Epilogue
Clark smiled as he looked around the living room and kitchen, his nerves a jumble of excitement and a touch of restlessness. With some hesitation and a lot of courage, he’d managed to ask her after all—if she would let him ask her on a date to his apartment to cook for her. And she’d said yes.
He couldn’t help but hum along to the soft strains of
I Only Have Eyes for You by the Flamingos as he added the finishing touches to his apartment. Scattered about the room on bookshelves and end tables were small mason jars with short-stemmed, wild, red roses—about two dozen of them. He’d gone to Smallville only to cut a few to put in a vase on the dining room table, but his mother had insisted—squealed with delight, actually, and then insisted—that she had the perfect idea. It’d taken two careful trips with boxes filled with the jars and roses and candles—small votives that were also nestled in mason jars and spread around the room.
When his mom had also given him a cream-colored tablecloth to borrow, he half expected she might send him off with her good china and silver too. He chuckled to himself at his mother’s exuberance and his father’s good-natured laughing at it all—it made him feel so good that his parents were happy for him, shared in his joy.
The aroma of sauteed garlic from cooking the green beans filled the air and met with the savory smell of the crusted parmesan that covered the chicken breasts. Dinner was just about ready, and with perfect timing—it was 7 o’clock.
Just a few seconds later, he heard a soft knock at the door. She was here. A wide grin spread across his face and his heart felt light as he skipped up the stairs to let her in.
The door swung open on a wide arc, revealing everything he’d ever dreamed of right there on his front porch. His breath caught and he wasn’t entirely sure he hadn’t floated off the ground a few inches. She was a vision in a strapless and flowing lavender dress that fell to just above her knee, and his eyes couldn’t help but be drawn to the smooth expanse of creamy skin, her collarbone and shoulders accentuated by a double strand of pearls.
“Hi,” she said, her voice small and a bit breathy.
“Hi,” he managed, lowering himself back down, as he had indeed floated, hopefully not enough for her to have noticed. “You look...incredible.”
She blushed and ducked her head slightly. “Thanks. You don’t look too bad yourself,” she said, taking in his charcoal suit and patterned tie.
Then his brain kicked in and his manners, realizing they were still standing in the doorway. “Oh, I’m sorry. Please, come in!” He swept his arm in toward the apartment as she walked through the door and down the steps with a shy smile on her face.
As he was closing the door, he heard her gasp behind him. “Oh, Clark! It’s...”
A small twinge of alarm gripped him—maybe he’d done too much, gone overboard, and he—
“It’s beautiful. This is...” She turned around to look at him as he was coming down the steps into the living room. “This is all for me?”
“Is it too much? I’m sor—”
“No! No, it’s perfect. Thank you,” she said, tucking her hair behind her ear.
Clark breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. “You’re welcome.” He put his hand on the small of her back and guided her to the table. “Here, have a seat. Dinner’s almost ready.” He pulled out her chair for her and pushed it in gently as she sat. “I have wine or sparkling cider...or cream soda, if you want?”
She smiled and chuckled lightly. “Wine would be wonderful, Clark.”
“Oh, good,” he said, starting to feel the jittering of his nerves again, “because I have a great pinot grigio that will pair really well with our dinner.”
He got to work pouring them each a glass of the chilled white wine, making sure all the burners and the stove were off, and plating their food. After setting the wine glasses on the table, along with the rest of the bottle, he went back to grab their plates. Lois was adjusting her knife and fork and fussing a little with her napkin in her lap, he noticed. At least they were both nervous, he told himself.
When he set her plate down in front of her, her eyes went wide. “Oh, wow! Clark! This looks and smells amazing.” He watched as she closed her eyes to take in the different aromas of everything on her plate. God, she was beautiful.
Clark seated himself to her right and smiled. “We’ve got parmesan crusted chicken breast, fresh green beans sauteed with garlic, and a crispy fried polenta with butter and chives.”
“This all seems like...just wow, Clark,” she said, smiling at him, though she seemed a bit taken aback. “I didn’t realize you could cook...like this. I was expecting maybe spaghetti and meatballs, not an elegant, gourmet dinner. I...I kind of feel a little guilty that you went to all this trouble when you didn’t even get a fair shot in the contest.” She fussed a little at her fork, sliding it to reposition it on the tablecloth.
“It’s no trouble, Lois,” he said automatically. Then, he took a chance and covered her hand with his own. He waited until she looked back up at him, then said, “It was never about the contest for me.”
Her smile was a bit unsure, but her eyes were shining.
“Besides, I was, uh...” He ducked his head a bit before meeting her eyes again. “I was thinking of losing on purpose anyway, so I could cook for you. Actually, I was going to offer to cook dinner for you either way, and my only hesitation was that...I really wanted it to be a date.” They shared a smile, and he closed his eyes for just a moment to listen to the sound of her heartbeat, strong and just a little bit wild.
“I think I did too,” she said with a shy smile. “I mean...it wasn’t a very clever prize when you think about it. Clearly, my subconscious had other things in mind.”
He gave her hand a squeeze. “Well, however we got here...I’m really glad we’re here,” he said, his voice thick with emotion.
“Me too.” She let out a small breath and smiled at him.
They let the silence stretch between them for a moment longer, and Clark allowed his heart to revel in the fact that they
were here. And while they had a lot to talk about and figure out, he could only be happy about the fact that all his truths were out in the open and she accepted him, loved him for who he was.
“I, uh...I guess we should eat before this gets cold,” he said, giving her hand another squeeze before he moved to grab his silverware.
“Oh! But you could warm it up with your heat vision gizmo, couldn’t you?”
He chuckled, though his heart soared at her casual yet exuberant mention of his powers. “I could...but it doesn’t taste the same, usually.”
“Oh, interesting.” Her smile was genuine and he could almost see her mind trying to work out all the commonplace uses for his powers. “Wait! Is this how my coffee is sometimes hotter than I remember it being?!”
Clark ducked his head and grinned sheepishly.
“Wow...I...thanks. This is going to take some getting used to,” she said, and he was grateful for the levity in her tone, her casual acceptance.
For the next while, they enjoyed the meal and the wine. There were pleasant lulls in conversation, and otherwise, they talked about lighter topics and what getting back to work would be like. When they’d had their fill and pushed back their plates, Clark got up to clear the table and bring out dessert and some decaf coffee.
“Death by chocolate cake for dessert,” he said, setting her plate in front of her with a flourish.
He watched her eyes light up and a slight thrill of desire ran through him as her tongue peeked out to lick her lips in anticipation. “You spoil me, Clark.” She grinned up at him, her eyes twinkling.
“You deserve it,” he said simply, unable to help the slight huskiness that had slipped into his voice. He set his own plate down and sat down again.
Clark was starting to question the wisdom of his choice in desserts as he listened to Lois’ all the intoxicating little noises she made as she enjoyed her cake with gusto. So he was grateful when she pushed back the last half of her dessert and started up the conversation again.
“Polenta was a bold choice...given Chompy’s mood, you know.” There was a flirtatious teasing in her tone and her eyes twinkled at him.
He could only laugh heartily.
“Where is he, by the way?” she asked.
“Uh...he wasn’t invited?”
“Clark! Really?”
“Look around, Lois...” He gestured at the decor around the apartment. “I was going for...um, a romantic atmosphere and he’s...well, he’s...corny,” he said, barely able to get out the last word without laughing.
Lois groaned and rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t hide her smile from him. And he thought...he could happily do this for the rest of his life. He could only hope that she would too, and that someday he’d know the right time and place to ask her. For now, though, for now he was more than content with everything he had right here.
“Where’d you go just then?” she asked. “Oh...did you...hear something? A call for help? Wow! All this time, I thought...well, that doesn’t matter! If you heard something, you need to go. I woul—”
He touched her hand, interrupting her, and shook his head. “I didn’t hear anything.” Part of him wanted to sit and bask in the knowledge that, now that she knew his secret, there was just an automatic acceptance of the fact that he would have to leave at a moment’s notice. But the bigger part of him just wanted...
Clark stood and grabbed a hold of her hand. “Can I...I want to show you something. Will you come with me?”
She clasped his hand automatically, and he helped her to standing, her body suddenly very close to his. He could sense the change in her breathing, the slightly more rapid rise and fall of her chest, and the way she looked up at him, the way her lips seemed so inviting...
They fell into the kiss together, his mouth capturing hers and her lips and tongue so eager to explore. She tasted of chocolate and faintly of their dinner before that. As if by reflex, one of his hands slid down around to the small of her back, holding her just a little more closely, and his other hand went up to cup her cheek and thread his fingers through her hair. The feel of her lips against his was dizzying and magical, and he was sure he would never get enough. His heart raced with desire that threatened to overwhelm him, so he genteled his kisses and eventually pulled back.
“Wow,” Lois breathed. “Is that what you wanted to show me?” She grinned at him, though looked about as dazed as he felt from their kisses.
He let out a soft chuckle. “That wasn’t part of the plan, no. But...I couldn’t help it.”
Somehow, her smile got wider. His heart was soaring again.
“You wanted to see the skyline with me,” he said, his voice a bit low and rough.
“You heard me,” she gasped softly. “...of course you heard me.”
His palm still cupping her face, he swept his thumb across the soft skin of her cheek. “You don’t know how many times I’ve wanted to take you flying, show you the skyline, the stars and the moon at night...everything...”
“Oh, Clark.” She pressed her cheek into his palm. “You know, I’ll bet Superman has a phenomenal view of the Metropolis skyline...”
“It’s a good thing it’s nighttime because the Metropolis skyline is even more impressive now, with the lights of the city buildings all twinkling.” Clark grinned widely. “The view will make everything worth it, Lois. Just you wait and see.”
The End
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