Chapter 2
It was all he could do to focus on finishing the robbery story for Perry. On any given day, Lois was definitely capable of driving him to distraction, usually without any knowledge on her part. Today, though? Oh, today was a challenge.
He'd finally, finally had the courage to ask her out...and after a bit of a conversational struggle to get the question out...he'd asked, she'd nervously babbled before saying yes, and then... then...
He couldn't believe he hadn't actually planned what to do or say if she'd said yes! He'd dreamed of her saying yes, imagined it a million times in his mind...but he'd built it up so much in his head, this asking of the question and getting the answer he wanted, that he'd just plain forgotten to actually have a plan in place.
So, while he wasn't ever happy to be the target of Perry's wrath, today he'd been a bit relieved, if only to have the reprieve.
She'd said yes. Yes. To go on a date with him. A real date.
He was going on a date. With Lois. His best friend and love of his life.
He should be thrilled beyond measure, but he had managed to work himself into a bit of a panic. A glance in her direction told him that she was busy for the moment, probably typing up notes on the mayor's latest press conference.
Why hadn't he come up with a plan beforehand? Had he expected her to say no? He was more optimistic than that! What was wrong with him?
Clearly, he had trouble thinking straight when it came to the brilliant and beautiful woman across the way. But, honestly, he was beyond frustrated with himself that this, of all things, he hadn't planned ahead for.
He shook himself mentally. First, his article. Focusing as best as he could, he finished up the last part of the story and sent it off to Perry before he could get distracted again. It wasn't his best work by far, and he felt a bit guilty, but there wasn't much he could do about the state of his mind today.
So...date. A date. Where the heck was he supposed to take the most amazing and beautiful woman in the world on a date? In his dreams, it had always been a moonlit walk and dinner in Paris under the stars. Or he'd make her a delicious home cooked meal and they'd just eat and talk all night at his kitchen table.
Paris obviously wasn't feasible. And the other didn't...it didn't seem quite special enough for Lois. He wanted to dazzle her, sweep her off her feet.
Dinner and a movie...that was too...cliche, wasn't it? Too normal and boring and expected. Oh, God...the first date was so much pressure. Why hadn't he thought of this?
Clark fumbled for his Rolodex and flipped through at super speed, hoping it might pass for an idle browsing to the casual onlooker.
There—David, that guy from last year's conference in New York! He'd said he was some sort of ticket broker, and he worked the bigger East Coast cities like New York and Metropolis. That was it! He could take Lois to some show, like an off-Broadway play or a concert. Maybe an opera. That would be different. Impressive. Dazzling.
Clark put in a quick call to David's office, leaving a message with his secretary that he was looking for the perfect event to rock someone's socks off with, to really impress a gal. Okay, so that wasn't a phrase he used too often...or at all. Was that even the right phrase? But David seemed like the posh and trendy type, and Clark didn't want to sound unhip or anything.
In any case, he'd done what he could for now and just needed to wait on a call back. David was, for all appearances, a cultured guy; surely he'd understand his need to impress Lois on their first date.
Looking back over at her desk, he found she wasn't there. A quick check with his senses told him she was in Perry's office about another story assignment—a solo one. Things had been a little slow lately, and he'd needed to have them work separately.
He thought back to her shy smile and the soft, flirtatious pitch of her voice as she'd finally answered him. The exciting thrum of nerves and feeling of warmth returned to him now in a rush.
All his imagined yes's from her hadn't even come close to how it'd felt when she'd actually uttered the word. His breath had hitched and the wild fluttering of her heart had filled his ears when she'd repeated her yes and stood up, hovering ever closer to him.
And, of course, every imagined scenario hadn't included even half as much hesitation as she'd actually displayed. He understood. Completely understood. She didn't really do relationships, and trust with Lois was hard won. He wished he could reassure her that he would always be her friend no matter what; he couldn't imagine his life without her.
He had every hope that things would work out between them; his heart sung with the wish of it, the dream of a happily ever after with Lois Lane. In the meantime, he needed to do everything he could to show her how great they could be together, put her fears to rest about any potential pitfalls. And most importantly, come up with a plan for their first date before she had time to get nervous and reconsider.
Lois came out of Perry's office and went to sit back down at her desk. She smiled over at him but also ducked her head and looked away, blushing. God, she was beautiful. And he needed to not daydream at work about kissing her.
His phone rang then, saving him from falling into another daytime fantasy. "Clark Kent," he answered.
"Kent, it's David hitting you back!"
"David, yes. Thank you for getting back to me so quickly!"
"No problem, man. I'm not sure what exactly you're looking for but, I've got some stage productions and a ballet coming up in the next few weeks. A few concerts."
Clark glanced over at Lois, his nerves on alert, especially when she noticed him looking and smiled up at him. He couldn't wait weeks. As brilliant and dedicated a journalist she was, she was a skittish creature when it came to her personal life.
"Do you have anything sooner? This week?" Clark asked quietly, not necessarily wanting Lois to overhear.
"Hmmm...not reall—oh, wait! I did have a sale fall through at the last minute. A Pearl Jam concert tomorrow night. Sold out show, floor seats, man. It's a sweet deal. Do you want them?"
"Do I want them?" He winced inwardly. He was not really a fan, but maybe Lois was? "Can you hang on a minute?" Clark cupped the receiver and looked up at Lois, who was definitely still looking at him, expectantly.
"Lois, this ticket broker's got two of the last Pearl Jam tickets for the concert tomorrow night. Would you like to go?"
Her eyes went a bit wide and she bit at the corner of her lip. A few different emotions flitted across her face that he couldn't quite read. "Oh...um...Wow, tomorrow night. Pearl Jam," she said with perhaps a touch of apprehension. But then she smiled encouragingly as she stood and came over to perch herself on the corner of his desk. "That sounds great. Really great."
He nodded and smiled back, his heart in his throat. Tomorrow night, right. Sooner would definitely be better, especially since he was sensing a bit of trepidation from her. And she sounded enthusiastic about the band. He turned his attention back to the phone.
"Okay, I'll take 'em," he told David. Then his heart dropped. A hundred dollars?! He turned his chair slightly away from Lois and lowered his voice. "How much?!"
"Just for you, I'll knock off some of the fees. Make 'em $100 even for each."
"Each?!" He snuck a quick glance at Lois with a tense smile on his face. She looked a little worried or...something.
"Hey, I'm sure I can find another buyer. These are primo seats."
Clark panicked. "No, no, no. That sounds reasonable."
"Good choice, man! Pick up anytime before eight tonight. And hey, good luck with your gal!"
"Okay, great. Thanks," he said, trying to sound upbeat. Enthusiastic. He hung up the phone and looked at Lois. There was an uncomfortable silence. She seemed...tense? Excited? He used to be far better at reading her moods. But there...a blushing smile. That was good, wasn't it?
His heart was thudding, threatening to come right out of his chest. But she was smiling at him. And she'd said yes. And they had plans. Official plans. And he was going to take her on a date. "So..."
"So..." she said, the word coming out slowly, accompanied by a breathy, nervous chuckle.
Oh, he hoped he didn't mess this up. The possibilities, both good and bad, seemed to stretch out between them, the air charged. He couldn't think of a single thing to say, but apparently she couldn't either.
"Uh...am I interrupting something?" Jimmy's voice seemed to break the silence.
Lois stood abruptly. "No!"
"No, no!" Clark added quickly.
Jimmy eyed them, an amused grin taking up his entire face. "It's okay, guys!" He threw his hands up. "I'm not the principal." He laughed slightly. "I just thought you'd like to know I have that research you wanted, Clark."
He took the folder from Jimmy and thanked him.
He turned to look back at Lois, but she was gesturing at his folder and edging away.
"Looks like you've got some work to do and I have to..." she trailed off as she nearly tripped over a chair behind her. "I have some work too, but I'm excited for...I mean, I'm looking forward to our—"
"Date," he finished for her, loving the way the word sounded all of a sudden. Her cheeks flushed in the most endearing way, and suddenly all he could think of was how much he wanted to kiss her.
"Yeah," she said softly, giving him the sort of smile he'd only ever dreamed of. "Our date."
They must have stayed there smiling at one another for another minute or two before Lois excused herself and made her way back to her desk.
Clark flipped through the research that Jimmy had given him, but even with his super speed, he didn't process a word of it. It might as well have been written in Kryptonian. His mind was too busy dwelling on other things.
Like the way she'd smiled at him a moment ago. Or the sound of her voice when she had said yes to the date. Or the fact that, although he knew what it felt like to kiss her, he'd never done so under these circumstances before. All the kisses they had shared in the past had either been goodbyes, life or death situations, or as his alter ego. He'd never just
kissed her.
He
really wanted to kiss her.
And if things went well tomorrow night, hopefully he would. After all, now they had plans. They had a date. They were...going to see Pearl Jam.
A slight frown crossed his face. It certainly wasn't the romantic evening he'd envisioned for their first date. But she'd agreed to it, so she must want to go. He tried to remember if Lois had ever expressed an interest in Pearl Jam, but couldn't recall if she had. He knew that women tended to like Eddie Vedder, if the conversation by the water cooler was anything to go by. He couldn't imagine Lois being attracted to someone with that sort of image, but he couldn't be sure. After all, it wasn't as if he and Lois had ever discussed what attracted her to a man—other than seeing her fawn over Superman.
But she'd agreed to see Pearl Jam with Clark. And she'd agreed to the date before he'd mentioned the concert, so obviously it wasn't Eddie Vedder who she wanted to spend time with, even if she did like Pearl Jam.
Did he like Pearl Jam? He knew one or two of their songs, and while he didn't hate them, he couldn't say he'd ever had any desire to see them perform.
But Lois did. And she wanted to go with him. So he would do his level best to make it the best first date he could.
He tried to picture what she might look like when he picked her up, and had trouble doing so. Any other time he had fantasised about taking her on a date, he'd been able to imagine her in some beautiful, yet tasteful dress and the setting was generally an upscale restaurant in some out of the way place. But what might she wear to a rock concert?
Moreover, what on Earth would
he wear? He'd never gone to a concert like this. A suit was completely out of the question. Would a t-shirt and jeans work? Not exactly the most exciting outfit. He wanted to impress her, but he didn't want to seem out of place. What had he gotten himself into?
"Hey, CK, you okay?" Jimmy asked as he walked by again. "You look a little..."
"Jimmy, I need your help!" he blurted out. Jimmy looked at him curiously.
"Sure thing, CK. What do you need?"
"Advice," he admitted. "I think I'm in over my head.
