Chapter 6: Forget Me...Not
“Hey you.” The soft voice and accompanying hand on her shoulder sent a tingle though her. She spun her chair and smiled brightly at her partner. Her partner. He was so much more than that. They’d spent hours last night talking through everything that had brought them to where they were now. They both realized that there had been some break downs in communication and some good, old-fashioned nerves preventing them from getting together sooner. But now they had finally managed to get it right.
She had to admit that she was still a little nervous. After all, it wasn’t like she had great role models for relationships, and her last couple of forays into the world of coupledom had been met with great disaster. But she knew now what the alternative was to trying – and she wasn’t willing to live with that. So even though she was worried that she would do something to sabotage their relationship, or that Clark would eventually do something that would hurt her, she was willing to try.
“Hey,” she said shyly, smiling at the unbridled joy in Clark’s eyes.
“You have no idea how much I want to kiss you right now,” he murmured, suddenly serious, his voice low to protect from the prying ears of passersby.
“Oh, I think I know. But you’ll just have to take a raincheck,” she teased.
Clark laughed and reached for the newspaper on her Lois’ desk, scanning the front page headlines. Lois fiddled with her pen, finally forcing herself to address the topic they had topic she’d realized this morning that they’d forgot to discuss last night. “So...have you heard from Lana yet today?”
Clark looked up, startled. “Uh, no. I imagine she’s still sleeping. Why?”
“Well,” Lois started slowly. “I was just thinking that you’re going to have to break things off with her.”
“There’s nothing to break off. We’re just friends. It was never going to be anything more than that.”
“You know that, and I know that, but I don’t think Lana knows it. She still thinks you are going to marry her eventually. You need to set her straight.”
Clark’s brow furrowed. “Well, if she says anything else, I’ll make sure she understands. But I don’t think I need to seek her out.”
“You haven’t heard from her at all since yesterday? She’s barely left your side for nearly a week.”
“Well, there were a couple of hang ups on my machine when I got home last night. I supposed those could have been her.”
Lois snorted. “Yeah, I’m sure. Well, would you just do me a favor and call her? I’d like to have this settled once and for all.”
“Lois, I really don’t think there’s anything to-”
“Clark, please.”
“Yeah, sure. I’ll call her.”
“Thanks,” Lois said softly.
But eight hours later, Clark was back leaning against Lois’ desk. “I don’t know where she is. I’ve left two messages on her cell phone, and I’ve called her hotel room.”
“That’s strange,” Lois said, straightening her desk and powering down her computer.
Clark shrugged, clearly unworried, and held out Lois’ coat so she could slide her arms into the sleeves.
“So now what?” she asked, gathering her bag and preparing to head home.
“Well...I was thinking...why don’t we just forget about Lana for the night? I’ll deal with her tomorrow. In the meantime...dinner at my place? Maybe a movie?”
Lois smiled and slipped her hand into the crook of his arm. “That is the best idea you’ve had all day.”
“Hey!”
*****
“Do you want anything to drink before we start the movie?” Clark asked.
“No thanks,” Lois said, extracting a video from Clark’s collection. She straightened up and smiled at Clark who had appeared next to her when she wasn’t paying attention. She reached up stroked his cheek for a second before pressing a quick kiss to his lips. “Dinner was wonderful. Thank you.”
“Thank you,” he said softly, returning her kiss with one of his own.
“For what?”
“For being here. You have no idea how long I’ve dreamed of this.”
“Of eating dinner and watching a movie?” she teased, inching closer as he settled his hands on her waist.
“That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”
“I know.” One more quick kiss and Lois pulled away completely. “I’m gonna go to the bathroom real quick. Why don’t you get the movie started, and I’ll meet you on the couch?
Clark nodded and took a step toward the television.
Lois hurried to the restroom and drying her hands on a towel when she heard a loud knocking from the living room. Curious, she exited the bathroom, when she heard the voice at the door, she stopped just inside the bedroom, listening.
“Hey, Lana. What are you doing here?”
“Oh, Clark! I’m sorry I didn’t return your phone calls earlier. You must have been just crazy with worry!”
“Well...actually I just figured you were busy and I’d talk to you later.”
“Oh, that’s my Clark – always taking everything in stride.”
Lois’ jaw clenched automatically at Lana’s “my Clark” comment. It was all she could do to keep from bursting out into the living room and putting Lana in her place. But she had the feeling this was something Clark needed to deal with on his own.
“Lana, look, we need to talk about that. I’m not “yours” – I never was. I’ve had a nice time showing you around Metropolis this week, and it was nice to see you again. But that’s as far as it goes.”
“I know you think that now. Maybe I’ve come on a bit strong, but Clark you have to remember how great we were once. I know you haven’t forgotten that.”
Lois heard Clark sigh, and she knew him well enough to know that he was agonizing over balancing being firm with being compassionate.
“Lana....” Clark sighed again. “Look, I’m sorry if you thought-”
“Don’t say it, Clark. You don’t have to deny your true feelings anymore. I know you were hurt when I left for California, but I’m back now, and we can pick up right where we left off.”
Lois smothered a cough as she choked back a laugh. After listening to Clark’s side of the story last night, she had a feeling they were closer to right where they left off than Lana suspected.
“Remember how perfect we were for each other?” Lana pressed on. “We had all these great plans. I know it’s too soon to really think about that again. I know we need time to get to know each other again, but, Clark, don’t you see? We were meant to be together. We want the same things. We could have a perfect life together.”
“You know, Lana, maybe you’re right.”
Lois felt her stomach drop. Surely he couldn’t mean that.
“Really?” The eagerness shone through Lana’s happy reply.
“Yeah, I mean how many other women am I going to meet who want to move back to Smallville and take over my parent’s farm? They’ve been hounding me for awhile now to find a wife and bring her back there. Most women shy away from the thought of running the farm. I mean, it’s a lot of work, and it’s not like it rakes in the money. But you grew up in Smallville, so you understand the charms of small town living. And the first couple of years will be really tough, but once our sons are old enough to help out-”
“Sons?” Lana croaked out. “Plural?”
“Oh of course. I figured we’d have at least six or seven – not that I don’t want girls too. I mean, you’ll need someone to help you with the housework – keeping up after that many kids is a lot of work.”
Lois realized immediately what Clark was doing, while Lana seemed to be in a suspended state of horror. It was all she could do to stifle her laughter as she pictured Lana squirming as she desperately tried to think of a way out of Clark’s apartment...and his life.
Lana’s expression must have been too much for him to handle, because Clark burst out laughing. “I’m sorry, Lana,” Lois heard him say. “I wish you could see your face.”
“You mean...you don’t...want to move back to Smallville? You don’t want to have half a dozen kids?”
“No.” Clark’s voice was soft but firm. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have teased you like that. But the truth is, I didn’t know what else to say to get through to you. I don’t know what you thought was going to happen when you came here, but this just isn’t going to work. Whatever was between us was a long time ago. I’m just not interested in anything beyond friendship.”
“You’re making a big mistake, Clark.”
“No, Lana. I know exactly what I’m doing. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t you think we should talk about this?”
“I don’t think there’s anything to discuss.”
Clark suddenly came into view, walking toward the front door. Lana seemed to linger for a minute, then she appeared as well.
“When are you planning to leave Metropolis?” Clark asked, opening the door.
“I don’t know. I hadn’t really thought about it.”
“Well, if I don’t see you before you go, have a safe trip. I’m sure I’ll see you next time I’m in Smallville.”
“Oh, this isn’t over yet, Clark,” Lana called over her shoulder cheerfully, clearly disregarding his assurance that this was, in fact, over.
Clark shut the door, and shook his head. “Yes it is, Lana. Yes it is.”
Lois emerged from her hiding spot, and Clark seemed to sense her presence, turning and approaching her. “How much of that did you see?”
“Enough,” she said, moving into his embrace. She kissed him briefly before pulling away. “So the women are expected to help out around the house, huh?”
“Lo-iss...”
“I know, I know. You were kidding.”
“Actually, I feel a little guilty. I shouldn’t have teased her like that...but she was driving me crazy! I couldn’t think of any other way to really get her attention.”
“Well, I think she deserved every second of it and then some! I wish I could have seen her face, but it’s probably best that I couldn’t – I was having a hard enough time trying to control my laughter as it was.”
He rolled his eyes and kissed her again quickly. The led her back to the couch. As he picked up the remote and turned cued up the video, Lois snuggled in next to him. She threaded her fingers through his, ignoring the opening credits as the music began to play. “Do you really want to move back to Smallville?”
“Lois, it was a joke. I just said it to get a rise out of her,” Clark said, his eyes still on the screen.
“I know, but....”
Clark turned to look at her. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. I was just wondering.... I mean, I know what you said to Lana was a joke. But it just made me wonder. When you do settle down and have a family, would you want to move back to Smallville?”
Clark gave her hand a quick squeeze. “I haven’t really thought about, honestly. I never wanted to get ahead of myself. But I do know that I’m happier now than I ever dreamed I could be. I’d never rule out moving back to Smallville altogether, but moving to Metropolis is the best thing that’s ever happened to me, and right now, I’m pretty happy just to be here.”
Lois smiled slowly, taking in his response. It was way too early in their relationship for them to be talking about marriage or kids. But something told her the time would come when they would need to have those conversations. Rather than scaring her, the way that thought would have in the past, Lois found herself looking forward to that day.
Of course, in the meantime, she had better ways to spend her time than thinking about where they wanted to raise hypothetical children.
“Why do you suddenly look like the cat who ate the canary?” Clark asked suspiciously.
Rather than try to explain with words, Lois leaned over and pressed her lips to his.
“I thought you wanted to watch the movie,” Clark said as he pulled away, a smile dancing across his lips.
”I’ve already seen this movie a dozen times.”
“They why did you choose it?”
“Because I’ve already seen it a dozen times,” she replied, quirking her eyebrows and smiling at her boyfriend. Her boyfriend. She liked the sound of that.
A slow grin spread across Clark’s face as her meaning dawned on him. “So....since you’ve already seen this movie....” he teased, wrapping his arms around her waist and drawing her close.
His lips slanted over hers, and Lois sighed against his mouth, tangling one hand his hair and encouraging him to deepen the kiss. As the movie began to play, they continued their gentle exploration, oblivious to the action on the screen. Clark’s hands began to explore her body, trailing softly over her sides and back.
Sitting on the couch was restrictive though, and Lois fought to touch him while maintaining their upright position. Lois wriggled, trying to find a more comfortable spot.
“Are you okay?” Clark pulled away, obviously misunderstanding her intentions.
Lois pulled him back, eager to resume their pleasurable play. “I just wanted to get more comfortable.”
Clark shifted, allowing Lois to stretch out on the couch and settling himself half on top of her. “Are you sure this is okay? I don’t want to rush-”
Lois silenced him with a finger to his lips, then removed her finger and replaced it with her lips. Clark started to protest again, but soon was persuaded by her kisses and caresses to go with the flow.
Time seemed to stand still as they reveled in the newfound license to explore each others’ bodies. They were so caught up in their explorations that they failed to hear someone enter the room until the front door clanged shut.
Clark’s head whipped up, and Lois turned her head to the side to see the intruder. Lana stood frozen just inside the door, her jaw slack.
“What...? How...?”
Clark pulled himself off the couch, gently untangling their limbs, and she quickly followed, tugging her shirt into place and standing a few paces behind him.
“What are you doing here, Lana?” Clark asked.
“I.... I wanted to....We weren’t finished.”
“Yes,” Clark said firmly. “We were.”
Lana raised her hand to run it through her blond curls, and her winter coat fell open just long enough to reveal a skimpy negligee. Lois’ eyebrows shot up and her jaw dropped as it dawned on her what Lana must have been planning. When it had become clear to her that appealing to Clark’s mind with her brand of “logic” was not going to convince him that they were meant to be together, she had resorted to appealing to his libido.
Lana’s gaze darted back and forth between Lois and Clark, and Lois watched as her confusion morphed into indignant anger.
“You must be crazy! You could have had me and you.... You...”
“I’m sorry, Lana. I’ve already told you, I’m just not interested.”
“You’ll hate yourself for this later,” she spat out. “I was the love of your life.”
“Let’s get something clear, Lana. I am not, was never, and will never be in love with you Lana. As for the love of my life...there is only one woman who lays claim to that title.”
Clark turned and extended his hand to Lois who moved easily into his embrace.
Lana let out a primal scream and yanked the door open, throwing herself out into the night. The door slammed behind her and Lois and Clark stood silent in her wake.
"Believe it or not, she took that better than the last time we broke up," Clark said with a wry grin. After a second, he grew more serious. “I’m sorry you had to be a part of that...of this whole week.”
“I’m not,” Lois replied immediately, taking his hands in hers to offer reassurance when he looked at her confused. “Dealing with Lana has been no piece of cake, and it’s definitely not something I particularly want to live through again, but if she hadn’t come here and shaken things up, who knows how long it would have been before I realized how I felt about you. Maybe I would have waited too long.”
“You could never have waited too long,” he said quietly, letting go of one hand to cup her cheek. “I would have waited forever for you. I love you.”
Lois felt tears prick her eyes as she listened to the raw honesty in his voice. “I love you too, Clark. I’m only sorry it took me this long to realize it.”
Clark bent and kissed her softly. “Let’s forget about Lana.”
“Lana who?” she murmured against his lips, her heart speeding up as she felt his smile grow. After another moment, she pulled away. “Well, now that we’re alone again, what do you want to do?” she asked, his eyes twinkling.
“Oh, I don’t know....” he teased, prompting a smile from her as she reflected on how much she loved the way they were so comfortable with each other already. “I was having fun earlier...watching the movie.”
“Mmm, me too.” Lois laughed, tugging him back toward the couch. “We should watch movies more often.”
His laughter joined hers and soon they were happily distracted, and Lana was the farthest thing from their minds.
