PREVIOUSLY...
In fact, both were so caught up in the kiss that they failed to hear anyone coming. The conference room door opened with a crash.
Lois leapt out of her chair and spun towards the open door.
Jimmy!
“We were just... I was just... It wasn’t...” Lois hesitated as an awkward silence descended on the room. Deciding that a diversion was her only remaining maneuver since she was never going to be able to explain away what Jimmy had obviously seen, she changed tactics. “So what do you have for us, Jimmy?”
AND NOW...
* * * * * * * * *
Chapter Eight
* * * * * * * * *
“I have information you asked for about Dr. Hamilton,” Jimmy said.
“Thanks, Jimmy,” she responded, not quite able to meet his eyes as she took the file.
But why was she feeling guilty about this? Clark was her husband, for crying out loud! She had every right to kiss her husband - even if Jimmy didn’t know all that.
“Anything else?” Jimmy asked, his tone an accusation.
“Not at the moment,” Lois said. “Thanks, Jimmy.”
Jimmy simply grunted as he turned around and walked from the room, not bothering to shut the door behind him.
Lois stepped forward and slowly closed it before turning around to look at Clark.
“You’re feeling guilty, aren’t you?” Clark said.
“Yes. But, in heaven’s name, I don’t have the foggiest idea why.”
“Well, it could just be the way Jimmy was looking at you.”
“It was more than that, Clark. I felt as if I had just been caught committing treason.”
“Treason?”
“Yes, Clark. Treason. I can’t explain it, but it’s almost as if...” Her voice trailed off.
“You’re feeling two different things,” Clark completed for her.
“Exactly!” she responded. “Part of me knows that you’re my husband and yet another part...”
“...thinks of me as the enemy.”
The expression she shot him was one full of agony. “Not exactly, but... Oh, god, I don’t know how to describe it. I just know that I hate feeling guilty about getting caught kissing my husband. And what if Jimmy tells people what he saw? What if he tells Perry?” She felt panic begin to rise in her chest.
“Lois, calm down. You know that Jimmy would never do that. He’s far too loyal to you.”
“He was in our reality.”
“And he has a bit of a crush on you.”
“You know that?” she asked, suddenly distracted out of her panic. She’d never told Clark about Jimmy’s awkward confession when they’d been tied to Larry Smiley’s lightning rod. So how did Clark know that Jimmy had a crush on her?
Clark chuckled. “Lois, I don’t think there’s anyone at the Planet who doesn’t have a bit of a crush on you. On the other hand, I might be a little bit biased.”
Moisture clouded her vision as her guilt began to melt to be replaced with a feeling of adoration. “You, Clark Kent, are a romantic fool.”
“I hope that’s a good thing.”
She smiled. “Trust me. It is. So... Wait!”
“What?”
“Well... Jimmy. What if in this reality, he and I... It would certainly explain why I felt so guilty when he caught us.”
“You and Jimmy?” Clark asked skeptically.
They both thought about that possibility for a moment.
“Nah,” the both said in unison.
“Okay, so let’s get back to work,” Lois said. “The sooner we get this straightened out, the sooner I can go back to kissing my husband without feeling guilty about it.” She forced herself to push away any lingering feelings of guilt. She was not about to accept the emotions that this new reality seemed to be forcing on her. She was in love with her husband. Deeply, madly, passionately. And no... mistake in the past was going to change that. And besides, with the two of them working together, it wouldn’t be long now before they had everything fixed. “So which should we do first? Do you want to finish figuring out what happened with our investigations of the Metro Gang? Or do you want to look at this file about Dr. Hamilton?”
“Let’s finish up with what we remember about the Metro Gang - to be sure that we don’t forget again. After all, when you were talking, I remembered some things too.”
“Really?”
He nodded before beginning. “I hadn’t been planning to go back to the Metro Club,” he began. “I figured that if the Toasters had hit them, then that indicated that they were victims as much as everyone else in the area.”
“So what changed your mind?”
“Your article. When I saw what you had that I didn’t - that Toni had taken over - I got worried.”
“Worried? Oh, because you were afraid of being scooped.”
“No. I was worried about you. The Metro Gang were mobsters, honey! I wasn’t about to let you investigate them alone.”
Lois looked down, silently chewing on her lower lip. She knew what he was telling her. His concern for her. His feelings, even. And yet, she also knew that she had not returned his feelings. Not at all. In fact, from her recollection, she’d pretty much despised him.
Clark didn’t seem to notice Lois’ distraction as he continued with his thought. “So when Toni Taylor called and said she wanted to see me, I returned to the Metro Club.”
**Things at the Metro Club were looking better than they had the day before. In fact, with a few more hours of work, it would be hard to tell that the place had ever been hit by the Toasters. If not for the fact that the work wasn’t quite finished, and for Clark’s super-nose, he might have been fooled himself. Not that the smells from the fire weren’t being covered up by the noxious paint fumes even as he stood there.
He spotted Toni sitting by the bar talking intently to a man. By the look on her face, and the intensity of her posture, it was obvious this was an important conversation. Clark quickly activated his super hearing.
“Since when is Metro business front page news?” Toni asked.
“Since the Toasters declared war on us,” the man responded.
“I don’t mean that. I mean information that could only have come from our meeting - that I’m the new head of the Metros.”
Uh oh... So Toni Taylor had read Lane’s story.
“Could Johnny have leaked it?” Toni asked.
“Uh uh. We put him on a plane, just like you said.”
“Then it’s someone else. Find him. Fast. We can’t afford this kind of exposure.”
The bartender from the previous night approached the duo cautiously. He waited until Toni looked up at him before speaking. “It’s the guy from last night,” the bartender said, gesturing towards Clark. “You said you wanted to see him?”
Toni looked towards the door and Clark smiled in her direction. “Send him over,” Toni said before turning and dismissing her companion. As Clark walked towards her, he noticed that her eyes didn’t stay on his face. Was she checking him out?**“Yeah. Yeah. Okay, I get it. You got a job as a bartender and Toni had the hots for you. Why don’t you just move on with your story?”
“Are you jealous?” Clark asked, obviously amused.
“Of Toni Taylor? Please! Not then. Not now. It’s just that I already know all that. Let’s get to the parts that are different.”
Clark nodded before jumping ahead in the story. “It was early evening and I had just come back from renting a tux and removing my beard - after all, Toni had instructed me to get some new clothes and a shave - when you approached the bar and asked for a soda.”
**“Coming right up,” Clark said.
At the sound of his voice, Lane looked up at him in surprise.
“What are you doing here?” she blurted out, looking afterwards as if she wished for all the world that she could take the words back.
“My job,” Clark answered. “You’re looking at the Metro Club’s newest bartender.”
“Charlie!” Toni said, coming up to the bar.
“Charlie?” Lane echoed.
“I hardly recognized you,” Toni said.
“Join the club,” Lane breathed only loud enough for Clark to hear.
“Just getting to know the help,” Clark responded.
“Not too well, I hope,” Toni said, giving Lane a dirty look.
“Beat it, kid. I gotta go to work,” Clark said, giving Lane a swat on the butt to dismiss her, determined to stay in character. Still, from the look she gave him in return, the way her eyes smoldered with anger, he had no doubt that she hadn’t appreciated his action.**“Hadn’t appreciated it?” Lois asked. “Clark, I was completely infuriated. Although I’d certainly disagree with you about having ‘smoldering’ eyes. Who even thinks like that?”
“You were infuriated? In our reality or this one?”
“Both. But in this one, it just confirmed what a scumbag you actually were. But skip ahead - to when we got caught in the closet. Or did we? I can’t remember. But something tells me it’s important. Do you remember?”
He nodded before continuing with his story.
**Clark’s eyebrows rose when he saw Lex Luthor enter the club and join Toni at one of the tables. Following the story about the space station, Clark had been keeping an eye on Luthor. But so far, he’d not found any evidence to indicate that Luthor was anything but the philanthropist he portrayed himself to be. But if he was meeting with the new leader of the Metro Club, something was going on. Something had to be. After all, wasn’t Luthor currently buying up real estate in Riverview for some big redevelopment project he had planned?
He tuned in his superhearing to eavesdrop on the conversation. But before he could hear what they were talking about, a drum roll caused him to flinch and cover his ears. That had actually managed to hurt!
“Ladies and Gentlemen,” an announcer said, “the Metro Club proudly presents Miss Lola Dane.”**“Skip ahead, Clark,” Lois demanded. “Luthor showed up. I sang ‘I’ve Got a Crush on You’ and... what happened next?”
“Well, for a moment I didn’t make the connection that you knew Luthor. After all, for all I knew, you and Luthor had never met. But then I saw you falter when you spotted him in the crowd. Nice recovery, by the way. That was when I remembered seeing you dancing with him at the White Orchid Ball. So I realized that he knew who you were. And he was meeting with Toni Taylor. So as soon as your number was over, I rushed back stage.”
**“Ms. Lane,” Clark said, causing Lane to spin towards him.
“It’s Ms. Dane,” she hissed at him.
“Sorry... I...” His voice trailed off as he took in the image of her in that evening dress. He couldn’t help but slowly run his eyes down her body to take in the full picture.
“What?”
Clark was jolted back to the world around him by the sound of her voice. What was it about this woman that flustered him whenever he was in her presence? So... what had he wanted to say again? You look beautiful? Well, she did. But he didn’t think she’d exactly appreciate the compliment. I never realized how sexy you were? And she was, too. Soft. Seductive.**Clark smiled when his wife stroked his cheek. After taking a moment to lean over and give her a kiss, he returned to his story.
**“What?” she demanded again, more impatiently this time.
“Uhh...”
Lane began to walk away when he suddenly remembered what he had wanted to say. But did he dare say it out there? He grabbed her arm, pulling her into a supply closet.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing, Kent?”
“Luthor! Didn’t you see him?”
“Of course I saw him.”
“Get out of here now. Don’t even stop to get your things.”
“What are you trying to do? Scare me off this story. Lex Luthor is a friend of mine. He would never do anything to hurt me and he’s way too smart to let anything slip.”
“I don’t trust him.”
“Well, I don’t trust you, so I guess we’re even.”
“What is he doing here anyway?”
“If I knew, do you think I’d tell you? Now if you don’t mind, I’ve got to get ready for my next number.”
She broke Clark’s hold on her and turned towards the door when it suddenly flew open, revealing that Toni was standing in the doorway.
“Interesting place for a bartender,” Toni said. “Run out of olives?”**“You didn’t,” Lois said, interrupting Clark’s story when it suddenly occurred to her what must have come next. He’d done the same thing as he’d done in their reality.
Clark cringed. “I’m afraid so.”
‘Clark, it was bad enough when we were on the same team. But to turn me in when we were working for different papers...” Lois fell silent as she suddenly remembered for herself what happened next.
**“Here she is,” Kent said, holding onto Lois. “Your leak. Lois Lane, reporter for the Daily Planet.”
Lois was furious. He’d been warning her to get out before Lex could betray her and now he was doing the exact same thing. How dare he? For all he knew, Toni was mentally fitting her for concrete shoes even now.**“But if I recall correctly,” Clark said slowly, searching this new memory. “This time, you didn’t exactly go quietly.”
Lois nodded slowly as she too recalled the altered events.
**“Traitor!” Lois exclaimed, as she attempted to jerk her arm out of Kent’s grasp.
“Guess I’ll have to find another singer,” Toni said. “Good work.”
“Maybe you should find another bartender, too,” Lois responded. “Allow me to introduce you to Clark Kent, reporter for The Metropolis Star.”**“I can’t believe you did that,” Clark said, bringing both of them back to the present.
“I can’t believe ‘you’ did that,” Lois responded. “What else was I supposed to do? You were kicking me out of the game. There was no way I could let you get away with that.”
“I would have given you any information I got. We were a team.”
“No we weren’t, Clark! That’s the whole point, isn’t it?”
Clark let out a breath. She was right. They weren’t a team. Not in this reality. In this new reality, they were rivals.
“Besides, that was, at least in my mind, the second time you had turned me in. I had to answer back. I had to let you know that you couldn’t do that to me and walk away scot free.”
“The second time?”
“The first time was when you told officials that I had snuck onto the shuttle. But I told you that later that same evening,” she said, thinking back once again. “I phoned Jimmy and told him I needed your address.’”
**“Clark Kent?” Jimmy asked.
“Yeah - he works for the Metropolis Star.”
“Can you hold for a minute?”
“Sure.”
She waited impatiently in the phone booth across from the Metropolis Club, brushing the rotting vegetables out of her evening dress. She was never going to get this dress clean again.
Still, Kent had taken the worst of it. When one of the Metro Gang’s thugs had grabbed her to toss her over his shoulder, not exactly caring where his hands landed, Kent had put up quite a struggle. She’d seen them land several blows to his face and torso. He’d only quit struggling when she’d been tossed into the dumpster. It was almost as if he hadn’t been concerned about himself - that his struggle had been because he believed that she was in danger.
She quickly pushed that thought from her mind. He’d been just as scared as she had. It really was a wonder that they were both still alive. Although, really, it wasn’t as if either of them had anything solid linking the Metro Gang to the Toasters. In fact, all of the evidence seemed to go in the opposite direction.
Not that Toni Taylor would have known that. Or would she? After all, if either of them had the evidence they needed, they’d have left in order to write up the story.
So really, it wasn’t exactly surprising that they had both been allowed to walk away, relatively unscathed. On the other hand, these were mobsters. And traditionally, mobsters were not known for being exactly appreciative of having people snoop into their business.
“So why do you need this?” Jimmy asked curiously, bringing Lois’ mind back to the person on the other end of the line.
“Kent blew my cover. Metro Gang now knows who I am,” Lois said.
“What? Is he working with them or something? Does he have any idea how dangerous that was? You are all right, aren’t you? We aren’t going to be pulling you out of Hobb’s Bay in the morning, are we?”
“I’m fine, Jimmy. I wouldn’t say the same for Kent when I get through with him.”
Jimmy chuckled. “Okay, I got the address. You got a pen.”
“I’ll remember it.”
“Okay, it’s 377 Clinton Avenue.”
“Got it. Thanks, Jimmy.”
“No problem. And don’t worry. If Kent’s body turns up somewhere tomorrow morning, I’ll deny this conversation ever happened.”
Lois smiled for the first time since Kent had gotten them kicked out of the club. For heaven’s sake, why couldn’t he have faked them sharing a moment of passion? She shivered suddenly. What was she thinking? A moment of passion with that slimy pig?
No! Never! The man might be... okay looking - if you liked that sort of guy, which she most definitely did not. But even if she had, he was a complete snake. He’d do anything to make sure she couldn’t get the story - even endanger her life. There was no way she could ever be attracted to a creep like that.**“Wait a minute!” Clark exclaimed suddenly. “I remember what happened next.”
**Clark pounded his fists down on the counter-top in his kitchen, only remembering at the last moment to temper his strength enough to prevent him from putting his fists through the surface. How could he have been so stupid? Blowing her cover, the very thing he’d been afraid that Luthor would do. And as a result, getting them both forcefully thrown out of there. He was only lucky that they hadn’t been fitted for cement shoes. He should have pretended they were sharing a moment of passion or something.
Not that Lane would have liked him any better if he’d done that. But their covers wouldn’t have been blown. And... he’d have at least gotten that one moment, that one kiss, to relish. Because it was obvious to him now that he had one heck of a crush on Lois Lane. The fact that she couldn’t stand him seemed to have no effect on his feelings. Watching her sing, seeing her body move seductively to the music... For a moment there, he’d actually forgotten why they were there. All he’d wanted was for her to be singing those very tantalizing words to him instead of to Lex Luthor.**“Wait a minute!” Lois exclaimed. “I wasn’t singing those words to Lex.”
“No?” he asked skeptically. “That’s not how it looked to me - once you got over the shock of seeing him, of course.”
“It was just a song, Clark. A song. Do you understand that?”
He raised his eyebrows.
She rolled her eyes in response. “Okay, so get on with your story,” she finally said.
**An insistent pounding on the door startled him out of his thoughts. He slipped his glasses down his nose and stared in disbelief as the door faded away and he saw Lois Lane standing outside. What could she possibly want?
Quickly, he bounded up the steps and opened the door.
“Are you insane?” she asked from outside his door.
“What?”
“I think it was a fairly straight forward question, Kent.” She folded her arms across her chest. “We could both have been killed. Did you even think of that?”
Clark rolled his eyes, turning and walking back into his apartment. He was not about to stand on his doorstep and have a screaming match. If she wanted to continue yelling at him, then she could come inside.
Although, why he was not just closing his door on her, he wasn’t entirely certain. Maybe it was because he suspected she’d just yell at him through the door. Or... much more likely, it was because he liked the way his heart raced when she was anywhere in the vicinity - even if she was yelling at him.
As expected, she followed, slamming the door closed behind her.
“You rotten, back-stabbing piece of slime. You know, Kent, some people might be fooled by that innocent, boyish exterior. But not me. I know better.”
“Would you like some tea, Ms. Lane. It’s a calming herbal blend. I learned it from a medicine man in Fiji. The secret is the fresh mint.”
“I don’t suppose you care, but you’ve completely blown the story. For both of us.”
“I don’t suppose you care, but I really liked your song.”
“What!” she exclaimed.
“You have a really great singing voice.”
“What is this? You think I’m going to forget that you betrayed me by tossing out a few disposable compliments that you don’t even mean my way? You really are an arrogant jerk, Kent.”
“I do mean them, Lane,” Clark responded, emphasizing her last name the way she had his.
“Yeah, sure. Well, okay then,” Lane said sarcastically. “No problem. I’ll forget all about how close you came to getting us both killed - after all, you liked my singing.”
Clark obviously infuriated her when he smiled in response.
“What are you smiling about?” Lane demanded immediately. “Don’t you even recognize sarcasm when you hear it?”
“Hey, I took the brunt of the abuse they were handing out. And that wasn’t because of my actions. You betrayed me too, Lane.”**“So you’re calling me ‘Lane’ now,” Lois said, interrupting Clark’s story. “Whatever happened to ‘Ms. Lane?’”
“You’re calling me Kent,” he responded. “Now, are you going to let me get on with the story, or do you want to do it?”
“I’ll do it,” Lois said before proceeding to do just that.
**“Of course I betrayed you,” she said in disbelief. “That’s the second time you’ve turned me in. Next time all I need to do is to find a way to betray you first - and then at least we’ll be even. The fact that you got beaten up worse than I did is...” Her voice trailed off in confusion. He didn’t look beaten up. And she’d seen some of those blows he’d suffered. Her defiant expression turned thoughtful as she studied his face. Not a scratch that she could see. No bruises. No bloody lip. Nothing.
“How come you’re not beaten up?” she suddenly blurted out, unable to help herself.
“What?” he asked, but there was something in his expression... fear? ...that told her she was onto something important.
“Your face. You don’t have a scratch on you.” She knew she was making it sound like an accusation. But... there was something wrong with this picture.
“Uhh... well, they didn’t hit me in the face,” he responded.
“Really?”
Without thinking it through, she stepped forward, and with lightning speed, grabbed the edges of his shirt and tore it open. Buttons popped off in all sorts of directions and she was suddenly staring at the most amazing chest she’d ever seen. Hard pecks. Washboard abs. Was that really a six pack? God, he looked like he’d been carved out of a piece of flawless marble. Without her realizing what she was doing, her eyes took a slow path down his chest, taking in every detail. Her mouth went dry and she had to mentally command her mouth to close.
“What are you doing?” Kent demanded.
“I’m... I’m... Uhh...” She blinked, forcing her mind off his muscles. After all, he was a creep. Now, why had she done that again? Oh, right. “Then why aren’t there any bruises on your chest either?” She watched as Kent stepped back, pulling on the edges of his shirt uncomfortably.
“I don’t bruise easily. You almost sound disappointed. I was trying to protect you, if you must know.”
“Right!” Lois said, regaining her balance. “Like you weren’t just as terrified as I was that they were looking for a couple of pairs of cement shoes.”
“What was I supposed to do, Lane? She knew there was a leak. When she caught us together, I didn’t have much choice. If you’d just kept your mouth shut, I would have shared whatever information I found with you.”
“Yeah, right,” she said on a half-snort. “And I suppose you’ve got a bridge in Brooklyn you’d like to sell me, too. Or maybe you prefer selling swamp land in Florida.”
“If you’re so smart, what would you have done?” he demanded, frustration rising in his voice.
“I’d have faked that we were sharing a moment of passion! Don’t you have the least bit of imagination? Or don’t you know what it is to have a ‘moment of passion?’ Not that I’d expect you to. After all, who would sleep with you?”
With her final words, something inside him snapped. He stormed in her direction, grabbing her shoulders and, before she could stop him, his lips claimed hers. He’d planned to pull back immediately, to ask her if that was what she meant - along with some witty comment about ‘faking it.’ But then his lips were on hers and, after a moment of shock, he realized that she was responding, fisting her hands in his shirt as her lips began to move under his.
Oh, yes. Without his consciously commanding them to do it, Clark’s hands left her shoulders, slipping down to wrap around her, pulling her to him. He groaned when, even as their kiss deepened, he felt her hands inside the open edges of his torn shirt.**TO BE CONTINUED...
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