I'm still loving it Caroline!
Sorry to make such a long quote, but...
“I’m meeting Mom and Dad for lunch, but they’re flying back this afternoon. Can we have dinner tonight?” It occurred to him that he’d assumed they would see one another that night, but he hadn’t actually asked.
She gave him a coy look. “Like a date?”
He chuckled. “I certainly hope so.”
“With wine?” She batted her eyes at him.
“Absolutely.”
“And dancing?” Her lips curved in a secret smile.
“If you want to.”
“And kissing?” She lifted her face to his invitingly.
He leaned toward her, enchanted with this little bit of office flirtation, enchanted with her. “Definitely kissing,” he murmured.
She pretended to think it over. “Nah,” she said finally, pulling away from him. “I’m kinda busy.”
He tsked and shook his head. “Well, I had my heart set on some kissing. Guess I’ll just have to find someone else. Let’s see…” He craned his neck, pretending to look around the newsroom.
She grabbed his tie and tugged him closer, her eyes narrowed. “Don’t even think about it, Farmboy.”
He grinned at her. “Does the fact that you’re choking me to death mean that your schedule is opening up?”
“I might be able to rearrange some things,” she said grudgingly, releasing his tie and smoothing it into place with one hand.
I LOVED that little exchange there. I could just see it and it was so much fun. <g>
I really enjoyed seeing Perry <g> I could just picture him scolding them.
How many times had he used that one, he wondered. How many times had he explained away some bit of information by saying that he’d ‘talked to Superman?’ Each day it got more complicated, more confusing. Superman knew this, but Clark knew that. Superman had been here, while Clark had been there. He’d become a master of compartmentalization these last two years, but always there was the dread, coiled tight as a spring in his gut, that he was going to say or do something wrong. Something he couldn’t explain away. Something that was going to expose his double life and put his friends and family in danger. For two years he’d walked that tightrope and woven his own safety net of lies.
Very nice...
What would it be like not to have to do that anymore, he wondered? What would it be like to go a whole day without telling a single lie to his boss, to his co-workers, to the woman he loved? He wanted that, he thought fiercely. Wanted it with a greed he hadn’t known he was capable of feeling. He was like a child with his face pressed against a shop window, desperately wishing for what he saw inside. He could imagine that life; it was almost near enough to touch. And in two days, it would be his.
Very, VERY nice. <g>
he wanted to soak it in…to memorize every detail. To his right, the bay shimmered in the morning sunlight. To his left, the river meandered lazily toward the sea. And between the two, buildings rose up out of a maze of streets and alleys, some stretching eagerly toward the sky, while others rested modestly in their neighbors’ shadows. Every peak and valley of that skyline was as familiar to him as the layout of his own apartment.
This is so insightful and I'm so very jealous. <g> Nice, Caroline.
he wondered for the first time if Metropolis would forgive him for what he was about to do.
Hmmm... What I wonder is if he would forgive himself. I still don't think he really realizes what he's doing or giving up.
Nice part.
-- DJ
