Chapter 18.5 - a mini-chapter...sorry it's so short!
Lois rode the elevator down to the ground floor. She purposefully exited the elevator and strode towards the double-door which lead to the street. As soon as she put one foot on the sidewalk, a microphone was thrust in her face.
“Ms. Lane, were you visiting Clark Superman Kent just now?” a young female journalist with a press badge bearing the name “Judy Jones, Metropolis Ledger” asked her.
Feeling spirited after her flight with her boys, Lois decided to give the “clearly a neophyte” writer a career boost. “Judy, not only was I visiting Clark, we’re actually roommates now! Have a good day!”
Lois smirked to herself as she saw the delight in the young woman’s face at the unexpected scoop. <I may pay dearly for that remark, but that was fun anyways>, she thought to herself.
She crossed the street and spotted the salon. Her peripheral vision warned her of other paparazzi lurking in the area, so she darted down the alley next to Pierre’s and loudly rapped on their back door. Lois knew that every classy salon had a “rear entrance” for their celebrity clients, and shortly thereafter, the door opened. The employee immediately recognized Superman’s new girlfriend and quickly ushered her inside.
~~~~~~
Clark and LabRat floated down to the balcony of the apartment from the roof. Clark was amazed how well his new pooch was handling a gravity-free lifestyle. He seemed to be born for the air!
Finding an old cereal bowl, Clark filled it with cold water and soon LabRat was happily lapping away at the refreshing liquid. Clark sat down and flipped on the TV, filled with a sense of completeness he realized he hadn’t felt since he was ten. Even though Lois had only been a part of his life for a very short time, already he felt like he had a family again, and owning a dog seemed to be a natural extension of that feeling.
Without realizing it, soon Clark was floating above the couch. LabRat padded over and looked up at his master, emitting a quizzical “woof”.
“You want to join me up here?” Clark asked him. In super-speed, he picked him up and rested him on his stomach. Gradually floating towards the ceiling, Clark held him tightly so he wouldn’t fall off. The golden retriever pressed his face against Clark’s muscular chest in a classic “I’m so adorable” pose that all dogs seem to know how to do intuitively. The pair managed to doze off in that position!
~~~~~
“Madame Lane, you look magnifique,” Pierre, the owner of the salon, said enthusiastically to Lois. Studying herself in the mirror, she had to agree. Somehow her hair had come alive. It was perky in places she’d never been perky before! It was amazing what a great shaping haircut could do!
“Pierre, you’re truly a magician,” Lois told him sincerely. “I love it. I didn’t think that I would like my hair this short, but you have totally sold me on it! I can’t thank you enough.”
“Any friend of Superman is a friend of mine,” Pierre said. “He saved my business a few years ago. Did he tell you the story?”
Lois smiled. “No, I actually haven’t known him all that long. Why don’t you share it with me? I love hearing about all of Clark’s good deeds.”
“Well, it was not long after the world learned that Clark Kent was Superman,” Pierre began. “Little did I know that our neighbor Clark had such extraordinary powers. Anyway, there was a cat burglar that was hitting all the local businesses in the area. We thought we were safe; generally salons don’t keep a lot of money in their vaults; and besides the chairs, there aren’t a lot of items of value inside the showroom."
“True,” Lois agreed. “But these guys aren’t always so bright.”
Pierre laughed. “This particular thief happened to live in the same building as Clark. He didn’t need to steal; he was a wealthy man in his own right. He did it just for the thrill of it. He was – what you call it – “
“A risk junkie,” Lois suggested.
“Oui. So whenever he heard Clark leave the building – the sonic boom – for some emergency somewhere, he would put on his black cat burglar garb and hit a local store. He apparently had a lot of high-tech gadgets that could diffuse even the best security system. Well, one night he decided to hit Pierre’s.”
“Of course,” Lois said. “Just to say he did it. He didn’t need the money anyway. It makes sense.”
“But your – friend- Clark – being an investigative reporter, had been piecing together information on the robberies in the area. He realized that the incidents occurred only when he had been called away. He guessed that the thief had some way of knowing when he wasn’t around, and started to watch the building for unusual behavior.”
“So how did he snag him finally?” Lois inquired.
“The night the thief decided to rob my salon, Clark actually “faked” leaving and then came back and sped around the corner, dressed in civilian clothes. He hid in the alleyway and when the thief tried to break in to my salon, he caught him in the act. I believe he got a front–page – how do you call it ? ‘scoop’ - for finally getting him arrested. All of the local merchants made generous donations to the Superman Foundation, we were all so grateful,” Pierre advised. “You know, he’s madly in love with you, Madame Lane. You’re a lucky, lucky woman. He’s a beautiful man, inside and out.”
It was then that Lois realized that Pierre played on the other team. “Yes, Clark is quite a special person. That becomes more obvious to me every day that I know him. Thanks again for everything, and for sharing that story with me,” she said, as Pierre kissed her hand graciously.
“You’re quite welcome, Madame Lane. I hope I can add you to my list of regular clients.”
“Absolutely,” Lois replied.
She left the salon the same way she entered - by the rear entrance. This time, however, the paparazzi was lurking in the alleyway, waiting for Lois to reappear. Lois grabbed the cell phone she had borrowed from Clark and rang the apartment. Clark and LabRat were still floating and the sound of the phone woke the both of them with a start. They came crashing down to the floor; LabRat barked loudly in surprise, and Clark moved quickly to try to cushion him. At super-speed he picked up the receiver. “Lois?” he said, after looking at the caller ID. “What’s the matter?”
“Wow, you sound kinda sleepy,” Lois remarked. “Wake up and come get me out of here. The scandal sheets have a wall of reporters outside the salon just waiting to stick their microphones in my face.”
BOOM! There was a electrical pulse in the air and before Lois knew it, she was back in the apartment staring at a startled LabRat.
“Wow. You truly can move faster than the eye can follow…it’s not just propaganda, it’s for real!” Lois exclaimed. “That was amazing, Clark. I hope you can still tell how great a job Pierre did. Do you like it?” she asked, walking over to the mirror in the hallway.
“It’s short, but hot,” Clark replied, kissing her on the cheek. “Very hot. In fact, you look so hot that it’s going to be hard for me to continue to be a gentleman around you,” he teased, cupping her butt with his large right hand.
“Clark… I ….oh!” Lois found herself in the midst of a very passionate “French kiss”. Her libido told her that she wanted it…she wanted it *all*. The voice of reason told her that they had to get over to James and Lucy’s for dinner, and they - *she* wasn’t ready yet. The thought of Clark seeing her without clothes… the rolls of fat in embarrassing places… it just scared her deep to her core. Just then Clark breathed his hot steamy breath in her ear, and started kissing her neck, making it as far as her collarbone…
‘Libido-Lois’ was screaming “damn, that feels good. Keep going, keep going… lower…”
‘Scared-Lois’ was warning her “stop this now, before he sees how you really look under those clothes. He’ll be repelled, and you’ll be mortified. It will ruin your relationship…”
Clark sensed Lois’ conflict and forced himself to come up for air. “Lois… what’s the matter, honey? I can tell by your heart rate that you want this, but I can almost hear the conflicting dialogue going on in your head… do you really still think I’m going to be turned off by your body? Lois, sweetie, everything about you turns me on.”
His voice became lower, huskier. “I love the smell of your hair… mmm…I love the way your eyes become laser beams when you’re trying to make a point or you’re really passionate about something… I love the way your butt sways back and forth when I walk behind you… when you have a low-cut blouse on all I can think about is kissing your cleavage and moving down from there… you drive me crazy, Lois Lane… it’s not Kryptonite that’s my weakness, it’s you.”
‘Libido-Lois’ was now screaming at her at the top of her lungs: “let him take you, all of you. Look at how gorgeous this man is! Any woman in your position would have had him a hundred times by now.”
‘Scared-Lois’ was still talking, but she was definitely being drowned out by ‘Libido-Lois’.
“Clark… we can’t… we have to get over to Lucy and James’ house for dinner… talk them into letting LabRat live there…umph”
Clark covered Lois’ rant with his mouth. “Shh… I can always tell him a Superman emergency came up… it’s a big world… somewhere, someone is calling my name… only when I’m with you… I can’t hear it anymore…”
TBC….
