Table of Contents
From Part 6Yes, she'd identified his interest then as an incipient crush. And she might have been right - at that point. Since then, though, his feelings had deepened. He loved Lois Lane. And he intended to show that he knew the difference between his boyish behaviour then and the behaviour of a man who was interested in a woman. And, he hoped, she might realise that a down-to-earth man who was interested in her was a better bet than an ephemeral Super-hero who kept her firmly at arm's length.
So, it was time to get ready, he decided. And he’d wear some of the clothes he’d bought today, carefully chosen with an eye to what Lois had seemed to admire on him most - well, other than the black jeans and polo shirt. They weren’t really appropriate for La Farfalla. Something a bit more classy. And he’d see whether she continued to
notice him, the way she had earlier in the day.
Clark checked his watch before heading towards his bedroom, on the way to take a shower. In not much more than an hour, Lois Lane was going to discover what it was like to be taken out to dinner by Clark Kent.
And he intended to make it an experience she’d want to repeat.
********
Now read on...Lois checked her reflection one final time in her bedroom mirror, smoothing over a couple of strands of hair before deciding that she looked as good as she was going to look.
The dress was every bit as perfect as it had been in Macy’s. Her dark blue pumps went very well with it, lending her some added height and, she thought, elegance. Her sapphire pendant, on its gold chain, nicely filled in the gap between neckline and throat, and her small evening bag - also in a coordinating colour - was filled and ready.
Underneath the dress, she was wearing the black lace lingerie. She hadn’t intended wearing it, but somehow once she’d taken it out of the bag she hadn’t been able to resist trying it on. Once on, it felt very comfortable, surprisingly so for sexy lingerie... and it
looked sensational.
She looked sensational.
She hadn’t been able to resist trying on the dress over it, either. She’d told herself that she just wanted to see whether the lace of the bra was visible through the dress, to figure out whether it was a set she could wear with evening wear. And she could see no trace of the bra in the mirror.
In the end, she’d decided that she would really enjoy the sensation of wearing her sexiest lingerie, and knowing that her dining partner was oblivious to it. Too much, in fact, not to give in to the temptation.
She’d tried her hair both up and down, unable for a time to decide which was best. Lois knew that she looked very sophisticated with her hair up, and she was also aware that the look enhanced her slender, shapely neck. But by wearing it up would she be sending Clark a message she didn’t want? Would she be telling him that this was more than two friends having dinner together? That would definitely be a bad idea. On the other hand, she’d argued with herself, she was wearing her gorgeous new dress. She
wanted to look good.
In the end, she’d compromised by wearing her hair down, but in a side parting and a much softer style than the sleek bob she wore most of the time. And, even if she said it herself, she looked terrific. Tonight, she would make heads turn.
But Clark’s was the only head she wanted to turn...
Lois squashed that thought instantly. He might be gorgeous; he might even be entertaining company some of the time. But he was her partner, which made any thoughts of anything more a very bad idea. Plus, he was in love with someone else.
Someone who probably didn’t deserve him...
Again, the thought was squashed. Who Clark was dating - or wanted to date - was of no concern whatsoever to her. The unknown woman should be grateful to her, however - thanks to Lois Lane, Clark Kent was going to be a prize fit to be seen.
Though that was unfair, her conscience prodded her. He’d always been fit to be seen. It was just that now he was wrapped up a little better than before - but it wasn’t the outward appearance that made the man. It was what he was underneath - and Clark had always had the kind of finer qualities any woman should appreciate.
Checking her watch once more - it was ten to seven - Lois settled herself to wait on the sofa. Two seconds later, she snatched up the remote control, flicking on the TV. The last thing she wanted was to have Clark think she’d just been sitting there waiting for him.
In fact... She bit her lip, then stopped immediately, remembering her lipstick. But, yes, sitting on the sofa - even if she was watching TV - was giving the wrong message entirely. That would tell Clark that she’d been ready before he got there. She got up, turning off the TV and scurrying back to her bedroom. She would sit on the bed, then come out when he knocked as if he’d caught her in the final stages of getting ready.
Much better.
But even then she couldn’t sit still. Was her hair still the way she’d styled it? Lois was sure that she could feel some strands where they shouldn’t be - so she had to get up and go to the dressing-table and check in the mirror. No, her hair was fine. But her lipstick looked a bit smudged, didn’t it? While reapplying that, she couldn’t help but notice that her necklace was sitting just a little bit crooked. So she spent at least a minute fiddling with that.
Then she looked at her watch again, and immediately held it to her ear to check that it was actually ticking. The watch insisted that it wasn’t even five to seven.
Of all the times for Clark to decide that he’d be on time, not early!
A tentative knock sounded on her apartment door, followed a second or so later by a couple of firmer raps.
Instantly, Lois shot to her feet and headed for the bedroom door. Then she checked herself, giving herself a stern reminder that she was
not supposed to be rushing to answer the door. She was
not to give the impression that she’d been ready for ages and had been waiting patiently for Clark to come.
She took a deep breath, then called sharply, “Just a minute!”
Forcing herself to walk
slowly, she moved across the living-room and to her front door, then - still with slow movements - she undid the various locks until, finally, she was able to open the door to Clark.
“I’m sorry; was I ea...?” he began, but he trailed off before finishing his question. And for the second time that day, Lois felt herself grow warm inside at his look of stunned approval. She stood, embarrassment, delight and impatience warring inside her as his gaze caressed her, his expression admiring.
She shouldn’t want Clark Kent’s admiration!
But... it felt pretty darned good anyway.
He was looking very nice himself. The brown chinos from Geoffrey Beene looked every bit as good on him as they had in the shop. And he’d paired them with the moss-green shirt she’d picked out in Izod, the one with the really soft fabric she hadn’t been able to resist stroking over and over.
Had he chosen to wear that because he knew she liked it? That was thoughtful of him - or maybe he was just trying to impress her.
And it’s working...Lois squashed that thought, just as she squashed the other little voice which was bemoaning the fact that Clark wasn’t wearing the Calvin Klein black jeans and polo shirt.
“Wow... you look amazing, Lois,” he said, his voice husky. He hadn’t moved from the door; in fact, he was still staring at her as if transfixed.
How could any woman not feel flattered at that kind of admiration? Trying to quell her blushes, Lois stood back from the door. “Come on in, Clark.” As he moved past her, she added, “You look pretty good too.”
“Thanks.” Was he blushing, or was it her imagination? He’d been holding one hand behind his back; now, he swung it around to reveal a bouquet of roses. A dozen yellow roses.
“These are for you,” he said. “To thank you again for everything you did today.”
Now Lois felt herself flushing once again. “Clark, they’re lovely!” She took the bouquet from him, inhaling the scent of freshly-cut flowers. That was odd, she thought; hothouse flowers rarely had scent any more. And any roses sold in Metropolis would hardly be freshly-cut. Very strange.
Dismissing her puzzlement, she added, “I’ll just put them in water. But you really didn’t need to, Clark. I mean, I thought that was why you wanted to take me out to dinner.”
She just caught his awkward smile as she turned to walk towards the kitchen. “Lois, if I’m taking a woman to dinner, I bring her flowers,” he explained, a note of embarrassment in his voice.
Had she hurt his feelings? Struck, Lois turned back to her partner. “I didn’t mean that I don’t appreciate them, Clark. Really. They’re beautiful. I just... well, I didn’t expect it, that’s all.”
His brilliant smile was back then. “I don’t like to conform to people’s expectations all the time,” he told her, shoving his hands in the pockets of his chinos. “It’d get very boring, wouldn’t it? It’s nice to be able to surprise people once in a while.”
And he was certainly surprising her today, Lois thought. It was just such a shame...
But she would
not think about Clark that way!
*********
If he’d thought the dress looked good on Lois in the shop, that was nothing compared to the sight of his partner now, Clark thought as he watched Lois rather inexpertly arranging the roses in a crystal vase. She’d done something with her hair - he wasn’t quite sure what, but it was softer, fluffier than usual, and made him long to run his fingers through it. The skirt of the dress flowed gently around her legs as she moved, the bodice shifting and caressing her upper body at the same time. And he wasn’t sure whether it was because she’d taken more trouble over her make-up than usual, but she simply glowed. She was radiant.
If he wasn’t already head over heels in love with her, he would fall in love with her on the spot.
And she was going out to dinner with him. He had three hours to try to make Lois Lane fall in love with him in return.
“Ready to go?”
He blinked, realising that Lois was speaking to him. “Uh... yeah. Actually, I have a taxi waiting downstairs, so we’d better hurry, if you don’t mind.”
She slid her arms into a coat. “A taxi? Clark, we can take my car!”
He moved behind her to hold the coat for her. “No, we can’t. Lois, I’m taking you out, therefore it’s my responsibility to provide transport. And that doesn’t mean borrowing your car!”
Lois shook her head, leading the way to the door. “You’re such an old-fashioned gentleman, Clark!”
“Only when it’s appropriate,” he pointed out, reaching past her to open the door for her.
“That’s true.” She gave him a considering look as they walked down the hall together. “You’ve never once given me the impression that you think I’m somehow less suited to my job because I’m a woman.”
Clark laughed aloud. “
You, Lois? I couldn’t imagine anyone daring to tell a three-times Kerth winner that she shouldn’t be doing her job!”
She shrugged. “It’s happened once or twice. Not so much now, true. But women do have to work harder to prove themselves.”
He knew that she was right; he’d read the research himself and attended the talks at Press Club and Newspaper Guild conferences. Women did have to do more to prove themselves in this career, as in almost any other. But Lois surely wasn’t the kind of woman to let
anyone walk all over her?
Maybe not. But, on the other hand, she had told him about another reporter who’d used her and stolen her story. She’d been younger then, less experienced. So clearly Lois had met setbacks along the way - one in particular which wouldn’t have happened had she been a man. And that was, no doubt, what had made her all the more determined to let no-one stop her getting to the top.
Including Clark Kent, he thought with a wry grin, remembering the first weeks of their acquaintance and the time she’d stolen a story from him. She’d never done that again - not, he thought, because she thought she wouldn’t get away with it, but because she’d come to respect him for the way he’d handled it. And she wouldn’t do it now because they were friends.
Friends. And - just maybe - something more?
*******
Clark was very solicitous as they exited the taxi and walked to the restaurant. After paying the driver, he held the door for Lois and then offered her his arm. That amused her and, entering into the spirit of things, she accepted it, walking arm in arm with him along the street to the restaurant he’d chosen. Italian, she noticed. Nice choice, too; she’d never eaten at La Farfalla, but she was aware that it had got some good reviews recently. It wasn’t a cheap and cheerful Italian, but nor was it one of the expensively pretentious restaurants with which Metropolis was over-supplied.
It had a pleasant, friendly ambiance, Lois thought as Clark escorted her inside. The maitre d’ came straight over, smiling warmly at them. “Ah, Signor Kent! It is good to see you again,” he said in what, so far as Lois could tell, was a genuine Italian accent.
He knew Clark? Funny; he hadn’t struck her as the kind of man who would be known at restaurants. But he was clearly a regular. Who else had he brought here? What other women had he taken out?
“It’s always a pleasure to eat here, Andrea,” Clark replied, smiling in return. “May I introduce my friend, Ms Lane?” He turned to Lois, adding once the maitre d’ had greeted her, “I always come here when my folks are in town. Mom loves the seafood linguini.”
“Only made with the freshest shrimp and scallops, Ms Lane,” Andrea said. “And all our pasta is made fresh every day.”
“It sounds wonderful,” Lois assured him, and she wasn’t lying. The delicious aromas coming from the area of the kitchen were proof enough. Just how was it that Clark seemed to know all the best places to eat? She’d lived in Metropolis all her life and he’d only been here a little over six months, and yet she’d never found Chinese takeout as good as the meals he’d brought, and so far La Farfalla was looking every bit as good, if not better, than even the most expensive Italian restaurant she’d ever been to.
“Your table is here,” Andrea was saying as he escorted them over to a secluded corner of the restaurant, where the lighting was a little dimmer than near the door. The table he indicated was set at a discreet distance from any others - looking around, Lois noticed that none of the tables looked at all cramped. The owners obviously didn’t believe in cramming customers in. It really was the perfect place for an intimate dinner for two.
But this wasn’t an intimate dinner for two! she reminded herself. It was just a friendly dinner with her partner!
Andrea took her wrap as Clark held her chair out for her. Another waiter hurried up bearing menus and a candle-lighter, greeting Clark by name, and before Lois had even had a chance to open her menu the waiter was back with a jug of iced lemon water.
“So, what do you think so far?” Clark asked with a smile when they were alone again.
“I’m impressed!” she told him, laughing. “They seem to know you well.”
He grinned. “Like I said, I take my folks here - we were here only last week. So I guess they remember me. But the service is always excellent, and very friendly.”
His glasses glinted in the candlelight as he looked at her, and together with the warmth of his smile he looked suddenly devastatingly handsome. Lois swallowed and immediately turned her attention to her menu. She wasn’t supposed to be noticing her partner’s physical attributes!
Although... She had wondered earlier if it might be possible to make Clark understand that there were other fish in the sea...
“So,” she said brightly, gesturing at the menu. “Anything in particular you’d recommend?”
********
She was looking beautiful tonight, Clark reflected again as he watched Lois in the light of the candle on their table. She was glowing. Conversation and even laughter flowed easily between them, and her eyes sparkled with evident enjoyment.
She was having a good time. That was obvious. Lois was having a great time on an evening out with him - not a date, but it suggested that she might be persuaded to go on a date for real, didn’t it?
Maybe he could ask her...
“So, Clark, what do you look for in a woman?” Her silvery voice interrupted his thoughts, and he blinked, refocusing on her words.
Anything, so long as she’s you... The words almost left his lips, but he bit them back just in time.
“Well...” he temporised. Then, giving a slight shrug, he tried to explain without actually giving too much away. “I like women who are intelligent and thoughtful - the sort of woman who has interests and gets passionate about them. Who can hold her own in any debate and doesn’t let anyone intimidate her into keeping quiet. She’d have ambition too - she wouldn’t let anyone hold her back, and especially not because she’s a woman. She’d be better than any mere man at what she does.” He smiled, remembering the way Lois had behaved in the first week he’d known her; her determination to prove to him that she was way, way better than he could ever be. That she was simply the best there was.
But there was more, he knew. “The woman I’d want to be with is capable of passion,” he said, meaning that term in more than simply a sexual way. “But,” he added, remembering another incident from that first week, “she’d have a sense of humour, too - she can laugh at herself. And she’s someone who can be my best friend as well as... well, more.”
Realising then that he might have said too much, Clark halted, taking a sip of his wine as an excuse.
“Wow! That’s quite some woman you’re looking for!” Lois exclaimed. “Do you think you’re likely to find anyone like that? Or is that your perfect woman, and you’re prepared to settle for less?”
“Would you be prepared to settle for less?” Clark threw the question back at her, wanting to avoid a too close examination of his own situation. There was no way that he wanted to admit to her that he’d already found his ideal woman!
She hesitated. Then, looking down at her plate, she said quietly, “I think my problem is that in the past I have settled for less - and it’s always been a disaster. So, no, I wouldn’t. Not any more.”
Already preparing himself for an answer he knew he wouldn’t like hearing, Clark made himself ask the question. “So... what’s your ideal man?”
She paused, taking a sip of her wine, a move Clark suspected was as much a delaying tactic as his had been. Then she said slowly, “I think - no, I
know - that I want a man who’s extraordinary.”
Yep, he’d been right. Clark felt his heart sinking. Ever since he’d invented his alter ego, she’d only had eyes for Superman. There were times, tonight included, that he wished he’d never asked his mother to design him that Suit.
An extraordinary man. Who else but Superman?
Though, he reminded himself, there was also Lex Luthor. That man had been sniffing around Lois far too much for Clark’s liking - and Lois didn’t seem to be in any hurry to tell him to take a hike. In her view, since she didn’t seem to believe his insistence that Luthor wasn’t what he seemed, was Luthor another extraordinary man?
“I know what you’re thinking,” Lois was saying with a self-deprecating laugh. “Superman. That’s who I’m talking about. Isn’t that what you’re thinking?”
“Um... well, I guess you have been pretty awed by him,” Clark said, trying not to let the fierce bolt of jealousy which had assaulted him show.
“Yeah, well, he is pretty awe-inspiring, isn’t he?” Lois pointed out. “But I didn’t mean him. Come on, Clark, even I know that he’s never going to look my way. Even if he’s interested in settling down with someone, it’s hardly going to be me. He could have anyone he wants! Why would he want to be with -”
“Someone like you?” Clark finished quietly, as Lois halted abruptly. “Why wouldn’t he, Lois? You’re pretty awe-inspiring yourself, you know.”
She blushed, and Clark grimaced inwardly, hoping that he hadn’t revealed too much of his feelings.
“That’s very sweet of you, Clark,” she said softly. “I guess... yes, I did mean that there’s nothing all that special about me - but also, I’m a reporter. I could see him wanting to keep well away from the media and publicity when he’s out of the public eye. But anyway... no, I didn’t mean Superman. I meant... well, I think any man who could accept me just as I am would have to be extraordinary.”
Lois took another sip of wine. Almost holding his breath, Clark waited to hear what she would say next; so far, she’d surprised him totally.
“He’d have to have lots of patience, I know that,” she said thoughtfully, now seeming lost in thought as she contemplated the remains of the wine in her glass. “I know I run off the deep end sometimes, and I get these
impulses which I just have to do something with - any guy without much patience would never be able to put up with me. He’d also need a sense of humour. And, I hate to say it, but I guess he’d also need to be pretty determined. I need someone who can stand up to me.”
She paused, frowned slightly, then added, “I guess what I mean is the way you don’t back down with me all the time. Sometimes you do tell me I’m wrong and you make me fight my corner. You don’t let me have things my own way all the time. And on the
very rare occasions when I make mistakes -” She broke off and gave him a flash of a teasing grin “- you manage to tell me you were right in a way which doesn’t make me mad at you. You know,” she added wonderingly, “I’ve never quite worked out how you do that.”
Clark grinned in response, though his mind was awhirl. “I guess we just make a good team,” he suggested.
Her words were making him crazy. She’d actually said that the sort of man she needed was someone like him! She’d described his way of dealing with her as what she needed - and the other characteristics she’d listed, he thought, fit him perfectly. He
could be patient - he’d already been more patient with her than she’d ever know. And he thought he had a good sense of humour. He knew, for instance, that another man would have reacted very differently to Lois stealing his story - especially given that he knew she’d also had an important story stolen from her in the past. Another man might have shown her an angry response, maybe even reported her to Perry. Certainly, someone else might never have worked with her again. Instead, he had sought his revenge in a different way, a humorous way - and one which had made her respect him.
Was she, finally, coming to see him as more than a work colleague?
Clark made a decision right there and then as he sat back to allow Andrea, who had come over to ask whether they were enjoying their meal, to refill their wine-glasses. He decided that, regardless of how this evening had come about, he was now going to regard it as a real date.
He was already treating Lois exactly as if she was on a date with him. But now, he resolved, the date would end in the traditional style, too. Because, if she really was beginning to view him differently, he’d be a fool to miss an opportunity like this.
Assuring Andrea that the meal was, as usual, delicious, Clark smiled warmly at Lois, raising his glass towards her. “Here’s to us making an even better team in future.”
She clinked her glass against his, returning his smile. “Absolutely!”
*********
...tbc
