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Green-Eyed Monster TOC

Part 17

Part 18

“Hi Martha, Lois here. Just a few quick questions while Clark’s out getting pizza.”

There was a slight pause before Clark’s mother replied, “Okay.”

“Clark was adopted, right?”

“Yes.”

“And he doesn’t have multiple personalities?” Lois doubted he did, but she was covering all her bases.

Martha laughed. “None that I’ve noticed.”

Lois nodded and took a deep breath, holding it while she asked, “And he doesn’t have a twin brother, does he?”

The pause was longer this time, the laughter a mere echo from before, “Not that I’m aware of, dear.”

Well, that settles it. Clark has been lying to you.

“Could you tell your son to please stop lying to me, then?” Lois demanded.

“If you don’t want him to lie to you, Lois, then talk to him. Tell him yourself,” Martha responded.

The younger woman sighed. “I’ve tried that.”

“And?”

“I don’t think he knows how to stop,” Lois replied, exasperated.

“Hmmm. Maybe you should come by the café tomorrow for breakfast and you and I could work this out,” Martha suggested.

Lois suddenly remembered she no longer had a purse, ID, bank cards or money. “I can’t. My purse was stolen in the break-in.”

“The what?!” Martha gasped.

“I was sure Clark would have stopped by on his way to get pizza to tell you. My apartment was robbed this afternoon while I was out walking on a beach in Costa Rica with Superman,” Lois explained.

Martha cleared her throat. “Superman?”

“Yep. Superman,” Lois repeated.

“And that would be that man you told me about last week?” Clark’s Mom asked cryptically.

“The same one.”

“Uh-huh. You better come here for a one-on-one, Lois,” Martha recommended.

“I was thinking the same thing.” Lois paused in thought as she wondered how she was going to afford to get across town. Then she smiled and said circumspectly, “Clark did invite me to stay the night. He’s worried about my safety.”

“I am too, dear. Best take him up on the offer. I’ll ready the couch. We’ll talk after Clark heads off to work in the morning.”

“OK.” Lois released the breath she had been holding. “Thank you, Martha.”

“You’re welcome.”

***

When Clark returned from Chicago with the pizza and the new locks, he found Lois had spent the time he was gone straightening up the mess that used to be her apartment. Her clothes were back in her closet. The stuff that had been tossed off the bookcase had been replaced. He saw that on the shelf next to the now empty wooden box, she had placed the glass fish he had made her and the seashell from the beach. He smiled at their location of importance. Then his smile faded, doubt tugging at his heart. Those weren’t gifts from him, but gifts from Superman, Kal-El.

Lois did greet you with quite an enthusiastic kiss, if I recall correctly, Kent. And in case you forgot, you ARE Superman.

Yes, Clark found this jealousy of himself ludicrous and yet it was still there. Lois liked Kal-El more than Clark was comfortable with. True, he was partly to blame. They were supposed to have just that one conversation, where he apologized for scaring her after his rescue of her, and that was supposed to be it. Never to cross paths again. But then he – Superman he – had flown her down to Costa Rica for that talk. He had taken her to the type of beach she had always dreamed of going to and he had flirted with her while they were there. It was his fault that his girlfriend was falling for Superman. He had wanted so desperately to share those things with her which he – Clark he – could not. Clark sighed. A fine kettle of fish he had made for himself there.

Lois had told him that Mayson changed her mind about sharing pizza with them.

Yes, that had been stupid of you to invite Mayson without checking with your girlfriend first, Kent.

Clark hadn’t been thinking straight. It felt good to talk to Mayson, having her soothe his bruised ego with her clear attraction to Clark Kent, especially after Lois had been sending him mixed messages all day. He hadn’t even been sure Lois still wanted a relationship with him when he left her apartment. But then Lois had arrived and had wrapped her arm around him like it was completely natural. She had then kissed him gently on the lips as if that was how it was when they greeted one another. Announcing quite plainly that she was Clark’s girlfriend to Mayson and the world. Clark had felt ecstatic with pleasure. Lois and Mayson seemed to get along and he could still hear them talking nicely to one another after he blasted into the air as Superman. It would be good for Lois to make some female friends.

Right, so she could spend her spare time with them instead of you?

Lois placed some plates on the dining room table. “I turned on the oven to reheat the pizza.”

Clark’s brow furrowed. “It’s not cold.”

She flipped open the box and steam rose from gooey mixture of cheese, tomatoes and crust. She grinned appreciatively at him. “I’ve never had hot takeout pizza before, Clark.”

He returned her grin, happy to have brought her pleasure in this simple way.

You’ll never have to eat cold take-out again with me as your boyfriend, Lois.

Being west of Metropolis, Clark knew it would be easier to find open hardware stores in which to buy the locks in Chicago’s earlier time zone. Then Clark had gone and swung by to pick up some Chicago-style deep-dish pizza, three-cheese pesto with tomato slices to be exact.

As they ate their pizza, Clark couldn’t resist asking, “So, what did you think of Superman?” Though truthfully he was apprehensive of her answer.

Lois’s face lit up as she smiled at him. “I loved him. Simply loved him. I can see why he’s your best friend. He is so sweet and kind and funny. Flying with him will be one of the highlights of my life.” She leaned over and kissed Clark’s cheek. “He’s quite fragile, isn’t he?”

Clark swallowed, his pizza seeming to catch in his throat. “Fragile? He’s not fragile, Lois.”

“Sure, he is. He worries about you. He even told me not to hurt you.” She smiled at Clark with so much love in her eyes that it melted the cheese in his throat. “He’s a good friend to you. I look forward to getting to know him better. Oh!” She jumped up from her seat. “I didn’t show you the adorable fish he made me. He melted the glass and everything.” She ran over to the bookcase and brought the fish to Clark. “Isn’t it beautiful?”

Clark’s eyes weren’t focused on the sculpture he had made for her, but on her. Lois glowed, positively glowed, as she gushed on and on about her afternoon with Superman. He gulped down his pizza.

Lois set the fish on the table and wrapped her arms around his neck, “I wish you trusted me enough to introduce him to me earlier, Clark.” She pressed a kiss onto his lips. “I sometimes just don’t know what to do about you.”

“I trust you,” Clark mumbled. But even to him the words sounded false.

How can you say that you trust her, when you believe she’s thinking of cheating on you with that Superman fellow? Oh, wait, he’s you.

Lois raised a brow and slid back into her own seat causing Clark to feel empty. He closed his eyes and shook his head at himself.

Yep, you did that, Kent. Your distrust in her made her move away. Made her stop kissing you. Snap out of it unless you want to lose those kisses forever.

“Clark?” Lois murmured.

“Hmmm,” he replied his mouth full of pizza and his thoughts far away.

“Tell me about Superman.”

He looked at her sadly.

Really? She still wanted to talk about that guy? Doesn’t she know that Kal-El isn’t real? He is just a part of the package that is Clark Kent.

Lois reached over and caressed his cheek. “I’m not going to leave you for him, Clark. I promise you that. He can’t hold to a candle to you.”

Was his anguish written so plainly over his face?

“I was just trying to get to know you better through him,” she continued. “Try to understand better the puzzle that is Clark Kent.”

He gazed at her and saw truth in her eyes. Clark no longer wanted to talk. No longer wanted to eat. He only wanted to kiss Lois. Express to her the love he felt for her. He lifted her off her seat and pulled her back into his lap, pressing his lips to hers.

Lois laughed. “If you don’t want to talk about him, just say so. You don’t need to try to distract me.”

“Can I help it if I find you irresistible?” he murmured, kissing her again.

“No, I guess not. I am pretty irresistible,” she admitted. “But if you keep this up, it will be midnight before we get back to your apartment.”

Clark looked at her in confusion.

Before we get back your apartment? Has she changed her mind about coming home with you?

Clark felt whole again, knowing that she really did feel safer with him than without him.

Lois glanced around her apartment with a shiver. “I’ve decided new locks or no, I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep here tonight.” Then she grinned naughtily at him. “Not by myself anyway.”

She didn’t just say what you think she just said, did she?

“And if you stay here,” she continued staring him deep into his eyes, her fingers dancing across his chest. “… I guarantee you, neither of us will sleep.”

Clark gulped. “Yes, my place would probably be better then.”

Chicken! You would love nothing more than to make love to this woman, Kent. What are you so scared of? growled his horny Green-Eyed Monster.

Making love to this woman, of course, Clark admitted. It wasn’t an everyday experience for him and he doubted it was for her either, despite her numerous casual references to being intimate with him. She had been more than overt in letting him know that she wanted him in that way. He gulped again. But he couldn’t help remembering Lana rejecting him so plainly after they discussed moving their relationship in that direction. It would crush him if Lois did the same to him.

Then maybe you should just sleep with her before she can reject you, the monster inside of him suggested.

Clark sighed.

Oh, yeah, like that would be better? Making love to the woman of your dreams only to have her dump you for another man.

“I can’t,” he murmured through her kisses, lifting her up and returning her to her chair.

Lois stared at him. “I know, Clark. Kal told me you don’t jump into bed with women. I guess that’s why I felt comfortable enough to tease you. I’m sorry.”

Clark stood up and started pacing, fury at himself causing him to shake. “He told you. He told you. I’ve kept his secrets for years and he meets my girlfriend and within two hours, he tells her I have intimacy issues. Did he tell you I’m a virgin, too?”

Lois gasped in surprise.

No. But you just did.

He ran into the bathroom, slamming the door. He was out of control. Humiliated. Clark couldn’t believe he had just told her that. He had never told anyone that. He had gone on dates off and on over the years, but he had never allowed himself get that close anyone, always fearing what they would do once they found out about his abilities. Knowing that sex – especially with someone he desired with every fiber of his being, like Lois – could lower his self-control so completely that he might show his true self. That was why he had never made love, because he believed he shouldn’t reveal himself to anyone except to someone he loved, someone he trusted completely. And when he did finally did make love, he wanted the experience to be one of intimacy and not one where he had to spend the entire time gripping tightly on to his control; otherwise, what would be the point? He sat down on the closed toilet and buried his face in his hands.

Lois made him want to lose control like never before. She desired him as he desired her, if her kisses were any gauge. He wanted nothing more than to fly her back to Costa Rica and go skinny-dipping with her among the waves and make love to her on the beach.

“Clark?” he heard her say through the bathroom door.

“I’ll be out in a minute,” he answered as if nothing was wrong. As if he hadn’t completely and totally embarrassed himself with the woman of his dreams.

He washed the grease from the pizza off his hands. Then he took off his glasses and splashed cold water on his face. It didn’t help. As he went to hang up the hand towel again, it slipped off the rack and landed in the trashcan. Clark picked it up and noticed inside the trashcan an open box of condoms. His hands began to shake as he picked it up. Out slid three condoms into his palm. Three condoms left in a box of ten?

Clark opened the bathroom door and stomped across the room to Lois. He held up the box of condoms. “What’s this?”

She gulped, her eyes wide, staring at him. “Trash.”

He raised a brow. “Trash?”

Lois turned away from him. “Yes. Trash.”

“May I ask with whom you used the other seven condoms from this box?” His eyes were in slits.

She looked at him, pain and tears dancing in her eyes from his accusation. “They were stolen,” she whispered, her voice wavering. “By the burglars.”

Clark’s lips pressed together as he looked at her skeptically. “Stolen?”

“Yes, stolen, Clark. You are my boyfriend. I bought them to use with you,” she snapped. Turning around, she dug through the papers on her desk. Finally extracting a grocery store receipt from the pile, she shoved it in his face. “I bought them last Thursday so that we could have them on hand in case we moved our relationship forward. I wanted to be prepared.” Her voice had dipped an octave lower as she spoke slowly, succinctly, and on the edge of tears. “The box was full this morning when I left for work and it was open when I returned from the beach. I didn’t trust using the others in case they had been tampered with. So, yes, they are now trash.”

This time it was Lois who ran into the bathroom and slammed the door. There really wasn’t anywhere else to run to in this apartment.

Clark glanced down at the receipt in his hand. Chocolate bars. Ice cream. Coffee. Creamer. Condoms. Crackers. Chocolate-chip cookies. He looked at the date. Yep, three days ago.

Wasn’t that before she kissed you, Kent?

His eyes widened. Lois not only had been thinking all week about kissing him, but wanted to be prepared to… to… he gulped… with him. Clark Kent? He went to the bathroom door and knocked. “I’m sorry, Lois.”

“Be out in a minute,” she called, her voice sounding rough like she was crying. He winced. He looked down at the box of condoms again.

Why would the burglars open the box and leave condoms? Why not just take the whole box?

He poured the remaining condoms into his hand and focused on them, really focused on them. There in the center of each one was hardly noticeable to the naked eye pin-prick as if someone had stabbed each condom with a needle or push-pin. They had been tampered with. Clark swallowed.

If you and Lois had used these condoms…

Clark’s brow furrowed. It was too much. The thoughts and questions swirling around in his head made him dizzy and he sat down on the floor, leaning against the wall next to the bathroom.

Someone had come to Lois’s apartment looking for something. What? The globe? Nobody knew about the globe, but you, Lois and your parents. Someone who would steal Lois’s keys to possibly return to her apartment another time. Someone who was interested in her Superman newspapers. Someone who would take the time to open a box of condoms and tamper with them, hoping what? Hoping in her terror Lois would make love to someone and get pregnant? Or were the perps just pranksters? Teenagers? Someone who thought what they were doing was funny? It certainly wasn’t funny to you, Kent. If you and Lois had used these condoms…

Lois opened the bathroom door and knelt down beside Clark. He gazed up at her, still in shock from learning about the sabotaged condoms. Her face looked tired and damp from tears. It had been a long day for both of them. Slowly, carefully, she slipped his glasses back onto his face. She cradled his jaw in her hands and placed a kiss on his lips. “I will never cheat on you, Clark. Please trust me.”

Clark couldn’t breathe. In his anger over the condoms, he had left his glasses in the bathroom after washing his face. Lois had seen him without his glasses. She hadn’t been shocked. Had she recognized him as Kal-El, as Superman?

Lois kissed him again. “I like you, Clark, very much. Too much for my sanity sometimes.” She awkwardly smiled at this admission. “I want you to know that I am attracted to you. Sometimes more than my sanity can handle as well. I would like to share how much I like you physically someday. But if you aren’t ready, I’m okay with that, too. I can wait.” She kissed him again and again and again.

Clark’s thoughts dissolved with her barrage of kisses. He tossed the box of condoms away from them and wrapped his arms around her, lying them down on the floor in each other’s embrace.

***

Lois smiled as she looked over at Clark who was working diligently at replacing the deadbolt lock on her door. He must have sensed her attention and glanced over his shoulder at her, where she was sitting at the desk. His gaze was lava hot and she evaporated under it.

“Stop it, Clark, or we’ll be here all night,” she teased.

He grinned and went back to work on the lock. Clark was quite handy to have around.

Maybe you should suggest he move in with you, so you can have him around all the time. Full time security.

Lois bit her bottom lip and tried not to think of those kisses they shared after she returned his glasses to him. If they had had some condoms… Lois shook her head.

You said you would wait for him, idiot. Remember?

Yes, she remembered. But if his kisses drove her crazy with craving for him, what would his naked body actually do to her? A rumble from deep inside her emerged as she stared at Clark.

He glanced back at her, merriment dancing across his face. “Stop it, Lois, or we’ll be here all night,” he teased her right back. His smile grew into a naughty grin that practically floated her off her chair.

You said you would wait until he was ready, Lois. You should have told him you were already ready.

What? The box of condoms she bought wasn’t enough of a hint?

Touché!

Lois glanced back down at her notepad. It had been so long since she had written anything long hand, she felt rusty. With another deep breath, she couldn’t resist Clark any longer. She stood up and walked over to him. “Clark? Do I have all of Superman’s powers listed correctly here?”

She hadn’t told him that she knew the truth about his other identity and he hadn’t asked her. She was okay with this truce for the moment.

Clark glanced at her notepad. “You forgot x-ray vision,” he told her.

And speed reading.

“Superman only mentioned that skill in passing. Maybe I should keep some mystery and allure for the future,” she replied with a wink at him.

“And invulnerable is spelled v-u-l-n, not v-u-n-l.”

Her lips pressed together. “Nobody likes a smart aleck.”

Clark stood up and pulled her into another breathtaking kiss. “Have I mentioned how irresistible you are?” he murmured.

Lois’s knees weakened. “Not in the last fifteen minutes.”

He started let go but she clung to him. He raised a brow and she let go with a little flush. “Sorry, there’s something magnetic about you.”

“Well, I’m done here. One dead bolt and one new doorknob. Here are your new keys,” he said dangling them in front of her. “Want to try her out?”

Nope. I want to try you out.

Lois gulped. “How about you do and I’ll stay inside, in case it doesn’t work.”

Clark raised a brow. “Was that a remark on my handyman skills?”

Just thinking about how handy that man would be skinny-dipping.

She cleared her throat. “Not at all.”

He stepped outside and Lois watched as the deadbolt switch locked and then unlocked with the key. Then the doorknob did the same.

“It looks like it works,” she called.

Clark opened the door and stepped back inside, dropping her keys in her palm. “Ready to fly?”

Lois’s jaw dropped.

He blushed. “I mean ‘go to my folks’ place.’ Not fly, fly. Drive. In the truck, of course. I didn’t ask Superman to pick us up.”

“I’m not quite done with this article,” she said, ignoring his rambling and tapping her pen against the notepad.

“It’s a little late to get it into Monday’s paper, isn’t it?” he asked.

“Yes. I guess so.”

Clark glanced up and off to the right. Then he turned and looked at Lois with a worried expression.

“Something wrong?”

“I just remembered an errand I need to run,” he said quickly. “The truck is low on fuel. I should really fill her up before we head back. It will give you time to pack an overnight bag and finish your article.”

Maybe he flew here and forgot to pick up the truck.

Lois stepped up to him and pressed a kiss to his lips. “Don’t forget about me.”

“Never.” He grinned and jogged out the door.

She watched as he jogged around the corner towards the parking garage and then looked up as she heard Superman blow by overhead. “Stay safe, Clark.” She sighed.

You need to move.

Lois’s brow furrowed as she closed and locked her door. Move?

If Clark’s ever going to move in with you, you need something higher with a balcony where Superman can take-off and land without being seen by everyone. You live in a basement with windows almost too small to crawl through.

Yep, she would have to move. This place was a little too small for the two of them anyway. A place with a private bedroom would be nice too.

***

Sunday – Night

It was after ten by the time Clark was able to pick up the truck from outside the café and head back to Lois’s. He couldn’t believe how long it had taken him to fight that last tenement fire. There were lots of people living in that building and then the fire spread to the next building and the next. The fire department thanked him for his assistance in locating all the victims, so they could concentrate on fighting the fire. Clark appreciated their gratitude. It made him feel like part of the team.

What he didn’t like was leaving Lois alone in her apartment for so long after it had been broken into earlier in the day. He hoped she wasn’t going crazy with fear. Lois was probably worried about him being gone so long. Or not, if she had recognized him as Superman.

Had she? Had Lois looked into your eyes without your glasses and seen the man she had spent two hours with at the beach? Or had she just seen you, Clark Kent, without your glasses?

Had Clark been paranoid all this time about Lois seeing him without his frames, only to have her not recognize him? Or had she recognized him and just not said anything?

Lois would have said something.

His brow furrowed.

Wouldn’t she have?

She had still spoke of Superman as being another person while she was working on that article she was sure the Smallville Post was going to publish. But then, again, so had he. Maybe it was best if they didn’t acknowledge this truth between them. Safer for her.

Clark was also having second thoughts about giving Superman’s exclusive to Lois. It would draw too much attention to his girlfriend. Why would Superman give his exclusive first interview to someone from a small-town paper? He – Superman he – had already given Lois too much attention: at the press conference, coming to see her at the bookstore, and even visiting her at her apartment. He was worried people were going to start noticing all his specific attention given to this one woman. Would they make connections from Lois to her boyfriend Clark and thence to Superman? Perhaps even the people who broke into her apartment did so because of him… trying to find dirt on him. And they found the mother lode with that globe. If so, what were they thinking about when they tampered with the condoms? Did they want Lois to become pregnant with a half-alien child? He sighed. If that was even possible. Maybe he was being paranoid. Could they have tracked her down so quickly?

Superman should really give his exclusive first interview with someone with no ties to Clark whatsoever, someone from a big city paper, like the Metropolis Star. But if Superman gave his exclusive to Linda King after hearing what he had from Lois’s earlier discussion with the woman, Clark would never be forgiven. As Superman or his best friend. There was some sort of bad blood between Lois and Linda; what it was, he did not know.

Not wanting to think about this anymore, Clark turned on the radio.

“Hello, everyone. Lenny Stokes, again, and that was Age of Aquarius / Let the Sun Shine In by the Fifth Dimension, dedicated by Molly and everyone at Molly’s Greenhouse Bookstore to Superman.” The DJ paused a moment in thought. “I wish I could say something profound or even funny but, Molly, I think you’ve nailed that one. This is the dawn of Aquarius. Next up, Mary visiting from Gotham City says we need to play Bonnie Tyler’s Holding Out For A Hero. Well, duh! I can’t believe it took 24 hours before I got this dedication. People, this one should have been obvious. My question to you, Mary, is… are you saying that you’ll take Superman as your hero or are you still ‘holding out’ for yet another hero? If so, girl, you are hard to please! Good luck with finding a better hero for Gotham City, Mary. Metropolis will be happy to keep Superman.”

Clark laughed, tapping his hand on the steering wheel to the beat of the music. He was still singing along with Bonnie Tyler as he pulled into Lois’s parking garage. He turned off the truck and slid out, still dancing to the song inside his head. Well, not exactly in his head. Someone somewhere was listening to Lenny Stoke’s Soundman show and he could hear it with his super hearing. He danced up the stairs to the deck of the pool. He slid up to Lois’s door with a grin and knocked.

No answer. Clark tilted down his glasses and with his x-ray vision saw Lois huddled under a blanket on her futon staring at the door and shaking with fear.

“Lois?” he called, tenderly, yet loud enough for her to hear. “Open up, honey. It’s Clark.”

She turned her back to the door and buried her face in her hands. “Leave me alone.”

Oh, great, Flyboy. How long were you gone?

“I’m sorry, honey. I had trouble…” Clark’s voice faded. He hated lying to her to excuse his behavior. “Please open up.”

Again no answer.

“Lois, please. At least let me know you are okay,” he asked through the door. His heart ached at causing her pain once again.

Lois lifted her head out of her hands and stared at the door. Actually, glared would be more accurate. She wasn’t only frightened, she was mad. At him. Again.

You should have kept a copy of the new keys for yourself, Kent.

He sighed. Technically, that wasn’t his right. He didn’t live here. He leaned against the wall opposite her front door and crossed his arms.

“I’ll wait here all night if I have to, Lois, to make sure you stay safe.”

He watched as her glare softened. A few minutes later she took a deep breath and finally stood up to approach the door.

“Is that really you, Clark?” she asked, glancing through the peek-hole.

Clark waved with a sheepish smile. “Really me.”

Lois unlocked the new deadbolt and cracked open the door to get a better look at him.

“Hi, Lois,” he said, stepping towards her with outstretched arms. Suddenly, an overnight bag was shoved into his chest.

“You owe me. Big time, Kent,” Lois grumbled.

“I’m sor…” Clark started.

“Can the apologies. I’ve had it up to here,” Lois said indicating her neck. “… with your apologies. Let’s go. Your mom better have some kind of chocolate dessert on hand for me.”

A smile grew on Clark’s lips. “That, I can guarantee you.”

She slammed her door, pulled her keys out of her pocket, and tossed them to him as she marched across the deck of the pool towards the parking garage. He locked her apartment door and pocketed her keys with a shrug. At least she trusted him enough to still come home with him. Or she was terrified enough. He sighed. Well, he wouldn’t have to worry about her coming on to him with his folks in the next room. Yea, lucky him.

*** End of Part 18 ***

Part 19

Comments

Age of Aquarius / Let the Sun Shine In , written by James Rado, Gerome Ragni, and Galt MacDermot, performed by the Fifth Dimension

Holding Out For A Hero , written by Jim Steinman and Dean Pitchford, performed by Bonnie Tyler