---- Chapter 4: Stress Relief

Chloe raised an eyebrow as a man eyed her, watching her walk into the "store." It wasn't surprising, considering the owner of the place said he didn't get many women in. The evening sun gave the place an odd coloring, and a worse one to most of the patrons. Why she'd ever let herself be talked into using this place by an old source was beyond her, even if anonymity was the whole point. There had to have been somewhere else that did the same thing, or at least something like it.

Walking up to the counter, the man rolled over in a chair, smiling in a way she could only attribute to the word smarmy. "Miss blonde lady, welcome back."

"How did it go?"

"You checked out fine, as I said you would." Standing up, he reached under the counter and pulled out a small handgun, setting it on the counter. He ran a hand through his greasy hair as Chloe picked it up. "So, are you a gun enthusiast or just looking for a little protection until you get a man around ya?"

"I don't need a man for protection," Chloe said through clenched teeth. "And I don't really need this. It makes me feel better."

"I'm sure it does. Ya want me to show you how to take it apart and clean it?"

With relative ease Chloe took the gun apart and put it on the counter. She looked up at him a second before putting the pieces back together and pointing the unloaded gun at the man's chest. "I think I can handle it." Chloe stuffed the gun into her purse and mentally thanked Lois for teaching her the finer art of taking guns apart and putting them back together when they were kids. Well, this particular gun, at least. Chloe hadn't tempted fate on the bigger guns Lois had gotten her hands on.

"Quite the talent, little blondie."

"Any idiot can do it." Chloe tossed some cash on the counter. "Rounds."

He looked under the counter for a second before pulling out a box and setting it on the counter. "That all I can do for you? We do have a nice selection of other firearms and I have a particularly powerful weapon I keep on my person at all times."

Chloe ignored his ridiculous innuendo and grabbed the box, stuffing it into her purse along with the gun. "I have what I need." She walked out of the place, looking around for a second before melting into a crowd of people walking by.

One Month Later

"Pass it, Chlo. No need to be greedy."

"Gimme a second."

She lit up the one hitter again, inhaling deeply. As the effects hit her she passed it and the lighter over to Blake before a coughing fit overtook her, doubling her over for a second as she attempted to catch her breath. A moment later she slouched back into the couch he had put in his office and smiled as he exhaled and sighed, slouching next to her.

"This is better stuff than you had last week."

"Yeah, I decided to splurge. I was told this weed a cleaner high, and so far I'm inclined to agree."

She hadn't meant to starting smoking pot. After three days of living with Lois and all her plans to get her back into the world as a 'useful member of society instead of a lump of a cousin that worked all day and spent all night drinking alone in the basement' time away had been necessary for mental health. She'd decided to stick around the office late and Blake had asked her if she wanted to join him for a smoke. Figuring he meant cigarettes, she'd said why not; they were supposed to be relaxing. When he'd pulled out the one hitter, though, she'd balked. She'd never been one to condone drug use.

But then he'd gone into a spiel at how relaxing it was, how it had helped him deal with stressful days and running a company. Against all the voices of her friends and family in her head telling her not to, she'd joined him and after a few hits had felt more relaxed than she had in months. Years, almost. She had joined him for a night session of stress relief a couple times a week after that. She smoked for free and didn't have a hangover in the morning. Much better than drinking.

Telling Lois and Clark that she'd been going out drinking with coworkers those nights had led them to being happy she was out and about again. She wasn't sure, but she didn't doubt they'd tell her good job for hooking up at this point. If not the same satisfaction, this was working out just as well these days.

"What are you thinking about?"

Giggling, she ran a hand back through her hair and looked over at Blake. "What I'm doing and where I told Lois and Clark I am."

"Out with the coworkers again, are we?"

"You know it. They're tied up in an investigation of one thing or another at the moment and are just happy that I seem to be getting back out there and finding my way in the world again. I think they'd applaud me for getting laid, or at least Lois would. Clark would just tell me that if I was happy, he was happy. I doubt the sentiment applies to this, though."

She leaned forward and grabbed the one hitter and its case, refilling it before putting the case down and grabbing the lighter. She lit it and inhaled, holding the smoke in as she sat back again. Opening her mouth slightly, she blew the smoke out. She looked over at Blake. "How much did this cost you?"

"Hundred."

Chloe handed him the implements that were in her hands and got up off the couch, walking out of his office to her desk, opening up a drawer and grabbing her purse. Digging past her gun, she grabbed her wallet and pulled out a fifty she'd been intending to use on scotch, which she used most other nights to forget she was living in her cousin's basement, and walked back into the office. She sat down again and handed him the money. "I'm in for half on the next batch."

He tossed the bill back at her. "Nope. This is my treat to you because I can afford it."

"And I'm no mooch." She took the fifty and stuffed it into his pocket. "I'm already living rent and utilities free, I rarely buy food and this was money intended for scotch anyway. This is not extending me in any way."

She smiled when he acquiesced and took another hit. At least she still got her way sometimes.

"Sorry I wasn't available to do this last night but my mom flew into town unexpectedly. Apparently I don't visit enough."

Chloe smiled at Blake and waved it off. "I recall you telling me that. Does she fly into town unexpectedly often?"

"Not as often as she could but more often than I'm comfortable with. I know that my visits are infrequent, but if she would tell me before she comes I could be prepared, or at least clean my house."

"That's probably the point," Chloe said as she sat down. "I'm betting she wants to catch you with a woman in your apartment or something like that. If nothing else, she probably wants to visit you while you have plans so she can meet her, like her and pressure you."

"What if she didn't like her?"

Chloe shrugged. "No idea. She might say grandchildren are grandchildren, but I'd have to meet her to tell."

"You want to?"

Chloe stared at him a minute before breaking out into laughter. "Uh, no. I refuse to allow you to give your mother false hope by parading me in front of her. It'd be like me taking you to dinner at my cousin's house: there would be insinuations and digging around, and Lois and Clark are very good at digging."

"Yeah, but if my mom liked you she might get off my case a bit. I'm fairly certain she'd like you because you two are oddly similar in some areas."

"I can never tell how much I like or dislike that compliment." She thought about it a second before speaking again. "All I know is Mark's mom loved me and my mom never got to meet any of my boyfriends."

"Aren't you lucky."

He sat down next to her and handed her a pipe and lighter. She sparked it and passed it to him a moment later. Exhaling the smoke, she raised an eyebrow at him. "Obviously you need a refresher on my recent life."

"I don't," he said breathily as smoke flew out of his mouth.

"Good, because I don't feel like ruining my high."

She took the pipe from him and watched as he got up and walked to his desk. She put the pipe and lighter down as she held the smoke she'd just inhaled, and caught a small bag he tossed her. She let it out slowly before speaking. "What's this?"

"Your half of what I bought."

She rolled her eyes and sighed. "This is for both of us, Blake."

"Nope. What we smoke here is my treat. Anything you buy through me is yours and yours alone, not to be smoked on the premises. No exceptions."

"That's nice, but what am I supposed to use to smoke this?"

He smiled and reached into his desk before walking back around and handing her a rolled up brown paper bag. She eyed him for a second before unfurling it and reaching in. She pulled out a grinder, a small pipe and a one hitter that looked just like a cigarette in a case that mirrored a pack of them. She looked at them a moment before looking back at him. "You got me these?"

"I did. I figured you might want to smoke at home sometime but lacked the means. Therefore, you now have everything you need."

"That's true, but I doubt I ever will."

"Then don't do it at home, but stop somewhere short of your cousin's house and walk the rest of the way. There's a reason that it looks the way it does. The smell might give you away, but be discrete and you should be fine."

"Thanks," Chloe said as she got up. She smiled at him a second before she went out to her desk and put her new things in her purse and grabbed her phone's earpiece. Dialing up a local pizza place, Chloe got put on hold. Walking back into the office, she sat down next to Blake and took another hit before he noticed the earpiece.

"What's that for?"

"I'm ordering us dinner."

"What are you getting?"

"Pizza. Two extra large."

A few minutes later it was ordered and they sat in a comfortable silence. Chloe broke it. "I'm really looking forward to that pizza now. One of my better ideas."

"I agree. It sounds awesome, especially with all the meat on it."

Half an hour later Chloe was walking back into the office holding two pizzas, handing Blake one and holding the other for herself. She sat down and opened up her box, pulling out a meat laden slice and taking a big bite. Moaning as she chewed, Chloe swallowed and took a drink Blake handed to her. She took a sip and immediately tasted the rum in it.

"Good call. Rum and coke is rarely a bad idea."

"Don't I know it."

Chloe had soon devoured half of her pizza and as good as more sounded, she was stuffed. "God, that was awesome." Eying the box, she leaned forward and pulled out the smallest piece she could find. Taking a bite, she felt sauce drip down her chin and laughed for a moment. She laughed more as she heard Blake start laughing at her. "It's so awesome I just had to have it all over me."

"There are worse things to have on you than pizza."

"I've probably had them all on me at one point or another." Blake laughed at her and Chloe joined in. It really was pretty funny.

Chloe walked up into the kitchen and opened the fridge, grabbing the apple juice and a glass before pouring herself some. She replaced the juice before taking a sip and walking to the dining room table, setting it down at her spot and walking back into the kitchen. After getting the coffee maker going she grabbed a bagel and popped it into the toaster, pulling it out a few seconds later and taking a crispy bite. She smiled at Lois as she walked into the kitchen.

"So, it's Tuesday night. That usually means you're out with the coworkers drinking. Mind if I join you tonight?"

Chloe forced herself to keep chewing as she walked wide eyed to the table. Schooling her face to look normal, she looked over at Lois. "Actually it got called off tonight. Everybody else has things going on."

"Really? That's too bad." Lois walked over and sat down at the table with her, pulling off a little piece of the bagel for herself. "Why don't we make a night of it for ourselves? We can go out to a bar and see if we can't find you somebody to bring home."

"What? No. What? No."

Lois rubbed at the corner of an eye for a second as she spoke. "Why not? You've been going out with them for what, about six weeks now? Not once have I seen a guy sneaking out of the basement or heard you coming home in the wee hours of the night after a one night stand."

"I thought you were just happy I was going out with people!"

"I am. Now I want to be happy that you're back in the game."

Chloe groaned. "Oh, come on..."

"It's been five months, Chloe. It's time to get back out there. I know I tried to get your started dating back in July and I figured that would go over poorly, which it did. But it's been five months. It's time to move on and find yourself somebody to love, or at least use for a night."

"I can't believe what I'm hearing," Chloe said. "You've never said anything like this to me before. Espousing me having a one night stand? Are you kidding me?"

"If it gets you back out there, then I'm all for it!"

"Jesus, we're having a conversation better suited for college students."

Lois rolled her eyes and got up, walking over to the coffee maker and pouring two cups. She brought them over and Chloe took a quick sip. "No, we're not. We're having a conversation that relates to my baby cousin being afraid to get back into the world of sex and dating. I understand you've been hurt, but I will not allow you to end up alone because of it."

"You won't allow it?"

Lois shook her head. "I won't. In fact, if you haven't had some form of a significant relationship within the year I'm going to take it as a personal affront. You know how well I react to personal affronts."

"You can't write an article and take me down, Lois. I've already been taken down so far that my feet can feel the slightest touch of Dante's Inferno."

"What I can do is start setting you up on blind dates and making sure you show up."

Chloe's eyes widened. "You wouldn't."

Lois's eyes narrowed. "I would, and the only way to get out of them would be for you to get into a real relationship."

Chloe hated blind dates. She'd been set up on about five of them the last time she was single and none had been better than an out and out disaster. Most started well and ended with so many things going poorly that she wanted to either punch the guy for being a jackass or punch herself for getting talked into it. The last had been the worst and the one that had caused her to completely swear off of blind dates. What Lana had been thinking, setting her up with a sexist bastard, she would never know.

"Fine," she said through clenched teeth.

Lois smiled a self satisfied smile and took what Chloe thought looked more like a victory sip than a regular sip. "Alright. Now, we're still going to go out tonight. I'll call Lucy and we'll hit a bar."

"She's five months pregnant, Lo."

"Bars have non-alcoholic drinks."

"What about Jacob? If Clark has to run off to save somebody..."

"...then Jimmy will be here to watch my son. There's a baseball game on tonight, I'm sure, so they can watch that together."

Chloe let her head drop in defeat. Nothing. She was going to be forced into all this because she could find no way out of it. Dammit, all those years of covering for Clark not being there and now she'd lost her touch. "Alright, we'll go out. We're going to be just about the worst trio in bar history, though."

"Why do you say that?"

"You're married, Lucy is married and pregnant and I'm emotionally crippled and not looking to do anything but drink and fend off my cousins and their need to fix my life."

"And hook up."

"I plan on being too busy with the last part to do that."

"We'll see."

Chloe dropped her purse into its drawer and buzzed Blake's phone as she sat down.

"What's up, Chloe?"

"You got a couple minutes?"

"Always. Come on in."

Feeling silly for having bothered to sit down, Chloe stood up and walked into the office, smiling at Blake as he stood up and walked around his desk, leaning back on it as she got to him. "So, what requires the face to face?"

"I'm not going to be able to make it tonight."

"That's a shame. What came up?"

Chloe rubbed at her forehead and sighed. "Lois wanted to go out with me tonight when I 'went out with the coworkers.' I told her that it had been cancelled because everybody had other things to do, which prompted her to set up a night of her, her sister and me going out to a bar. Best part is they're conspiring to find me somebody to have sex with."

"Wish I had cousins like that," she heard him mumble. She raised an eyebrow at him and crossed her arms over her chest, and when he looked up he shrugged. "My cousins were never so giving as to find me somebody. They were more of the type to take the girl I was talking to."

"Nice guys."

"Eh, I would have done the same."

Chloe rolled her eyes. "Anyway, I'm tied up with that tonight. We still on for Friday?"

"I'll be here if you are."

"Good. Sorry about tonight."

"Don't worry about it. We'll just get extra baked on Friday to make up for it."

Chloe took her beer from Lois as she held it out to her, giving her a tight smile and taking a sip as her cousin sat down next to her. "So, who do we like around here, Chlo?"

"Alcoholic beverages. They don't think to try and talk to me, they just make me happy."

"I've known guys like that," Lucy said as she drank her non-alcoholic something or other. Chloe hadn't caught the name of it, and didn't care to. The thing looked like it had more fruit in it that liquid. "They can be fun."

Chloe held up her drink and smiled. "Too bad I'm already happy." She looked over to Lois, but found that she wasn't there. She gave the room a once over and didn't see her before looking back to Lucy. "Where the hell did Lois go?"

"Don't know. I'll go look for her."

Lucy disappeared into the crowd and Chloe rolled her eyes as she drank some of her beer and sat it back down on the table. Fantastic. She'd had to pass up a great night of relaxation and NOT thinking about any of this crap so she could go out, get abandoned and end up drinking all by her lonesome. If they weren't back by the time she finished this beer she was bailing and trying to get in contact with Blake.

She felt somebody tap her on the shoulder and turned to find Lois pushing a guy at her. "Have you met Keith?"

Chloe gaped at Lois as she stepped back and gave her the thumbs up before turning around and walking towards where Lucy has disappeared. She snapped her jaw shut and looked up at the guy Lois had brought over. "You must be Keith."

"And I'm told you're Chloe. Mind if I join you?"

Chloe shrugged and grabbed her beer, motioning across the table for him to sit down. He was fairly good looking. Blond hair, blue eyes, looked like he worked out with a bit of frequency. If they had children they might be accused of trying to propagate the Aryan race, even if her eyes weren't technically blue.

"So, Keith, what did my cousin tell you about me?"

"Virtually nothing. She came over, bought me a drink and told me that you'd had your eye on me ever since you walked in. After that, she walked me over and the rest is history."

"Yeah," she mumbled as she took a drink. Swallowing, she smiled at him briefly. "Why don't you tell me about yourself?"

Chloe zoned out as he started speaking, not caring one iota at what he was saying. She glanced over at the bar and caught the eye of the bartender, holding up her bottle and shaking it a bit until he nodded and had another sent over. She smiled at the appropriate times in his story, nodded and even said the occasional word.

"...and that's how I ended up here tonight."

"Wow," Chloe said, downing a big gulp of her beer. "That's quite the story."

"I like to think so. So, what's your story?"

Chloe frowned for a second before sighing. May as well at least play along so that Lois wouldn't send over somebody new. "Long relationship ended about five months ago, amid some other turmoil in my life. Heartbreak of numerous sorts and all that. Time has passed so my cousins are dead set on seeing me back in the dating scene so that I can find the big happy they both have." Wow, putting it like that was probably NOT going to keep him around. What a shame.

"You sound real into it."

Chloe shrugged. "What can I say? It was this or get bitched at, and since they're paying for drinks at least the night has that going for it."

He sat back a bit and eyed her. "You never had your eye on me and this has no chance of going anywhere, does it?"

"Not in the least, no."

Getting up out of his chair, he nodded and gave a small wave before walking off towards the bar. Chloe watched him go for a second before grabbing her beer and downing the rest of it. Walking up to the bar she got another one and went to find Lois and Lucy. She walked through the dimly lit place for a moment before finding them sitting in a booth near the back. She sat down next to Lucy. "Sorry guys, I struck out."

Lois frowned at her and Lucy smacked her on the arm with the back of her hand. She scowled at each of them in turn. "I told you that your machinations to get me all sexed up were not going to work tonight! Just because you two Lane women feel that I should be doing something does not mean I should be actually doing it."

"I tend to disagree with that statement," Lois said before taking a drink of her vodka cranberry. Chloe had always thought it a kinda girly drink for her, but she liked what she liked. Maybe she'd just gotten bored of drinking other things after her travels and whatnot.

"I thought you might. Anyway, this night isn't going to lead to anything, so I'm going to go." Downing the rest of her beer, she started scooting towards the end of the seat.

"What? You've only talked to one guy!"

"And that's one more than I wanted to talk to. I'll see you at home later tonight, Lo. Luce, I'm sure I'll see you soon." Getting up, Chloe smiled at each and walked off, making her way through the people. When she got outside she pulled out her phone and scanned down the list of names until she got to the one she wanted. She got it to dialing and waited a second before there was an answer.

"Hello?"

"Blake! You still at the office?"

"I might be. Getting out of your forced night out early?"

Chloe smiled. "Depends on if you're at the office and could use a bit of relaxation."

"Head on over. Pretty sure I'll still be in the office, and I could definitely use a stress release. The fact that it's ten and I'm still working after coming into the office fourteen hours ago is extremely depressing."

"Don't worry, I'm on my way," Chloe said around her smile. She ran out and waved down a cab that happened to be passing the bar and got inside, giving the driver the address to her work. She sat back and closed her eyes for a few minutes as the drive went by. She opened them again when the driver started talking and she made small talk for the rest of the way.

Heading inside the building, she made her way through the empty office back to Blake's office. She saw him sitting at his desk and closed the door behind her when she walked in, grinning. "You are a sight for sore eyes, Blake."

He smiled at her and rubbed at an eye with a finger. "I could not agree more. If you hadn't come by I might have worked myself until there was sunlight, and at that point I would feel bad about not working when there was sunlight to be wasted."

Chloe dropped her purse on the coffee table in front of the couch and sat down, smoothing her skirt out a bit. "Aren't you too young to be a workaholic?"

"I'll be thirty in October, so that depends on what you define as too young. I thought you knew how old I am?"

Chloe snapped her mouth shut so that it couldn't hang open and ran a hand back through her hair. "If you told me your age I clearly forgot it. I'm pretty sure you never did, though, and I never would have placed you within five years of thirty."

He walked over and sat down next to her, handing her the pipe and lighter. "Most people don't. It's been an affliction of sorts since I was in high school. When I was a senior people routinely asked me if I was a freshman, and even if I had skipped a grade to get there. I've been able to use it to my advantage in the odd business deal where they don't take a kid seriously, though. It'll also be nice when I'm fifty and don't look it."

Chloe coughed a bit as he finished talking and handed everything to him. A moment later she exhaled and inhaled deeply. "Yeah, I can see where that would have been annoying back when you don't want to look younger than you are. Looking ten when you're fifteen can't be pleasant."

"I was pretty short right up until high school, too, so I looked young in all ways. Going in I was five foot nothing." He paused a second and took a hit, releasing the smoke a moment later. "By end of freshman year I was about 5'8" but people still couldn't see past the baby face."

She'd through high school hell, with meteor infected popping up every time she turned around. Looking young during those four years had never been something that bothered to cross her mind. Normal high school would have been weird. Chloe took another hit and released a thin stream of smoke at him. "I'm so very sorry that high school was tough for you."

He grinned at her. "So am I."

They sat in silence for a while until the bowl was cashed. Chloe cracked her neck a couple of times and watched Blake walk over to the mini fridge, pulling out a couple candy bars. She caught the one he tossed at her and opened it up, taking a big bite out of it. God, she loved chocolate when she was high. Finishing it off as he sat down next to her again, she watched him finish his off and used her thumb to wipe some chocolate off the corner of his mouth.

He looked over at her, smiling, and leaned over until his lips were grazing hers. She put a hand on the back of his head and pulled his mouth tight against hers, relishing the feel of his lips. She slipped her tongue against his mouth, demanding access and getting it quickly, her desires heating and pooling at an almost alarming rate

Chloe grabbed at his pants, pulling his belt off and unbuttoning them, drawing his zipper quickly and shoving his pants down around his ankles. They each pulled away for a breath and started removing clothes. Chloe puled off her panties from under her skirt and tossed them on the floor before moving over and straddling his bare groin. "I'm on the pill. You got anything infectious I should know about?"

"I'm clean."

She grabbed him, grinning as she worked him up and down slowly with her hand before positioning him at her entrance and lowering herself onto him. God, that felt good. She breathed deeply, eyes closed, clenching her muscles around him a couple times before she started moving slowly, grinding against him in an incredibly pleasurable way.

Opening her eyes, she smiled at his face. He looked surprised, probably that this was happening. Lois had told her to have sex, so she was having sex.

Gasping, she rode him like she never had another man. He grabbed her butt with both hands a moment before sliding them to her hips and started pulling her into a faster rhythm, and she happily acquiesced. So close. So very...

Her toes curled and her grip on his shoulders tightened before she cried out in ecstasy. She felt like her arms had turned to jelly and fell against him a little as she felt him finish. Both breathing deeply, quiet engulfed them for a moment before Chloe started giggling. Good release tonight.