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Wrong Place, Wrong Time, Wrong Clark TOC can be found Here

Part 70

Part 71

Lois felt miserable. She had the most boring story assignment of her life, fruit flies, and that was saying something. The extra long hot summer combined with the extra short, mild winter had been the ideal conditions for fruit flies to survive and multiply. It had only snowed that one time during Thanksgiving, and since then temperatures had been hovering in the 40’s, except when they dipped below freezing for Christmas.

The garbage strike after Christmas hadn’t helped matters any either.

Thinking about the holidays only served to remind Lois why she was miserable. She was at a loss on what she should do. She knew what she wanted to do. She wanted to tell Lex Luthor to take a long walk off a tall skyscraper, but she knew Superman would save even him, as if Lex would comply with her wishes anyway.

Lois had returned that hideous watch after Lex had given it to her; she distinctly remembered doing so. Nevertheless, when she had gotten into the office the next morning and went to retrieve her bottle of aspirin from her briefcase, there it had been. That green and red glowing monstrosity had actually made her hangover worse. What in the world had been in that Grant Family fruit punch?

In her rush to meet Super Santa on Christmas Eve, after typing up her fluff P.R. piece on the Luthor House for Homeless Children, she had accidentally left her briefcase at the office. She didn’t know how the thing had ended up there. Probably, Lex had slipped it into her bag while distracting her with his creepy behavior. Although, she wouldn’t put it past him to send some flunky to the Daily Planet to leave it at her desk.

Either way, she had needed to investigate a floater down at the docks, so she had grabbed her briefcase and headed for the wharf. MPD had ruled the man a Christmas suicide. Lois wasn’t so sure. There were much better and less painful ways to kill one’s self.

While at the docks, though, she made sure to drop the watch into the murky grey waters, just in case it turned into one of those demonic pieces of jewelry, one always heard about in horror stories, that ended up reappearing after being properly disposed of.

Luckily for her, the watch never made another appearance. Unluckily for her, Lex had.

The previous day, Perry had sent Lois to cover a P.R. “thank you” luncheon for military contractors, and she had bumped into Lex. She had no idea that LexCorp, Luthor Industries, or Luthor Technologies had any current military contracts, as that wasn’t her area of expertise. She had only attended the function because Valdez was out with the flu. Now that Lois did know, she planned on researching exactly what it was.

Lex managed to corner Lois during the pre-luncheon hors d’oeuvre and chitchat hour. The organizers didn’t call it a “cocktail hour” because it was officially a lunch, but that was what it had been. Lex had asked her specifically why she wasn’t wearing the watch he had given her.

Lois decided to play dumb. “I returned that watch to you, Lex; conflict of interest and all. Remember?” she said as nonchalantly as she could, and took a sip of her cranberry juice. As soon as she had seen Lex, she had been reminded of the watch, which called to mind her Christmas Day hangover from Cat’s party, which had made her physically ill. Lois decided since she was working, alcohol wouldn’t be a good idea anyway.

“Yes, my dear, but I slipped it into your briefcase before you left the Luthor House. I was so sure that, on further reflection, you would change your mind and realize that there was no conflict of interest between us,” he said smoothly.

“You must be mistaken, Lex, because it wasn’t there when I did my first of the month inventory and restocking of supplies,” Lois replied. Chew on that one, why don’t you?

“No!” he sputtered in dismay, reaching for her briefcase, which was as always slung over her shoulder.

“Lex! What has gotten into you?” Lois gasped, stepping away from him and holding onto her bag. “Are you feeling okay?”

He squared his shoulders from the few glances that their conversation received from the others at the luncheon. “Yes, of course. I’m never sick.” He took her elbow and pulled her into the hall. “I apologize, Lois. It’s only that the watch was irreplaceable, a one-of-a-kind item.”

Thank God for that miracle, Lois thought. Aloud she said, “I don’t know what to say, Lex.” This was the truth. She chose to be honest with him. “I did accidentally leave my bag at the office that night. It’s entirely possible that someone removed it then or at the Daily Planet holiday party we had between Christmas and New Year’s.” Okay, mostly honest.

“If you have a thief among your coworkers, it would be best to check the security tapes and see who the culprit is,” Lex suggested.

“The Daily Planet doesn’t have security monitoring of the newsroom floor,” Lois said. She would make sure never to be so desperate as to have to work for LexCorp, if that was what he considered of his employees’ privacy.

“Oh,” he replied with disappointment. He gazed into her eyes for several moments, longer than he had ever stared at her before. “Your eyes. I have never noticed your eyes before, how rich, how deep, like pools of light. A man could drown in those pools.”

O-kay, doe-kay.

Lex was acting more strangely than usual. They had been out on several dates, but he had never complimented her so… emphatically. Usually his compliments were the general kind ‘you look lovely tonight’, etc.

She realized that she hadn’t responded. “Um… thank you?” she said, turning to head back to the luncheon. “Shall we return?”

“Perhaps it was that partner of yours, who took the watch,” Lex accused.

“Maybe you should watch how much you drink before lunch next time, Lex. It isn’t even one o’clock, yet,” she reminded him, stepping away. And you’re already smashed, she continued in her thoughts.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Lois, I’m never drunk. I never drink before six, never at a business function, and never alone. I’m always…” he paused, raising a shaking hand to his head. “— in control.”

Uh-huh, right.

He took a deep breath and seemed to restrain whatever it was that was afflicting him. “Returning to the watch. I only meant, when I mentioned Kent before, that who knows who he was before he came to Metropolis?”

Lois had been starting to get annoyed. Correction: she had already arrived at total annoyance, but Lex Luthor, paranoid and jealous though he may be, was still a mover and shaker in Metropolis. She would have to extract herself from this problem, while alienating him as little as possible. She would hate to lose him as a source, after fighting for months to build a friendship with him. Of course, that was before she knew what he was really like.

“I do,” she lied, taking another sip of her juice. “I confronted Clark about it. He felt bad about the misunderstanding and produced documentation, proving his identity. I would now appreciate it if you would drop the matter. My partner’s past is of no concern to you.” Her concern, yes. Lex’s, not in this century… millennium… ever!

“Lois, I’m sorry if my motives are unclear. I’m worried about you, putting your trust in a man who might have ulterior motives concerning you,” Lex said calmly.

“It sounds to me as if you’re more worried that Clark and I have moved into a romantic relationship,” she retorted, recalling with clarity their conversation from Christmas Eve.

“Have you?” he murmured.

Had they? Not officially. “Clark and I are friends. We are partners at work. That is the extent of our relationship, if you must know,” Lois said. For now.

Lex beamed at these words and, for a second, Lois considered retracting them. He had been much too interested in Clark, investigating his past and checking up on his current activities. No, it would be better, safer for Clark, if Lex Luthor dropped Clark as a person of interest or envy. Anyway, she didn’t need to be involved with another man as an excuse to say ‘no’ to Lex.

“I’m glad to hear it, Lois. That means you are free to have dinner with me this Friday night,” Lex said.

Crap! “Lex, I told you that it presents a conflict of interest if I date someone on whom I report.”

“Are you investigating me, Ms. Lane?” he teased as if he hadn’t ever done anything wrong. That in itself sent up a red flag.

“I’m not,” she replied, raising an eyebrow. Her investigation of Luthor House for the Homeless Children hadn’t brought up any irregularities or law breaking even in their disciplinary practices. “Should I be?”

Lex laughed as if the idea were preposterous. She smiled, knowing he had just invited her to do so.

“I’ll send a car to pick you up at eight, my dear,” Lex said, taking her elbow and leading her back into the function.

How in the hell had that happened? She had turned him down, yet he had expected the date to go on. It didn’t bode well that Lex didn’t take no for an answer. She would go on the ‘date’, but she would use it as a stepping-stone into a proper investigation, the one she should have started back with their first interview. She would also keep quiet about it to Clark. The last thing she needed was an ‘I told you so’ from him about Luthor. Actually, with Clark, it would more likely be a ‘stay away from him’. Men!

“Out of curiosity, what documentation did Kent produce to prove his identity?” Lex had murmured.

She had ground her teeth together. That man was entirely too much. “His birth certificate,” she had said. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, Lex, I have a job to do.”

“Of course, my dear. Of course,” Lex had replied, and she had been able to get finally away. She felt like a very lucky mouse escaping the jaws of that boa constrictor. The more she had fought, the tighter he had held. Just the memory of this meeting left her more than breathless.

Misery didn’t even touch on how horrible Lois felt. She dropped her head onto the conference table. The door opened and in walked her coworkers for their morning staff meeting. She lifted her head and caught sight of Clark as he slid into the seat next to her.

“Where have you been, there, Clark? You blew off me and Mayor Berkowitz’s press conference, where he announced his resignation,” she said. After the fiasco regarding the weather, Berkowitz’s days as mayor had been numbered.

“Sorry, Lois. Something came up,” Clark murmured. “Anyway, I knew you could handle it on your own.”

“That isn’t the point, Clark. You stood me up!” she hissed back, wishing she could stop herself from sounding so needy, so jealous, so…. Oh, hell! So in love with Clark Kent. She looked down at her notes, and refused to gaze on him for fear that he could read her thoughts.

This was the true reason that Lois felt miserable. She had discovered that since their mistletoe kiss, Clark was never far from her thoughts; so much so, her dreams had become increasingly more erotic over the last few weeks. She had never been so disappointed in herself. She had promised herself that she wouldn’t fall for Clark before she knew who he was, what his background and history were, and despite all of that, she had gone ahead and done it. She hated herself for this weakness, for this inability to control her feelings, and for letting her emotions distract her from the truth.

Lois had no idea what she should do. She couldn’t go on like this. She felt as if she should tell Clark. How could she confess her love for him, after treating him so badly since Smallville? Would it be as easy as telling him that she was ready to move their relationship forward? She had even chosen what she was going to say.

She only hoped that it wasn’t too late. Clark had promised her that he would wait for her to be ready. Nevertheless, other than that one kiss on Christmas Eve, Clark had been very reserved for the past month and half. Friendly, yes. Romantic, no. His romantic teasing, which had sent her juices tingling, seemed to happen only on those rare occasions when he spoke before thinking. On the plus side, Clark appeared almost as miserable as she felt.

Only, she was still terrified that Clark would do something or say something that would shatter her heart into a thousand pieces. Well, nine-hundred and ninety-three pieces; there were still a few pieces she had never recovered after Superman had broken her heart.

“I didn’t do it intentionally, Lois. I was on my way to the press conference when I heard about a fire in the diamond district. My source on the MFD arson squad told me that Superman found the body of a highly esteemed jeweler,” Clark murmured. “His neck had been broken and the fire started to cover it up. It spread through the neighborhood ‘like a child playing with matchsticks’. The arson investigator’s words, not mine.”

Lois pressed her lips together. “I read your story, Chuck, but thanks for the recap. It still doesn’t excuse you for dropping our boring story for an exciting Superman one of your own.”

“I promise you, Lois, the next time Superman does something exciting, he’s all yours,” Clark retorted, before catching Lois’s raised brow. “I mean… the story, yours. Your story.”

“Pity,” she murmured, leaning closer to him. She tried not to make it obvious she was catching Clark’s ‘today’ scent. Unlike other men, who smelled like a gallon of cologne, or scented soap, Clark’s aroma was hard to pin down. Sometimes he smelled like fresh air, other times piney like a forest, every so often there was this dampness or earthiness to him, from time to time he had a smoky scent like danger or a fire, but he never stunk like cigarettes, cigars, alcohol, sweat, or grime. She wondered if it was the scent of his laundry soap, but when she had stayed with him while under his protection, his sheets had smelled like sunshine. Hmmmm. Maybe she could use that excuse to stay over at his place again.

“Wake up, Lois!” Clark hissed, nudging her with his shoulder. “Perry’s talking to you.”

Her eyes flashed open and she realized she had wandered into daydream land. She sat up quickly. “Yes, Perry?”

“Uh… Lois, about that article you wrote about the fruit fly infestation,” Perry said, leaning onto the table and focusing his attention on her. She hoped he hadn’t caught her distraction. “Do you think, if it’s not too much trouble, you might have another go at it? And this time, put a little zing into it, will you?”

“Be happy to, Chief. It’s such an exhilarating subject matter,” she said. Luckily, her natural yawn from being kept up late, thinking about what she would do the next time she had Clark in bed, decided to choose this moment to escape. Everyone thought she was being facetious.

“If this malathion spray is so safe, why do they tell you to keep your pets inside while they’re using it?” Jimmy asked, filling up his coffee mug from the conference room coffee carafe.

“It’s just a precautionary measure, Jimmy,” Perry reassured him.

Clark leaned towards Lois, and whispered, “That was a real yawn. Are you not sleeping well?”

“Vivid dreams. I’ll be fine. I have Clausy Bear to protect me,” she teased.

“Clausy?” Clark repeated.

“You know the bear that Santa gave me at the orphanage,” Lois said with a naughty grin.

“Clausy?”

“What? You think ‘Clarkie’ would have been a better name, Kent?” she shot back under her breath. As if that wouldn’t have been a neon sign, screaming, Lois wants to sleep with Clark. “I promised to name it after Santa.”

Clark leaned so close Lois could feel his warm breath tickle her neck. “I don’t know, Lois, I like the name ‘Clarkie’.” He coughed. “For the bear, of course.”

“Of course,” Lois retorted, thrilled at even this little flirtatious conversation.

“Kent, if you’re done nibbling on Lane’s neck, how about you tell me how the dock strike’s going?” Perry said, causing Lois to bolt upright.

“He wasn’t nibbling on my neck!” she said haughtily.

Perry crossed his arms. “Do you want to share your conversation with the rest of the room, Lois? Since it’s important enough to disrupt our meeting.”

Lois blushed. “If you must know, I was telling Clark the name of the bear Santa gave me for Christmas.”

Perry’s eyes crossed for a moment, before shifting to Clark. “Kent?”

“Negotiations have broken down again, Chief. I’m interviewing the union and management reps… separately,” Clark said, tapping his pencil against his notepad.

Lois turned and looked at her partner over her shoulder. What in the blue blazes was he talking about?

Clark shrugged at her perplexed expression. “What?”

“‘Negotiations have broken down again’? Is that supposed to be code for something?” she asked.

“Yes, Lois. The dock strike,” Clark answered.

“Oh.” Lois felt as if she was hot as Metropolis with Lex in charge of power. She slunk lower in her chair.

Luckily, it seemed the rest of the staff was distracted by a bunch of people entering the newsroom.

“What in the Sam Hill is going on out there?” Perry demanded, turning to look out the conference room windows into the bullpen.

“Oh, you remember, Chief,” Cat said, her eyes widening with excitement. “Today’s the day that they’re using our newsroom for the backdrop to introduce that new fragrance Exclusive!. Marketing set it up.”

“Marketing? No, no I don’t remember,” Perry replied dumbfounded.

“Oh, sure you do,” Cat gushed, rushing up to him. “Yeah, yeah. It’s been on for months.” She gasped. “Look! There’s Elle Taylor! April Stephens! I’ve got to get an interview.”

“All right, go ahead,” Perry relented.

“We’re never going to get any work done around here today,” groaned Clark, gathering up his stuff. “Well, I better head off to my interviews.”

“What? You’re not interested in hanging out and watching the pretty people parade around the newsroom, Clark?” Lois teased, as everyone else filed out of the room.

He smiled at her, and set his hand on her shoulder. “I get to watch someone even more beautiful than they are, every day, Lois. Why would I be interested in looking at anyone else?”

“Liar!” she taunted, calling after him as he left the conference room. “I bet you just want me to help you with your dock strike story. Well, it’s not happening. I’ve got to rewrite my fruit fly article. You’re on your own, buster!” She sighed in discontent as he grinned back at her, wishing more than anything to be heading outside with Clark.

********
Revenge
********

Clark glanced up from his desk and over at Lois. She had taken off her jacket and started unbuttoning the top two buttons of her blouse. The newsroom must have been a bit warmer than usual due to all the lights from the photo shoot. Thankfully, the photographers were starting to pack up, and the office was returning to normal.

It had been twenty-four hours since his conversation with Padre Carlos in Brazil, and Clark was still at a loss on what he should do. He glanced back down at his notes from his interviews from that morning. Both sides of the dock strike were closer than either would admit, but Clark knew his mind wasn’t really on his notes.

He remembered Herb telling him once of how Tempus bragged that heroes didn’t plan; they only act or react. In this, Tempus had been correct. Clark had spent so much of his energy focused on finding the Jaguar, he hadn’t taken a moment to think about how or what he would say to the man once he had found him.

While Padre Carlos had told him, essentially, what Clark had wanted to hear, he knew the man, like him, had only been reacting. It was entirely possible that, on reflection, Carlos might change his mind, especially once Clark introduced him to Lois.

Having Father Carlos tell Clark to continue being this dimension’s Superman had been too simple. If Clark knew one thing about his life, it was that it wasn’t easy. He never got what he wanted handed to him; there was always some sort of catch.

Clark knew what he wanted to do. He wanted to take Lois into his arms and kiss her like there was no tomorrow, thankful to have been given a second chance. Unfortunately, he had promised Lois at Christmas that he wouldn’t kiss her again without her direct say-so. Lois, on the other hand, seemed content to remain just friends for the foreseeable future. He wanted to return to his five-point plan. He wanted to continue to slowly reveal his past and his abilities to Lois until he felt comfortable enough in her feelings towards him that he could finally tell her the truth. Regrettably, he doubted that was what he should do.

The right thing to do would be to wait to progress his relationship with Lois until Herb returned and Clark could discuss the whole confusing situation with him. If Clark could save the true Clark of this dimension, should he? Carlos seemed to think Clark shouldn’t. If Clark didn’t even try, would the guilt of it rub on him for the rest of his life? It was a decision that would take much thought and deliberation. On this one thing, he refused to rush to judgment.

Clark would continue to wait to woo Lois until such time he could do so with a clear conscience.

A shadow darkened his desk. Setting his pencil behind his ear, he glanced up and saw Lois leaning forward across his desk. She rested her elbows on his notes and gazed deeply into his eyes just inches from his.

“Claaaark?” she practically purred.

Clark swallowed. From this position, it was impossible not to look down her blouse. He leaned back, hoping the distance would allow him to keep his composure.

Lois had reapplied her lipstick and her mouth almost seemed to pucker in an invitation as she spoke. “Whatcha working on? Now.”

“The dock strike,” he said, or at least he thought that was what he had said. He cleared his throat. “You know, the two sides really aren’t that far apart.”

“I’m sure that they want to make amends and put all of that nasty squabbling behind them,” Lois said, arching her back as she raised herself up to her palms. “Now.”

“Uh-huh,” Clark replied, not sure what else to say. He shifted in his seat; comfort was clearly not going to be in the picture. She almost seemed to be speaking about something entirely different. He knew he must be imagining things. His conversation with Carlos had put wild ideas into his head. He reminded himself of his vow not to do anything until he knew, with certainty, he was clear to do so. “I’m sure that would be beneficial to all parties involved.”

“I’ve been thinking that I’d like us to try the new Italian restaurant that opened near your apartment,” Lois whispered, practically climbing onto his desk to lean closer to him. “Now.”

“Aunti Pasto’s?” Clark said skeptically, removing the pencil from behind his ear. “There are better Italian restaurants in Metropolis, Lois. All they serve is pasta, which isn’t what antipasto means in Italian, by the way.” Looking away from her, he said, “Anyway, you know what pasta does to me.” He fumbled with his notes and turned back to his computer screen.

“I know,” Lois murmured. “Pasta does the same thing for me, and I want to eat it. Now.”

Suddenly the fog in Clark’s brain parted, and her words sunk in. “Now? As in now now?” he sputtered. He recalled their conversation in the conference room after returning from Smallville. She had said that she had wanted to remain friends ‘for now’, and he had rebutted, ‘how about now?’

Lois would finally decide to forgive his stupidity when his willpower was at its weakest.

She bit her bottom lip demurely and nodded. “I’m ready, Clark. Take me now.”

The pencil in his hand broke in two.

It was only lunch, right? It wasn’t as if Lois would want to progress any further than lunch, not so soon after suggesting that they get back together, right? Was that really what she was proposing? She hadn’t spelled it out as such. True, she had invited him out for pasta, and pasta reminded Clark of the night that she had begged him to make love to her. They could have lunch without breaking any of his promises, right?

Clark knew he was fooling himself if he believed any of these thoughts. “Can you give me fifteen minutes to finish up this article and turn it in to Perry?” he asked, caving much faster than he knew he should.

Lois shook her head. “No, now!” Nothing was as obstinate as Lois was once she had made a decision about something. Patience had never been one of her virtues.

He could feel his heart start to accelerate. “Ten minutes?” he pleaded. “Work before pleasure, you know.”

She ran her finger down his cheek, and her voice deepened to a husky tone, “But, Chuck, I want to kiss you. Now.”

Clark’s resolve crumbled at her direct words. He knew he would regret it later. But that was later; this was now. “Five minutes, and you can have me for the rest of the day,” he promised.

“Sold.” Her finger moved from his cheek to his lips. “But know this; I’m not going to settle for just the day, Clark.”

“No?” he squeaked.

She brought her finger to her lips kissed it and then pressed it back to his. “No.”

Lois sauntered back to her desk with her hands resting on her swishing hips. It wasn’t as seductive as the more practiced Cat, but it had the desired effect of utterly and completely distracting him. She sat down and exposed her leg out the slit in her long skirt. What was he supposed to be writing about again?

Clark couldn’t believe that Lois was being so blatantly sexual and obvious with her desire of him at work. He glanced quickly around the newsroom. Thankfully, nobody else seemed to have noticed Lois’s come-hither seduction of her partner. His gaze returned to Lois’s, and she grinned.

“Four minutes, thirty seconds, Clark,” she said.

He jumped, turning to his computer and typing much faster than he knew he should in the busy newsroom and within Lois’s sight. He sent his article to print, cleaned up his papers, and put on his jacket. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ralph approach Lois’s desk. This, in itself, was a surprising turn of events. Though clearly interested in Clark’s partner, Ralph was usually too terrified of her to come within punching range.

“Lois,” Ralph drawled, swiveling her chair around so that she was facing him. He put his hands on the armrests of her chair and leaned too close to her. “Let’s stop all this pussy-footing around, babe. You. Me. Supply closet. It’s time we got to know each other carnally. If you know what I mean.”

Clark stepped forward, ready to come to her aid. Before he could take a second step, Lois’s exposed knee lifted up with a speed and strength that, up till now, he was sure only Superman had. It connected to Ralph’s body with a loud crack, which even made Clark flinch in pain.

“That’s as carnally as we’ll ever know each other, Ralph. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did,” Lois said, pushing his now doubled-over body out of her way to the floor. “Ready, Clark?”

Clark nodded. He wished he could feel sorry for Ralph’s current predicament, but the man deserved no less for entering a Mad Dog’s cage without invitation. This incident only served to remind Clark that he was dancing with fire, getting closer to Lois without revealing all to her. Should she ever turn that ire towards him at full force, he doubted his invulnerability would be able to withstand it.

Lois stepped over Ralph’s prone body and handed Clark her coat. “Help me?” she asked.

His voice cracked. “With pleasure.”

Once her coat was on, Lois slipped her hand into Clark’s and headed them towards the elevators.

“You don’t feel like taking the stairs?” Clark asked as the doors opened, and Lois pulled him inside. Guess not.

“I can’t wait that long to kiss you,” Lois said, grabbing his tie and tugging Clark against her body.

“Lois!” Clark gasped in surprise, being that the elevator doors were still wide open.

A blonde woman, holding a perfume aerator, stepped into the elevator with them. “Good afternoon,” she said.

Lois glanced at the woman, looking her up and down. “Your perfume stinks.” There was nothing quite like his ‘to the point’ partner.

The woman shrugged. “Everyone has different tastes.”

The elevator doors closed, and Lois wrapped her arms around Clark’s neck, pressing her lips to his. She opened her mouth, deepening the kiss. “Finally,” she moaned.

Clark melted into her embrace, unwilling and unable to rebut such arguments.

“It seems as if your friend here disagrees with you about my fragrance,” the perfumer said with a chuckle.

The elevator dinged much too soon for either his or Lois’s tastes. Clark was able to extract himself from her arms with a murmured, “Let’s get out of here.”

Lois grabbed hold of his hand again and dragged him through the lobby and through the doors to the street at breakneck speed. At the corner, she whistled and instantly a cab stopped.

“You don’t want to walk there, Lois?” Clark suggested, somewhat breathlessly. “It’s such a nice day.”

She bit her bottom lip and shook her head. “One kiss, and I cannot stop, Clark.”

He knew that feeling.

Lois batted her eyelashes. “Humor me.”

“We’re moving so fast, Lois. Maybe we should slow down a bit,” he said.

“Fast? Please, Chuck,” she said wryly, pulling him into the cab after her. “It’s been two months between each of our kisses. We can’t move any slower.”

She did have a point there.

“Each time we kiss, you wake up regretting it and push me away. I can’t face any more rejection,” Clark reminded her.

“That won’t happen this time, Clark. I’m ready to tell you…” She turned away from Clark and said to the driver. “Take us once around Centennial Park and then head to Clinton Ave. You’ll get a bigger tip, if you don’t get us there in a hurry.”

The driver grinned in response, slowly turning back out onto the street.

Clark stared at her. Tell me what?

Before he could ask that very question, Lois draped her legs over his and wrapped her arms around his neck again. “I love you, Clark,” she whispered, gently kissing his lips. “Wow! That was a lot easier than I thought it would be. I love you. I love you. I love you.” Each time she repeated it, the phrase came with another kiss.

His jaw dropped open in blissful surprise. She loved him? Loved loved, like he loved her? His heart soared with pleasure. Lois didn’t hesitate in taking advantage of Clark’s open mouth to deepen their kiss and pull him against her. He had to admit, she was doing a pretty thorough job of convincing him that her words were true.

The windows of the cab started to fog and the cabbie cracked them open. All of Clark’s good intentions, promises, and nobility flew straight out the window.

***End of Part 71***

Part 72

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