OK, I had such a great experience with my first fanfic that I've decided to keep at it.
This time I'm trying something a little less introspective and a little more interactive. It's a lot of fun putting characters into a room and letting them have at each other. Also, this time I've gotten a little bit racier, so be warned. I'm looking at something around PG or PG-13!
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Anyway, this story is set about two months after the “Lucky Leon” episode. However, it takes a look at how things might have gone after Lois and Clark’s first date if Mayson Drake had not been killed in a terrible car explosion, and even more importantly, if Clark and Lois had never had their walk and talk after the unfortunate door slamming incident. It’s all about having something you don’t want and wanting something that you don’t have.
Standard Disclaimer applies: All characters from “Lois and Clark” are the property of Warner Brothers and DC Comics. The song “Starwood In Aspen” music and lyrics written by John Denver. The story idea is mine, and no infringement on anyone’s copyrights is intended.
Starwood In Aspen
By Lynn M.
PART 1
When the elevator doors slid open with a mechanical grind and a retractive jerk, Lois took an almost imperceptible step to the right, moving just enough to dislodge Dan Scardino’s arm from its comfortable perch across her shoulders. The offending limb fell heavily, and he gave her a sideways glance. She stared straight ahead, lips pursed, pointedly ignoring the stare he’d fixed on her cheekbone.
His gaze failing to receive the desired reaction, Dan, a danger-lover by nature, gave voice to his suspicions. “Lois, if I didn’t know better, I’d think you were trying to hide something…”
“Dan, we’ve been over this,” she interrupted over her shoulder as she exited the elevator. “I’m not hiding anything. It’s nobody’s business what I do outside of the office.”
They’d discussed it before, her aversion to public displays of affection at the Daily Planet. Dan saw nothing wrong with a peck on the lips or an arm draped possessively across her shoulders as the entire staff watched and took notes while she inwardly cringed and suppressed the urge to crawl under her desk. With a determination that she suspected was born more of her own irritated reaction to the discussion than any real opinion on the matter, Dan persisted in trying to convince her that it made her appear more, well, human, to her fellow coworkers if she were seen engaging in, well, actual human behaviours.
After several rounds of point/counterpoint, she’d played the it’s-MY-place-of-employment trump card, insisting that he just respect her wishes. Mad Dog Lane would be reduced to Puppy Love Lane quicker than Perry White could snatch up a banana cream donut if she was seen engaging in hugs, kisses and hand-holdings.
Besides, it went against every fiber in her independent being to attach herself to a man in such a public fashion. Strolling along the street holding hands wasn’t a sign of affection. It was an annoying display of self-absorption as some dewy-eyed couple took up too much room across the sidewalk. Kisses that turned into make-out sessions on a park bench, hands placed intimately in a mate’s back pocket. This was stuff that the MPAA deemed inappropriate for kids under seventeen, so why should she have to watch it? Her particular pet peeve was the freakish sight of a couple smashed together on the driver’s side of a pick-up truck, the asymmetrical silhouette of bodies weighing down one half of the cab as if a piece of chewed gum made the passenger’s seat uninhabitable. What kind of needy, sex-starved people were these hillbillies, anyway? Boyfriend or no, she wasn’t about to become one of them.
Lois’s eyes swept the expanse of the bullpen, barely lingering on the desk set a scant ten feet from her own. Empty. Duly noted by her subconscious, she relaxed slightly and turned to give Dan an apologetic smile, placing her hand on his arm as added balm to soothe the sting of her rejection. “Thanks for lunch.”
“Don’t thank me yet,” he offered with a wide grin. “Service is door to door.” He gestured down the stairs toward her desk, placing a hand on the small of her back and giving a gentle nudge to propel her forward.
His easy forgiveness warmed her heart and confirmed her suspicions that her public display of indifference really didn’t wound him very deeply. Dan Scardino loved life too much to waste energy on small annoyances. Other than the criminals he encountered in the line of duty, there was very little about the world that could generate any negative energy in the man. It wasn’t that he had no passions. It was simply that he was fine with the old adage “live and let live.” Dan felt no need to convince anyone that his view was the right one. He knew who he was and had the confidence not to care what others thought of him, nor the desire to convert anyone to his way of thinking.
As she journeyed to her desk and opened the bottom drawer to deposit her small clutch, Lois tried to remember if they’d quarreled at all in the eight weeks they’d been dating. Nope, never a disagreement that she’d term a bona fide argument. Debates and animated discussions, certainly, but nothing with a volume over five to be sure. They got a long just perfectly, as it should be.
“So, about tonight,” he started as she picked up the short stack of phone messages sitting atop her inbox. “Pick you up at five?” He poked at the crisp grayish-green leaves of the dead ivy lingering on the corner of her desk, another casualty of Lois’s brown thumb. “Plant’s dead.”
“Mmmm, yeah,” she murmured, her attention on the blue and white message forms. Her dentist office, confirming her appointment for next Tuesday. Lucy. Wonder what that’s about? Bobby Big Mouth returning her call about the…she jerked her head up. “No, wait. Better make it six. Or maybe even seven.”
Like clouds rolling in to cover the sun, Dan’s expectant smile was replaced with a scowl. “Lois, it’s gonna take at least two hours to get there. More if there’s weather.” His complaint bordered on petulant, and she struck away the annoyance that bit at her.
It made sense that he would be disappointed. They’d been planning this weekend for a month. It meant a lot to him. To her, too. Yes, of course, it was important to her. And she was disappointed, just like Dan.
But this was the call she’d been waiting on for nearly two days. The last check before she could sew up the Senator Steinman bribery exposé. The familiar tingle of anticipation fired in her chest over the prospect of meeting with Bobby Big Mouth and having all of her facts confirmed. It was the thrill that she lived for, that drove her. Weekend plans or no, this was just too important. A twinge of guilt plucked at her stomach, and that fact irritated her more than the unplanned delay.
“I’m sorry. I have to meet with this source. It’s already after two, and by the time I track him down and get all of the food…” she explained the time math as gently as she could. “This is going to take some time.”
“Can’t it wait until Monday?” Dan asked, like a child hoping that his parent would relent and give in on the extra hour before bedtime.
She shook her head. “Nope. If I don’t catch Bobby today, we’ll miss the chance to run in the Sunday edition. By Monday, this’ll be old news.” She hated the fact that she had to justify herself. She was a reporter, and the story came first. It wasn’t the first time they’d had to postpone plans and it certainly wouldn’t be the last. The sooner Dan came to understand that reality, the better off he’d be.
Dan sighed, out of arguments and resigned. “I was hoping we’d be up there in time for an early dinner. Some wine. Maybe some dancing. A little…you know…”
Lois felt her face flush. “Dan! Shhh!” She glanced around to see if the Planet’s ears had perked up. “I don’t want to be today’s fodder for the gossip column.”
He followed her eyes around the pen, his frown twisting upward into a devilish grin. “What? Are you trying to tell me you’ve got a reputation to protect? Lois Lane, hard hitting journalist, sacrifices all for the story. Doomed to remain forever chaste…”
“No!” she protested with a hiss. “I just don’t want every ninny in this place whispering at the copy machine about how I ran off for a weekend just to get some…some…peace and quiet…” she finished lamely.
Dan reached for the hand she used to pluck the miniscule bits of gum residue from the prepadded telephone message forms, stilling it until she lifted her eyes to his smiling face. “Lois, I’m sure these people have more interesting things to talk about than your…” he dropped his voice to an exaggerated whisper, “…sex life. Or should I say, lack thereof.”
The subtle stress placed on his final words caused her to redden and look away from the eyes that now held an expectant heat. It was another point of…debate…that they’d touched upon gingerly over the last eight weeks. More so recently as the planned weekend approached and with it all of their mutual expectations.
For reasons she couldn’t explain to herself and translated into lame excuses offered to Dan, their relationship had remained several notches below intimate. There had been deep kisses and many caresses that threatened to lead to more, but always she’d backed away with a gentle press of her palm against his chest and a murmured “Not yet.” Dan had been patient, but even she had to admit that enough was enough.
This weekend away held two purposes. By booking the cabin for two nights, the intention that finally they would take the giant plunge to the next level in their relationship was clearly understood by both even if still left unspoken. Days spent together would lead to evenings spent together and then nights spent together.
All the way together.
So together that she’d visited Victoria’s Secret and picked up a new black teddy, intentionally resisting the urge to buy the matching robe. With a forced smile, she’d assured the sales girl three times and herself several more that she wouldn’t need it. Not
this weekend.
The second agenda, known only by Lois’s inner workings, was less physical but no less important to her. After eight weeks, she’d mentally accepted that Dan was her boyfriend. They dated. They called each other at work. He knew that she liked coleslaw on her pastrami and hated walking around in wet socks. His number was programmed into her cell phone and she’d met his dog. She accepted his dangerous job and he accepted her stubborn insistence on paying for dinner at least half the time. All of the details had been covered.
There was only the matter of this last, little chore and then her heart would accept him as well. The last item on her list could be checked off with a flourish. When she returned to the Planet on Monday, she felt certain that she would glow with the aura of a woman truly in love. That, and she’d hopefully be a little bit more relaxed, tensions relieved in ways that they hadn’t been in far too long, she admitted to herself ruefully.
Now, desperate to regain control of a conversation that was veering far off the rails of her comfort level for such a public place, Lois ignored the intended slight. “Dan, this is just a delay, not a catastrophe. If we leave here by seven, we’ll arrive in time for a late dinner. Or we can pick up something on our way out of town…”
“I know, Lois,” he admitted with a wicked grin, his hand squeezing hers. “It wasn’t the dinner and the dancing I was looking forward to, anyway. Guess it doesn’t matter if we’re late for…”
“Late for what?”
Lois jumped when the familiar drawl sounded right behind her. She felt an uncontrollable tightening in her stomach, her shoulders involuntarily pulling back to stiffen her spine. Damn! She’d hoped Dan would be gone so that she could avoid this…
“Kent.” Dan nodded at Clark, his boyish grin narrowing to a smirk that held none of its former warmth.
“Scardino,” Clark replied. Still at her back, Lois couldn’t see his face, but his voice held derision. As if a male lion entered the domain of a rival, the air filled with a sudden electric menace. “Late for what?” he asked again.
“Nothing – “ she started as Dan’s words fell on top of her denial and smothered it.
“Lois and I are going away this weekend,” Dan answered with what Lois thought was more than a small amount of boastfulness. “A few hours later than planned, so it seems.”
When she turned around to explain, Lois stepped back when she nearly crashed into Clark’s broad chest. She hadn’t realized he was so close. He reached a hand out to steady her, then quickly removed it when he was assured she wouldn’t land on the floor in an undignified puddle. The heat from his hand where he’d grasped her arm lingered, as if she’d been burned through the fabric of her black cashmere sweater. She resisted the urge to place her own hand over the spot as if she could trap that warmth and keep it from fading.
“Bobby Big Mouth called. He has time to meet this afternoon. I need to show him the photo of Nelson and confirm that he’s the same guy that Senator Steinman paid to buy off Charles Dormann.” She prayed that Clark would be so distracted by her news that he wouldn’t expect details about her weekend. She hadn’t told him she was going away. After all, it was none of his business. Not anymore.
“I can do it. Meet with Bobby…” Clark offered in that friendly, helpful way that for some reason irritated her more than usual.
“No. It’s OK.” She pasted a smile on her face, hoping to mask the annoyance that flooded through her at his interference. “You don’t need to do that.”
“Really, I don’t want you to get a late start on your weekend.” His offer sounded magnanimous, but Lois detected the hint of sarcasm that she’d come to know well. Her fury mounted as he winked at her, his eyes snapping in a knowing way while he tried to hide the smile that tugged at the corners of his mouth. He was mocking her!
“That’s big of you, Kent.” Dan nodded, clearly pleased that Clark offered a solution to the problem that moments before had been insurmountable.
“No, Clark, I think I should meet with him,” Lois protested again, a little more vehemently although she kept the bright smile for Dan’s benefit. “I wouldn’t want this to fall apart now…”
“Lois,” Clark rolled his dark brown eyes, “I’m perfectly capable of talking to Bobby by myself. I think I’ve advanced past the point where I need a babysitter.”
Lois clenched her teeth, resisting the urge to scream. She took a deep breath and applied her I’m-a-consummate-professional approach. “I still have some finishing touches to put on the story. I was just waiting to meet with Bobby, so really, I should stay to finish this up.”
Clark’s brows lowered in exaggerated confusion but the knowing twinkle still shimmered in his eyes. “Geez, Lois, it almost sounds like you’re trying to…”
“No, I’m not!” she shouted. Noticing that several people had stopped their work to watch the scene unfolding at her desk, she lowered to a strident whisper. “It’s just, I’ve put a lot of time into this, and I don’t want to leave it hanging. It’s my name on the by-line, and I should be the one to put it to bed.”
She added a sharp glare at Clark as she bit out the last words, daring him to cross her. Clark gave Dan the I-tried-to-help-you-out-pal shrug, and Lois glanced at her boyfriend, blinking at the confused amusement on his face. She offered him a weak smile, suddenly embarrassed by her vehemence. Following his gaze, she realized that during her exchange with Clark, she’d crumpled her phone messages into her tightly clenched fist. With a disgusted snort, she tossed the blue and white paper ball onto her desk and crossed her arms defensively.
“So, where are you two going, anyway?” Clark shoved his hands in his pockets and rocked back and forth from his heels to his toes, apparently not satisfied with the havoc he’d already caused. Lois flashed him another glare, trying to shoot daggers from her eyes and straight into his thick skull.
“Skiing,” Dan supplied, still looking at Lois with an odd bemused expression. Then he turned his attention to the man who wouldn’t get the hint. “There’s a little resort a couple hours north of here. It’s no Aspen, but there’s about a dozen runs and some great views. You ski, Kent?”
Lois laughed out loud. “Dan, Kansas isn’t exactly known for its skiing.”
“I’ve skied,” Clark stated, ignoring her pointed jab at his home state.
“You have?” Lois gaped her surprise. The thought of Clark swishing down the slopes was hard to imagine. He did have a muscular physique, she acknowledged, but the actual participation in athletic activities didn’t seem to be very Clark-like. He just wasn’t competitive enough. Clark took the phrase “good-sport” to a new level.
“Yep.” Clark affirmed. Lois and Dan stared at him in stunned silence. He nodded slowly, looking at them as if they were addled. “Alps. Pyrenees. Andes. You know. Skiing?”
“Mostly bunny hills, then?” Dan guessed with a snort.
Clark released a single laugh. “Yeah, right.”
Lois felt the tension again, the heavy air of two rams about to butt their horns together in a display of supreme male stupidity. She almost expected them to whip out their…skis and compare lengths.
“Well, after the Alps, I’m sure that the place we’re going is pretty tame,” Dan speculated.
“I know the resort. Not bad skiing for this area,” Clark noted agreeably. “Of course, it’s nothing like Kansas skiing!”
“Maybe you should come along,” Dan suggested, and Lois gaped at him in horror. What in the world was he doing!? “There’s plenty of room in the place. It’s actually a double cabin that shares a living room and kitchen. Been there a couple of times with some guys on the force. Lois tells me she can ski, but I have my doubts. It’d be nice to have someone along who can tackle the black diamonds.”
Lois stared at Dan, amazed. He was serious. “Dan, I don’t think Clark wants to go with us. Do you, Clark?” she stammered, searching desperately for a way to undo the idiotic thing that Dan had done. “I mean, you probably have plans this weekend. Or…or…maybe your parents are in town?”
Clark looked up into the air as if consulting an imaginary calendar. “Nope. No big plans.”
“There you go.” Dan gestured at Clark, proud of his accomplishment. “Of course, I gotta warn you, Kent. Once the sun sets, you’re on your own for entertainment. Lois and I got big plans.”
“Dan!” She was surprised that he didn’t give Clark a big wink and a heavy know-what-I’m-talking-about nudge. This was going from bad to worse, and she was powerless to stop it. Turning to Clark, she nearly pleaded for him to catch her barely veiled hints. “Clark, really, I don’t think this is a good idea.”
“Why not?” Both Dan and Clark asked in unison, and she suddenly felt as if the two had planned this whole thing from the beginning. It was some sort of conspiracy to drive her crazy.
She took a deep breath and tried to sound reasonable. “Well…well…he’s going to feel like a third wheel. You know, ski lifts are made for two, and I wouldn’t want Clark to have to ride up by himself all the time. And I’ll bet the cabin doesn’t even have a TV. I mean, what’s he going to do when it’s too dark to ski?” With a slight incline of her head, she leaned toward Dan and lowered her voice. “Besides, Dan, I thought that this was our chance to get away.
Alone,” she stressed.
“Hmmm. Yeah. You got a point,” Dan conceded, and Lois felt a momentary wave of relief. Finally, he was coming to his senses and would retract his offer. “So, Kent, you got a girl?”
Lois froze, disbelieving that this conversation had taken another tragic turn. Now not only had Dan invited Clark to come along, he was telling him to bring a date? She tried to remember how many drinks Dan had had at lunch. Anything to explain his sudden loss of any kind of intelligence.
With a flash, she saw a way out. Clark could never manage to get date this late in the day. She grasped the lifeline, shaking her head sadly and clicking her tongue in mock disappointment. “Yeah! Too bad you can’t get a date. So last minute and all.”
“I can get a date,” Clark supplied.
“Clark, it’s almost three. Who would you get on such short notice?” Lois asked, incredulous.
“I can get a date,” he insisted, and she wasn’t sure but it looked like he puffed out his chest.
“Great!” Dan’s enthusiasm almost matched Lois’s building panic. “Call her up. There’s plenty of room. It’ll be fun. Besides, I’ve been telling Lois here that we should spend some time with her friends. She’s starting to give me a complex, keeping me hidden like I have two heads or something.”
Both men laughed like two fraternity brothers contemplating a great keg party, and once again, Lois wondered if this whole thing hadn’t been prearranged. It was pretty close to her worst nightmare. A weekend with Clark and his…date.
“Clark, really, you don’t have to…” She tried one last time but all of the fight had gone out of her. Short of an avalanche or a sudden heat-wave, they were all going to go skiing. Together.
“No. I’d love to join you.” His comment was directed at Lois, and this time he didn’t try to control the dazzling smile that showed nearly every one of his perfect teeth. It was a grin of victory, and Lois felt thoroughly defeated.
Dan was speaking, and Lois forced herself to tune in. He was probably offering to let Clark and his
girl share their bedroom. “I’ll tell you what. I’ll head up there now. I just need to check in at the office, and then I’ll try to beat some of the traffic, maybe get a couple of runs in.” He turned to Lois. “You and Clark and…”
“Mayson,” Clark supplied.
Lois winced at the sound of the assitant D.A.’s name. Of all the people she least wanted to spend five minutes with much less an entire weekend…
“Right…Mayson,” Dan continued. “You three can come on up when you’re finished with your source. That way you don’t have to ride up alone.”
“Um…well…I guess,” Lois stammered.
Happy with the way things had turned out, Dan’s smile was wide and genuine. “Sounds like a plan. See ‘ya tonight, Kent.”
“Scardino,” Clark repeated his greeting of earlier, but this time it held no sarcasm. She wanted to smack the goofy smile from his face and clenched her hand into a tight fist to resist the urge.
Lois walked numbly with Dan to the bottom of the stairs. What had just happened? In less than five minutes, her romantic weekend away with Dan had become the double date from hell with Clark Kent and Mayson Drake. A flash of anger filled her and she directed it all on the man grinning at her like he’d just arranged a nuclear disarmament treaty. “Dan! Why’d you invite Clark? I thought this weekend was about…well, you know…”
“Lois, the cabin has two huge bedrooms separated by a lot of space,” he tried to placate her. “And unless you’re trying to tell me that you’re incredibly loud…”
“No, of course not!” she fumed, flushing yet again in embarrassment. “But I don’t know if I’m going to be feeling very…romantic…with my partner and his…partner…in the room down the hall doing what it is that we’re supposed to be doing.”
Dan took a step back and study her face thoughtfully. The same bemused expression that he’d worn earlier during her volley with Clark brought his eyebrows down, but he maintained the sly grin. “Why would it bother you if Clark and Mayson are…doing what we’re supposed to be doing? I mean, he’s just your work partner, right?”
“Of course he’s just my work partner,” she protested heatedly. “And I don’t care what he and Mayson do when they’re together. They can hang from the ceiling for all I care.”
“Good. Then it shouldn’t be a problem.” Dan sighed and put his hands on her upper arms, rubbing them lightly in a reassuring gesture. “Lois, I think having another couple along might lessen the pressure a little. Get the focus off…well, you know. You need to relax. You do know how to do that, don’t you?”
Lois crossed her arms, still angry although she was no longer sure who she was angry with. “I know how to relax. But there’s a time and a place for everything, and this weekend isn’t about relaxing.”
“It’s not?”
She rolled her eyes and sighed loudly. “Well, you know what I mean.”
“Listen,” he gave her arms a squeeze then dropped his hands, “give me a call when you get on the road so I know when to expect you.”
She hesitated a moment, as if she might be reconsidering the entire weekend. Finally, she relented. “OK.”
“Lois, we’re going to have a great time. Trust me.” With a brotherly chuck under her chin, Dan gave her a dazzling grin then took the stairs two at a time, waving at her before the elevator doors shut and took him out of sight.
Lois stared at the elevator doors for a moment, then turned with a huff and marched directly to Clark’s desk. The anger that she’d directed at Dan but had not been completely spent now found its outlet on the man setting his phone back on its cradle. “Way to go, Clark!”
At the sound of her strident reprimand, Clark looked up. “What? What’d I do?” he asked, his mask of innocence fueling her anger until it regained its earlier intensity.
“You know very well what you did!” She placed her hands akimbo on her hips and tapped her foot on the linoleum. “You’re horning in on my weekend with Dan, trying to ruin it.”
“Ruin it?” Clark repeated. “Hey, I didn’t invite myself up there, Lois. It was your boyfriend who suggested it.”
“Yeah, well you didn’t have to be so agreeable,” she shot back. “Geez, Clark, you practically drooled at the chance to bring Mayson along. What a coup for you, scoring a great weekend away with your girlfriend.”
“Exaggerate much, Lois? In fact, it seemed to me like it was Scardino who drooled at the prospect of us coming along.” He stood, placing his hands on his hips, meeting her challenge. “Maybe you want to think about why he felt compelled to invite another couple on your weekend getaway in the first place.”
Lois gasped. “And just what are you implying?”
He paused for a split second, letting the momentary silence speak volumes. “Nothing.”
“That’s what I thought.” She glared at him.
“Fine!” He crossed his arms and glared at her in return. Stalemate.
The silence stretched over a few minutes and neither one would break the icy glare passing between them. Lois fumed at Clark’s implied conclusion that Dan felt the need for a buffer couple. How dare he suggest that Dan didn’t want to be alone with her. Of all the nerve! If only he knew how badly Dan wanted to be alone with her!
Finally Clark released a big sigh. “I don’t know why its such a big deal if we come along. Dan didn’t seem to mind.”
“Dan’s a nice guy. He wouldn’t want to hurt your feelings,” Lois explained. Feeling petulant, she didn’t try to hide the pout that tugged on her lower lip. She didn’t much care if she was a professional or even a grown up. “This was supposed to be a big weekend for us and now it’s ruined thanks to you.”
“A big weekend?” Clark’s eyebrows went up and a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth again.
“Yes, a big weekend.” Lois looked away, unable to meet his mocking brown eyes. “Dan and I …well, we haven’t…and this weekend we’re going to…”
“Build a snowman?” Clark choked as he held back a laugh.
“No, Clark! You know very well what people do in ski cabins.” Why did she even feel that she needed to explain anything to this contemptible man!
“What, ski?” If he tried to look any more innocent, Lois thought he’d qualify for sainthood. It disgusted her.
“Clark! You are thoroughly obnoxious, do you know that?” With a snort, she turned and stalked back to her desk. Pulling out her chair, she dropped into it with a toss of her head. “Oh, you think you have everyone fooled by that nice-guy act. But I know the truth.”
<Clark had better be prepared to be really embarrassed> she determined with a smug grin, because she and Dan were going to be all over each other. Maybe they wouldn’t even leave the cabin to do any skiing. Maybe she’d do a little screaming after all and leave no doubt whatsoever in Clark’s mind how much Dan was enjoying being alone with her!
Clark didn’t even bother to humor her, letting the deep laugh pour out. “Yeah, Lois. You know the truth. Just like I know the truth about you.”
Determined to get the last word, she remembered her brief hope that Clark wouldn’t be able to find a date on such short notice. Feeling a bit more optimistic, she moved some papers from one stack to the next, clearly showing him that the topic no longer held any importance for her.
“Anyway, I guess I’m worrying for nothing. I mean, what’s the chance that Mayson is just waiting for you to call and invite her away for the weekend.” Lois laughed. “I mean, honestly,
I don’t find her that attractive but I’m not a man and you men seem to have some funny ideas about what you like. So I doubt she’s the kind of woman who just sits around her apartment all weekend waiting for someone to call. And even if she did, she’d have to be pretty desperate to accept such a last minute invitation, like she was waiting for you to ask her…”
“I’ve already spoken to Mayson,” Clark interrupted. “We’re picking her up after we meet with Bobby.”
“Oh,” she exhaled, her last hope deflated. She wondered if the weather service was predicting any kind of sudden hot spell. A quick glance out the massive windows showed a light snow falling, dashing that one last grasp.
Resignation tinted with a heavy confusion washed through her. It wasn’t in her nature to make lemonade out of lemons. That’s what she had relied on Clark to do. But now he was the lemon, so to speak. She couldn’t decide if she was more upset by the fact that Clark was coming or that he was bringing Mayson.
Mayson Drake annoyed the hell out of her. She felt no guilt about admitting that fact, knowing that she inspired the same feelings in the tall blond. It was a mutual dislike that they both accepted. Of course, neither woman had been put through the test of spending a weekend together, and really, it was above the call of duty that they should have to endure each other’s company just because their respective boyfriends felt the need to bond over especially challenging ski runs.
Lois refused to venture into what would happen once each couple disappeared into their separate bedrooms. How could she and Dan ever consummate anything when another couple was doing exactly that with only the protection of a few thin doors to block out any sounds? In her experience, such as it was, Lois had discovered about herself that to even come close to enjoying sex required very precisely controlled circumstances, and the cries of another couple’s enjoyment of each other was not on her list of approved atmospheres. She’d never be able to lose herself in the moment. Her imagination was simply too active, and even without auditory confirmation, she’d be wondering what they were up to, no pun intended.
It didn’t help that one half of that couple was a man whom she’d not only dated but had actually enjoyed dating. Knowing that Clark…her Clark…was with another woman, even one she despised, was about as romance-inspiring as a visit from Sister Agnes Roberta, the nun who had taught Lois’s sixth grade gym class. Of course, the Clark that was coming along might very well be the one she’d dubbed Mayson’s Clark, so it might not be as pain inducing as she feared.
The Clark that she had known before, slow to show anger and frustration, had changed. No longer willing to hold back, he often let loose with his hard nosed opinions in direct defiance with her own views. Unwilling to compromise merely to please her, it was as if he were actively trying to find reasons to dislike her. But beyond the general annoyance of having someone disagree with her, she found herself oddly attracted to this new side of him.
She refused to blame herself for his change in attitude toward her. After all, he was the one who kept disappearing. What kind of relationship could they have had if every time she tried to talk to the guy, he decided it was the best time to replace the batteries in his smoke detector? As the days after their first and only date passed by without any opportunity for her to explain her feelings, she decided it was probably for the best that she’d slammed the door in his face. It served as both a figurative and literal closing on any possible relationship they might have had save a professional one. Sadly, even that partnership had suffered a near fatal blow, and it remained in critical condition, touch and go.
She missed their easy friendship. Since that night, a tension existed between them that they just couldn’t manage to dispel. Their interchanges swung between a rigid politeness and a heated anger with absolutely no degrees in between. It made for long work days, and the joyous enthusiasm with which she had looked forward to arriving at the Planet every morning over the past year had waned considerably.
It didn’t help matters when Lois was constantly reminded that although she had been the one to put a full stop on the forward motion of their budding romance, Clark had apparently no trouble redirecting his love train in a different, more easily traveled direction. Mayson appeared at the Planet at least twice a week for lunch, and nearly every Friday night Lois knew that he met her after work for dinner and…whatever. It wasn’t that she intentionally snooped. She was a professional reporter and knowing things just came with the territory.
If he thought that Mayson Drake was the kind of woman that he wanted, then Lois was more than willing to step aside. She’d be damned if she would fight for his attentions. It wasn’t dignified, and in her whole life, Lois Lane had never stooped to fighting for a man. Besides, she had Dan now, and he was a whole lot easier to handle than the intrepid Clark Kent.
The man himself walked around his desk and came to perch on the edge of hers. She tried not to notice how the fabric of his pants pulled tight against the hard muscle of his thigh. Maybe she could imagine Clark skiing, she mused absently, then banished the thought from her mind and reminded herself that she was still angry with him.
“Lois, you’re OK with this, aren’t you?” he asked, his dark brown eyes searching her face carefully, his anger of moments before gone. She wasn’t surprised. Even with his new willingness to express his darker side, Clark still didn’t believe in holding grudges.
Lois, on the other hand, held no such trepidation and took the form of sulking to a new level. “OK with what, Clark? You and Mayson coming along on what was supposed to be a romantic weekend with my boyfriend?” she replied sarcastically. “Sounds like…fun.”
“No, I mean, you’re OK with me and Mayson?” His voice held a gentle concern that unnerved her, and for a brief moment, she thought of saying no. No, she wasn’t OK with it. She squelched the urge immediately.
“Oh. Well, yeah. Sure. Of course I’m OK with you and Mayson,” she stammered. Then, realizing how it might sound to him, she gathered herself together. With a confidence that didn’t quite reach her heart, she lifted her chin and forced herself to meet his steady gaze. “Why wouldn’t I be OK with it? I mean, like I said, I don’t really see what all the fuss is about with her, but if you like her, then I guess that’s all that really matters, right? Yeah, I’m OK with it.”
“Good. I wouldn’t want to make you uncomfortable.” He stared at her, unblinking, and she squirmed uncomfortably under the scrutiny. Why did Clark always make her feel like he could read her mind?
“Nope,” she smiled brightly. “I’m perfectly comfortable with it. Perfectly.”
He looked away and his voice held a sudden coldness. “Great.”
“Great,” she echoed. As an uncomfortable silence settled between them, she looked around her desk, trying to find a suitable distraction. The phone message from Bobby. The whole reason she was in this mess in the first place. She snatched it up, thankful to turn her attention back to work. “So. I guess I should give Bobby a call.”
Clark nodded, and as he returned to his own desk, Lois picked up the phone and began to dial.
***
Clark watched Lois as she spoke in low tones into the phone. It would take her several minutes to confirm that Bobby Big Mouth had the information they needed and to set up a convenient yet secure meeting location, and he was glad for the time. He needed to settle his whirling mind.
<What in the world had just happened?> he asked himself with a bewildered shake of his head. In less time than it took him to change into his suit, he’d gotten himself into a situation so horrifying it belonged in a Wes Craven movie. He was looking at spending two days, and more importantly, two nights, in a cabin with Lois. And Dan Scardino. And Mayson Drake. It was a mixture that spelled disaster any way you looked at it.
He hadn’t been able to help himself. For so long he’d played the part of modest, self-deprecating good guy. But when Scardino and Lois had suggested that he couldn’t ski, something snapped. He’d opened his mouth before he could stop himself. Then he’d topped it off by insisting that he could get a date. Where had his mind gone during all of that?
It wasn’t a complete mystery. For the last two months, his ability to control his anger and frustration had been sorely tested. He seemed to be walking around in a perpetual funk, and such a state was so foreign to his generally good-natured personality that he knew of no effective way of combating it. He’d found himself frowning more, and once, in a display that mortified him immediately afterward, he’d actually snapped at an unfortunate research assistant whose only mistake had been to take the last cup of coffee from the pot just as Clark approached the machine looking for a jolt of caffeine. Sincere apology not withstanding, he still felt uncomfortable every time the poor girl and he crossed paths.
Luckily, the worst of his foul temper tended to find its outlet on Lois who was more than equipped to handle it, armed with verbal assault weapons that could slay the harshest tongue. In fact, he almost reveled in the moments that they argued, the release of the pressure building within him like that of Yosemite firing at regular intervals. The resulting calm acted like a drug, and he wondered if perhaps the past year of being kind wasn’t maybe the worst approach he could have taken. If Lois felt no compulsion to hold back, maybe he should let his own inner most feelings, no matter how dark, have some chance to see the light of day.
It didn’t help that there was just something about Scardino that brought out the worst in Clark. It was as if Scardino presented a constant challenge that begged to be countered. Had they existed centuries earlier, Clark had no doubt that he and Scardino wouldn’t eventually find themselves counting paces with pistols drawn as an early morning mist swirled about a lonely English field while seconds looked on in morbid anticipation.
His whole life he’d suppressed any competitive urges he’d had, knowing that with his abilities, there would be no such thing as an even playing field if he were on it. By the time he’d reached college, he eschewed athletic endeavors that involved spectators and genuine competition, satisfying his love for all things sports with friendly games of touch football and one-on-one that never contained the drive for victory at any meaningful level.
However, Scardino ignited within him an overwhelming need to win. He wanted to best the man in every way possible, and he wanted to do it without the aid of any of his super powers. For that reason, he found it impossible to back down from any challenge, implied or real. If Scardino could ski, Clark determined he would ski better. And if Scardino could take his girlfriend away for the weekend, Clark would have the time of his life as well. Of course, Scardino still held the trump card that ensured ultimate victory.
Clark didn’t even attempt to delude himself to the real reason he felt so combative with Scardino. No matter how hard he tried, Clark would never win the only game that mattered. Scardino had won in the pursuit of Lois.
Now his arrogant need to show Lois how wrong Scardino was for her had put him in a fine mess. Sure, he might be able to smear Scardino’s butt across the slopes, but at night, when the ski boots were hung up, Scardino would be the one holding Lois in his arms.
A bubble of joy had exploded and traveled the neuro paths of his body upon Lois’s admission that she and Dan had not yet consummated their relationship. For whatever reason, after eight weeks of dating, Scardino hadn’t crossed that particular finish line, which meant that Clark wasn’t completely out of the race.
Perhaps that was another reason that his brain had failed to keep him out of this ridiculous situation. He believed he still had a chance. But his more sensible self, which had finally shown up many minutes too late, pointed out his faulty reasoning. His presence this weekend would make absolutely no difference to Lois and Scardino when they found themselves alone, which was bound to happen at some point. Eventually, the ski lifts would shut down.
The thought of the two of them together twisted Clark’s stomach painfully. Until fifteen minutes ago, he’d been blissfully unaware of their getaway. Now he’d give anything to remain so ignorant. Not only was he aware of their big plans, he was now an intricate part of them. Instead of torturing himself by imagining what might be occurring in some remote ski cabin miles from Metropolis, he’d be mere feet from where the reality was actually happening. Dear god, he’d probably even be able hear them.
At that thought, Clark leapt to his feet, unable to sit still. There was no way he would be able to stand by knowing that Lois and Scardino were together in every sense of the word. It would kill him, sure as a kryptonite bullet. He’d have to leave. Just fly away and pretend that it wasn’t happening.
But then there was Mayson. With a feeling of overwhelming helplessness, he sank back into his chair, resting his head in his hands. He couldn’t fly away because of Mayson.
It was the flip side of the coin of hell he’d managed to forge. Not only did he have to face the blossoming of Scardino and Lois’s relationship, he’d now have to deal with the reality of his own relationship with Mayson. And by inviting her away for the weekend, he’d implied that he and Mayson were officially a
something. He’d announced it to Lois, to Scardino, and even worse, to Mayson. With a simple phone call, he’d insinuated that he and Mayson had a future and one that held much more than he was sure he could give.
When Lois had chosen Scardino, Clark had instinctively turned to the blond asstant D.A. He’d needed her open adoration of him, the confirmation that an attractive woman found him desirable a necessary bandage on his wounded pride. As Scardino became more and more of a fixture in Lois’s life, Clark countered with increased involvement with Mayson.
Often he worried that he wasn’t being fair to the woman. He knew that his feelings for Mayson weren’t those of love, but he did have a deep affection for her. She interested him intellectually in ways different than Lois did, and he enjoyed Mayson’s insights on the things that were happening both in and around Metropolis. More open minded than Lois, he found his discussions with the assistant D.A. much more of a give and take, where with Lois conversation tended to have the feel of kill or be killed.
Additionally, Mayson’s open disdain for Superman presented him with a challenge he found refreshing. Most dates included at least one conversation that consisted of Clark’s attempt to turn her opinion on Superman around and her dismissal of the topic as a matter of course. With Mayson, he never had to wonder if she cared for him or for his amazing abilities. He kept his secrets from her for a whole different set of reasons although they were no less impossible to overcome.
In response to his guilt, Clark always held back with Mayson. Not just on a physical level, which he insisted remain fairly tame by the standards of most men his age. Indeed, Mayson must have thought him some kind of modern-age monk because it was always he that put a stop to their heated exchanges before they passed a certain point. He’d come to know that even if he never declared undying love and the prospect of marriage to Mayson, she’d probably still be willing to share his bed, happy for the time and intimacy offered by even a strictly physical relationship. She wanted his love, but he suspected she’d be happy to have his body if it was all he was willing to give.
He’d toyed with the idea. Considered it carefully on several occasions, usually at the end of a long day when Scardino showed up at the Planet to take Lois to dinner. How easy it would be to turn his frustrations into pure sexual energy and unleash them with the willing Mayson. But always he turned back before crossing the point of no return. It was part of what he held back. No matter how he looked at it, he couldn’t forget the fact that sex for him meant so much more than the physical sharing of bodies. It was the one part of himself that he couldn’t share with Mayson that kept him from sleeping with her. He couldn’t give her his heart. That part of his body was already taken.
As he stared blankly at the blurry type displayed on his computer monitor, he realized that he was going to have to overcome that particular hangup, and pretty quickly. He’d just called Mayson and invited her to spend two nights in a ski cabin with him. There was a slim possibility that she might believe that it was a purely platonic weekend, but the speed with which she had agreed to come with him left little room for that hope. And once Scardino and Lois disappeared into their own bedroom, he’d be faced with an expectant Mayson and no excuses. Talk about performance anxiety!
He groaned, dropping his head on his desk. He felt sick. Why had he been so stupid as to let Scardino goad him? Of course, he’d never imagined it would lead to an invitation. But Lois had given him ample room to back out. He’d just been so idiotic as to ignore her offered excuses, and like a locomotive completely out of control, he’d plowed ahead toward inevitable disaster.
And why, exactly, had he ignored them, he wondered. Was he just some kind of masochist who liked to torture himself by putting himself in the same place as the woman he loved and her boyfriend? Whatever the reason for his temporary insanity, he now possessed a front row, nonrefundable ticket to the Lois and Dan Scardino horror show, complete with a bucket of Lois’s heated anger.
He glanced over to where she sat, nodding her head emphatically and jabbing her pencil into the air as if trying to make a point to Bobby Big Mouth despite the fact that he couldn’t see her through the telephone wires. His breath caught as she smiled suddenly, a sight that even after a year never failed to cause his chest to tighten painfully. She was just so incredibly beautiful. And he’d come so close. So close but not close enough.
They’d had one date. One perfect, magical date. And up until she’d slammed the door in his face, he’d thought he’d finally succeeded and his dreams were about to come true.
When Lois started to date Scardino in little over a week after that night, he’d blamed her completely. Anger filled him as he stewed, feeling as if he’d been tricked or cheated. She’d led him along, never intending to give their elusive romance a chance. Why, she’d slammed the door in his face, for crying out loud!
As his anger receded and he forced himself to take a cold hard look at the situation, he saw that he had to shoulder a lot of the blame. On several occasions the days following their date, Lois had tried to talk to him. Unfortunately, he’d been called away to save the day, offering her limp excuses and a weak smile while she gaped after him, disbelieving that he’d just walk away while she was trying to explain. He had to admit that she most likely was trying to apologize or at least explain her behaviour, yet he hadn’t taken the time to hear her out.
By the time Scardino’s flowers arrived on her desk, Lois had turned a frigid shoulder in Clark’s direction and he despaired of ever thawing her attitude. With Scardino on the scene, any hope Clark held was all but decimated. He’d had his chance and he blew it. All that was left was to sit back and watch as she moved on without him. Of course, he never imagined that through his own stupidity, he’d have a close up view of the event that haunted his worst nightmares.
With a satisfied bang, Lois hung the phone on its cradle and turned her wide smile in his direction. “We’re all set! Four o’clock in the alley behind Fortino’s Bar and Grill.”
Clark nodded silently. Lois stood and retrieved her purse from the drawer. “So, do you want to get the cheese steak sandwich or the double fudge layer cake from Henley’s Bakery?” she asked as she waited for him to shrug on his charcoal suit coat.
Her anger was gone, replaced by the excited glow she always got when she was on the trail of a hot lead or an undisputed source. He was glad. He didn’t think he could bear an entire afternoon of her accusations. Kicking himself was punishment enough.
“I’d better get the cake. You remember what happened last time you got that,” he teased.
“Clark,” she retorted, outraged that he would remind her of the incident. “I hadn’t had lunch yet. Besides, there was plenty left for Bobby.”
Clark laughed, happy that for at least a couple of hours, he could forget about what was going to happen at the end of the day and how he was going to handle the giant mess he’d managed to get himself into. For the moment, he and his partner were simply on the job.
to be continued...
