Wow, Meredith. Great start on a story. I must have missed it on Zoomway's board when you first posted it. You left all these people hanging on that ending for all this time? That was cruel.
"How could he? He always seemed so caring - so trustworthy! Yet he's been keeping this hidden all along?" By this time she had risen to her feet again, a militant light in her eyes. "Boy, when I get hold of him, is he ever gonna regret this...!"
Guess we'll have to find out just what this is all about.
When he'd finally taken his leave, his eyes had flickered briefly to her mouth, and for a dizzying second she'd thought he might kiss her. But if the idea had crossed his mind, he'd evidently thought better of it, because with no more than a friendly clasp of her shoulder and a soft "Merry Christmas", he'd turned and walked away down the hall.
Unfortunately for Lois, she'd been able to think of little else all night. In that brief second she'd realised how badly she wanted him to kiss her. She'd nearly called after him, but as usual, her nerve had failed her. She'd only ever mustered the courage once to tell Clark how she felt about him, and he'd slept through it... doing it again seemed twice as scary. And what if she was only imagining Clark's attraction towards her - projecting her own feelings onto him? She'd never recover from the embarrassment, and it might ruin their friendship for ever.
These two really have a unique talent for making assumptions about the other, not able to believe the other could possibly love him/her. But hey, I think that just makes their relationship that much more special when they did/do get together.
"Sure am!" She smiled warmly at him and, without thinking, blurted out, "I missed you."
His eyes flew to hers, and his coffee mug tilted dangerously for a moment. There was a breathless silence, while Lois berated herself internally; then, just as she'd decided to break the awkward pause by asking what they were meant to be working on, Clark put down his mug and reached out to lay a gentle hand on her arm. The startlement in his eyes had changed to pleasure, and something warmer... something that made Lois feel tingly all over, from head to toe. "I missed you, too," he said simply.
This was sweet. Too bad we didn't get to see this from Clark's POV.
Perry wants me in Europe, to report on Secretary Wallace's trade negotiations. Van Heerden broke his leg skiing over the weekend, and they can't find anyone to replace him at such short notice. I'm flying to Brussels this afternoon.
Aaarrrggghhhhh!!!!!
"I don't like flying," Clark said abruptly, cutting short her fanciful thoughts. Of course, he hadn't been thinking about her that way at all. The admission must have cost him something, though. Clark never went out of his way to appear macho, but from the whiteness of his knuckles and the glimpse she caught of the sheen on his forehead as she checked her mirror, this was no mild dislike. If she hadn't known better, she'd have thought he was terrified.
Something tells me this isn't quite what he was nervous about. At least, here's to hoping. :p
His lips brushed across hers, and for a moment she feared that he would pull away; then her eyes fluttered closed as his warm mouth covered hers, his lips pressing softly against hers for a blissful moment. Then he was straightening, his hand coming up to cup her cheek gently.
"Goodbye, Lois," he said, sounding as breathless as she felt. "I'll... I'll call you."
"Goodbye, Clark," she responded, wishing she could express her feelings instead of mouthing platitudes. "Travel safely." And come back to me quickly, she added, not quite getting up the nerve to say it aloud.
This part is just great. It's kind of heartbreaking that they both are left hanging, almost sure that the other cares for him/her romantically. Two weeks!?! There's always the telephone, but it's not quite the same.
