Chloe had butterflies in her stomach…AGAIN…this was ridiculous. She slammed down another cup of coffee hoping the 3 shots of espresso would work. She didn't know why she always worried about it; either it had been working all these months or he just didn't tune in any more the way he said he used to.
She turned to look out the window. Her 30th floor corner office looked out over the park, and she never left until she saw him sitting on his bench. It was empty so she started yet another cup of coffee and looked around her office, adorned with plaques commemorating her award winning articles and her eyes rested on her most prized possession, the Pulitzer. She had worked hard over the last 12 years to get where she was and she had it all…but at the same time she didn't.
She turned again and looked out the window, and saw the bench was occupied.
She picked up her book and sandwich and headed toward the elevator, praying she had the nerve today. As she took the elevator down to the lobby she thought back to the day she first saw him again…the day she gave him her heart again, but this time forever…
She had been in the workroom making copies of an old archived article when she heard a voice she hadn't heard in over a decade. She froze, afraid to move, lest it be a dream. She listened intently and finally turned and looked through the open door and saw HIM. It was Clark Kent, but if he was the definition of perfection when they were kids, he was an absolute Greek God today. She could see it through his apparent disguise: the oversized suit, slouch, slight stutter and a pair of glasses that looked natural, but hid his amazing green eyes that could see into her soul. He'd even raised the tone of his voice, and was using words like "swell" and "golly." She would have run to him except that he had just said he was new to the area and didn't know anyone in Metropolis, and quietly closed the door. She'd sworn long ago she'd die before she gave him away.
The elevator door opened and she walked through the lobby and out into the sunshine. She tried not to look at him as she walked by, but in a quick stolen glance she saw he was absorbed in his sandwich and an apparent speck on the concrete at his feet. She walked past him to her own bench and sat down, desperately fighting the urge to turn and go to him.
She sighed as she ate her sandwich. She was tired of being alone…and lonely. He had to know she was unattached; the "Ice Goddess" who sat alone in her ivory tower was just as much talk of the building as the "Boy Scout" was. She was the gorgeous blonde who was brilliant, intimidating, but totally absorbed in her work, and he was absurdly shy, the definition of a gentleman, and more than adept at avoiding any more than just casual conversation with a woman.
She couldn't help that she had natural beauty paired with an intelligence and talent that eclipsed any of her peers. Writing was her passion. Having her fingers on the pulse of the city was what she was meant to do just as protecting Metropolis was his destiny. She tried not to smile as a man walked into the bench not ten feet from her and flipped over it. WHY was he avoiding her when he was so obviously claiming her?
She looked at her watch and realized the hour had passed and she had to return to her lonely tower. Would she dare? She stood and brushed the crumbs off her lap and hesitated a moment before heading toward him. She felt the pull more than ever, and yet, walked past without even looking. Again. She walked back into the lobby and rode the elevator alone up to her office as tears silently rolled down her cheeks. Again. Tomorrow. Maybe tomorrow.
