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Part 14

Part 15

A little while earlier above Centennial Park…

What in the world was Lois doing at the press conference? Clark asked himself.

Clark had heard her heartbeat first, then her voice. She wasn’t supposed to be on this side of town. She was supposed to be at work. He was having serious second thoughts about attending this press conference at all. It would have been much easier to do an exclusive with one reporter instead of a group of them, but who? Linda King certainly wanted the honor, but after what he heard of her conversation with Lois, did he really want to give it to her?

Perry had dissected his statement and put it back together. Wow, that man was an excellent writer. Clark could see he loved editing. It was probably why Perry spent all his free time editing and publishing that freebee weekly paper The Planet – named in honor of his beloved and deceased Daily Planet. It was probably why his wife had gone after Jack instead of her own husband when sprayed with that pheromone perfume. Clark had hoped the incident would have been a wake-up call for his boss, but more than likely not. Some people couldn’t see what was right in front of them.

Speaking of which, Clark looked down to Lois standing there at his feet, arguing with Linda King about why she had the most wonderful boyfriend. He hadn’t meant to pay Lois any direct attention. Actually, Clark had meant to act as if he didn’t know her at all – personally – while he wore the blue suit. But he just didn’t have the willpower to ignore her when she was telling people what she liked about him and how much.

She’s not talking about you, Flyboy. She’s bragging about her boyfriend Clark Kent. In this suit you aren’t him or your life would no longer be yours. Keep your distance.

Lois noticed him – or more accurately, his boots – and leisurely, took him all in. Clark never felt more like a piece of meat than under Lois’s careful gaze. When she reached his face she said “Clark” and his heard sank and hit the ground. Had she recognized him? Then she continued speaking and he was pleased to discover that she was still talking to Linda. “My boyfriend’s name is Clark.”

Maybe Lois hadn’t recognized him after all. Thank goodness. The last thing he needed was his girlfriend outing him at his very first public appearance. He wondered what she thought of his other persona. Then he saw a spark of knowledge in her eyes. Something about him seemed familiar to her. Had she identified him as the man, the blur, who had rescued her that dark and stormy night?

“You’re…? You’re…? You’re…? Super… Super… Superman?”

Superman?

Well, OK, Clark guessed that was better than that circus acrobat name of ‘the Flying Man’ that all the papers and TV stations had been calling him since last night.

“Thank you, Lois,” he replied, naturally and automatically. How could he not thank her for calling him super?

“How do you know her name?” spat Linda King. “Superman?”

Yep, that name was here to stay. Definitely not giving his exclusive to the Metropolis Star.

“I have excellent hearing, Ms. King. I heard your discussion from miles away.”

OK. Admittedly, that was the wrong thing to say at this moment. Both women looked shocked and dismayed, Lois even more than Ms. King. So much so she was backing away from him now. “I can’t be here,” she was mumbling – not, he then realized, to him but to Jimmy.

Jimmy Olsen from the bookstore’s receiving room was taking photo after photo of him. What was he doing here? Did Perry post a memo on the bulletin board?

“I have to get back to work,” Lois continued, still backing up.

This was bad. Really bad. His first press conference and he had tunnel-visioned in on his girlfriend. It was best that she left. She was definitely a distraction. He still couldn’t pull his gaze away from her. She pointed at him and then at herself, saying, “We’ll talk later.”

Oh, yeah, Flyboy, she definitely knows that this ‘Superman’ guy rescued her and she knows you remember her too. But at least she doesn't know that you – Superman – is also Clark Kent or you – her boyfriend – would really be in trouble.

Clark nodded slightly to Lois and then turned to greet the Mayor who was walking towards him with an outstretched hand. Was it just Clark or did this slimeball politician look just like Sonny Bono?

Concentrate Superman! his inner voice told him – which also for a moment sounded more like his Dad than himself. Shake his hand. Show them you are friendly.

The last thing Clark wanted his other persona to be was a photo-op, but he had flown himself into this mess by showing up at this three-ring circus.

He briefly shook the mayor’s hand and glanced out into the crowd to see if Lois was fine. She was standing with her head bent over her knees, appearing as if she was going to be sick. Then Clark saw Jimmy approach her and he smiled. She would be all right. She wasn’t alone.

Focus!

Right. Press conference. Statement. Then he could leave.

“Will you be taking questions?” asked the Mayor whose self-satisfied grin was cracking the man’s face in two.

Clark didn’t respond directly to the Mayor as he stepped up to the microphone to say his bit. He mentioned coming from another planet in passing. He really didn’t know enough about his home planet of Krypton to say more. He talked about assisting when and where he could. He mentioned being there to stay. And that Metropolis was his home. The longer he spoke the more his confidence grew. He could do this. Now that he knew Lois was safe with Jimmy, he could more easily concentrate on the task at hand.

As he stepped away from the microphone the reporters started shouting out their questions to ‘Superman’. Clark raised a hand into the air and took off into the sky. Always leave them wanting more, Perry had told him.

As Clark flew through the sky, he wondered what he was going to do about Lois. He had meant to confess his rescue to her before this, but that ship had now sailed. He needed to apologize again. He sighed. Was that going to be the basis of their relationship? Him messing up and begging for her forgiveness? He hoped not. What he would really love was what she suggested earlier. Cuddling on her couch, pretending to watch movies as they made out. But she had canceled that date when she sent him to the doghouse.

“Get away from me!” he heard a woman scream. Perry was right. He couldn’t ignore anyone in trouble. He followed the voice to an alley where a man held a gun on a well-dressed woman. Clark landed behind her, so that the mugger could see him first, then as the man raised his gun Superman zipped in front of the woman to protect her.

“I wouldn’t recommend that,” warned Clark.

“You’re that guy from the plane!” the mugger gasped in shock. The shock wore off in about seven seconds, then the man pulled the trigger. Three bullets in succession flew at the hero. Clark caught them all and then dropped them on the ground as he wiped his hands.

“I told you that wasn’t a good idea. Someone could get hurt.” Clark focused on the gun, heating it up with his heat vision until the mugger dropped it.

“Man, you’re a freak!” the mugger turned to run out of the alley to find the way blocked by a policeman.

“Officer, this man tried to mug this woman,” announced Clark.

“He caught the bullets like it was nothing,” gushed the grateful woman, wrapping her arms around Clark’s neck. “Thank you! Thank you!” She pressed a kiss to his cheek.

Clark cleared his throat and took a step away. “You’re welcome.” Then he gently moved her towards the policeman who was reading the mugger his Miranda rights.

The mugger wasn’t listening. “He heated up my gun, Man, with his eyes! He’s a freak! I tell you. A freak!”

“Uh-huh,” said an unconvinced officer. “Sure. And if I had stopped you, I’d be a freak, too.”

“He’s a God-send,” corrected the woman.

The policeman looked at Clark, really taking him in for the first time. “Thank you… uh…”

“You’re welcome,” replied Clark, before taking off into the air. He really did need a name for this other persona of his. Lois had called him ‘Superman’ which seemed to have caught on at the press conference, but Clark couldn’t call himself that. Could he? How arrogant would he sound?

Lois. He sighed. What was he going to do about her? He flew over to the store, hoping to catch just a glimpse of her. There she was, sitting on their bench, the sunshine caressing her face. “I need to recharge my batteries first,” she murmured to herself.

Clark landed beside her. “I feel like that sometimes, myself.”

She didn’t even open her eyes when she replied, “Aren’t they missing you at the press conference, Superman?”

Well, Lois was definitely sticking with the name.

“I said what I had to say,” he responded.

Lois cracked open an eye. “Linda is going to be disappointed.”

“Probably,” he agreed. He liked the ease with which she was talking with his other persona. No fear. No awe. She had said she wasn’t scared of the alien from the globe. This current calmness seemed so at odds with how she had reacted at the press conference. She was quiet, which wasn’t like Lois. Was she waiting for him to say something? Oh, right. The apology. That was why he had wanted his other persona to talk to Lois in the first place.

“I would like to apologize…”

“About time,” Lois interrupted under her breath and Clark resisted the urge to wince. Yep, that was what she had been waiting for.

“… for frightening you the other night…” he continued.

She looked at him, perplexed. “Frightening me?”

Was she bound and determined to make this as difficult for him as possible?

“Yes, frightening you. When I rescued you from falling into traffic.”

Lois stared at him intensely. He wished he could read her mind and know what she was thinking. Finally, she said, “The blur of blue and red…” She nodded. “And the smell of smoke?”

Clark shifted from one foot to the other. “I had just come from fighting a fire at a tenement house…”

“Oh.” Lois nodded again and then her tongue flashed across her front teeth. Oh, no. She was mad. She shook her head and laughed softly to herself. “And here, all this time I thought Clark had rescued me.”

She had? He gulped, but didn’t respond.

Lois continued. “How stupid of me. Occam’s Razor! The probability of a ‘Superman’…” She flung her hand out at him as she spoke of him with her designated title. “… rescuing me is more likely than someone I knew finding me and taking me home in his truck.”

Well, that explained the anger. Lois stood up. “I’ve got to go.”

“Lois, I hope you can forgive me,” he murmured.

“Forgive you? For what? Rescuing me? Never! I’ll love you forever for that,” she snapped.

He raised a brow. Would she now?

Lois pointed at him. “Oh, don’t you be getting any ideas in that big head of yours, Buster. I meant appreciate you for rescuing me and you know it.”

Clark glanced around. This had been a bad idea. They were starting to attract a crowd. He lowered his voice, “Perhaps this isn’t the best time and place to discuss this, Lois.”

“I didn’t invite you to visit me here,” she snarled, marching to the street. “If you still want to talk, I’ll see you after work. My place. If you haven’t forgotten where that is amid all the women you take home in the middle of the night in this city. And don’t get any heroic ideas about picking me up from work either. I’ll get myself home. Thank you very much.” Lois ran across the street, barely missing a car. She turned and looked at him over her shoulder with a raised brow, angrily retorting his unvoiced thoughts, “Like you wouldn’t have saved me.”

As Lois pushed open the door of the store Clark realized he had created a monster. He lifted himself into the air wondering why he didn’t think her boyfriend would be let out of the doghouse any time soon.

At least she doesn't know that Superman is also Clark or you would really be in trouble, Kent, his conscience repeated to him.

***

Sunday – Around 4:00pm

Lois unlocked her apartment and went inside. She felt hot, sticky and tired. She hadn’t slept well the night before and she had a series of superprises… she shook her head… surprises. All she wanted was to climb into a bath and wash away her day, her heartache. Too bad her basement apartment only had a shower stall, no tub.

It had been busy at the store all afternoon. Lois had sold out of newspapers before she had left for the press conference, keeping one of each of the papers for herself, which she now dumped on the coffee table. But people kept coming in and asking for more. Apparently, the Metropolis Star sold out all over town. The paper did a second morning edition – with a new article including the press conference – which had been delivered right before Lois clocked out at three o’clock.

Superman was certainly news. Big news. And Clark Kent was Superman. Clark Kent, her boyfriend, was from another planet. And he had lied to her about it. OK. Sure. She could understand that. If she was from another planet, she would probably not be going around bragging about it either. Lois couldn’t understand what it was with her. Was she the Universe’s cosmic joke? She had started to like Clark to keep herself from being available for Superman and then BAMB! Clark ended up being Superman! Ha-Ha, Universe. Really funny.

I thought so, too.

Now it was too late. Lois sighed. She really liked Clark, but she didn’t know if their relationship could overcome this huge lie. Or if she wanted to be destiny’s plaything. Clark should have said something to her sooner. He should have told her the truth about himself before revealing himself to the world.

Her tongue went over her front teeth. She bet Martha was having a good laugh at Lois’s expense, knowing her son was Superman the whole time. Had she really kept Lois’s secret about her future husband from Clark? Martha had told Lois that if she had told her son, Lois wouldn’t have been calling Martha about what was bothering Clark. So was Martha saying Clark was nervous about moving their relationship forward? Lois thought about this as she peeled off her work clothes.

Clark had seemed to like her. Jimmy had said that women – like Cat – were constantly throwing themselves at Clark, but he hadn’t dated any of them – to Jimmy’s knowledge – before her. She jumped into a cool shower. For all she knew Clark had women all over the world. Jack had said ‘he wasn’t that kind of guy,’ but who really knew Clark? He had been lying to everyone, not just her, about who he really was. Not to mention the lipstick on his cheek when he had visited her at the park across from the bookstore. Lois had been thinking about that lipstick smear on his cheek all afternoon and where it might possibly have come from.

Lois stepped out of the shower and dried off. Wrapped in her fluffy robe, she went out into her room to dig through her dresser. No shorts.

Great. Metropolis was going through an end of summer heat wave and you forgot to do laundry.

She found a cotton sundress in her closet and threw it on. It was butter-cream yellow with spaghetti straps and a circle skirt. She had only worn it once or twice – a gift from her mother and not really her style – but it was the coolest clean item of clothing she owned.

Lois had just finished combing her wet hair when she heard a knock at her door. She wondered who it could be. She didn’t know anyone in her building and no one else had a key to get through the front building.

Clark still has your parking garage clicker in his truck.

Lois pressed her lips together. That was right, she had told him to come by after work, so they could finish their argument. Personally, she didn’t feel like arguing any more. She was tired.

Something fluttered in her stomach. Butterflies? Was she nervous about talking to Clark? He was still the same man she couldn’t keep her hands off of this morning. Only her perception of him had changed since she learned he was her supposed true love. What hadn’t changed was her anger at him for lying to her on multiple fronts.

“Coming, Clark,” she called, jogging to the door. “About time you…” She opened the door to find not Clark, per se, but Superman – blue suit and all – standing there instead. “Oh,” she said in surprise. Had Clark given up being Clark for good? “Sorry, I was expecting Clark.” She stepped back to let him in.

“Lois, may we speak outside? It would be best if I wasn’t seen coming and going from your apartment.”

Lois raised a brow and leaned against her door frame. “You’ve never had a problem coming into my apartment before.”

Superman moved away from her doorway.

Lois held up her finger for him to wait, ran inside and grabbed her sandals, before closing her door and joining him by the pool. “If you don’t want to be noticed everywhere you go, may I recommend a less flashy suit?”

Superman held out his hands and looked down at himself. “You don’t like the new suit?”

She smiled with pleasure. This suit left little to the imagination. She walked right up to him and set her hand on his crest. “Of course, I like the new suit. I love it.” She grinned naughtily at him. “Very sexy.”

Superman gulped and removed her hand from his chest. “I shouldn’t have come here,” he said glancing around.

“If you fly off every time we start to talk we’ll never move past this,” she told him.

“People will get the wrong impression, Lois.”

She rolled her eyes. “You won’t come into my apartment. You don’t want to talk to me out in public. It’s either one or the other. Choose one.” When he didn’t respond, Lois shrugged and turned back to her apartment. “Let me know when you make a decision. Frankly, it would be more private for me to yell at you in my apartment.”

Suddenly he was standing between her and her apartment door. Lois glanced over her shoulder at where he had been, then back at him in his current position. “That’s going to take some getting used to.”

“Lois, may I take you somewhere private?” he asked softly.

Lois swallowed. “You mean?” She pointed up and a hint of a smile appeared on his lips as he nodded. She released her breath. “OK. That would be new. What do I do?”

His hint of a smile grew larger as he scooped her up into his arms. “Hold on.”

Lois wrapped her arms around his neck. “I wasn’t planning on letting go.”

“I’m going to take off fast,” he warned her, and before she could have protested they were above Metropolis.

“Wow!” Lois murmured as she looked at the view. “This is amazing.”

“Are you cold?” he asked concerned. “We can still go back and grab you a sweater.”

Lois shook her head. “You’re quite toasty.”

He laughed. “Why thank you, Miss Lane.”

“Where are we going?” she asked as they flew away from the city. They were moving quite fast, but neither the wind nor the air temperature bothered her.

“Some place you’ll like, where you’ll be free to yell at me to your heart’s content without anyone observing us.”

“Good.” Lois nodded. She knew she had not forgiven him – nowhere close to it – but at the moment with the thrill of flying racing through her veins, she had no desire to tell him off or yell at him. She leaned her head against his. “This is beginning to feel familiar.”

Soon they landed on a sandy beach surrounded by rocky dunes. Behind the dunes was a tropical forest, closing the beach off from the world. She could hear birds twittering and something howling a sort of hooting grunt that reminded her of the dog pound from Arsenio Hall’s talk show. She thought it might be monkeys. It appeared that no one was around for miles. Just beach, ocean, blue waves, a few copses of trees, some pelicans, hermit crabs and the two of them. And the monkeys, of course.

The air was hot with just a hint of humidity but it was still cooler than Metropolis had been. Lois took a deep breath, filling her lungs full of salty air as Superman set her down on the sand. She kicked off her sandals, wallowing in the sensation of the warm sand flowing between her toes. Walking to the water’s edge, she allowed the cool – but not cold – water to dance across her feet. An iridescent spiral shell glimmered in the water beside her. She picked it up and gazed back at Clark, a satisfied smile on her lips.

“Cheater,” she called to him.

Instantly, he was by her side again. “Why do you say that?”

She placed the shell in the pocket of her dress, so she had a free hand to touch him. She placed it on his arm. “How could I possibly yell at you here?”

He appeared happy that she didn’t feel like yelling at him, after all.

Imagine that!

There was something different about Clark when he wore the Superman suit. He was more serious, more confident, sexier in a completely different way. Maybe it was the lack of those horrible horn-rimmed glasses. Maybe it was the freedom to be himself for once.

“So you aren’t mad at me anymore?” he asked softly.

Lois raised a brow. “You made me feel crazy, like I couldn’t trust myself or my own instincts. And you lied to me.”

“So, still angry?” he asked. “I don’t want you to be mad at me, Lois.”

“That makes two of us,” she replied tersely.

“What can I do to help?” Clark inquired.

Kiss me! suggested her inner voice.

Lois held up her hands to the stunning beach. “This helps.”

Another hint of a smile graced his lips. “I hoped it might.”

“Tell me the truth. Tell me who you are and tell me where we are.”

Clark laughed in surprise. “Is that all?”

“It’s a start,” Lois replied as they started walking down the long empty beach. Her with her feet in the water, him a few feet away on the dry sand. She wished he would move closer, hold her hand, reassure her that he was still the man she thought he was when she kissed him the night before. But she guessed the salt water would wreak havoc on his leather boots.

“Costa Rica.”

“Costa Rica? As in Central America?” she stammered. It had only taken them minutes to get there.

Clark nodded. “Papagayo Bay to be exact. I wanted to take you to Langosta Beach, but it isn’t as private and there are sometimes…” his voice faded as he glanced away.

“Tourists? Sharks? Jellyfish? Crabs? Fishermen? What?”

“Skinny-dippers,” he murmured.

Lois chortled and then teased him with a wink. “Modesty becomes you, Superman.”

“Maybe…” He shook his head. “Langosta has beautiful sunsets.”

Was Clark about to suggest skinny-dipping?

No. He was about to suggest watching the sunset, Lois corrected her wayward mind.

Skinny-dipping with Clark? Hmmmm. Images followed these thoughts. Lois swallowed, stopping to get her fingers wet and press them against her neck.

“Hot?” Clark asked.

Extremely!

“A bit,” Lois replied with what she hoped was an innocent smile. Her being mad at him didn’t stop her from being attracted to him. She lifted her skirt above her knees and waded deeper into the surf. She glanced over at him, biting lightly on her bottom lip. “Are you sure you don’t want to kick off your boots and join me? The water feels really cool and refreshing.” She lifted her skirt even higher and waded even deeper. “Divine.”

Superman swallowed, the heat looking like it was finally getting to him, and then he shook his head. “I’m fine. Thanks.”

Let’s see if that man can resist a ‘come hither’ look.

Lois turned her back to the ocean and looked Clark directly in the eye, licking her lips.

“Uh… Lois?...” Clark’s hand raised and he pointed beyond her. “Wave.”

Her brow furrowed as she glanced behind her in time to get slapped in the face by said wave. The water retreated and Lois stood there feeling – and she guessed looking – like a drowned kitten. Her gaze thundered at him where he tittered on the beach.

“Feel better?” he asked innocently.

“Much. Thanks,” she sputtered coming ashore. “So much for super speed.”

“You weren’t in any danger,” he replied unable to hold in the laughter any longer.

Lois pressed her lips together after running her tongue over her front teeth. She didn’t know if it was the wave or the fact that he hadn’t ‘rescued’ her or a combination of the two, but her ardor was now completely gone.

Water logged, you mean, coughed her inner voice.

Clark, who was trying hard not to stare at her, gulped.

Lois glanced down and noticed that her free flowing sundress now clung to her body tighter than his blue suit did to his. She raised a brow at his obvious discomfort. She ran her fingers over her hair and shook off as much water as she could.

Reap what you sow, Big Boy!

“Would you…” he stammered.

Oh, now? Now he was affected by her body? Now?

“Would I what?” she snapped.

Clark swallowed. “Would you like some help drying off or do you want to just air dry?”

Lois put her hands on her hips. “You hiding a towel in that suit?”

“Stand still,” he requested as he started to stare intensely at her legs. A few seconds later, her skirt was blowing again in the breeze.

He hadn’t been joking about the laser beam eyes, gasped her inner voice.

“Shall I finish?” he murmured with a quick glance to her eyes.

Lois couldn’t speak so she just nodded dumbly and held out her arms.

“Close your eyes,” he whispered and Lois blindly obeyed. Moments later her chest and face were caressed in warmth.

If he keeps this up, you’ll have to take another dip in the ocean to cool off again.

Lois exhaled and opened her eyes. “Thanks.”

He shrugged as if it were nothing.

“Is that how I ended up dry the night of the storm? The night you rescued me?”

“Yes.”

Lois nodded. It made sense now. She checked that mystery off her list.

“I hadn’t wanted you to catch cold,” he added.

That would have been the cherry on the top of that horrible sundae.

“Any other hidden talents?” Lois asked.

“A few,” he replied modestly.

“Such as?” Her curiosity was piqued now.

He was quiet as they continued to walk down the beach.

“Honesty?” she suggested in jest.

“Yes. I believe in the truth at all times.”

Lois pressed her lips together and raised a brow at that statement.

Clark glanced at her. “That’s one of the reasons for the new suit. It felt dishonest hiding in the shadows. When you lie, someone always gets hurt.”

“Ya just figure that one out, did ya?” she scoffed.

Clark touched her gently on the arm. “Rescuing you made that clear to me.” As he spoke his hand slid down her arm to her hand.

A series of tingles danced up her arm with his touch. Holding hands felt right – almost intimate – as they continued down the beach. She stopped and faced him, taking his other hand in hers. “So all of this was because of me?”

“Partially,” he replied. Glancing down at their clasped hands, he let go. “I’m sorry. I should never…” He continued walking.

Lois jogged ahead of him and stopped him with a hand to his chest. “It’s okay to hold my hand. I won’t break.”

Clark removed her hand from his chest, dropping it. “You have a boyfriend, Ms. Lane. It was wrong of me to take such liberties. I won’t do so again.” He continued down the beach, leaving Lois standing behind him her jaw hitting the sand.

Boyfriend? What boyfriend?

The only man she was remotely interested in was him.

You mean Clark.

Superman was Clark! Or was it Clark was Superman? Chicken and egg. It didn’t matter. What was he talking about? Did Clark think she had another boyfriend? After the way she had kissed him? After she had told him what her father’s cheating had done to her family, did he think…?

Clark turned back to look at her after realizing she wasn’t following him. “Is something wrong?”

“What? Who?” she stammered incoherently.

“Why Clark, of course.” He smiled indulgently at her. “You defended him quite vigorously at the press conference to Linda King.”

Her eyes popped out of their sockets as she stared at him.

After spouting off about honesty and truthfulness, the man had the nerve to pretend to you that he is two men?

*** End of Part 15 ***

Part 16

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