Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Lois & Clark Fanfic Momentum 2 (part 2/7)

From part 1 ...

After taking a deep breath, he gave her a warm smile and reassuringly covered her hand with his. "I'm not trying to pressure you into anything, Lois; I don't have any expectations about that part of our relationship. Yes, it's a one-bedroom unit, but there's a pull-out couch in the living room that I was planning to sleep on. I just want us to spend some time together away from Metropolis, away from all these distractions." He blew out another breath, looking almost as if he was gathering his own courage. "And ... talk. Get to know each other better."

Relaxing, Lois turned her hand under his, interlacing their fingers. "I think I'd like that, too," she said softly.

His face lit up. "Really? So you'll come? This weekend?"

Her smile turned into an excited grin. "I can't wait." Releasing his hand, she picked up the brochure and turned to the trail map in the back, spreading it out so they could both see. "I can't believe how many trails they've added since I've been there! It used to be fairly small when I was a kid, but it looks like they've added a bunch of runs. Oh, this is going to be so much fun!"

Clark sat back in his seat and fixed her with a teasing look. "I do have one condition, though."

Lois cocked her head. "What?"

"You *have* to wear those black ski pants you wore for ice skating last month."

*****

And now, part 2 ...

*****

At a little before eight o'clock on Friday evening, Lois gave a satisfied sigh as she pulled out of the restaurant parking lot and back onto the two-lane state route that would take them the rest of the way to Mount Troy. "Now that was a great meal," she announced.

"It sure was," Clark agreed from the passenger seat. "I love trying these little out of the way places. Sometimes you find a real gem." He gave her a smile. "And it was a great way to start our weekend."

She smiled back. "Only another hour or so till we get there, I think. We're making good time."

"One of the benefits of having you drive," he teased.

Lois rolled her eyes good-naturedly, but couldn't deny he was right. They both knew that she was the more aggressive driver and, even though she had no problem with Clark borrowing her SUV occasionally, she still did most of the driving when they were together.

Fortunately, they'd been able to leave work a little early that afternoon and had avoided the bulk of the rush hour traffic. She'd been packed and ready to go when she'd arrived in the newsroom that morning, and all they'd needed to do after work was swing by Clark's place to pick up his bag. He'd only brought one medium-sized suitcase, and it had slid easily into the Jeep's cargo area alongside Lois's larger one. More interesting to her, however, was the large plastic ice chest that he'd placed on her back seat.

"So now that we're getting closer to the lodge, are you finally going to tell me what's in the cooler?" she asked, glancing at it over her shoulder.

Clark laughed. "It's our provisions."

"Provisions?" Lois repeated, amused. "Were you expecting us to get snowed in on the road or something?"

"No, but since my girlfriend decided she needed to spend the entire evening *packing* last night, I had a little extra time on my hands."

"Aww, you were lonely. Did you miss me that much?" she asked teasingly.

He shot her a grin. "I always miss you. But since it doesn't take me *nearly* that long to pack for a weekend away, I figured I would use my free time to do a little shopping."

"Shopping for what, exactly?"

"Food, of course. It'll be easiest to catch lunch at the base lodge, but I thought it would be fun to do breakfast and dinner in the room." He seemed very pleased with himself. "Just wait till you see what I'm going to feed you."

Lois looked at him in surprise. "Clark, you have to let me pay for something," she protested. "If I'd known that you were planning to cook all weekend, I never would have let you buy dinner tonight."

"Why do you think I didn't tell you until now?" he answered with a chuckle. As she opened her mouth to protest some more, however, Clark began to rub her shoulder affectionately. "No, no, I'm kidding ... but really, Lois, most of the weekend will be covered by the package -- the only thing we need to provide is transportation, ski rental and our meals. And since you're driving, I figured I'd get the rest."

Lois shot him a sideways look. "I have no intention of being a kept woman, Mr. Kent. Especially when I make more than you do."

Clark laughed. "So call me old-fashioned. Especially when I'm the one who extended the invitation."

"Well, I'm still paying for the ski rental."

"Lo-is."

She couldn't help but grin at his exasperated tone. "Cla-ark," she teased back, knowing she had won. Her partner's small-town chivalry could be charming, but after working with him for a year and a half, she also knew he was enlightened enough not to resist any more. "So, are you going to tell me what kind of food you brought, or do I have to guess?"

"I thought I'd keep you guessing." His eyes were twinkling. "But I can promise you there is at least one kind of chocolate dessert."

"Oh, so *that's* your game," Lois said with a laugh. "Trying to wear down my defenses with chocolate! You think I'll be easy pickings when you try to lure me into your lair."

"My lair ... I like the sound of that. I have no idea what it is, but I like the sound of it."

Lois grinned. "Sure, play Mr. Innocent ... I'm onto you now, Kent. Nothing seduces like chocolate."

He looked scandalized. "Lois! How many times do I have to tell you that I'm not planning to seduce you this weekend? In fact," he added with a grin of his own. "I won't even let you seduce me."

"Oh, *really*?" she asked, her eyes sparkling as she took the bait. "Even if were to ... say ... do this?" Removing her right hand from the steering wheel, she placed it on his thigh, just above his knee, and began a seductive climb upward. The husky growl that came from her boyfriend sent a shiver down her spine, even as he caught her hand and held it in his.

"Even if you do that," he confirmed. Then he smiled and waved his free hand, looking for another example. "Even if you ... were to bring a black string bikini to wear in the hot tub."

Lois's eyes widened and she shot him a quick glance. "How did you--?"

"You mean you did??" he asked, his voice almost coming out as a squeak.

She grimaced apologetically. "Um ..."

"Oh, God," Clark whimpered, dropping his head back to the headrest. "This isn't going to be easy." When he rotated his head to look at her, though, his smile was warm. "But a promise is a promise."

Lois pulled their joined hands towards her mouth and placed a gentle kiss against Clark's knuckles. "You're pretty terrific, you know that, farm boy?"

Clark removed his hand from hers and began to gently stroke her hair. "I just have a pretty terrific girlfriend, that's all."

Her heart melting, Lois sighed contently as she focused her attention back on the road. Clark's girlfriend ... what was it about hearing him refer to her that way that made her so happy? And how had things changed so completely in their relationship in just a few weeks?

A month ago, the most she'd been willing to admit to herself was that she had developed a crush on her partner. But since slowly figuring out during the week after Christmas that Clark had romantic feelings for her, Lois had come to realize that her feelings ran much deeper than she'd ever imagined possible. The only scary part was how quickly she seemed to be falling for him.

So far, she'd been resisting the urge to answer Clark's heartfelt "I love you's" with her own similar declaration, trying so hard to stay cautious. She kept telling herself that it was impossible to be in love with him already -- they'd only been dating for a few weeks! But since they'd verbalized their feelings on New Year's Eve, every moment they spent together only made her question her reluctance a little bit more ... if this wasn't love, what possibly could be?

Lois had thought she'd been in love before, a few times, but it was almost jarring how much those past feelings paled in comparison to what she felt now. Her feelings for Clark were so completely different from anything she'd felt before. This was more than just the heady rush of a new relationship. Oh, she still felt that rush of excitement every time they kissed, and it was a wonderfully delicious emotion. But there was more ... being with Clark gave her a safe, secure, confident feeling that was completely new to her. 

With other men, there had always been doubts ... doubts that they would be faithful, doubts as to whether they were being truthful about their feelings, doubts that they would accept her for who she really was. Even with Superman, things had been uncertain. Not that she didn't believe Superman cared for her; she trusted him with her life -- literally! But knowing that they could never be together -- really be together -- had always kept him at a safe distance in her heart. 

But with Clark, everything was different. Unlike with Paul, she didn't feel as if she had to compete for his attention. Unlike with Claude, she didn't feel as if she were being swept away by the intensity and pace of their relationship. And unlike with Lex, she didn't feel on display, as if everything she said was being evaluated and judged. No, with Clark, she felt safe and secure and patient and content ... and truly, completely loved. It was a feeling she wanted to bask in forever.

Forever. She wanted to be with Clark forever.

As the implication of this desire reached her conscious mind, Lois found herself rendered nearly breathless from the realization. The reason she felt this way with Clark was because, for the first time in her life, she was completely, totally, head-over-heels in love.

And she couldn't imagine being any happier.

*****

"Well, here we are," Clark said as he pushed open the door to the rental unit. They had already stopped at the base lodge to check in, and had been pleased to find that their keys, trail maps and lift tickets were waiting for them. Now, after lugging in their bags from the car -- Lois carrying his smaller one, him carrying her larger one while balancing the cooler on his other shoulder -- Clark felt as if he was about to embark on the most important journey of his life. "So," he joked, using a lopsided smile to disguise the flicker of nervousness he felt building in his stomach. "Should I carry you over the threshold?"

Smiling, Lois walked through the door and set his suitcase down on the floor before turning back to him. "I think you already have your hands full," she pointed out, finding a light switch on the wall and turning it on.

Clark followed her inside, pushing the door closed with his foot and grinning in response to her amused expression. Bantering like this was something that came naturally to them, and there was no question in his mind that Lois enjoyed it as much as he did. Still, as often happened when he dropped clues about how strongly he felt about her, the little voice in the back of his mind was there reminding him to tread lightly. As much as he wanted to shout his love -- and his hopes for their future -- from the rooftops, the fact that Lois clearly wasn't ready to say the same often made him censor what he said. 

It wasn't that Lois seemed uncomfortable whenever he told her he loved her -- she usually seemed quite touched by the emotion behind his words -- but the last thing he wanted to do was scare her off by pushing her into saying words she didn't feel, so he was careful to keep his tone light as he continued to tease. "We could always go back into the hall after I set this all down," he said coyly, dropping her suitcase next to his. "My hands would be free then."

Lois just laughed and patted his chest affectionately. "Why don't we save it for our wedding night." As soon as the flirtatious words were out of her mouth, however, a blush began making its way onto her cheeks. "I mean," she backpedaled, suddenly looking a little flustered. "You know, *if* we have a wedding night. I wasn't trying to say--"

As her slip filtered into his brain, Clark found he couldn't keep the grin off his face. Maybe scaring her off wasn't going to be as easy as he'd feared. He leaned down impulsively to give her a kiss, cutting off her fumbling. "I know what you meant, Lois," he reassured her. He set the cooler down on the kitchen table and turned back to her, his gaze warm. "And for the record," he added, giving her a wink. "I'm hoping that 'if' becomes a 'when'."

Before Lois's jaw could drop too far, Clark made his way into the condo's living room and turned on a lamp, letting them check out the rest of the unit. "So what do you think?" he asked.

"Not bad," Lois answered, clearly impressed.

"Yeah, not bad at all," he agreed. The unit was decorated very similarly to the photo in the brochure. Bright and spacious, it seemed like a very comfortable place to spend the weekend. The front door had opened into a small entryway, which led immediately into a combined kitchen and dining area. Beyond that was a smallish living room, complete with a fireplace, an overstuffed couch, and two cushy reclining chairs. A short hallway off the living room led to two doors, which in turn led to the bedroom and bathroom, respectively. 

Clark nodded, pleased. He had specifically requested an end unit to give them a little more privacy -- and had even paid a little more for it, though after their conversion in the car, he hadn't mentioned that to Lois -- and this looked to be well worth every penny. Now all he had to do was figure out how to put that privacy to good use by telling Lois about Superman.

"Oh, Clark, look at this!" Lois exclaimed, peering through the sliding glass door located at the end of the unit. With a quick turn of her hand, she'd unlocked the door and opened it, grinning. "We really do have a hot tub!"

He came up behind her and looked over her shoulder at their small outdoor patio ... and the steaming jacuzzi. "Big enough for two," he observed. As they stood in the doorway, feeling the crisp night air, he wrapped his arms around her from behind and, unable to help himself, began nuzzling her hair.

Lois leaned into him and made a little sound of pleasure. "We can soothe our muscles after skiing tomorrow," she murmured, her voice low and sensual.

"Mmm," Clark replied huskily. "And you can torture me with that bikini."

Tipping her head back to invite a kiss, Lois gave him a slow smile. "Would you have it any other way?"

"Absolutely not," he whispered. Their lips met and lingered for a long moment. As they separated, however, he couldn't help but grin mischievously. "Unless, that is, you don't want to wear anything at all."

Trying to look outraged -- but laughing too hard to pull it off -- Lois turned quickly in his arms and pushed him back into the room, sliding the glass door closed behind her. Caught off-guard, Clark stumbled backwards, laughing himself, then lifted his arms to defend himself as she started to tickle him. "I was kidding!" he choked out, trying to get enough air to talk. "It was a joke!"

"A joke, huh?" she said as she followed him into the living room, her fingers dancing over his ribs. It didn't take long for Clark's legs to come in contact with the couch and he let himself topple over onto it, pulling her down with him.

As they landed, Clark tried to catch his breath. "Mercy," he laughed. "You win."

Lois gave his ribs one last tickle, then lifted her arms to encircle his neck as she lay on top of him. "Don't start something you can't finish, Mr. Kent," she murmured, her eyes becoming a little darker.

Clark was about to lift his head to kiss her when her words filtered. He raised an eyebrow instead. "*Can't* finish?" he repeated.

Clearly noting that she'd touched a nerve in his male ego, Lois grinned and her expression became a bit more predatory. "You can't go back on your promise, after all."

As her meaning became clear, Clark gave a low chuckle. "Ah, so that's the game, huh?" he replied knowingly. "You do your best to seduce me and I have to valiantly resist."

Lois gasped. "Would *I* do that?"

Noting her exaggerated look of innocence -- one that proved his evaluation was completely correct -- his chuckle turned into a full blown laugh. "You are evil!" he exclaimed, tightening his arms around her waist and rolling them over until she was next to him on the couch. Capturing her mouth in a deep kiss, he trapped her against the cushions ... and it wasn't long before their giggles turned into sighs of encouragement.

As their kisses became more passionate, however, and their hands began to wander, Clark's conscience began to make itself known. There was nothing he'd like more than to spend the rest of the evening in Lois's arms, doing exactly what they were doing, but he had to remember that there was another reason he'd invited her away for the weekend. Shouldn't he tell her first, before things got any more heated?

Reluctantly, he pulled back and looked at Lois longingly. Her eyes were bright as she gazed at him, her lips damp and inviting from the attention he'd just paid them, and it took all his willpower not to lower his mouth to hers once again. He took a deep breath, trying to stop his head from swimming. "As wonderful as this is," he began, giving her an apologetic look, "I should probably ... get the food into the refrigerator."

If Lois was put off by his excuse, she didn't show it. Instead, she glanced at the cooler on the table and gave him a sheepish grin. "I'm sorry. I guess we got a little carried away."

"No, no," he reassured her. "It's not that. It's just ..." She looked so adorable, Clark couldn't help but give her another kiss. Then, before his body could win out over his mind, he pushed himself away from her and off the couch. "How about we get unpacked and meet back here," he suggested. "I'll start a fire, and we can ... talk."

With a knowing smile that meant she'd interpreted "talk" as a metaphor for "a lot more kissing", Lois readily agreed. "Sounds like a plan."

As Lois hopped off the couch in order to take her suitcase into the bedroom, Clark made his way into the kitchen, taking a few deep breaths along the way. The food was still more than adequately chilled in the cooler; he'd packed enough ice to last the groceries through the night, if need be. But he needed time to think, to gather his courage, and putting away their food was the first excuse he'd come up with.

How in the world was he going to tell her that her boyfriend was secretly the superhero she'd once longed for? Wasn't she going to be furious with him for keeping it from her? She'd been in love with Superman once -- Clark still ached every time he remembered that horrible night when she'd told him so, when she'd been considering Lex Luthor's proposal. It had hurt so much to have her declare her feelings for Superman only hours after telling Clark she had no romantic interest in him. In fact, he sometimes wondered if the scars from that encounter -- scars which had healed over as they'd rebuilt their friendship, but were still a source of painful memories -- were the very things holding him back from telling her about Superman.

As selfish as it might be, he wanted her to fall in love with Clark, to tell him that she loved him, before she knew about Superman. And no matter how many times his head told him that it wasn't fair to push her, his heart still longed to hear those three little words from her -- words that she had professed so earnestly to Superman, but never to him.

Clark sighed, feeling a little chastened by the realization. He was still feeling jealous of his creation, a feeling that should have vanished as soon as he and Lois had begun dating. She'd never given him any reason to believe that she continued to prefer the guy in the flashy red and blue suit, and indeed, her behavior towards Superman had changed significantly over the last month. Ever since Christmas, when Clark had begun courting her, she'd seemed much less distracted by the superhero, even going so far as to deliberately mention in Superman's presence last week the fact that she and Clark were a couple now.

Of course, that wasn't to say that she no longer had any romantic feelings for the superhero. Clark knew what a hard time he was having keeping his emotions from registering on his face when he saw Lois as Superman, and he hadn't failed to notice the way her eyes lit up whenever she saw him in action. She'd never acted on her interest, though, staying true to her boyfriend over the last few weeks. But neither could Clark say that she treated Superman with indifference.

As he finished unpacking the cooler, Clark leaned against the kitchen counter, lost in thought. Could that, in fact, be what was holding Lois back from committing completely to their relationship? Could she be confused by the fact that she had feelings for two different men, and, because of it, simply didn't feel right about telling Clark that she loved him yet, perhaps out of guilt? And if so, wasn't he just sabotaging his own efforts by continuing to delay telling her the truth?

Taking a deep breath, Clark straightened up and gathered his resolve. Turning off the lights in the kitchen, he made his way back into the living room, where he busied himself starting a fire in the fireplace. They needed to have their talk. No matter the reasons for Lois's hesitancy, the thing to do was to tell her as soon as possible. He loved her, and no matter how much he longed to have her tell him the same, it wasn't right to put it off any longer. Even if he dreaded the idea of having her mad at him.

"That fire looks great."

Clark startled as he heard Lois's voice behind him, and he turned around. "Sorry," he said, "I didn't hear you ... come ... in." His words trailed off as he looked at her. She had changed clothes in her room, discarding the more professional clothing she'd worn to work in favor of lounging clothes. If she'd thought she was dressing down, however, she was sorely mistaken. A pair of slim-fitting long-underwear bottoms hugged her legs, while an oversized sweatshirt barely reached to her thighs. She was completely covered ... yet in such a way that made him feel as if she had very little on. Clark swallowed. "Wow, you look incredible."

Lois ducked her head and gave a self-conscious smile. "It's just my pajamas. It's starting to snow outside ... I thought it might be nice to cuddle up by the fire."

"That sounds great." Clark stood up, trying not to stare. Looking at her like this was definitely not helping to keep him on track. "Maybe I should change, too."

Lois shook her head. "No, don't." She walked around the couch to where he was standing, reaching down to turn off the lamp as she passed the end table. The flickering light from the fire was all that illuminated the room. "I think," she said, looking him up and down in his dark dress pants and cream-colored dress shirt, "that you look fantastic just the way you are." She wrapped her arms around his neck and slowly pressed a kiss to the skin at the opening of his unbuttoned collar.

Closing his eyes, Clark exhaled a shaky breath as she continued to trail sensual kisses up the side of his neck and along the edge of his jaw, but by the time she reached his chin, he could no longer hold himself in check. Lowering his head, he met her mouth in a full kiss, then moaned quietly as her tongue brushed lightly against his. He tightening his arms around her waist. "Are you trying to seduce me?" he whispered.

Gently winding her fingers through his hair, Lois gave him a little smile. "If I am, do you want me to stop?"

Clark took a shaky breath. "No."

"Good," she replied, bringing his mouth down for another kiss.

He deepened it instantly, his hands caressing their way down her body. "Oh, Lois," he sighed as she pressed herself more tightly against him. "I love you so much."

Lois pulled her head back so she could look him in the eye and brought one hand up to caress his cheek. "Oh, Clark," she replied tenderly. "I--"

Clark shook his head, realizing instantly what he had done. "No, you don't have to say it back," he said quickly. "I know you're not ready ... that you're not sure."

"But Clark--"

He stepped back a little, trying to catch his breath and calm his body. "And it's OK, really." He took her hands in his and held them to his chest. "In fact, I think I might know why," he began, trying to quell the nervousness that had begun building once again. It was the moment of truth. He looked into her eyes, hoping against hope that she wouldn't hate him once she knew everything about him. "Lois, I need to talk to you--" Clark swallowed, forcing the rest of the words out. "About Superman."

Lois's eyes widened in surprise, but she quickly shook her head. "Superman? Clark, no, you don't understand!" Cutting him off, she lifted herself up on tiptoe and threw her arms around his neck, swallowing his sound of protest with another kiss. When she finally pulled back, she stared into his eyes, as if imploring him to believe her. "I don't want Superman," she told him breathlessly. "Only you. I love you, Clark." 

Stunned, Clark lost himself in her gaze, his heart soaring at her words. All this time, he'd been wrong. She hadn't been conflicted in her feelings for him at all; she really had just needed time! True, she'd misunderstood what he was trying to tell her, but he had waited so long to hear those words from her.... "Oh, Lois," he murmured emotionally, covering her mouth with his. "Oh, honey."

As their mouths met, they slowly lowered themselves to the carpet, their passion igniting as they continued to kiss in front of the soft glow of the fireplace. Half-covering her body with his, Clark growled with pleasure as he felt her thigh wrap itself around his hip. "You need to help me keep my promise," he reminded her in a husky whisper, even as his hand began to wind its way under her sweatshirt. "You feel so good."

Lois moaned softly as she arched into him. "We'll help each other," she assured him. "Just don't stop yet."

"I won't," he vowed, his words becoming more labored. "We'll just ... trust each other ... to stop."

"I love you, Clark."

His heart swelling with emotion, he began layering butterfly kisses along her eyes, her cheeks, her chin. "I love you, too, Lois ... I love you ... I love you ... I love you."

As she sighed happily beneath him, Clark briefly felt his conscience prick at him again, reminding him of his intent to tell her about Superman tonight. But as Lois rolled him over to unbutton his shirt, and began kissing her way down his chest, it was easy to push such thoughts away. 

After all, he began to rationalize, she'd probably be angry when she found out ... so much so that she might not even want to get on the snow tomorrow. And since he had invited her here for a weekend of skiing, it really wouldn't be fair to ruin everything before they'd even gotten a single day out on the slopes ... 

And Lois felt so incredibly good in his arms ... and was doing the most amazing things with her mouth ...

You're a coward, his mind told him.

True, his body agreed ...

But as the tip of Lois's tongue began tracing the most erotic patterns against his skin, he was currently the happiest coward in the world.

*****

To be continued ... in part 3 ... on Sunday.