He took a deep breath. "Under the circumstances... that you'd already turned me down as an `ordinary man', Lois."
It was only as he said the words that it occurred to Clark that he really should have rehearsed this speech. Or at the very least spent some time preparing to deal with her reaction. This was Lois, after all. She was every bit as likely to fly off the handle and rage at him as she was to storm off in disgust. Or throw things at him. Or play it cool but spend time thinking up an appropriate form of revenge.
She did none of those things.
Instead, she went pale. Her jaw slackened. She actually took a step backwards. And, although she opened her mouth after a few moments, no words emerged.
"Lois!" Worried, he caught at her arm. "Are you okay?"
This is 
