PREVIOUSLY IN LOST...
“Excuse me,” said a man from the doorway.
Lois glanced in the direction the voice had come from, but the man himself was hidden behind the open door. He was obviously addressing Dr. Klein.
“I’m looking for Lois Lewis,” the man continued. “I called the Star and they told me I could find her here.”
“Well, you’ve found her,” Lois said, rising to her feet and moving so that she could see who was on the other side of the door. She froze.
Clark Kent was standing in the doorway.
AND NOW...
* * * * * * * * *
CHAPTER 7
* * * * * * * * *
“I think I found something!” David exclaimed.
“What?” asked Philip Klein, jumping up from where he was doing his own research.
“An article...” David scrolled down a bit. “Published in the Metropolis Star on May 10th, 1999. The byline reads...” He glanced over his shoulder at Dr. Klein. “...Lois Lewis.”
“Huh, huh!” Klein exclaimed triumphantly. “See! I knew we’d find her.”
“But why 1999? Has she been living in the past for three years?”
“Possibly. But it’s hard to believe that Lois Lewis could live that long in the past without our finding something before now. Other people, maybe. But not Lois.”
David nodded slowly. “But then, what happened?”
“She must have jumped ahead for some reason. Anyway, we should keep looking, see what else turns up.”
“Why?” David asked, turning his chair around to look at the doctor. “Why don’t we just set the time machine for May 10th, 1999 and go back to get her?”
“I need to figure out why she jumped forward for three years. It makes no sense. She must have tried to change the past. But then, she should have come back here. So why didn’t she?”
“We can figure that out once we get her back,” David said.
Klein shook his head. “Dealing with history is a sensitive thing. We have to proceed with the utmost caution. In the meantime, I need you to find out if that article changed history. If it did, then we will have to pick her up before she wrote it. So keep searching. See if anything else turns up.”
David sighed, turning back to the computer. “I have to say I wonder why she’s writing for the Star and not the...” His voice trailed off. While he’d been speaking, he’d been perusing the article. “On the other hand, she gives the Daily Planet quite an earful for its treatment of Clark Kent.” He tilted his head to the side as he continued to read. “And, it seems our Lois has become quite a Superman fan,” he said in soft amazement as he finished the article.
Klein squeezed his shoulder. “We’re almost there, David. Don’t worry. We’ll get her back.” He turned from David. “I just need to figure out why she would have jumped to 1999.” With those final words, he turned back to his computer, giving up his search of Daily Planet articles to run some numbers.
* * * * * * * * *
Kent! Lois stood rooted to the spot, her eyes locked on his. The man she’d tried so hard to avoid for the past couple of days was standing right in front of her, staring right at her. Neither said a word. They just stared.
“Uhh... yeah... right,” Dr. Klein said, shattering the spell and allowing Lois to break eye contact. “I’ll just give you two a moment alone. Mr. Kent,” he acknowledged, nodding his head slightly as he headed past him into the hallway.
Lois turned away, heading absently in the direction of Klein’s computer. What was Kent doing here? How had he tracked her down? Well, duh! The story, obviously. He’d said he’d found out she was here from the Metropolis Star. She never should have written that story! It was not as if it was going to change anything, anyway. If it was, she would have jumped. Had she been trying to attract Kent’s attention?
No. That was crazy. Why would she be trying to attract Kent’s attention? But then, why had she been trying so hard to avoid contact with Kent? Two sides; single coin. And damn it, why was her heart racing so fast that she could hardly hear herself think over the rush of blood through her body?
She gripped the back of the chair she’d been sitting in shortly before, digging her fingers into the soft fabric until her knuckles were white.
“Ms. Lewis? It is Lois Lewis, isn’t it?”
Lois knew instantly what he was asking. Was she really Lois Lane? Well, that question would just have to go unanswered. She didn’t know if she was Lois Lane. Oh, evidence might suggest she was. But still... Besides, she wasn’t the Lois Lane he had known, the one he had fallen in love with. She turned towards him, trying to feign a calm she didn’t feel.
“It’s Lois Lewis,” she said, meeting his eyes and daring him to contradict her.
“Is that the name you were born with?” he asked, his eyes flicking down to her ring finger. She found herself fighting off a threatening grin at the gesture. He was obviously trying to figure out if she was married given that her last name was not Lane.
“As far as I know,” she responded, not exactly answering his question.
Still, his resulting smile indicated that he had all the answer he needed. Suddenly, all the blood seemed rush out of her head, leaving her struggling to retain her footing. That smile ought to be registered as a lethal weapon. And so, by the way, should the look in his eyes. Other Lois. Other Lois. Other Lois. He was looking at her, but he was seeing the other Lois. She just had to keep repeating that to herself.
“Well, Ms. Lewis, I just stopped by to thank you for your article in the Star.”
“Oh. Well, that was... I just... I mean...” Damn! What was wrong with her? She was more articulate than this. She was starting to sound like the other Lois! She forced herself to meet his eyes and pull herself together. “I just did it because no one else seemed to notice,” she said. “It was a good story. And I needed the money.” She left out the part about wanting to bump herself forward in time. Still, her decision to write the story had absolutely nothing to do with him. And there was no way she was going to let him think otherwise.
And then he smiled again. Her heart seemed to do a back flip, but she forced herself to remain calm, unaffected in appearance.
“Well, I wanted to thank you anyway,” Clark said. “I’m not sure it will make any difference, but it’s nice to know that someone noticed.”
She shrugged as if it was no big deal.
“Anyway, I came here for another reason as well. I believe you have something... or well, actually some things that belong to me.”
She furrowed her forehead. What was he talking about?
“My letters?” he asked.
Oh. Right. His letters. “Uhh... yeah.” She turned, making her way to a pile of letters still sitting beside the computer. She picked them up and a red pair of panties fell on the floor. She cringed, but still she bent over and picked them up, holding them with two fingers. Walking over to him, she handed him all the letters except one and then held out the panties, an amused grin pulling at one corner of her mouth. “I’m afraid I’m not sure which envelope these came in.”
She watched in satisfaction when he turned an interesting shade of pink. She’d felt completely off balance since the moment he’d entered the room. She was glad the shoe was on the other foot now.
“Yeah,” he said sheepishly. “I get a few of these.” He took the panties, sticking them in the pocket of his trousers. “But...” Forgetting about the panties, he focused on the letter she was still holding. “...what about that one?”
She looked at the letter. “Oh, I’m not giving you this one,” she said.
“But...” He cocked his head to the side. “Either it’s really good or really bad. My guess is really bad. Is that the letter you referred to in your article?”
She caught her lip between her teeth. “Yes. And I’m not giving it back.”
“It’s my letter,” he informed her, an amused twinkle in his eyes.
She met his eyes, unexpectedly responding to the emotion she could see there. Suddenly, she felt almost playful. “I don’t care. I’m not giving it back. You really don’t need to read it.”
“I could always just take it from you,” he said.
“I suppose that’s true. It’s not as if I could stop you. But I’m still not giving it back. And I really don’t think you have the nerve to just take it from me.” What was she doing? Was she challenging him to try to wrestle it from her? It was his, after all. She’d warned him. If he wanted to torture himself, who was she to stop him? So what did she think she was doing?
Before she could consider that further, he stepped forward, his eyes dancing as he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her hard against him. In her hand, holding it as far away from him as she could, was the letter. His hand hovered above it - proving that he would have no problems taking it from her. Still, he didn’t grab the letter. Instead, he looked into her eyes.
“Oh, I have the nerve,” he said, the electricity jumping between them. “Never doubt that.”
Her heart stopped beating, thumped a couple of times and then settled into a pattern that left her close to breathless.
They stood there like that for a long minute, the almost playful atmosphere of the moment before now completely absent.
“Have dinner with me?” Clark asked, his voice breathy as if he too was having some problems catching his breath.
Other Lois. Other Lois. Other Lois. Besides, she would be leaving here in early morning, day after tomorrow, never to come back again. This was not a good idea. “Okay,” she said, glancing up at him through her eyelashes.
He smiled again, this time a total smile, one that lit up his face and caused his eyes to dance, and whatever breath she still had completely left her.
“So,” he asked, “how do you feel about French food?”
* * * * * * * * *
When she’d agreed to have supper with Kent, she hadn’t quite expected to end up at a quiet restaurant in Paris. Nor had she been expecting him to sweep her up in his arms and fly her there. She’d tried desperately to act cool during the flight. She’d tried not to gasp when she’d seen Metropolis from the air or when she’d observed the millions of stars during their flight over the ocean. But when she almost caused him to drop her as she’d struggled in his arms trying to get a better view of the Eiffel Tower, she was fairly certain he realized how thrilling she was finding the flight.
He’d laughed, flying closer so that she didn’t have to strain her neck, dipping her between the tower’s beams just as she had done in her dream. She’d stretched out a hand, letting her fingers lightly touch the hard metal.
Of course, another thing she hadn’t expected was just how good it would feel to be in his arms. The temptation to snuggle close had been almost overwhelming - especially over the dark ocean, the stars above them and the stars glistening off the surface of the water. It had been as if they were surrounded by stars. Fortunately, she’d managed to resist. This evening was an aberration. Soon she’d be back in 2157... and Clark Kent would retire as Superman. She had to remember that as the evening progressed.
Clark said a few words to the owner - obviously someone he knew - before the man showed them to a cozy little table in the back, out of sight of the main part of the restaurant.
“Worried about paparazzi?” she asked as she took a seat in the chair he held out for her.
“It’s always a possibility,” he responded. “But I’ve been here a number of times and so far... but then maybe I’ve just been lucky.” He suddenly grew serious. “Maybe it would be better if we...”
“What, Clark? Go somewhere where they can’t find us? Your place maybe? A quiet little dinner at home. It’s not as if they aren’t going to find us there.”
“But still... Lois, if they find out you came out for supper with me, they’ll ruin your life. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. If you’d rather I just took you back to Metropolis...” He was already pulling his jacket back on.
“Would you stop?” Lois said, gesturing for him to sit down. “I’ll take my chances.” If she had really lived in this time, she might have had second thoughts about this, too. But since she didn’t, what did it really matter? Besides, he was worried enough for both of them. Her unexpected need to protect him overrode what might have been her normal reaction to this situation.
He hesitated. “Are you sure? I won’t be offended...”
She held up her hand in the international stop sign. “Just sit,” she said. “One more word and I might think you were ashamed to be seen with me.”
His worried expression softened and the look in his eyes changed. The tenderness she saw there caused her to look away.
“So what’s good here?” she asked, opening her menu.
* * * * * * * * *
“So you don’t even know your actual birthdate,” Clark said before taking the final sip of his wine.
Lois shifted uncomfortably. How she had come to open up as much as she had, she wasn’t entirely sure. But it was just so easy to talk to Clark. And now, as a result, they were getting into dangerous territory. After all, she was certain he wouldn’t react well to finding out she was born in 2125. “Well, the sisters found me on August 17th.” She decided to skip the year. “They figure I was a couple days old at the time. So I celebrate on August 15th. What?” she asked when Clark suddenly looked confused.
“Nothing,” he said, quickly covering his thoughts.
“Come on, Clark. What is it?”
“I just... It’s not important.”
She studied him for a moment before letting it go. What if he’d discovered an inconsistency in her story? After all, she didn’t even know if the Sisters of Metropolis Convent had existed in 1999. She really was going to have to be more careful. The problem was, she didn’t feel careful with Clark. “So tell me something about you,” Lois said, hoping to redirect the conversation.
“My life is an open book, Lois.”
She narrowed her eyes. “I doubt that. Come on, flyboy. Tell me something nobody else knows about you.”
“I can’t think of...”
“Did you ever go skinny dipping when you were a kid? I heard all you country kids go skinny dipping. And I’m fairly certain I don’t remember reading anything like that about you.”
Clark laughed and Lois found herself loving the sound. It was so deep, so much the sound of someone who, at the moment, didn’t have a care in the world.
“Come on. Fess up now. Did you ever go skinny dipping?” When she saw the expression on his face, she knew she was onto something. “You did, didn’t you!” she exclaimed, almost jumping out of her seat in excitement at having found something so... almost naughty about his past. “Come on. You’ve got to tell me!”
“Okay, okay. Uncle already,” Clark said, now laughing at her excitement.
She leaned forward, as if getting ready to hear some incredible secret.
“It’s not quite what you think,” Clark said. “It was before my folks died. My best friend, Pete, and I were down at the pond that edges on Schuster’s field.”
“No girls?” Lois asked, pretending to look disappointed. “How am I going to sell this story to the tabloids if there are no girls in it?” As soon as she said the final words, she wondered if it was the wrong thing to say. Would he think she was serious? She was relieved by his reaction.
He rolled his eyes. “Just... well, let me tell the story, would you?” he said in mock annoyance. “Anyway, as I was about to say before I was so rudely interrupted, Pete and I used to go down there all the time with our fishing rods.”
“Did you ever catch any fish?”
“No. Found out years later that there aren’t any fish in that pond.”
Lois laughed.
“Anyway, after about an hour, Pete got this tug on his line.”
“But I thought you said there weren’t... Okay, I’ll be good,” Lois said in response to the look he gave her.
“We were convinced it was the biggest fish ever. We struggled with our catch for a long time, both of us working the rod. Pete even claimed at one point that he’d seen it jump and that it was huge. So, anyway, we finally landed our ‘fish’ - only to find out that it was made of black rubber.”
“Rubber?”
“It was a tire. You know, like from a car,” Clark clarified when Lois looked a little confused. When she finally laughed, he continued. “Anyway, by the time we got it in, we were spattered with mud and sweat and water. We were hot and tired and severely disappointed at our ‘catch.’ Suddenly, going for a swim seemed like a really good idea. So we stripped down and dove in. That’s when we heard it.”
“What?”
“Giggling. Decidedly feminine giggling, in fact.”
Lois found that she was doing some decidedly feminine giggling herself at this point.
“Now you’ve got to understand. We were nine. We still thought girls were gross. And as much as we tried to wish it away, we look up to see Sharon and Rachel sneaking up to steal our clothes. They were both in our class at school and... I sort of think this was their way to try to get our attention.”
“Oh no. So what did you do?”
“What could we do? We couldn’t exactly stop them. We yelled. We threatened. We did everything we could think of without actually coming out of the water. But they would not be dissuaded. You should have seen my mom’s face when I showed up at home wrapped in an old newspaper we found.”
“So that’s why you decided to become a reporter, huh?” Lois asked. “Realized the need for old newsprint.”
“That’s about it,” Clark agreed. “Just don’t tell my editor. I don’t think he’d be amused to discover that one of his reporters chose that profession just to make sure that boys all over the world would have old newsprint to wrap themselves in when their clothes were stolen.”
Lois laughed. “So did you ever get your clothes back?”
“Yes. When I told mom what happened, after she finished laughing, of course - although she didn’t know I could hear that part - she went to talk to Sharon’s mother. We got our clothes back. Although, I suspect Sharon and Rachel got punished because they didn’t talk to us for weeks. Of course, since they were girls, I don’t think either Pete or I minded.”
Lois leaned back in her chair, taking a final sip of wine.
Clark glanced over her shoulder. “Well, I guess we should go.”
Lois looked around to see that one of the waiters had stuck his head into their cubbyhole. It was obvious that they were hoping to close up. She looked at her watch. It was only shortly after nine. “How big a time difference is there between here and Metropolis.”
“Six hours.”
She flinched. “So it’s after three a.m. here.”
Clark nodded.
“Maybe that explains why he’s so anxious to get out of here,” Lois concluded. “But... well, it’s still early. Do we have to go right back?”
Clark smiled. “Where would you like to go?” he asked. “I’m fairly sure that wherever it is, we can get a flight.”
“Well... after that meal, I could really do with going for a walk. Know anywhere we can go without getting swarmed by paparazzi?”
A slow smile lit up Clark’s face. “I’ve got a better idea. How would you like to go dancing?”
“You know a place where we can go dancing without being swarmed by paparazzi?”
* * * * * * * * *
“Where are we?” Lois whispered as Clark floated them to the ground just outside a small town. She wasn’t entirely sure why she was whispering. It just felt right somehow.
“A small island off the coast of Chili. No televisions. One telephone to shore on the whole island.”
“And not a single paparazzi,” Lois completed.
“Exactly.” Clark set her down. “So... want to go see the dance floor?”
Lois laughed. “Sure.”
As she walked beside him, listening to the waves roll in from the ocean, her hand brushed against his, sending shivers through her. It seemed only natural when he finally took her hand, wrapping it in his larger one. She looked at the ground in front of her, concentrating on where her feet were landing, her mind lost in thought. This felt good. Too good, in fact. After all, this was a onetime thing. One night that she already knew she would tuck into a safe corner of her mind to take out and relive many, many times during the course of her life. And all at once, for no apparent reason, she felt depressed.
Maybe this wasn’t a good idea. Maybe she should get out of this now, before things went too far. Before she did something that she was beginning to believe she wouldn’t regret - until she had to go back to the future leaving him behind. End this, before she hurt both of them beyond either of their ability to recover.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Clark asked.
* * * * * * * * *
CHAPTER 8
* * * * * * * * *
Lois looked up. What? His concerned expression told her that he’d noticed something on her face. She wanted to tell him she wanted to dance with him. She wanted to tell him he was worrying for nothing. But the moment she opened her mouth to speak, her eyes began to fill with moisture.
“Lois, what...”
Her hand came up to his face and stopped further comment by the placement of her fingers across his lips. “Take me dancing, Clark,” she finally said as a single tear escaped.
He studied her eyes for a moment more before nodding. Turning he led her down the street. Lois could hear the Spanish music long before she knew where it was coming from. Her face broke into a smile, her previous depressing thoughts disappearing when she saw where they were going. A wooden dance floor. A live band. And a lot of people. Some had no shoes. None looked as if they had much money. Still, the smiles on their faces as they celebrated life with their friends and neighbors made it very clear that money wasn’t everything.
Many seemed to recognize Clark, rushing over to greet him. He responded to each, appearing to know names and talking in fluent Spanish. Since Lois’ Spanish was only rudimentary, she didn’t understand what people were saying. But that didn’t stop her from understanding the hugs she was getting - a reflection of their affection for Clark. Clark took a moment to explain that he’d spent six months here during his travels and had been back many times since.
It was a long time before Clark was able to get her out onto the dance floor, but then the neighborhood band began again and they were lost in the crowd. The music was fast and, although Lois was not familiar with the dance, she joined in, laughing at both her and Clark’s clumsiness as they attempted to imitate the experts around them.
* * * * * * * * *
The trip back to Metropolis was the best one yet. Not that the scenery was that much better. In the darkness, Lois would only have seen the lights of the passing towns and cities - had she chosen to look. But they were not what made this particular flight so fantastic.
What made this flight so incredible was that this time, no little voice inside Lois’ head told her not to snuggle up against him. No. Instead, she burrowed herself more deeply in his arms, safe and warm. Her eyes closed, she soon found herself nuzzling, almost subconsciously, at his neck, drinking in the very male scent of him.
She heard him groan and then his lips were seeking out hers.
The moment their lips met, the world seemed to fragment around her. Nothing existed but the soft moisture of his lips. The kiss was gentle - much like the man giving it. Wanting more, she leaned into the kiss, deepening it. His hand shifted on her back, pulling her closer as he began exploring her mouth, tasting her. She followed his lead, chasing his tongue back into his mouth as the warmth inside her began to spread.
Her hand, which was resting around his neck, made its way into his hair, allowing the soft tresses to flow between her fingers. She shifted in his arms, trying to find a better position from which to attack his mouth. Her free hand landed flat against his chest as she found the new angle and let herself be swallowed again by the sensations of his kiss. Without conscious decision, her hand began caressing his chest, tracing the hard lines and curves, until her fingers found themselves tangled up in the buttons of his shirt. About to pull her hand away, she suddenly realized what she was feeling under those errant fingers. Bare skin. No Superman suit.
While they continued to kiss, she blindly began undoing his buttons until her hand could slip, uninhibited, inside his shirt to feel the soft skin covering muscles of solid steel. He groaned.
With a gasp, Lois suddenly pulled back, her arms grasping Clark tightly around the neck when she realized they were in a free fall.
“Clark!” she gasped.
Her gasped word brought them to an abrupt halt, hovering only feet above the treetops. They both stared down before meeting each other’s gaze in stunned disbelief.
“Uhh... oops,” Clark finally said.
Lois’ eyebrows rose and then she was laughing, giggling helplessly into his neck.
“Great,” Clark mumbled. “Just the effect I always go for when I kiss a woman.”
“No...” Lois choked out between laughs. “No, it’s not...” However, the laughter won, leaving her with tears streaking her face as she giggled helplessly into his neck. “Why do I suddenly get the feeling you don’t do that much?” she said before dissolving again in helpless laughter.
In spite of himself, Clark found himself laughing, too. “Well, I suppose we should head back to Metropolis,” he finally said.
She didn’t respond. Still laughing, she nodded into his neck. Almost immediately, she felt them beginning to move, but this time, he was holding her even closer and she could feel him dropping the occasional kiss into her hair.
In some ways, the remainder of the trip back to Metropolis seemed to take a lot longer than the trip to the island. In others, it went by much too quickly. Lois suspected that, like her, he was suddenly in no hurry to get home. Flying with him, cuddled up in his arms, feeling his heart beating under her hand was the closest thing to heaven Lois had ever known.
So it was with some regret when the lights of the city appeared before them.
“Where do you live?” Clark asked.
Lois instantly tensed.
“What?”
Clark had obviously noticed her reaction to the innocent question. Of course, he would have to know where she lived if he was going to take her home. Still, what could she tell him? Telling him that she was from the future wasn’t an option. Dr. Bernard Klein was the exception to the rule that no one could know. Besides, she didn’t want him to know. For this one night, she didn’t want to know either. But what, then, did that leave her to tell Clark? She wouldn’t lie to him, but she couldn’t tell him the truth either.
“I’m staying at the Lexor,” she said.
He tilted his head to the side in an effort to see her face. She didn’t respond in kind, keeping her face partially hidden from his scrutiny.
“So... you’re not from Metropolis then?”
“Clark, I...” Suddenly, it hit her. The non-truth truth. “I am from Metropolis, but... I can’t go home right now.”
“Why not?”
It was a natural question. But one she was not prepared to answer. “I don’t want to talk about it, Clark.” She turned towards him then, meeting his eyes. “Please. Not tonight.”
He regarded her seriously for a moment, but then... “So...” he said. “...the Lexor it is.”
She let out a breath of relief, closing her eyes in simple gratitude.
* * * * * * * * *
The Lexor was crowded as Lois moved through the lobby alone. She had to look down several times, just to assure herself that her feet were still on the ground. She kept having this strange sensation that she was floating. The people around seemed somewhat out of focus, as if they didn’t really exist except as extras on a movie set. Tonight was all about her. Well, her and Clark.
A small smile made its way onto her face at the mere thought of his name. Clark. What a nice name. Clark. She thought it again - just because. A small giggle erupted from the back of her throat at the silliness of her thoughts. Lois Lewis silly. Who would have thought it was even possible?
Actually, it wasn’t her. It was Clark. She giggled again. He was the one doing this to her. He was just so... so. She sighed. He was easy to talk to. Great company. A good listener. Kind. Gentle. Of course, his dancing left something to be desired and when he had started singing with the band... Ouch. She had practically had to beg him to stop.
On the other hand, his kisses had fire trailing into her belly and curling her toes. She had always thought curled toes was just a metaphor or something. But it wasn’t. Kissing him had literally caused her toes to curl. Her dreamy smile widened when she remembered what kissing her had done to him.
“Yes? Can I help you?”
The question brought Lois out of her daydream and to the unexpected reality that she was standing at a counter. She looked around in confusion, trying to get her bearings. Lexor. Dr. Klein had reserved a room for her here. Right.
“I have a reservation,” she finally said.
The slightly raised eyebrow of the woman behind the counter caused Lois to blush and look down to study her hands. She wasn’t entirely sure why. Did that woman know that Lois had just been kissed senseless by the most gorgeous hunk on the entire planet?
“I need a name,” the woman said when Lois didn’t continue.
Damn! “Uhh... right. Uhh...” She couldn’t even seem to remember her own name at the moment. “Lois. Right. Lois Lewis.”
A small grin seemed to quirk at the corner of the woman’s mouth as she typed the name into her computer.“I’m afraid I don’t have a listing under that name.”
“Oh, right. Dr. Klein set up the reservation. Try Dr. Bernard Klein.”
The woman typed in the name, nodding when the reservation came up. “Room 1415,” she said, giving Lois a registration card and placing the key on the counter beside it.
Lois licked her lips as she intently worked on getting her mind to concentrate on filling in the card.
“Oh,” she said, finally looking up. “I’m afraid I don’t have any luggage.” When the woman’s eyebrows rose, she rushed to continue. “Airline lost it.” She hoped airlines in this time frame did that. Airlines in her time sure did.
The woman nodded. “We provide a number of complementary items in those situations including a robe, toothbrush, things like that. Would you like me to have a maid bring up those thing for you?”
“Please,” Lois responded gratefully.
“Very well. Someone should be up in the next few minutes. Is that acceptable?”
“Wonderful,” Lois said, giving the woman a warm smile. For some reason, she felt happy with the world tonight. Picking up her key, she headed towards the elevators, once again lost in memories.
Clark had wanted to walk her home - which in this case was the Lexor. But they had both known that was impossible. He’d never get half way across the lobby before being recognized. And checking into a hotel with a woman who had no luggage... No, that would definitely have been a mistake. Still, it had been hard saying goodbye to him in the alley across from the hotel.
She sighed, causing the couple standing next to her in the elevator to look in her direction. Ignoring the rising color in her cheeks, she intensely watched the lights of the elevator as the floors passed. These things were so much slower than lifts.
Ding.
She watched as the couple stepped out. As the doors slid closed, Lois leaned against the back of the elevator and closed her eyes. Who would have thought he could kiss like that? She could kiss him forever - and probably would have if she hadn’t found herself plummeting through the air. The smile on her face widened.
Ding.
She opened her eyes as the elevator doors opened on her floor. After looking down at her key to make sure she knew the room number, she glanced at the sign on the wall indicating the direction. Turning, she headed in the appropriate direction, raising her eyes and... coming to a halt.
Leaning up against the doorframe to her room was Clark. Her mouth curved into a smile as she approached.
“When I take a date home, I walk her to the door,” Clark explained, his smile meeting hers.
“Really. And how did you know this was my room?”
“I heard the receptionist give you the room number.”
“You did, did you? And I suppose you just...” She made a wavy motion with her hand. “...onto the roof and then zipped down the stairs. All for the purposes of making sure I got home okay?”
Clark blushed slightly, which Lois found absolutely adorable. “Well, I did sort of hope I might get a goodnight kiss. Isn’t that standard at the end of a first date?”
“Depends,” Lois said, her smile threatening to take over her entire face, “on how good the date was.”
“Oh, I see. So how did I rate? Was it good enough to warrant a goodnight kiss?”
Lois pretended to ponder that question. “Well, I don’t know,” she teased. “There was that whole losing altitude thing.”
“I was hoping you’d find that... refreshing.”
Lois laughed. “Actually, I found it sort of...” She searched around for the right word.
“Masterful? Awesome?”
“Cute.”
“Uhh... well, I was hoping more for masterful or awesome but cute... I’ll take cute.” Reaching towards her, his hand had just touched her waist when...
Ding!
“Inside!” Lois hissed, fumbling with her key before the elevator doors could open and Superman would be caught standing outside a woman’s hotel room - a woman who hadn’t brought any luggage.
Suddenly, a gust of wind brushed across her face, the key disappeared from her hand and she found herself standing just inside the closed door of her dimly lit hotel room.
“What...?” Her comment died when it sunk in what had just happened. “Wow! When you want to get a girl alone, you don’t waste any time, do you?”
Clark laughed and then his smile faded, as if suddenly wondering if she was serious. “Lois, I didn’t mean to invite myself in. But when that elevator...”
She placed her fingers over his lips. “I know that, flyboy.” She stepped closer. “You just came by for a goodnight kiss...” Her hand left his face to bury itself in his hair, tugging him down so that she could touch her lips to his.
The kiss was short and sweet, and doing all sorts of strange things to Lois’ stomach. She groaned in protest when he pulled away. But he didn’t go far. No more than a heartbeat later, he leaned back in for another kiss.
This time when their lips met, something inside Lois changed. What had started out as a sweet... even innocent kiss turned quickly into something that seemed to bring every nerve ending in Lois’ body to life. He must have felt it too, because he stumbled towards her, having to place his hands at her waist to keep from falling.
He gently pulled her closer. She assisted the effort by wrapping her arms around his neck, bringing her body flush with his. They both groaned softly at the intimate contact. Body pressed against body.
When the kiss finally ended, Lois was gasping for breath. She tilted her head back and closed her eyes. “Oh, god,” she breathed softly. “Oh, god, yes,” she whispered again when he wrapped his arm around the small of her back to keep her from falling and began planting light kisses up and down her throat. She felt his tongue then, softly running up the middle of her neck to her chin, sending chills down her spine. She hadn’t realized exactly how sensitive she was there.
Lowering her head, she met his lips again, kissing him with increased passion, tongues tangling. Still holding her against him, his free hand slipped under the edge of her sweater, running up her side until he was tracing her ribs with his fingers, lightly brushing against the underside of her breast. She groaned, wiggling slightly against him, desperately wanting him to go higher.
“Sorry,” he said, breaking the kiss as his hand moved away from her breast.
“No!” she gasped, her frustration from having him misunderstand her provoking the response. “I... I...” She hesitated, years of repression warring with need. Need won. She moved back out of his arms, needing some space for what she planned to do. Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves, she kept her eyes on his as she grabbed onto the bottom of her sweater and, in one smooth motion, pulled it over her head, glad for the purchase of the sexy underwear.
All the air in Clark’s lungs seemed to leak out of him in a shaky stream as his eyes left hers to focus on the lacy red garment barely preventing him from having full view of her breasts. He stepped forward, running the back of his hand across her shoulder before continuing lower. She closed her eyes, concentrating on his touch.
Reaching forward, he pulled her back into his arms, bending slightly so that he could trace the edge of her bra with his tongue. She moaned, hooking one of her legs around his, increasing the contact between the lower halves of their bodies.
“Lois...” The word hissed out of his mouth, vibrating against her.
She wound her hands into his hair, holding him against her as he began his quest once again. Suddenly, reality intruded like a bucket of cold water. This wasn’t real - couldn’t be real. Tomorrow she’d be going back to her own time and if they did this... No. She wanted this memory. She wanted to know, even if only once, what it was like to give herself over completely to this man. She closed her eyes and pushed her conscience away even as her grip on his hair tightened.
Once again, her conscience tried to kick in. There was no doubt in Lois’ mind where this was heading. And, in part, that was the problem. Oh, not that they were likely to both be naked in the very near future. No, it was that she was encouraging him to think they could possibly have a future. Okay, so maybe he wasn’t interested in a future, but he didn’t exactly strike her as the one-night-stand kind of guy. On the other hand, what did she know? He was a man, after all. And not just any man. Superman could have any woman on the entire planet. Surely a few of those stories in the tabloids, linking him to one starlet or another must be true. Or he’d responded to one or more of those ‘panty letters.’ So what was she doing that was so wrong?
Besides, he wasn’t holding her. He wasn’t kissing her. He wasn’t touching her. Not really. Oh, part of him probably was. But another part was touching the other Lois. So what would it possibly matter if tomorrow she simply disappeared from his life? She was letting him play out his fantasies - giving them both what they so desperately wanted. This night would mean nothing to him, hardly even a blip on his radar. And she would have a night to remember forever.
She pulled his head back up, silently begging him for a kiss. He obliged her. Reaching behind her, his hands fumbled with the clasp on her bra.
“No!” She surprised herself as much as him when she suddenly sprung back out of his reach even before the sound of her unintended exclamation faded.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to for things to go that far. I just...”
“No, Clark. Please. Just... just hear me out.” Feeling suddenly exposed and vulnerable, she located her sweater, picked it up and pulled it back on. Closing her eyes, she tried to work up the nerve for what she needed to say. It was just that suddenly, from somewhere deep inside, some part of her she pretty much despised at the moment, she had been unable to continue - not with so much being unsaid between them. “When I’ve finished what I have to say,” she began, her voice trembling slightly on the words, “I’m going to ask you to spend the night.” She opened her eyes then, meeting his. “I want this.” She gave a humorless laugh. “You have no idea how much I want this.”
“But...?” he prompted.
“But... Clark, would you still want to be here if it was only going to be for tonight?”
“What are you saying, Lois? Is that all this is to you? A one-night stand?”
“No.” She ran her hand through her hair in frustration. “But... the truth is that tonight is all I have to offer.” She met his eyes, silently begging him to understand.
“Why?”
“I... I can’t tell you.”
“Can’t...” He stared at her for a moment, disbelief written all over his face. “Okay, you want to talk, let’s talk. Tell me what’s going on.”
“There’s nothing going on.”
A sudden knocking on the door caused Lois to jump.
“Housekeeping.”
Lois watched as Clark ran his hand through his hair in frustration. She gestured him back, behind the door. Walking over, she placed her hand on the door handle, trying to regain her equilibrium. A second knock finally snapped Lois into action.
Taking a deep breath, and making sure Clark couldn’t be seen, she finally opened the door, standing in the doorway so that the maid couldn’t enter the room.
“You wanted our complementary kit?” the woman on the other side of the door asked.
“Yes. Thank you.”
After handing her the items, the woman glanced behind Lois, as if suspecting she’d interrupted something.
“Thank you,” Lois said again as she began closing the door.
“You’re welcome,” the woman responded, only moving back when the door was closed in her face.
Lois leaned her forehead against the door for a moment before walking over to place the various items on the night stand.
“So what’s going on, Lois?” Clark asked before she was ready to deal with him again.
“Nothing. Nothing’s going on.”
“No? You won’t even tell me where you live. Now I let it go. My first thought was that, in spite of what you told me earlier, you were afraid of an abusive husband. On the other hand, there’s no ring on your finger. In fact, you don’t even have a tan line. And if you’re with a guy who’s abusive, he’s not likely to let you get away without wearing a ring. So I thought - abusive boyfriend. At least that would explain why the room was registered in Dr. Klein’s name. You don’t want your boyfriend to be able to find you. Maybe you even changed your last name to avoid being found. But you don’t want to talk about it, and in spite of everything, I end up here with you - willing to wait until you’re ready.
“But that’s not even half of it,” Clark continued, Lois staring at him in awe of his logical, albeit wrong, deductive reasoning abilities. “We’re in Chili and I think we’re having a great time. I look over at you and you’re practically in tears. I ask you about it and you don’t want to talk - you want me to take you dancing. So I do it. What had upset you so badly?”
Lois looked down at the floor between them.
“That’s what I thought,” Clark continued. “But...” He let out a breath. “What did I expect? Lois, you can’t even tell me your birthday. You’re birthday? Why can’t you tell me your birthday?”
Lois tensed. Had he realized she’d left out her year of birth?
“Lois, you weren’t born on August 15th. You were born on October 7th.”
“What?” Lois gasped, really not expecting that comment. Suddenly, it sank in why he thought she’d lied about her birthday. “Oh, I get it,” Lois said, her heart breaking when the realization sunk in. “You think I’m her, don’t you? All this time... God, I knew there had to be a part of you that was playing out your Lois Lane fantasy, but you’ve actually been trying to make me be her. Or maybe you want her so much that you don’t even notice the differences. Because there are differences, flyboy. Lana told me you were in love with her, but I didn’t let myself really think too deeply about it. October 7th might have been her birthday, but it’s not mine! I’m not her! She went back to her dimension, to her Clark. She left you three years ago! Get over it, already!” Her voice had risen in volume and intensity through-out her lecture.
“How do you know about alternate dimensions?”
Lois shifted uncomfortably, suddenly realizing her mistake. It was hard enough knowing that this whole time, Clark had been with the other Lois. Admitting that she’d seen them together, watched the tender interactions between them, seen how he’d let her make him into Superman was simply too humiliating. She couldn’t tell him. She just couldn’t. She would not be pitied! “What does it matter?” she asked. “The point is, I’m not her. I never will be.” She wasn’t angry now, she was hurt. She was more than hurt. She was devastated. “Maybe it would be best if you just left.” She turned away from him.
His gentle hands on her shoulders caused her to tremble. “Lois, I know you’re not her.”
“Yeah, right,” she mumbled.
“I do know who you are, Lois. You’re the woman in the backroom during what has become known as Superman’s debut. The one who tried to warn me not to go out there. The one who disappeared in front of my eyes.”
“How did you...” She spun out of his arms and towards him.
“Same hair. Same sweater. Same jeans. Same jacket. Same runners. It’s your face I’ve been seeing for the past three years. It’s your voice, telling me not to go back out onto that stage, that I’ve dreamt about.”
Lois was suddenly searching blindly behind her, seeking the edge of the bed so she could sit down.
“That’s why I’m not after a one-night stand,” Clark continued. “I want so much more than that. I’m in love with you, Lois. Not some woman from another dimension who looks like you. I’ve known that from that moment in that backroom. That’s why I never tried to stop her from going back to her dimension. I knew you were here. I knew I just had to find you. And now you want me to settle for a one-night stand?”
Lois buried her face in her hands.
He sat down next to her, raising his hand to gently brush her hair over her shoulder. “Talk to me, Lois,” he whispered. “What’s going on?”
“I can’t tell you.” It was even more important now that she not tell him. If he knew she was from the future, and if she went back, which she had to do so as not to destroy the time line, he would move heaven and earth to follow her, even if he had to invent his own time machine. His passionate declaration made that very clear.
He let out a breath, rising to his feet. “Maybe I should just...”
“No!” she gasped, reaching out and grabbing his arm. “Please. I want to tell you, but I can’t. I...” She ran out of words. “Spend the night with me,” she said again.
He gave a sad chuckle. “I’m sorry, Lois. I...” His voice trailed off when she met her eyes.
She saw him take in her tear-streaked cheeks and his expression softened.
“Lois...”
“If I could offer you more than tonight...” Her voice broke. “But I can’t. I can’t. Please. At least tell me you understand.”
His expression made it very clear he didn’t understand at all. Not that she could blame him. He looked as if he, too, was on the verge of tears.
She nodded, looking back down at her hands.
“Goodbye, Clark,” she said softly. “I wish...” She never completed her wish. She’d told him what she wanted. He couldn’t give it. She understood that. There really was nothing more to say.
He stood there for a moment before heading for the door. She didn’t watch him go. She couldn’t. She knew they couldn’t have a future, but oh what she wouldn’t give for tonight.
TO BE CONTINUED...
ML
