to gather her thoughts. "Maybe you're just a little out of practice, but it's not a life or death situation."

"That's the point, mom. I don't know what is going to happen. What if it is a life and death situation?"

Martha tried to be positive. "Honey, you know how to control your strength. You only need to have … extra care until you are confident enough."

He looked down, blushing. "I'm not worried about that part, mom. I'm worried about the part that is beyond my control. What if I hurt her?"

This was certainly a conversation that was meant for father and son. But Jonathan was no longer with them, and she would have to help her son to resolve this. On seeing his expectant eyes fixed on her, Martha realized that not only he had lived without sex these past ten years. He had remained virtuous in every sense. This didn't surprise her, though. Clark's puberty had not been that of a regular teenager. Instead of having wet dreams, he used to torch scarecrows with his eyes.

"Sweetheart, how can I say this…" she paused to find the appropriate words, " … there are ways you can find out what will happen without actually being with a woman."

Clark's eyebrows shot up. "You mean one of those … dolls?"

"Good heavens, no," she said quickly, trying to spare her son from further embarrassment. "I mean other ways…you know… self gratification is not that uncommon, Clark. I am not saying that it should be a regular practice, or even remotely similar to what one feels while being with the person one loves … but yet I think it might serve to your purpose this time. Try it once or twice, until you have gained control of your reactions. Maybe it's not as bad as you think it is and you are holding back for nothing."

Clark felt his cheeks burning. "Yeah, maybe. If I don't do something, Lois is going to ask questions and she'll probably dump me. I don't want to break up with her, mom, at least not without trying. I love her."

"How long have you been seeing each other?"

"A few weeks."

"I can't believe she waited this long. Lois is not of the patient type."

"It's getting quite hard for me, too. I almost set the apartment on fire the other night."

"I'm sure you'll find a way to resolve this." Martha said soothingly as she placed a comforting hand over his shoulder. "Are you staying home for the weekend?"

"I will, unless you are busy or something," He said tentatively.

Martha smiled inwardly. She knew her son wasn't very comfortable with the idea of her dating someone, but he would have to learn to live with the fact that she was not alone anymore. "No, I'm not. Stay, I'll cook dinner."

Now more relaxed, Clark stood, "Do you need any help? I would like to fly around for a while, just to see that everything is OK."

"Go, sweetheart, I'll manage."

"Thanks, mom, for everything." Clark kissed his mother's cheek and headed towards the door.

Once he was outside, Clark looked at the sky, pondering his mother's words. He launched himself into the air, crossed the thin layer of clouds and flew even higher, above the satellites routes. Suspended thousands of feet above the Earth, he allowed his body to float peacefully as he observed how spots of light slowly lit up over darkening continent.

Maybe his mom was right. He needed to do something about this or he would end losing Lois.

"We were drinking beer, joking about the article and the next thing I know is that I was lipsucking the life out of him."

"And what did he do? Wait," Chloe raised her hand, "don't tell me. He fainted."

"No," Lois smiled at the memory, "he kissed me back. Quite hungrily, by the way."

"Then, what's the problem?"

"He left! We spent a whole hour rolling on the carpet, kissing like there's no tomorrow and the guy says he wants to take things slow and leaves before I can say anything else!"

"Well, that's Clark Kent, you should know him better, Lo. Just give him time."

Lois refilled her mug with hot coffee and sat on the couch. "It's been weeks, Chloe, and he's still taking things slowly. How much time am I going to give him?

"Well … I …"

"Maybe there's something wrong with him. Maybe he's impotent or something."

If Lois only knew. "I don't think so."

"I told him one thousands times I was free and alone for the weekend, that I was available for anything he wanted to do, and what does Mr. Elusive do?" she paused to add drama to her words. "He vanishes! I called his apartment a hundred times but all I get is the machine."

"Did you try his cell phone?"

"No. I don't want him to think I'm stalking him."

Chloe snorted. "Clark's in Smallville."

"How do you know that?"

"Because, unlike you, I called him at the right number. He'll be at the farm during the weekend, visiting his mom."

Lois raised a suspicious eyebrow. "His mom, huh? Maybe that's the whole point."

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, come on, Chloe. Don't tell me that there's not something wrong about that. Sweet, mild mannered, he hadn't had a girlfriend for how long, ten years?" Chloe opened her mouth to object but Lois continued in a very suggestive tone, "Yeah, maybe that's it. Maybe he's …he's … hiding inside his closet."

The only thing that Clark was hiding in his closet was a blue spandex suit and a red cape. Chloe had to stop this before it went too far. "Lois, Clark's not gay."

Lois groaned in frustration. "Then how do you explain it? The other night, I really thought it was going to happen. One second he's all over me, kissing me as if his life depended on it and the next he rushes to the bathroom and stays locked in for hours."

"Hours?"

"Okay, like five minutes."

Chloe took the mug from Lois' hand before she finished her coffee. Her cousin had had enough caffeine for one night. "I think you should be patient," when Lois tried to protest, she hushed her. "This is Clark Kent we are talking about. As you said, it's been some time since he has been with someone and maybe he's just a little scared. Just give him time. I'm sure it will be worth the waiting."

Lois sighed, apparently resigned to her situation. With the beast under control, Chloe's thoughts went to Clark, trying to imagine what was going on with him. She had a clue, though. This was not different to what had happened ten years ago, when he broke up with Lana. If he remained alone for so long, it was because he was suffering the same insecurities that were haunting him then. She only hoped that he wouldn't choose her to open up to once again, because discussing Superman's sex life with the Man of Steel himself was something that Chloe Sullivan didn't want to see in her agenda.