From part 3
"Originally, I had planned to go to the Saturday Evening Poker at the Planet, but since I haven't been to work..."
"We can still go there. We might be a little late, but..."
He didn't stand a chance of continuing any further because Lois interrupted him brusquely, "Oh, and what, exactly, do you think will Perry say? Don't forget that we skipped work today!"
Clark took a deep breath at Lois accusatory tone. "I told Perry everything about your apartment. He'll understand. As for our other colleagues, we can simply claim that we have been up to something. Since they'll believe we were up to something concerning a story, they won't pursue the matter."
Seeing that his reasoning was sound, Lois went to grab her new coat. "You coming, partner?" Shaking his head, Clark made sure to catch up with her before she entered their rental car.
Part 4
**Saturday, late evening**
When Lois and Clark entered the newsroom, they could hear Perry's booming voice coming from the conference room, their usual spot for playing poker. They entered to find Jimmy suffering through one of Perry's 1001 Elvis stories. Jimmy's face lit up at the sight of his senior colleagues.
"Lois, CK, it's *so* good to see you. Playing poker with only two players really sucks."
"It's good to know that you missed us," Lois said, her voice dripping with irony.
"Where have you been all day long?" Jimmy inquired.
Clark shrugged nonchalantly. "Oh, we've been up to something."
"Come on, you can tell me. I thought we were friends," Jimmy implored.
Before Clark could decide on a response, Lois told him, "No way! A magician doesn't tell anybody about his tricks, and a reporter doesn't tell anybody about his budding stories. It's a - law of nature."
This time, Perry inserted himself into the conversation. "Law of nature?" he asked, raising his eyebrows. "Interesting choice of words Lois."
***Saturday, several hous, drinks and rounds of poker later***
The events of the Saturday evening poker had been quite ordinary. As usual, the chips in front of Lois were stacked to unrivaled heights. While Perry and Jimmy had several small stacks in front of them, Clark had retained only a few single chips which he was eying dubiously. It was his turn to bid for the next round, which happened to be the last of the game. Lois was grinning at him with an air of superiority that never failed to make him doubt his chances of winning. The fact that both Jimmy and Perry were peeking at his cards didn't do anything to reassure him, either.
While he was still considering his options, Lois spoke up.
"Hmm, you don't have much to offer, have you?" she teased.
Looking up at her, Clark muttered, "You have no idea. There's a lot I have to offer."
"What might that be? Wanna tell me about it?" Lois inquired.
Clark was not sure what that was supposed to mean. Was it possible that Lois was actually flirting with him? He decided that Lois had had enough drinks to do exactly that, although she was not quite drunk, not yet, anyway. So, Clark pushed his luck.
"A week's worth of cooking dinner?" he offered.
"Including dessert?" Lois batted her eyelashes at Clark. Yes, she was definitely flirting with him.
"Including very chocolaty desserts," Clark confirmed. He knew that nothing could ever compare to chocolate – at least not in Lois' mind, and he wondered whether Lois would take the bait.
Lois didn't need to be told that twice.
"I'll take you up on it."
Perry chuckled in amusement, and Jimmy slapped Clark's shoulder. Absently rubbing his slightly hurting hand, Jimmy said, "You know, CK, the way I see it, this is a classical win-win situation. Either you win seven dates with Lois, or you win seven dates with Lois."
Lois blushed crimson, and Perry was unable to restrain himself. "Son, I think that was the idea..."
Before he could say any more, Lois interrupted him indignantly. "This is *not* about dating, this is about... about *chocolate*!"
"Sure, Lois," Jimmy replied condescendingly. "Why don't you show us your cards?"
Lois threw her cards onto the table. Her hand contained a full house. Clark had a full house in his hand, too, and it was of a slightly higher rank. Jimmy and Perry grinned.
"Hope you enjoy..." Jimmy started with the intention to mock Lois. Just a little, of course, you never knew when her temper would go awry.
"I definitely enjoy cooking," Clark interrupted. Then he threw down his cards face-down and announced with a sigh, "You won." Lois was doing a little dance and completely unaware of Jimmy and Perry both looking at her partner and best friend with mouths hanging open.
"Ck, what..." Jimmy was unable to say more because Perry interrupted him, wearing his no-nonsense look.
"Lois, it's your turn to go to the vending machine!"
"But Clark hasn't gone yet, either!" Lois protested in her best little-girl voice, pouting slightly.
"Lois, *now*!" Perry demanded with all the authority he could muster – which, by the way, was a *lot*. After all, he wasn't new at being editor in chief. Lois knew better than to object when Perry was in his 'I'm-the-boss' mode, so she went out of the conference room. But instead of going to the vending machine, as she was supposed to, she stayed at the door with the intention to eavesdrop.
"CK, I knew you're bad at playing poker, but even you should have realized that your hand was better!" Jimmy admonished. After seeing Clark's knowing grin, he said, "Oh, I get it. You didn't want to suffer her cooking. I see!"
"Jimmy, that's not it," Clark objected.
"Then you've never had to eat anything she has cooked. And you honestly don't want to, trust me on this." Jimmy decided that warning him was the least he could do for Clark. After all, they were best buds.
"Actually, I have. And it was delicious," Clark stated.
Perry conceded, "Well, son, you must be pretty much in love to say that. Lois can't boil water without burning it, much less produce a meal that is edible."
Clark sighed in exasperation. "Chief, it's true. And I'm going to try to make her prepare another turkey this year."
Perry felt that it was his duty to warn this boy. It was the least he could do. "Son, are you sure? That girl in the kitchen is like a bull in a china shop."
"Or like a hedgehog in a condom factory?" Jimmy inserted, grinning from ear to ear. Neither Perry nor Clark could refrain from chuckling.
"You got that right," Perry conceded. "Now, Clark I think it's fine for you to defend her, but," he lowered his voice conspiratorially, "*we* know *better*."
Clark didn't know how to convince them. "Perry, Jimmy, I really, truly mean it. Her cooking isn't all bad."
"If you use *lots* of ketchup!" Jimmy completed Clark's statement. And while the joke was not lost on him, or Perry, for that matter, Clark was still furious.
"Jimmy!" he exclaimed, "This is not funny!" Then, he stormed out of the conference room – or rather, he tried. He was stopped short when he opened the door, and a suspiciously empty-handed Lois fell into his arms. The angry look on her face confirmed his suspicion that she had been there through their whole exchange. He quickly put her back on her feet and announced, "Lois I'm outta here."
"Me, too. Let's go!" Perry and Jimmy could only stare at their retreating backs in amazement. Then, a grin spread over Perry's face. "Finally!" he muttered, grinning from ear to ear. It looked as if his 'children' were finally getting nearer.
Lois and Clark were just outside the office building. Clark's hand was guiding her at the small of her back, as it did so often.
"Is my cooking really that bad?" Lois asked. To Clark, she seemed shaken.
"I told them – as you heard, I suppose – that your turkey was delicious," Clark answered.
"But that's all I can cook." Lois felt like a failure about this.
"You can also prepare chicken salad and three other recipes containing chocolate." He tried to reassure Lois.
"True, but how did you know? I can't remember telling you that," she replied thoughtfully. It dawned on Clark that he had been wearing the suit when she had told him. Silently cursing his flashier self, he tried to correct his mistake.
"Yes, you did. Perhaps you've forgotten? This sort of thing happens all the time."
Lois eyed him dubiously. "Maybe. And I thought you were the most forgetful person in the world." They walked on. After they had passed another block, Lois spoke up again,
"Clark? There is something I don't understand. I mean, you've been to my place quite often, and most of the times I had actually tried to cook, we ended up with take-out for some reason."
"I know. But when you really put some effort into it, you do fairly well in the kitchen. You only lack in experience. That's why you are prone to have all these little accidents."
'Accidents, huh? I like the sound of it. Everybody can have accidents, and it doesn't mean I'm a bad cook. It's all sheer bad luck,' Lois thought. Unconsciously, she cuddled closer to Clark as they were walking home. Obediently, Clark put his arm around Lois' waist. To him, this walk was pure bliss. As it was for Lois, though she wouldn't have admitted it to anybody, including herself.
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tbc
