Lovely Lane Chapter 2 – 8 MONTHS EARLIER

August 15 – move in day. Lana and Clark love their loft apartment. 1471 Lovely Lane #5, Metropolis, KS. The downstairs has a living room, a small room that they will use as an office, a kitchen/dining area and a ½ bath. The upstairs has their sleeping area and a full bath with shower. No tub, it's one drawback. They are renting most of the furniture until they make more decisions regarding the future; they are starting with a queen-sized futon for sleeping. Clark has brought his stuff from the farm and Lana has cleared out her dorm room. They have gotten mostly unpacked and have collapsed on the couch.

"Let's find some lunch, shall we?" Lana suggests.

"Yes, let's. I saw a cute little Italian place 2 blocks from us, you game?"

"Sure, we can walk there," Lana races out the door.

Clark easily catches up and slows to her pace. They enter and find a cute table in a quiet corner. They pick up their menus and start perusing. Soon a short gentleman with a white apron comes to their table.

"May I help you two lovely kids today? How about a beverage to start?"

Clark orders iced tea, Lana a Coca-Cola.

"I'll be right back with those, and take your order if you are ready."

"Thank-you," Clark tells him.

Their server is back with their drinks in 2 minutes. "I hope you don't mind, but you are Met U students?"

"Yes, we are. Sophomores," Lana responds.

"That's wonderful. We offer students 20% off all meals, excluding alcohol. Would you like to sign up? And, are either of you interested in part-time work?"

Lana & Clark look at each other and shrug. "We certainly will sign up for the discount," Clark says. "About work, we will let you know before we leave. Thanks."

"That's great, now what would you like to order?"

Lana orders Lasagna, Clark orders spaghetti w meatballs; salad and bread with olive oil for dipping come with their meal.

"So, Clark, are you going to look for work?"

"I'm 90% sure I will get an internship at the Planet. I just got a letter from them yesterday. I don't think I'll have much spare time."

"Ok, this is a cute place. And our waiter, probably the owner, is really nice. I think I'll ask some questions."

"Good idea."

Their food arrives in 10 minutes. After they have finished eating, Lana motions their server over to their table. "May I ask you some questions about the work you mentioned?"

"Yes, of course,"" the little man says.

"Are you the owner?"

"Yes, me and the Missus," he calls for Maria. She joins them. "This is Maria, I am Paulo. May I ask your names?"

"I am Lana and this is my boyfriend, Clark. What kind of hours are you needing help with?"

"What ever you can do. For lunch we would like 11:00 to 2:00; for dinner 4:30 to 9:30. Of course, as you can see, I cover the tables when wait staff is unavailable. We are flexible. Let me add this – on our busy evenings we could use two wait staff; that would be Friday and Saturday."

"Interesting," Lana muses. "Can we think this over while we enjoy a piece of Tiramisu?"

"Absolutely. That will be on the house – don't say a word!"

Maria hurries away and returns with their dessert.

"Clark, we both could work some weekend shifts together. After all, if one of us isn't home to snuggle up and watch a movie, we might as well both be at work. Right?"

"Yes, but I could be doing some writing."

"True, but you could sign up for the job; then see how much time you are willing to commit to it. See how you and the owners feel about your availability?"

"I'm willing to do that, if both sides are comfortable with the arrangement."

"Good, let's present that to them." She takes a huge bite of their dessert; he digs in too.

Paulo & Maria are delighted with their new employees. Clark and Lana sign up for both Friday and Saturday evening shifts for the next 2 weekends. They tell the folks that they will look over their schedules and probably sign up for more; classes don't start until after Labor Day.

Back home Lana finds her book on magic and settles on the couch; she plans on reading and taking notes. Clark calls the farm, to update mom and dad on their day and how he and Lana are settling in. Then he puts on his running shorts and runners, grabs his cell phone & wallet and says "I'm going for a little jog babe, be back in ½ hour or so." He gives her a quick kiss and is off.

Lana reads for a while, then sets up a variety of objects around the room and does some practicing. She places the objects with various spacing; seeing if he can concentrate and have things 'come' even if they are quite close together. She finds that 1" of space is as close as they can be and come individually. She is pleased nevertheless.

Then she tries levitating various objects; she finds that she can levitate things up to an estimated 50 lbs. She assumes that with practice (like training) the weight limit will gradually increase.

Next, she tries to teleport herself. She imagines herself in a different location in the apartment, and then thinks 'GO'. After 3 tries, IT WORKS! She does it several times, the last one puts her lying on their bed in the loft. Then she hears Clark enter, returning from his jog.

"Hi babe, I 'm home." He looks around but doesn't see her.

She's on the bed grinning to herself. She imagines herself on the couch, thinks 'GO' and appears sitting on the couch. Clark staggers backward.

"Whoa, what was that?"

"Teleporting! I have been practicing."

"I see! What else can you do?"

"Well," she gets up and brings him into an embrace. She imagines THEM on the bed and thinks 'GO', and they are lying on the bed up in the loft!

"Wow! Well Missy, what did you have in mind?" His voice is soft, low, and irresistible.

"We haven't had a good make out session since, I don't know, yesterday?"

"We must correct that deficiency!"

"Agreed!"

Their lips crash. Tongues duel, deficiency corrected!

TBC