Kiss Me Quick
“Kiss me, quick!”
Clark barely registered the whispered words because they were immediately followed by a pair of soft lips caressing his and a pair of slim arms thrown about his neck. He raised his hands to the strange woman’s shoulders in order to disentangle her from him, but somehow the gesture morphed into his own arms encircling her waist. Before he knew it, he was kissing her back in earnest—which was odd because he had no idea who she was. But, oh, her kiss did something to him that he’d never felt before.
Too soon, her lips left his, but instead of pushing him away, she pulled his head down and whispered in her ear, “I’m in serious trouble. Please don’t give me away.” As she pulled back, she kept her face near his, and he caught the look of desperation in her eyes.
He had no idea what he was agreeing to, but he couldn’t turn her down. His arms were still around her, so he pulled her close and whispered, “I won’t. Just show me how I can help.”
The arrivals area at Washington National Airport was crowded, as usual, and while they’d been standing there embracing, people of all descriptions had been streaming by on both sides. As the mystery woman stepped back from him, her eyes scanned the crowd. But Clark’s eyes were riveted on her.
He had no clue as to who she was or what kind of trouble she was in, but he was absolutely certain of one thing: she was hands-down the most breathtaking individual he had ever met. A head shorter than him, even in the heels she wore, her figure was petite and perfectly proportioned—and felt just right pressed against his, he’d noticed. Her hair was dark brown and hung loose in a bob that just missed her shoulders. There were lines of tension around her mouth and eyes—deep brown eyes that still scanned the stream of people. The roving eyes settled on a man in a grey business suit who was studying the flight information display, and a frown flashed across her face before she looked back at Clark.
He saw her eyes travel quickly down his body and back up to his face. Well, he’d given her the once-over, too, so he couldn’t begrudge her the same opportunity. She must have decided that he was acceptable for her purpose, whatever that was, because she took both of his hands in hers and said, almost too loudly, “It’s so sweet of you to come pick me up, honey! I told you I could have taken a cab.” Now she smoothed a hand over his necktie and purred, “But I’m really glad you didn’t listen.”
As she spoke, she looked rapidly back and forth between Clark’s eyes and the man at the display, who’d been staring at the same column of listings without moving a muscle the whole time they’d been talking. Clark nodded his head very slightly to let her know he got her drift.
Okay, so the performance was for the benefit of the man in grey, but who was he? Clark realized that she wouldn’t be able to explain anything until they’d lost the tail, so all he could do was continue to follow her lead. Telling himself that he was only staying in character, he gave in to temptation and stroked his fingers through her thick, silky hair, tucking a lock of it behind her ear. “And let my best girl be stuck in downtown traffic without me?” he said with an affectionate smile. “Not a chance.” She smiled up at him, and it gave him the courage to kiss her again.
The second kiss was at least as powerful as the first, and the way her lips moved against his and her soft curves pressed closer against the firmness of his chest told him that she was no more immune to its effect than he was. In fact, when it ended she looked about as dazed as he felt.
He was about to ask her about her luggage when a familiar voice reminded him why he had been standing there in the arrival area to begin with. “Clark?!”
Clark and the woman both took a quick step back and turned toward the source of the voice. “Mom! Dad!” Clark greeted his folks with warm hugs, and then he turned a sheepish smile on his new acquaintance.
The woman shot a quick glance toward the display screen, where the man they’d spotted before was now slowly retying his shoelaces. Meanwhile, Clark’s mom was smiling and looking from the woman to Clark and back again in a meaningful way. When it seemed that neither of the young people would speak any time soon, she prodded, “Clark, won’t you introduce us to your friend?”
The panicked look he’d first seen in the woman’s eyes reappeared, and it spurred Clark into action. Giving her a reassuring smile, he put one arm around her shoulders and drew her to his side. Turning to his astonished parents, he said, “Mom, Dad, I’d like you to meet—“
“I’m Lois,” she interrupted with perfect timing, holding her right hand out for Clark’s mom to shake, and then to his dad. “Lois Lane. It’s such a pleasure to meet you both.” She returned to Clark’s side and slipped an arm around his waist. She smiled up at him before turning back to his folks. “Clark’s told me so much about you.”
Clark’s mom shot him a sharp look. “Has he, now?” she asked. Then she frowned a little. “Wait a minute…not the Lois Lane that writes for the Daily Planet?”
Lois (he finally had a name for her, and what a name!) shrugged. “Guilty as charged,” she smiled.
“Well, I’m Martha,” his mom replied, beaming at Lois and Clark, “and this is Clark’s dad, Jonathan.”
His dad gave Lois a friendly wave. “Clark didn’t mention that you’d be visiting D.C. this week, too,” he said.
“Oh, I’m not here for the whole week,” Lois told him. She looked fondly up at Clark. “But I have the weekend off, and Clark and I don’t get many opportunities to be together when we’re both off work, so I couldn’t resist taking the shuttle down for the weekend.” She turned back to his mom and dad. “My flight got in just a little before yours, actually.” Then, with an apologetic smile, she added, “I hope I’m not intruding too much on family time.”
“Of course not,” Martha assured her. Throwing another meaningful look at Clark, she added, “We’ll enjoy the chance to get to know you.”
Clark looked toward the flight display again, where the man was now meticulously cleaning his eyeglasses with a handkerchief. “Well,” he said cheerfully, “everybody’s here now. Shall we go see whether the bags are in from the Wichita flight?” He turned to Lois. “Did you check anything from Metropolis, sweetheart?”
“Nope.” She indicated the small black suitcase at her feet. “Just the roller bag.”
“Okay, then,” Jonathan put in. “Clark, why don’t you lead the way to the baggage claim?”
Clark picked up Lois’s suitcase, and the four of them headed down the escalator and found the right carousel. While his dad and mom watched for their luggage, Clark draped an arm around Lois’s shoulders and whispered in her ear, “See anybody you recognize down here? The first guy is still upstairs.”
She carefully scanned the area. “No. I think we ditched him,” she said.
“He made a call on his cell phone after we left,” Clark told her. She raised her eyebrows in surprise. Clark shrugged. “I have really good hearing,” he said.
His arm was till around her, but she didn’t move away. “I don’t suppose you heard what he said?” she asked.
“’It’s me, sir,’” he quoted. “’The boyfriend is real. He met her at the airport. First name Clark. Yes, sir, I’ll be on the next shuttle back.’”
“Yes! We did it!” She threw her arms around him in delight. Then she pulled back suddenly, her cheeks blushing red. “Oh my god, Clark! I can’t believe what a good sport you were! You may have just saved my life, and I’m not sure I’m exaggerating. Thank you! What can I do to repay you?”
He grinned back at her. “Oh, I don’t know,” he mused, “a beautiful woman kisses me out of the blue and turns out to be a brilliant award-winning journalist to boot…I’m not sure I’ll ever recover from the trauma.”
She slapped his chest playfully. “You’re the best!” she grinned. Then she stuck her right hand out and said, “Hi. I’m Lois Lane, and I’m very pleased to meet you.”
He shook her hand warmly and replied, “Nice to meet you, Lois. I’m Clark Kent.”
Her hand stopped moving and her eyes narrowed. “Clark Kent,” she echoed, recognition obviously dawning, “of the Washington Post?”
At his answering grin, she exclaimed, “You beat me out for a Kerth last year!”
Clark’s laugh echoed in the cavernous space. “Well, you won three in a row before that,” he said, “so try not to take it personally.” He nodded toward his parents, who had claimed their suitcases and were looking on with frank confusion. “I think my parents are wondering what the heck is going on, but they’re too polite to say so.”
“Well,” Lois said, “at least let me take the three of you to dinner and give you the whole story. Off the record, of course.”
“You’re on,” he said. “I can’t wait to hear it.”
Last edited by HappyGirl; 11/26/15 03:13 PM.
