Playing House PG-13

[BlueSabby]

Disclaimer: Covering our asses just in case... We don't own em, you don't sue us for playing with them because we give you ideas that you might want to use to make your show better ;-)


A/N: Sabby: So this is the new collab TADA! We decided to do something smutless because it's about the story, not about the smut and we were tired of writing smut. So we hope you enjoy it anyway. Oh and just for your information. This is a long one, but there are no meteor mutants or supernatural stuff. It's just a what if...

A/N: Blue: Here's the new one. Lots of humor, some angst and loads of tension. No naughty stuff in this one. We tried something different. Hope you enjoy it.




"No way, no day, no how," Chloe said as she faced her father. Her hands were planted on her hips and she glared at him. "I'm *not* moving in with the Kents.."

Gabe leaned back against the kitchen counter and let go of a long breath. They had been engaged in this little argument for the last twenty minutes now. “Chloe, I am not going to leave you alone for two entire weeks. You insist on staying in Smallville and there is nobody else who can keep an eye on you, so please, would you mind telling me what I'm supposed to do?”

"You're supposed to treat me like an adult. I'm a senior in high school, you know that I won't throw a party that will trash the house or get me arrested. How about a little trust here?" Her father had to go on yet another business trip and she had put her foot down, saying that she wasn't about to go to another crap convention. However, she hadn't realized that he would want her to stay with someone else. Let alone the Kents.

Gabe sighed. “Chloe, you are eighteen, I know you want me to treat you like an adult, and I would really like to do that. However when it comes to you and your continuing knack of getting into serious trouble, I am not willing to risk anything. Especially since you're on vacation while I'm away. And 24 hours free time without someone to make sure you're alright, that just isn't going to happen.” He crossed his arms, not willing to relent this time. Chloe did get her will in most things, but Gabe Sullivan was not about to back down from this argument, no matter what.

"I do *not* need a babysitter," Chloe hissed as she crossed her arms. "I am capable of taking care of myself. Besides, having me stay with the Kents, of all people, practically guarantees that trouble will occur while you're gone. Have you forgotten the huge fight that Clark and I got into about him not telling me, oh, *anything*." After his return to Smallville, he had sworn that he would never keep things from her again. When she had busted him and Lana making out again a few months later, she had decided two things. One was to, once and for all, get over Clark and the other had been to try to cut him out of her life. It had worked pretty well; they still had to hang out together, but usually in groups, never one on one.

The last straw had been when Lana had decided to move to Metropolis to live with her Aunt Nell. Somehow, Clark had gotten it into his head that it was her fault.

Gabe ran his fingers through his hands, groaning in frustration. "Chloe, I do understand that you have problems with Clark and I really *am* sorry that I have to put you through this, but there is just no way in hell I'm going to let you stay here on your own." He looked up at his daughter and took another breath. Underneath the harsh and determined look she was scared. She really dreaded having to live with the Kents. "Ok, listen, how about a compromise? You find someone better than the Kents before I have to leave and you can stay with that person. But no tricks. I'm talking about a responsible, self-sufficient, trustworthy adult. Nothing less, ok?"

Chloe almost blurted out, 'How in the hell am I supposed to find someone like that by tomorrow morning?' Instead, she nodded curtly. She knew that her father was just concerned for her; there had been a rash of meteor freaks recently. But, she thought more bloodshed would come about if she stayed with the Kents. She grabbed her bag off of the couch and walked towards the door. She threw her parting shot over her shoulder, "Ok, then, I'm going to the Talon to see if anyone fitting that description is waiting for me there."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lex was bone tired. He'd just spent the last three weeks in Hong Kong dealing with the repercussions of adapting to the eastern lifestyle and playing nice with potential associates. All he wanted was to finally get home and have a Scotch then some nice simple food that didn't have rice or fish in the ingredients and sleep for a good ten hours straight.

He pulled up in the mansion driveway and stopped a good fifty feet from the entrance when he got a glimpse of what could only be his father’s limousine in front of the main entrance. 'So much for food and sleep.' He slammed his fist into the steering wheel, killed the engine and got out, deciding to walk the distance so he could at least clear his head before having to face his adversary.

As he stepped out of the door of his ancestral home, Lionel caught sight of his son through his three hundred dollar sunglasses. Instead of meeting him halfway, Lionel stopped by the limo and waited for his son to approach.

Of course Lionel didn't make an effort to approach him when he spotted Lex in the driveway. Lex smirked. 'Bastard. Well just giving me more time to get ready.' He finally stepped up to his father. "Dad," he nodded his head at the slightly taller man. "Trying to get an advantage by snooping through my house while I'm not here to stop you?" His voice was calm. Lex had made sure there was nothing in the house that was of any value to his enemies.

Lionel chuckled before answering the headstrong boy. "Of course not, Lex. If this paranoia persists, you may want to see someone about it." He laid his hand on his son's arm as he put some concern into his voice. "It's not healthy. I was just checking on the LexCorp plant here in Smallville and I thought you wouldn't mind if I stayed here."

Lex shrugged his father's hand off and shot him a measuring look. “Hoping to find any sign that I'm running my plant into the ground? Well, seeing as this is not the case and the last quarter reports where more than satisfying, I think that your attention is no longer needed. I expect you are on your way back to Metropolis?” He motioned to the limousine waiting for Lionel.

Lionel nodded curtly at his son, a small smile forming on his lips. "Yes, I am," he said. Taking Lex's cue he walked over to the limo and his driver opened the door. "I only wish that I could repay your hospitality by offering you sanctuary in Metropolis over the next few weeks. However, some important guests will be staying in the penthouse." He had waited around an extra half an hour so he could deliver the news to Lex himself. "It seems as if *you* have some uninvited guests in the castle. They gave the servants quite a scare, I'll tell you. I had my scientists study them, nothing serious. But, I'm afraid the Manor will be uninhabitable for the next two weeks." He regarded his son, waiting for his reaction and his carefully chosen words.

“What?” Lex's nostrils flared and he caught the door to the limousine in one hand, glaring down at his father. His tone got sharper with the next question, his eyes narrowing dangerously. “What the hell are you talking about?”

Thoroughly enjoying the hint of anger that was in his son's voice, Lionel answered simply. "Rats. And not just any rats. It seems as if, somehow, they were affected by the meteor rocks that litter this town. They're exceptionally strong and vicious." He made a tisking sound. "Really, Lex, I would have thought that you would have taken better care of the Manor. This is the first time there has been a problem of this magnitude in it."

Lex took a deep breath. He didn't even dignify his father’s last comment with an answer. “Thanks for taking care of that, dad. I assume you'll be passing by without invitation as soon as things are taken care of. Drive safely.” With that he slammed the car door in his father's smirking face and turned sharply on his heal, cursing the older man in the most colorful words he could think of.

Lionel leaned back in the plush leather seats as he watched Lex stalk towards the Manor. He lowered the partition and said to the driver, "Metropolis." He was tempted to go out of town for the next two weeks but thought that Lex would catch wind of it and end up in the lap of luxury that was the penthouse. And, that would negate the point of this little exercise. Lionel was curious to see how his son would survive for the next two weeks in this armpit of a town.

A burly man came out of the front door of the Manor as Lex approached. "Mr. Luthor, everything is looking good. You should be able to move back in after two weeks. If you have any questions, just call this number." He handed the card to Lex and then disappeared in the direction of the other driveway. Lex suspected that his father had instructed him to park there so he would have the element of surprise when Lex arrived.

“God dammit,” Lex kicked at the gravel, running a hand over the back of his head. He scrunched the business card up and shoved it into the pocket of his pants, then went straight back to his car. Once inside he revved the engine and let it growl a few times just out of spite. Rearing out of the driveway at high speed, his next destination was clear. Lex needed a coffee and he needed to think, and Smallville didn't offer a lot of places for these purposes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chloe knew that she was attracting attention from the patrons of the Talon, but she didn't give a damn. She had already downed one extra large mocha with whipped cream and was on her second. That was not out of the ordinary. What was unusual was the fact that she was muttering to herself and would sporadically thump her head against the counter.

Lex entered the Talon and prowled through the afternoon crowd of teenagers to get to the counter. He placed one hand on the surface, sparing a short glance at a blonde head lying to his left belonging to a girl that clutched her coffee with vigor. Turning his attention to the waitress, he tried to remember her name. Since Lana had moved back to Metropolis and written over her share of the Talon to him, he was the sole owner, and had to fill her shifts with new personnel. 'Something with K....dead president. Ah' “Kennedy.” The girl in question turned around and once she spotted him got this unmistakable dreadful look on her face. “Cappuccino, large, to stay.” He barked the order. He hoped that she'd get it right where Lana had failed countless times.

Hearing someone who sounded as pissed off as she felt actually made Chloe's mood brighten just the slightest. Especially due to the fact that she recognized the voice. She turned her head towards Lex and then propped it up in the palm of her left hand. "I have to warn you, if you're staying, you might want to sit somewhere else. Me and myself are having a deep, reflective conversation. It's kinda private." She managed a small smile at the obviously livid gazillionaire.

Arching an eyebrow, Lex turned his face to the familiar voice. The blonde girl from earlier turned out to be Smallville's resident vulture-,pardon, reporter-in-training. "Chloe Sullivan." He smirked. "Well you shouldn't be sitting in as public a place if you're striving for privacy, don't you think?"

Surprising even herself, Chloe laughed aloud, quickly covering her mouth with her hand. "Good point," she murmured as she ran her finger over the rim of her coffee mug. "However, I find that talking to one's self will often give you privacy even in public places. Besides," she said as she craned her neck. "I'm also looking for someone, too. I'm very talented at multi-tasking." Chloe realized that she sounded like a lunatic, but she was past caring.

“And who are you looking for, if I may ask?” Lex grabbed the mug from the trembling fingers of the Kennedy-girl, giving her a curt nod while placing a twenty on the counter. Taking a tentative sip from the beverage, a small smile curved his lips. Cappuccino. 'There is after all hope in the darkness!' “Thank you, Kennedy.” The girl hustled off with a tentative smile, her face flushed from hairline to neck.

"I don't know," Chloe said, honestly. She saw Kennedy rush over to another waitress and gesture about excitedly. Shaking her head at the display, Chloe asked, "You don't happen to know anyone who's," she paused, trying to remember her father's list, "a responsible, self-sufficient, trustworthy...." she trailed off, her eyes widening. How could she have been so stupid? She composed herself and smiled full force at Lex. "But, enough about me, what are you doing here?" She needed to pretend to be interested so she could get him to agree to stay with her.

Lex felt something like foreboding creep up his spine. Chloe Sullivan had that look on her face. That look he'd always gotten from business associates or so called friends when they wanted something from him. Too big smile, too guarded eyes and an underlying fidgeting in the body language. 'God no, I really don't have time for this.' “I think I've made it quite clear that I am not granting any interviews. Aside from that, given our surroundings your question seems kind of unnecessary, doesn't it?” He lifted his mug and took another sip of the surprisingly good cappuccino.

Chloe had forgotten that she wasn't dealing with a regular resident of Smallville. Lex knew the way that she worked and she should have adjusted her plan accordingly. But, it was too late now. "First of all," she said, "one question an interview does not make. And, second of all, cut me a little slack, I've had a stressful day, ok?" She was about to continue on when the clod sitting next to her bumped into her without saying excuse me...yet again. She whipped around, and tapped the guy, who she recognized as a soccer player from school, on the shoulder.

"Hi," she said, sweetly. "Hey," he replied while looking her up and down. Suppressing the urge to hit him she said, "If you bump into me one more time, I'm going to rip your throat out. Have a nice day." She turned back to Lex, "Now, where was I?"

Lex cocked his head to the side, regarding Chloe with a smirk and drawn up eyebrows. “Your day must be extraordinarily bad to procure this sort of behavior. Now, don't you want to tell me what it is that you want from me? Maybe it will help your mood and keep you from wreaking havoc on the customers of my business. I don't really relish the thought of dealing with bad publicity on top of everything right now.”

Taking in Lex's appearance, Chloe realized that he didn't look as cool and calm as he usually did. She also noticed that he was out of coffee. "Kennedy," she yelled, "another large Cappuccino. Sounds to me like I'm not the only one that's had a bad day. But, since you're not ready to share with the group, I'll go first." She paused for dramatic effect. "My dad wants me to live with the Kents. For two weeks. Why doesn't he just sell me into a prostitution ring while he's at it?" She threw up her hands as Lex's drink arrived and caught the odd look that Kennedy was giving her. "It was a rhetorical question, ok," she said to the girl.

Lex chuckled under his breath and put another bill on the table. “That should cover it, oh and get Miss Sullivan another of whatever it was she had.” He turned back to Chloe. “So I take it that this rift between you and Clark has still not been overcome? I haven't seen him much since my return to civilization, but he seemed very chagrined over the things that happened before and during his absence. You never seemed like a person to hold a grudge; it must have been a very personal hit if you're still avoiding him.” Lex had heard the long and short of this story from Lana when he'd asked for an explanation for her sudden urge to leave Smallville behind for the lure of the big city.

"A grudge, is that what he called it?" Chloe shook her head, really not believing that boy's audacity. "His perception of reality leaves a little something to be desired." She looked at Lex, appraising him for a moment, wondering if he could be trusted. She shrugged and said, "Bottom line, he lied to me one too many times. And then blamed me for Lana leaving Smallville." She took a sip of her new beverage.

Lex could relate in one of the two points. Clark had made it a habit of skirting the edges of truth and had on more than one occasion openly lied. Lex was brought up to be suspicious against anything and he couldn't place his trust in someone who kept lying to his face. “I understand your resentment towards his attitude. He has a tendency to come off rather self-righteous at times and for someone who lies with a startling frequency, you'd think he would've learned to be better at it by now.” Lex had never really let himself mull over these facts, trying to hold on to the only friend he had found in this town, but he found that he'd let himself be fooled for much too long. “I can see your predicament. I assume your father insists on the arrangement though, because of his next business trip?”

"Yeah, can you believe it," Chloe asked incredulously. "I mean, I'm an adult, look at me." She gestured to herself with her hands. "Wouldn't *you* trust me alone?"

Lex looked her up and down and tried to hide the smirk that fought to break out on his lips. “Let's say I understand your fathers need for reassurance of your safety given your history of getting into trouble when left to your own devices.”

Crossing her arms, Chloe turned slightly away from Lex. "You sound just like him," she pouted. "And, I don't go *looking* for trouble, I just, sort of, you know, find it." She nibbled on her lower lip. This conversation was not going the way that she had planned. Instead of getting Lex to agree to stay with her, he was bringing up Clark and siding with her father. "Do you honestly think I would get myself killed in two weeks? I'm not a damsel in distress." The caffeine had definitely taken a hold of her body. "Oh," she said, excitedly as she ransacked her purse. "See, I have mace!" She held up the small canister so Lex could see it.

Lex jerked his head back and put his hand on top of Chloe's hand that was pointing the spray bottle directly at his face. He slowly lowered her hand to remove the potential threat. 'Heaven only knows what happens if she gets the jitters from all that caffeine.' “I'm sure you know as well as I do that in this town a weapon like this might fail when faced with the latest human meteor abomination.” He shook his head lightly. “Why don't you just accompany your father on his trip? I'll make sure that LexCorp covers the additional expanses.”

A look of horror crossed her face. She grabbed Lex by the lapels of his jacket after dropping the mace on the counter and pulled him closer. "Do you have *any* idea of how boring those things are?" When he raised his eyebrows she nodded, "Ok, ok, you do. But, you get paid to be there and don't have old lechers hitting on you either." A slow smile crossed her face, "Or do you?"

Lex pulled her hands from his lapels and smoothed his jacket. “Contrary to popular belief it's not just the young and shallow hitting on me, yes. But I don't see any other option for you, do you?” And this was when the pieces started to fall into place. Chloe wanted something from him. She was in a rather uncomfortable situation regarding her rooming for the next couple of weeks. Lex couldn't suppress the smirk that came to his face. 'Welcome to the club. Chloe, you're about to be sorely disappointed.'

Taking a deep breath, Chloe realized that he was going to make her ask him. 'Can't he be a gentleman and just offer,' she thought. Then again, he probably feared her father's reaction, but he could still make the gesture. Plodding ahead she said, "Yes, I see another option. I'm a little person. You have a big house. You wouldn't even *notice* me there. And, I'd even sign something legally binding me to not snoop around." She said the last sentence as if she were doing him a favor. "Lex, we both know that I'm desperate, otherwise, I wouldn't be asking you for this."

Lex chuckled. “As much as I sympathize with your situation, I'm afraid I have to decline. As fate will have it, I'm not in a position to offer you asylum, since the mansion is currently being raided of the Smallville mutant version of rodents and won't be free of pesticides for the next two weeks.”

"You're joking," Chloe said, without any emotion in her voice. When Lex slowly shook his head she said. "Well, that's just *perfect* isn't it? Damn mutant freak rats pick now to invade your drafty, old castle." Chloe looked up at the ceiling. "I'm being punished, aren't I?" She sighed, realizing that she wouldn't have liked staying at Lex's place all that much. It didn't have the comfiness that her house afforded.

"Oh. my. god. I'm so stupid." Before Lex could add his own two cents she said a terse, "Shut up. Follow me on this one. You have no place to stay. I need someone to stay *with* and my house is much nicer than yours, no offense. You," she said, pointing at him, "are everything my father wanted in someone to watch me." She cocked her head. "Sort of. So, you just come and stay with me and everybody wins." Chloe looked at Lex, expectantly. Sometimes her brilliance stunned even her.

Lex cocked his head to the side. “I thank you for that offer, but really, I think I don't want to get into a discussion with my plant manager about why I plan on living with his teenage daughter. I'd rather stay at the motel. Smallville *has* a motel, right?”

Knowing that it was wrong, Chloe couldn't help the huge smile that broke out over her face as she shook her head. "The nearest one is 45 minutes away. And, trust me on this one, you *don't* want to stay there. I hear that they haven't changed the sheets on the bed since the mid seventies." She picked up her drink. "Besides, there's no way that a motel would be better for you. My house is close to the plant, has an internet connection and excellent cell phone reception. I doubt that you could find all three of those in a motel."

Lex pondered his options. One thing was clear, if the motel was even half as bad as Chloe's description made it sound; he was not going to stay there for even one night, let alone 13. His next option would be his penthouse in Metropolis, but Lex didn't fancy a three hour drive twice a day for the next two weeks. Other than that, he really had no choice. “Fine.” He answered calmly. “But only under the condition that *you* explain this to your father and furthermore stay out of trouble. I am not willing to live with the repercussions of being held responsible for anything that might happen to you in the absence of your father. Deal?”

"Deal," Chloe said. For what she did next, Chloe blamed on the caffeine. She reached over and hugged Lex. She realized her mistake when she felt him stiffen up in her arms. She pulled away, blushing profusely. "I'm sorry," she sputtered. "I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable." She gathered up her belongings hurriedly, worried that Lex would reconsider his decision. "I'll take care of my Dad," she said, getting herself back under control. “And, I swear, I'll stay out of trouble. Ok," she ran a hand through her hair. "I'm going now. Um, what time should we expect you at the house?"

Lex checked his watch and considered the time he'd need for a trip to Metropolis to get some fresh clothes and back to Smallville. “Expect me around eight.” He downed the cold remains of his cappuccino in one gulp and barely avoided pulling a face at the taste.

Chloe nodded. "Ok, I'll be sure that Dad knows by then and I'll make up the guest room for you." She failed to mention that it was Lana's all room and still covered in pink. She looked through her bag again, muttering to herself. "Aha," she said, triumphantly. She handed Lex a spare key to the house. "I made it last week cause I thought I had lost mine." They both stood and Lex held the door for her as they left the Talon. She turned towards him, suddenly feeling awkward.

Lex pocketed the key and looked down at the blonde spitfire he'd be rooming with for the next two weeks. He'd lived with worse on smaller space. “Something the matter, Chloe?”

"Nope," Chloe said, fishing her keys out of her purse. "So, um, I'll see you at the house at eight. Bye." She crossed the street and unlocked her car. Before pulling out into the street, she waved to Lex.

Lex looked after the car, his eyebrows raised. 'This could be very interesting.' He got into his own car and drove off in the other direction, heading out of town and towards Metropolis. 'Something tells me I'm in for a few surprises.' Lex hated surprises.

[Queen Of Tact]

This is great... Love it, even if it has no smut.... cause smut isn't everything right?..... Please please please post more soon.... I don't want to have to wait till i get back from Kanasa City to read more.....


CC

[happy bunny]

I'm loving this already, such an interesting beginning to what is bound to be a great story. I really can't wait to see Gabe's reaction and how Lex and Chloe get along. So, you know, feel free to post more as soon as you'd like. Now would be good. *g*

And, I just wanted to tell you how funny I found this little bit. I could totally see her doing that. :hehe:

Originally posted by BlueSabby@Jan 13 2004, 07:44 PM
"Hi," she said, sweetly. "Hey," he replied while looking her up and down. Suppressing the urge to hit him she said, "If you bump into me one more time, I'm going to rip your throat out. Have a nice day." She turned back to Lex, "Now, where was I?"

[katspell]

I love this, more soon, please!!!!!

Lex in a pink room, having to keep an eye on Chloe. Its so nice of Lionel to set this up. :devil:

[Jenmar]

Oh this is an excellent start to this story. Your no smut ban doesn't leave out smoochies, right? There's a possibility of smoochies? I can live with no smut as long as there's the possibility of smoochies. This part was very well written and the story can go in so many different ways. I can't wait to see where you both take it. Great work!

[hfce]

Yes new story and I love it already. More please....



Hope :)

[ElizabethV]

I love this! Chloe is brilliant- having Lex stay at her house. :) For 2 weeks!! Anyway, I can't wait to find out how Gabe will take the news. Please update soon!

[sosostris]

yay! playing house is fun!
great start. update soon!

[Clannadlvr]

Nice beginning! Can't wait to read more. Yay for Clex...even without the smut!

*grins and ponders what she would do if Lex stayed at HER house for 2 weeks*

yum

[Cheryl]

I'm absolutely adoring this :wub: Lex'll go out of his mind in that room and undoubtibly start considering the whole thing to be a mistake once he finds out that he can't sleep, knowing the blonde's just a wall removed from him.

My, my, how will he contain himself? :devil:

[LarkLuthor]

Hey you two great premise. I love your work as a team. :cool: Loooking forward to it's continuation.


Lark

[sylvia]

Cute. I'm loving the plot line already. Update soon! :)

[gina]

Awesome start, I'm already loving this! I can't wait to see how Chloe convinces Gabe to let her stay alone with Lex for two weeks.

More soon please! :)

[Béatrice]

I love this. It was a great beginning. I can't wait to see Lex and Chloe living under the same roof. :biggrin:
Please update soon. PLEAAAAAASSSSSEEEEE! :worship2:

[scifichick774]

Very, very funny. You have Lionel down to a t in this fic. And, of course, I loved the Chlex. How happy am I that Lana's not in the picture so you don't have to write her? :biggrin: And Clark - gag - what an ass. Hope he finds out that Lex is living with Chloe and throws all sorts of a fit. Or maybe not since I'm sure he would find a way to blame Chloe for that too.

[Dannyblue]

Very nice. I really liked the conversation between Lex and Chloe, and the way Chloe was about to try to butter Lex up before asking to stay at the mansion.

Looking forward to seeing what happens next.

[miss_sixty1115]

Nice beginning... Can't wait to see what happens next... Please update soon!

Julie ;)

[sara_noele]

Ah, a new story. How wonderful!! And without the Princess of pink! Love the story already.

Hope you update soon. :chlexsign2:

[Sab_Luthor]

lovely start
i know i will love it more please

[Susie Q]

What? We’re so gutter-minded you think we can’t handle a PG-13 rating? :tongue: Hee. I can’t wait to see Gabes’s response to Chloe’s candidate for a responsible, self-sufficient, trustworthy adult http://www.angelfire.com/emo2/emoticons0/images/giggle.gif. While I’m sure Chloe can easily sell the first two of those traits successfully, I’d like to see how she maneuvers around that third one :lol:. Can’t wait to see how the next two weeks play out. http://www.angelfire.com/emo2/emoticons0//images/Wink2.gif

[autumngold]

I'm so glad you guys are writing another story!! What a good beginning!! I can just see Chloe so mad about having to stay at the Kents!! Thank goodness that Lex came and saved the day!! I can't wait to see how they get along in close quarters!! I bet they drive each other crazy at first!! Thank you so much for having Lana move away!! That made the chapter for me!! More soon, please!! :chlexsign3:

[ladymichelle]

I love it! I am so glad that you have teamed up again.
I can't wait to see everyone's reactions: Gabe's, Clark's, and the Kents'!
Can't wait for more!

Michelle

[Pieper]

Love it. Please more soon
Femke :biggrin:

[MissMed03]

True no smut can be bad at times but the plotline and the humor in this TOTALLY make up for it! I'm loving this. They are gonna fall in LUV tho' right? *slaps hand over forehead* RIGHT?
Don't leave me in the dark here, update soon! :worship2:

[ColumbiaBlue]

Yaaaaay!!! Another story from you two!!! I loved the first chapter! Update soon!

~Manda :blinkkiss:

[Not An Addict]

Squeak! Yay, a new fic! ^_^ Looking good so far, ladies! Somehow I'm sure I'll be able to live with the lack of smut. *long-suffering sigh* No, seriously, I'm looking forward to this. Can't wait for more! *hugs*

[vardaquareien]

*wringing hands* Ok no smut. I can handle that! Really I can! The smut does not the Chlex make! Really! And anyway I need to branch out, not just think smut when I think Chlex. Really! http://img8.photobucket.com/albums/v28/vardaquareien/Smilies/worried.gif

Love this fic so far! The set-up is great. I can't wait to see what's gonna happen!!! You two make such a wonderful team! I can't wait to see where this ficcy goes!

[Blaire023]

Okay, come on, you've gotten like 27 replies now, you have to post the next chapter. *whine* PLEASE!!!!!

Have you ever seen my Lana impression. Don't MAKE ME USE IT!!!!

*rushes off to check her closet for any pink colored clothing*

~B

[ruafair]

Oh wow, what an excellent start. :biggrin: But then again, you two are fantastic writers. :worship2:

Loved Gabe's list, and loved Chloe *response* to the soccer player. Poor Lex, he really doesn't know what he's letting himself in for.

Fiona

[asharnanae]

:huh: damn, i forgot to post on this one!! sorry guys! hey but you have got another stunner in the makeing, hope to see some more soon!

[BlueSabby]

A/N: Sabby: So this is the part where Chloe has to convince Gabe, it's short, but I think you'll like it.

A/N: Blue: Heeeeeeeeeeeeeere's Gabe. Or his reaction. Just a mini-update and then let the games begin.

"YOU WHAT," Gabe thundered. Chloe winced at her father's reaction, but she couldn't say she was surprised by it.

"I convinced Lex to live with me for the two weeks that you're gone," Chloe repeated. She sat on the couch and watched as her highly agitated rather paced in front of her.

Gabe was sure he was hearing things. His daughter did not just tell him, twice, that she had convinced his boss to stay with her for the duration of two weeks. He flaunted his arms to the side and shot her an incredulous look. “Why? He's my boss, you've hardly had contact with each other, and why the hell would he stay with you anyway? As far as I remember he has a huge castle and endless staff doting on him.”

"He's homeless, too," she said. When her father crossed his arms and glared down at her she continued. "I'm serious, apparently there are mutant rats in the Manor and he can't stay there. He was going to go to a motel but then I told him about *this* situation and," she shrugged, "well, it seemed to make more sense to have him here." Chloe stood up and took a deep breath. She knew her father wasn't going to want to hear what she had to say next. "Besides, Lex fits all of the criteria you set forth before. And, I know that you like and trust him."

Gabe grumbled under his breath. He really hadn't left much to argue with there, except “He's my boss.”

"Sooooo," Chloe strung out the word. She really didn't understand why that bothered her dad so much. "He obviously doesn't have a problem with it, so why would you? It's not as if he's going to be rifling through your stuff when you're not here. I'm sure Lex won't even be around that much. I mean, he will be working at the plant." She walked over to her father. "Please, Daddy. I don't want to stay with the Kents and, besides, Lex *does* need a place to stay."

Gabe could feel himself turning into a pile of mush at the look in his daughter’s eyes. He let go of a long breath. “You know I'm not comfortable with this. And what if he makes the moves on you? I mean, trusting him with work is one thing, but...” Gabe trailed off, shaking his head lightly.

"The moves?" Chloe knew that it was a real concern of her father's, but the way that he had put it sent her into a fit of giggles.

Gabe's head jerked up and he made an indignant sound. “I do not see what's so funny about this.”

Composing herself, Chloe said, "I'm sorry, Dad. It's just that. Well, I'm not exactly his type am I? I'm not an Amazon brunette with homicidal tendencies. In all the time that I've known him he's never been inappropriate with me." She looked at her father. "Also, and I’m not just saying this, I think he respects *you* too much. He would have to know that you'd kill him and then quit."

Gabe sighed. “No actually, I would quit, then kill him, but that's not the point. I just hope that you know what you're doing there. I trust you sweetheart and I expect you to tell me the moment Lex does anything inappropriate or you get too uncomfortable with the situation.”

Seeing that her father was caving, Chloe tried to put a serious look on her face to replace the joyful one that was trying to burst forth. She nodded, "I will, Dad. But, you don't have to worry about it. It won't happen." She launched herself at the father. "Thanks." When she let him go she saw that she had half an hour to get Lana's room ready. "Lex is coming over at eight so I better get moving on making the guest room habitable."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Close to half an hour later, Chloe came back down the stairs. She saw her father's bags at the front door and he was sitting on the couch staring at the clock on the wall. "Shouldn't you have left by now," she asked, keeping her voice even. She realized that her father probably wanted to have a few words with Lex. Words that would, no doubt, embarrass Chloe to the point of wanting to die.

Gabe pulled himself out of his thoughts and looked up at his daughter, then at the clock on the wall behind her. “Shit.” He jumped up from the couch and hurried to the wardrobe to get his coat. 'Dammit, now I’ll be lucky if I arrive in Metropolis on time to catch my flight.' He pulled his trench coat on hurriedly. “Ok, he's lucky he's coming late, you know I would have wanted to talk to him, but as it is I'll probably have to break every speed limit from here to Metropolis to get to my flight in time. I'll call you tomorrow morning. I love you, be a good girl” He rattled his words off while he ran to Chloe hugged her, ran back to the front door and grabbed his suitcases.

"I'll do my best," Chloe said as she opened the door for her father....and came face to face with Lex. 'So close..' she thought. "Hi, Lex, you're right on time." Chloe looked over her shoulder at her father and he gestured with his head that she should leave the room. "Let me take one of your bags," Chloe gripped one of the suitcases that Lex had and tore it out of his grip. Casting one last glance over her shoulder, she ascended the steps.

Gabe looked at the younger man all the speeches he had thought of while brooding on the couch now forgotten in the stress and getting to his destination on time. “I'd have a lot to discuss with you, but long story short, I trust you with my daughter. You mess up, you die, and no I don't care that you're my boss and could fire me for this. Goodbye, Lex.”

Lex watched as Gabe wooshed past him in a flurry of trench coat and suitcases and disappeared in his car before he could get a word in. Lex shook his head and closed the door behind him. 'Here goes nothing,'

Chloe placed Lex's bag by the foot of the bed and walked back to the top of the stairs. He was still standing near the door, clearly uncertain of what to do now or where to go. "I'll show you to your room," Chloe said. She also had the urge to affect a fake British accent, but she was able to control it.

Lex nodded and picked his duffel bags up. Following Chloe up the stairs he looked at the various pictures adorning the wall. He also noted a few empty spots where he assumed had been photos that featured Lana. When Chloe stopped short in front of a door and hesitated for a second with her hand on the handle, Lex lingered a few steps behind, giving her a questioning look. “Having second thoughts already?”

"No," Chloe said. While she hadn't lied to Lex, she *had* failed to mention that the guest room was Lana's old room. And, since both she and her dad had been very busy as of late, it had remained exactly as Lana had left it. Deciding to just let Lex see the room first and yell later, she opened the door and nodded towards the room, indicating that Lex should enter.

Lex stepped forward and into the room. The duffel bags dropped to the floor as he tried hard to keep his facial expression in check. “I take it, this was Lana's room,” he stated dryly. The room was drowned in every shade of pink man had created. Glaringly pink walls, a lighter shade of pink bed, covered by a rose-pink comforter. Even the desk on the wall to his left was pink, as was the wheeling chair in front of it. The only non-pink thing in the room was the white doors of the closet.

"Yeah," Chloe said, tailing behind Lex. "I'd offer to try and fix it for you, but short of setting fire to it." Chloe shrugged. She walked over to the closet and opened it. "But, it does have plenty of closet space." She smiled and then sat on the bed. Looking up at him she asked, "You can rough it in here, right?"

Lex smirked and swept the room with another glance. “As long as you don't drag me out before the rooster crows to clean stables, I can live with the surroundings. I'll only use it to sleep and in the dark the color scheme won't be quite as obtuse.”

Chloe chuckled. She placed her arms behind her and leaned back on the bed, tilting her head up. "Do I look like I get up at the crack of dawn? Besides, look out the window. Dad and I don't own any cows, horses or other various farm animals." Chloe shuddered at the thought of having to live on a farm.

Lex shrugged one shoulder a smile tugged at his mouth as he watched Chloe shivering probably caught up in the mental image of having to get up early to milk cows. “Just making sure, now is there anything else I need to know?” He strode over to the door, holding the handle with one hand. He wasn't telling her to leave him alone, but was pretty sure his body language was enough to convey the message.

"Nope," she said, shaking her head. She pushed herself off of the bed and walked over to the open door. "Bathroom is down the hall to your left and my room is down the hall to the right. Feel free to use the phone and you can set your laptop up at Lana's desk. Holler if you need anything." Pausing at the threshold of the door, Chloe locked her eyes with Lex's. "Thanks, Lex." She said softly. She walked out of the room, grabbing the doorknob as she went. Her hand brushed over Lex's as he released his grip on it and she shut the door after her.

Lex turned away from the door, shaking his head slightly. He was beginning to think that maybe they'd get along after all. She'd been pretty polite so far and respected his boundaries; and her snark was a rather pleasant way to take his mind off the ever present problems that seemed to follow him from work.

[hfce]

:clap: Bravo good update More my ladies more. :clap:




Hope :blinkkiss:

[asharnanae]

:biggrin: loved it totally!! gabe giveing in was great, as was lanas room!! please more!!! this is really good. :worship2:

[Not An Addict]

Lovely, absolutely lovely. ^_^ Gabe's reaction was perfect, and I loved his hurried little speech to Lex. And the thought of Lex in Lana's old room . . . *snickers* Fan-freakin-tastic. Now, as you said: let the games begin. ^_^

[Elviriel]

:lol: I can so imagine Lex sleeping in a pink bed .... I love this fic !

[Susie Q]

Well that wasn’t so bad. Of course, the fact that Gabe’s little Chloe-bear has him completely wrapped around her little finger probably helped in the convincing :tongue:. And how hard was I laughing imagining Lex trying not to recoil in horror at Lana’s pink paletted nightmare of a room :lol:. I can’t wait to see how the new living arrangements work out http://www.angelfire.com/emo2/emoticons0/images/Cunning-Plan.gif.

[Jenmar]

You were right when you said short. It was, but it was also good as far as setting up the rest of the action. Your description of Lana's old room reminded me of Steel Magnolias where Julia Roberts character talks about her wedding colors being "blush and bashful". Anyway, good stuff. So are we going to get to see Lex dealing with Chloe staying out to all hours of the night chasing meteor freaks and disregarding curfews? I can't wait to see what you have planned.

[ColumbiaBlue]

“I'd have a lot to discuss with you, but long story short, I trust you with my daughter. You mess up, you die, and no I don't care that you're my boss and could fire me for this. Goodbye, Lex.”

I loved that line! :goof: Great update even if it was kinda short... I can't wait for the "games" to begin!!!

~Manda :blinkkiss:

[vardaquareien]

Yep I also luved Gabe's succinct warning/threat!!! Very nicely put! I luved him worrying about Lex putting "the moves" on Chloe!!! That was just so cute. O havn't heard that expression in years! :hehe:

I'm having all sorts of fun picturing our debonaire billionaire snuggled down under a rose-pink comforter in a hideously bilious pink room! I just hope that the pinkness isn't contagious - for all our sakes!

[Clannadlvr]

I second Amanda and Varda!!!:


“I'd have a lot to discuss with you, but long story short, I trust you with my daughter. You mess up, you die, and no I don't care that you're my boss and could fire me for this. Goodbye, Lex.”

I *heart* Gabe in this fic SO MUCH!

Oh, and Lex in the Pink Room of Terror??

Priceless

[scifichick774]

Oh, and Lex in the Pink Room of Terror??

Priceless

Agreed. *And* great name for it. ;)

[Val]

Oh that was great! Hilarious even! Loved the 'Lex in a pink bedroom' situation and I REALLY can't wait to see how those two will handle living together! Especially Lex, since he is used to having people doing things for him all the time.


Update this soon!!!!! :biggrin:

[katspell]

I love Gabe's short version of his speaches!

Thanks ladies, any chance of more soon?

[gina]

Great chapter. I absolutely loved the visual of Lex in Lana's pink room! :lol:

Can't wait to see how this turns out! Please update soon!

[autumngold]

Thank you so much for the quick update!! I really enjoyed how Chloe wrapped Gabe around her little finger!! I think it showed the trust they have in each other!! Also, Lex in Lana's room? Very funny!! :biggrin: :chlexsign4:

[drina]

Great start! Can't say i won't miss the smut, but this looks really promising as well....

[MissMed03]

Great job! Need i even say: UPDATE SOON?

[Impress]

great idea. great story...so far. need more soon.

[sara_noele]

Loved Gabe's little speech!!

And Lex and Pink, jirks. *shudders*

Please update soon!

[sylvia]

Looking up at him she asked, "You can rough it in here, right?"
Lex snuggled up in a rose pink comforter... :devil: wicked.

Gabe speech was priceless too! :wub:

Good job and make sure you update SOON :)

[randa]

im so excited cause its a new colab from you two!!
i loved it so far and cant wait for the next part...soon right?

randa

[Sab_Luthor]

awwww my porr sexy
locked in the pink room
it's so funnuy
more please it's a great
update soon

[newbatgirl]

Looks promising . . .update soon.

[xxasaxx]

Interesting so far. update soon!! :chlexsign4:

[BlueSabby]

A/N: Sabby: Yeah it took a while, because we were a little preoccupied *shrugs* well I'm sure you'll like this part. Here goes Day one in the household of Lex and Chloe.

A/N: Blue: We're baaaaaack. Ok, here's an update and it's longer than usual. So, that should make up for our previous update neglet. Enjoy.


Groaning, Chloe rolled over and checked the time on her alarm clock which was blaring at her rather rudely. She slapped it a few times and it stopped. 'There is a god,' Chloe thought and went back to sleep.

At least, she tried to. When she flopped back down on her pillow, she found that she couldn't get back to sleep. Throwing off her comforter, she accepted defeat grumbling to herself, "Stupid alarm clock. Doesn't it know that we have two weeks off?" She vaguely remembered setting it, thinking of all of the work she would get done in the morning. Fleshing out story ideas, sending her pieces out to various newspapers...thinking of ways to torture Clark. ‘Plenty of time, two weeks off. Besides, Tuesday is always my most unproductive day. Too early in the week.’

She checked her appearance in the mirror and wasn't surprised to see the creases from her pillow on her cheek or that her hair was a total mess. She ran her hands through it a few times to try to tame it and then gave up. Trudging down the stairs in her pajamas, flannel bottoms and a tank top, she continued to mutter about her own stupidity and lament the fact that the kitchen wasn't right next to her room.

When Lex heard footsteps tromping down the stairs and into the kitchen he turned around...and had to stifle a laugh as his eyes fell on Chloe. Her hair looked as if she'd gotten herself into a tornado, her eyes weren't even half open and a few pillow scars adorned her right cheek. She was finding her way into the kitchen seemingly by blind navigation her naked feet half covered by the oversized flannel pants she was wearing. The white tank top had ridden up to expose a few inches of her stomach. In general, she looked ridiculous, but somehow, cute. “Good morning.” The humor in his voice was evident. However, he thought it better for the safety of his life not to mention any of his observations to the girl that was now plopping down on one of the kitchen stools grounding out something that could've been 'morning'. “I made coffee.”

Chloe rubbed at her eyes as Lex spoke to her. When the words seeped into her brain and she actually heard what he had said, she turned to him and said in a dead pan voice. "I want to bear your children." Her eyes fell on the coffee pot and she scampered over to it, not bothering to see Lex's reaction.

Lex's eyebrows would have flown to his hairline, if he had one. He shook his head, watching in amazement as Chloe poured a cup of the scalding hot liquid and swallowed a good amount of it without even blowing onto it first. “If I'd known making coffee has this effect on women I would've integrated that into my advance techniques a long time ago,” he offered. “What are you going to say when I tell you I also made scrambled eggs and toast?”

Pretending to consider the question, Chloe cocked her head to the side. "Hmmmm," she feigned deep thinking. "I think I'll say that you can even *name* our progeny. As long as they don't start with an 'L'." Chloe opened a cabinet and took out one of her favorite plates. It was huge, bright red and an abomination to the eyes. She took the lid off of the frying pan and took a heaping spoonful of the food and dumped it on her plate. She walked over to the fridge to get O.J. along with her coffee and food. "Can I get anything while I'm up?" 'Look at me, all with the good hostess skills.'

Lex got himself a plate out of the same cabinet and put a small amount of the scrambled eggs onto the plate. He wasn't a big breakfast eater, but he figured it wouldn't look good to just watch Chloe eat what he'd cooked. 'She might think I'm trying to poison her.' “Yes, actually, would you get me a water?” He got himself a glass from above the sink and strode over to the table, sitting down in the chair opposite the one that Chloe had vacated.

Before approaching the fridge, Chloe put her plate and O.J. in the space next to Lex. She grabbed the jug of water and O.J. out of the fridge and walked back over to the table. She poured herself and Lex their various beverages and then returned them to the fridge. Sitting next to Lex, she took in his appearance and what he was eating and shook her head.

Lex caught her shaking her head. He took a swig of water to clear his mouth of the remaining egg and arched an eyebrow. “What is it?”

"Just the contrast is all," Chloe said. She gestured with her fork, careful not to flick any eggs onto Lex. "Look at you, then look at me. You're well put together," she ran her eyes over his body, "at the crack of dawn and I look like the Bride of Frankenstein. You've cooked and I can barely form sentences."

Lex smirked. There was a good reason he looked that 'well put together' He had been up for hours already, since he'd barely gotten any sleep. That was not a new thing, but he wasn't about to share that tidbit of information. Instead he just shrugged and lifted his glass of water once more. “I had a little time to prepare before you showed up. And aside from that, in business nobody will wait for you to get yourself together, you have to be presentable at any given time.”

"What, I'm not presentable," Chloe asked through a mouthful of food.

Lex smiled over the rim of his glass. “Depends on where you plan to present yourself I'd say.” He took a small sip, then sat the glass back down.

Chloe looked at her bare wrist, pretending to check the time. "Well, I have to go to my debutante ball in five minutes. I just hope that I'm not wearing the same outfit as anyone else. That would be embarrassing. What would the press say?"

Lex arched an eyebrow, but didn't comment on what he assumed was a bout of early morning insanity. Instead he stood up from his place and carried his plate and glass over to the sink. “I'm leaving for work now, I hope you will manage to stay out of trouble until I'm back, which should be around 6 or 7.” And suddenly Lex felt like he'd been sucked into one of these old fifties series where the father went to work and left his not so wholesome daughter to do whatever daughters in these old series did when the father was at work. He shook his head to clear it of the disturbing image of himself in tweed and Chloe in a poodle skirt. 'And the dad? I'm not *that* old yet.'

"Sir, yes sir," Chloe said, giving Lex a mock salute. "I'm not ten, you know?" Chloe got up from the table and joined Lex at the sink. "Please don't call the authorities if you get back home and I'm not here. While I don't intend to go nuts while my father is gone, I'm not going to rush home to report back to you, either." After drying her plate, Chloe turned to Lex and put her hand on her hip as she leaned against the counter.

Lex washed his hands and cleaned them on a towel, then turned to face Chloe. “There's no need to go into defensive, Chloe. I merely asked you to stay out of trouble.” With that he left her standing at the sink and made his way out of the kitchen and towards the living room where he'd already stashed his laptop and briefcase. Grabbing them in one hand, he picked his coat up with the other. “I'll see you, tonight.” He threw the parting words over his shoulder and back into the kitchen as he closed the front door behind him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~

After ten hours of work, Lex was ready to drop dead. He'd settle for a little something to eat and a couple hours of sleep, though. Work had been nothing but tedious, especially with Gabe gone, leaving Lex to take the full brunt of a minor catastrophe involving the ventilation pipes and one of the catalysts in the boilers malfunctioning. Lex's migraine was short of skull splitting at this moment. He opened the front door to the Sullivan house and was greeted with blaring music, the beat almost making the floor shake beneath his feet and an angry male voice singing out strings of words that were barely audible over the noise of drums and guitar riffs. Chloe was not in sight.

Lex slammed his coat, laptop and briefcase down on the nearest seat and stalked over to the stereo, hitting the off switch with a low growl. Silence immediately covered the room and Lex slinked over to the couch, sinking into the soft cushioned fabric and expelling a long breath. He wondered where Gabe kept the bourbon in this house.

Chloe had been up in her room, rearranging her own closet. She had had a very productive day and decided that tomorrow; she would go shopping as a gift to herself. But, she needed to make some space, first. However, she needed some music in order to get into her cleaning groove. As she danced around the room, the music abruptly stopped. "What the hell," she muttered as she left her room and started downstairs.

Halfway down the stairs, Chloe caught sight of Lex sprawled on the couch. She walked over to him and gestured to the stereo, "I was listening to that, you know?"

Lex immediately straightened and turned in his seat to face Chloe. “You and most likely the rest of the block,” he remarked. “And why didn't you put on your own stereo upstairs when you weren't down here anyway?”

"My speakers suck. It's like listening to tiny, tiny people playing their wee instruments. I mean..." she trailed off. "Wait a minute, what am I doing? I don't have to explain myself to you." She looked down at Lex, finally really looking at him. "You look like hell," she said, simply.

Lex didn't even bother to give her a threatening glare. “I admire your keen observation. Work will do that to a person. I assume you didn't think about dinner as of yet?”

Chloe took a few deep breaths before she answered him. He was obviously stressed, which made him highly pissy. Fighting over something stupid would only put her in a bad mood and worsen his. "No, I wasn't hungry yet." He stared up at her and she said, "Ok, I give up. What do you want from me?"

Lex didn't know what to say for a moment. If he was honest, he wanted her to go the hell away leave him alone and just stop being so damn irritating. Not in that particular order. Above everything else, he wanted a drink, or at least some aspirin. “If you have an aspirin, I'd appreciate it.” He got up from the couch and headed for the kitchen, intending to at least get some water into his stomach. He hadn't found time to eat all day, except for a depressingly dry and tasteless tuna sandwich for lunch.

As soon as Lex made his way to the kitchen, Chloe ascended the stairs and went to the bathroom. She got his aspirin and returned downstairs. Lex was leaning against the counter, his eyes closed and he was pinching the bridge of his nose. "Bad one, huh," Chloe asked as she handed him the medication. He nodded and then gulped down the pills, followed by the water. Chloe took the glass out of his hand, placing it on the counter. Before she lost her nerve, she loosened and removed his tie. Then, she undid the top two buttons of his shirt. "Go back to the living room," she said as she turned away from him and rummaged through one of the cabinets.

Lex stared at her back and frowned. He didn't like it when people invaded his personal space like she'd just done. However, since he didn't want to get into a lengthy discussion of boundaries right now, he wrote it off as a one-time mistake that wouldn't happen again. He'd make sure of that. As soon as he was back in the living room, he settled back onto the couch, leaning back and trying to relax.

'Tension Tamer...perfect,' Chloe thought as she rifled through the numerous boxes of tea that were in the cabinet. She put the water on to boil and put the bag in a mug for Lex. 'Now, what to do about dinner....' Inspiration striking, Chloe picked up the phone and hit the speed dial and seven button.

When a familiar voice picked up, Chloe smiled. "Hey J.T. How you doing?" She paused, "Now, why ever would you assume that I needed something from you? Couldn't I be calling to see how my good friend...oh, forget it. I'm calling in a favor. Yes, right now. Yes, I *know* you're at work, see, I called you there. I need food. And I need it fast. The best stuff you've got." Chloe listened to the young man on the other end of the line. "While what you've said is very interesting, it is of no matter to me. I introduced you to your girlfriend, you said you owed me one and this is the one that you owe me. I expect it at my place in less than twenty minutes." She paused again. "I don't care; steal someone's food that's already ordered. Bye." Chloe shook her head at her friend. J.T. worked at the one Italian restaurant in Smallville so she understood that he was busy. But, hey, he owed her.

The kettle began to whistle and Chloe took it off of the stove to pour the water into Lex's mug. From the fridge she plucked out the milk and the honey, which was housed in a plastic bear squeeze tube. She poured a little of the milk into a glass and then realized she would never be able to balance the three things without burning herself. Remembering that her father had bought a breakfast in bed type tray, Chloe rummaged around in the various nooks and crannies in the kitchen before she found it. She placed the tea, milk and honey on the tray. At the last minute, she also grabbed a box of crackers. 'Pathetic, but just to tide him over.'

The aspirin started to kick in, slowly but surely. Unfortunately that had the side effect that Lex was less preoccupied with the pain in his head and was more aware of his empty stomach by the minute. He cursed himself for not bringing something, *anything* to eat with him when he'd driven back from work. He only hoped that he'd be able to find something at least half-decent in this house. He hadn't just made eggs this morning because they were easy to cook. There hadn't been much else in the fridge to begin with.

Slowly, and concentrating very hard on every step that she took, Chloe walked into the living room. She bit down on her lower lip as she watched the levels of liquid in the cup rise towards the rim as she made her way over to the couch. She put the tray down on the coffee table and let out a breath that she hadn't even realized she had been holding. She sat down next to Lex, tucking one of her feet under her. "I didn't know how you liked your tea," she said, pointing to the milk and honey. "Food should be here in less than twenty minutes. I'll go shopping to stock up tomorrow." She picked up the box of crackers and held it towards Lex, "Cracker?"

Lex sat up and took the box of animal crackers. “Thanks.” He pulled out a little lion and smirked at the cracker, then bit its head off. “So, what did you order for dinner? I didn't even know Smallville had a delivery service.”

"Oh, it doesn't," Chloe said, pulling out a monkey and biting its head off. "I know a guy who works at Mario's and he owes me one so I told him to bring over the best stuff that's being served tonight." Her hand made its way into the box, grabbing a few more of the animals. She was starving and hadn't even realized it. "So, I hope you like Italian."

Lex smiled as he watched Chloe dig into the crackers. “At this point, I'd pretty much eat everything that doesn't involve raw fish or rice,” he admitted.

"So, I shouldn't pick up sushi at the market tomorrow," Chloe asked a smirk on her face. "Damn, and here I thought that it was the perfect way to avoid cooking at all costs."

Lex chuckled. “Seems you're out of luck there. So have you planned anything for tonight?” He stuck his hand into the box to get another cracker, only to find it empty. Looking back up at Chloe he caught her wiping away the last stray crumbs around her mouth. With a defeated sigh, he sunk back into the couch.

"Other than the exciting task of cleaning out my closet, no." She brushed the crumbs off of her shirt and made a mental note that the place needed a good vacuuming. "And yourself," she asked as she propped her elbow up on the back of the couch and then put her chin in her palm. "What does Metropolis's most eligible bachelor have planned for the evening?"

Lex smirked. “If you expect something sordid and semi-legal, I'm afraid I have to disappoint you. I think I will end this day with a movie and a drink, if there is anything to drink in this house.” Lex hoped that Chloe knew where her father kept the liquor; he still was aching for a drink, even if it certainly would not have the high quality of his own bourbon.

Chloe quirked an eyebrow at Lex. "Do us Sullivans look like temperance people to you, Lex?" With a groan, Chloe got up off of the couch and walked back into the kitchen. The liquor was kept in the cabinet directly above the fridge. Chloe rose up on her tippy toes, trying to open the damn thing. After a few attempts, she gave up and went back to the living room. "Sorry, I can't get it for you now. The next time you're up, we've got Scotch, Bourbon, Vodka and some other Strawberry alcohol crap that Lana bought. It's above the fridge, just help yourself."

Shaking his head, Lex got up from the couch and passed Chloe on his way into the kitchen. “I never said you had to get me everything. You could've simply told me where to find it.” He disappeared into the kitchen.

"You're welcome," Chloe muttered to herself, sulkily. She grabbed the pillow that had been behind Lex's back, fluffed it and then put it back. The doorbell rang and she called out, "I'll get it." Opening the door, Chloe grinned at J.T.

More accurately, she grinned *up* at J.T. He was just as tall as Clark, but preferred basketball to football. When Chloe had first met him, she had wanted him for her own. He was muscular, but not overly so, funny and generally a good guy. However, they had had zero chemistry with one another. "You've done well, my boy," she said as she saw the numerous bags. Her stomach growled when the scent of the food wafted up to her nose. "My arms are killing me, where can I put this stuff," he asked. Chloe pointed in the direction of the kitchen.

J. T. trudged over to where Chloe had pointed to, dumping the bags on the table. He looked at his hands, seeing the red marks left across them by the plastic bags. "Now, we're even Sullivan," he yelled. "You want food again and I'm going to have to figure out a more interesting way for you to pay me back instead of just a thank you." He smiled, thinking of the death glare the girl was most likely sending him. He turned around when he heard movement behind him. His eyes widened when he saw who was in the kitchen with him. When he had entered the kitchen, he had been focused on the finding the table. He hadn't look at any other part of the kitchen. "Hey," he said, in what he hoped was a casual manner.

Lex placed his glass of Scotch on the counter and reached a hand out to the strange boy that closely resembled Clark. “Lex Luthor and you are?” He closed the distance between them with a couple of steps.

"J. T. Sanders," he said, stepping forward to shake Lex's hand. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Luthor." After he spoke, he couldn't think of one more thing to say to the older man.

Lex smirked at J.T. He could see that the younger man was highly uncomfortable. “The pleasure is mine,” Lex returned to his Scotch and took a slow sip. “So, how do you know Chloe? Are you a classmate of hers from high school?”

Chloe had been watching the exchange between the two men. Deciding to rescue her friend, Chloe offered an explanation to Lex. "J. T. and I went out a few times." She rummaged around in the bags that were on the table and then gasped. "You brought dessert, too. Chocolate cake. I *love* you." Chloe threw her arms around J. T. and squeezed him. Her brow furrowed when he didn't hug her back.

Lex arched his eyebrow as he watched Chloe hang on to the boy. She obviously seemed to stick to a scheme there. Tall, dark hair, buff and flannel. He crossed his arms as he observed that like Clark, J.T. didn't seem to return her affection in quite the same way. Lex had to stifle a chuckle as the boy looked up at him and immediately went stiff as a board in Chloe's embrace. The smirk on Lex's face became shark like as he figured that J.T. obviously thought he was trespassing territory. 'Interesting.' “So, you want to bear the children of the man that made you coffee, but your love goes to the man that comes bearing chocolate cake. I should have known that earlier.” His voice was dripping false regret.

J. T. didn't know how, but he had to get out of here as soon as possible. Usually, he would have no problem returning Chloe's affection. But, he usually didn't show up at her house, at night, with another man there. Another man that happened to be Lex Luthor. Lex Luthor who had just mentioned children in some capacity. J. T. stared down at Chloe, "You're having his baby," he squeaked out.

The urge to mess with J. T. was very tempting, but Chloe doubted that Lex would appreciate her starting such a rumor. "No, J.T.," she said, slowly, as if speaking to a child. "It was just a joke. Your brain obviously shut down after the first part of Lex's sentence. Otherwise, you would have noticed that he also implied that I'm in love with you. Which, we both know....," Chloe trailed off and shuddered as she remembered some of their dates. J.T. looked hurt and Chloe groaned. "Oh, come on, you know what I meant. Are we going to have to kiss again for you to remember how bad we were at it? Which is saying something cause I, I'm an excellent kisser. Besides, I don't think that Maggie would appreciate it, either."

Lex kept out of this discussion, since it was obviously some inside story about their past and he didn't particularly care. “Ok, now that we've cleared this little misunderstanding, what do you get for the food?” He reached for the wallet in his back pocket, determined to get this over with so he could finally offer his stomach some real food before it would start to complain.

"Oh, no," Chloe said as she walked over to Lex. "Keep it in your pants, Luthor. I've got this one covered."

Lex cocked his head to the side, sending her a questioning look at her choice of words. “If you say so.” He removed his hand from his pocket and held both hands up in a gesture of acceptation.

Chloe nodded and then turned back to her friend. "Thanks," she said, earnestly. "I really do appreciate it, J.T. And, hey, if you ever need someone to edit one of your papers, you know who to call." She smiled widely at him and he returned it.

"You're welcome, Sullivan. But," he held up his pointer finger, "this is the *one* time that I'm doing this for you. No calling me up tomorrow saying that you're too lazy to come in." He looked at his watch. "I've got to get back. I'll see you after vacation." He turned his gaze to the other person in the room. “Mr. Luthor, it was nice meeting you. I'll see myself out and enjoy the food." He smiled at the.....he had no idea what they were and was not about to ask, before walking out of the kitchen and then the front door.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~

After J.T. had left, Chloe had shooed Lex away to the living room. He was looking better but she decided that she could handle getting dinner together by herself. She heard the T.V. click on and made quick work of putting the various dishes that J.T. had brought over on some plates. He had outdone himself. There was a little of everything. Fettuccini alfredo, veal and chicken marsala and the house specialty, Mario's lasagna. She brought the two hot plates into the living room and set them on the coffee table.

She looked at Lex, who was sitting on the couch; his eyes trained on the T.V. and said, "I'm assuming you're a carnivore." When he nodded, she said, "Good, I'll be right back." She went back into the kitchen and grabbed two sets of knives and forks and some napkins. On her last trip, she refilled Lex's glass, which he had left in the kitchen, and poured herself some water. Finally, she was able to flop down on the couch. She noticed something digging into her back and repositioned her body so the remote wasn't stabbing her.

Lex sent her a sideways glance as she picked up the remote and started to flip through the channels at an incredible speed. He was a little wary about the quick change in attitude she'd shown. She was being suspiciously nice since she'd heard he wasn't feeling so good. But she didn't show any of the typical signs that she expected something in return, not yet at least. Lex decided to stay on guard. “Do you even *see* what's on a channel before you switch, or do you just like the happy colors whisking by?”

With the hand that wasn't busy with the remote, Chloe brought the lasagna to her mouth with a fork. She blew on the food before eating it, a satisfied humming sound escaping her throat. Looking at Lex, she said, "I'll have you know I'm an excellent judge of whether a show sucks or not. I can tell within the span of two seconds."

Lex arched an eyebrow at her statement. “Well then you should at least let the picture stay on for two seconds, it barely has time to come through before you flip. Don't you have a movie channel or something?” He picked up his own plate and stabbed the fork into the pasta. Giving the food a chance, he tried a first bite, and was surprised to find that it actually tasted good.

In her consideration of why Lex should stay with her while her father was away, Chloe had never really considered why it was a bad idea. Now, she noticed that Lex was just as used to having his way as she was. Though he was asking questions, not making demands, Chloe could tell that he itched to be the one to decide what they watched. It probably came from never having to compromise before. She had had to go through the same thing when Lana had moved in and rather enjoyed getting her own way once more after the girl had moved out. "Yes, we do," Chloe said. "But, I haven't gotten to it yet." She put her plate back on the table and took a sip of her water, her finger never leaving the buttons on the remote.

Lex was getting a little irritated by the channel hopping and just hoped she'd get to it soon. He decided to eat his meal in silence and not bring up any argument. Leaning forward he got his water and took a sip. Two minutes later, his plate was half empty and Chloe was still channel surfing. “I'm pretty sure you've been through every channel *twice* already. If you don't decide soon, you're going to have to choose between the 24 hour weather channel and the 24 hour News Channel because all others will sign off for the night.”

"Lex," Chloe said as patiently has she could muster, "it's not 1962. Stations don't sign off anymore. She put her empty plate back on the table and finished her glass of water, putting it down on the table with a loud thump. When she came across a one hour special on Alexander the Great, the temptation was just too much and she stopped on it. "How's this," she asked.

Lex put his plate on the table and shrugged. “If you want a totally made up, historically incorrect and judgmental view of the man, feel free.” He leaned back into the couch, glass in hand.

Trying to maintain her temper was becoming very hard for Chloe to do. Just because Lex was in a bad mood was no reason for him to take it out on her. "Fine," she said through clenched teeth. "You find something," with that, she threw the remote onto his lap. She got up and took their plates to the kitchen, deciding that putting space between them was the best thing right now. She took almost five minutes to wash the two plates, using the time to get herself out of the mindset where she wanted to throttle Lex.

Lex flipped through the channels. It took him about thirty seconds to find CNN and check on his stocks, then another six flicks of his thumb and he was on the movie channel. He rolled his eyes. Sweet Home Alabama. Fine, Chloe should like it and it was just something to pass the time before he could go and lie down in his pink bed, staring at the ceiling and waiting for sleep to come.

After toweling off her hands, Chloe joined Lex on the couch once more. When she saw what was on the screen, she laughed. "This is better than what I had picked out?" When Lex didn't answer, Chloe crossed her arms over her chest and watched the movie play out. When it was over, Chloe muttered, "trite" under her breath.

Lex's head swung around to look at her. “I thought girls liked that sort of thing, couldn't you have said something earlier?” 'Man, I wish I had a handbook on women. Most important rules to avoid the insane, homicidal and generally unreadable.’

Sighing, Chloe closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the couch. "I could have," she admitted, "but you seemed to be in such a bad mood already that I didn't want to start what would have been a pointless fight." She shivered and, too lazy to get up off of the couch to adjust the thermostat, Chloe grabbed the blanket that was thrown over the top of the couch and wrapped it around herself. "Plus," she smiled a little, "you seemed to be enjoying the movie. I think someone has a crush on Reese Witherspoon."

Lex blinked. He'd zoned out for the better part of the movie, and the female character had been bitchy for the most parts that he'd actually consciously registered. But she seemed pretty cute when she wasn't behaving like a bitch. “Not precisely my type. She looks good, but her attitude is just a little too harsh. Not fitting for a society socialite.”

Unbelieving Chloe asked, "So, what? You think that women are just to be seen and not heard?" Pausing, she said, "Then again, I forget that where you come from women probably just tell you what they think you want to hear. Wouldn't want to upset the one paying for dinner, now would we?" Lex's statement had hit a little too close to home for Chloe's liking. Before Pete had gone off to football camp for the two week break, Chloe had asked, rhetorically, what was wrong with her. Why guys seemed to be uninterested. Pete, opening his big mouth and inserting his foot had said something quite close to the statement Lex had just made about the character. That she was pushy and tended to keep pushing people when it would be best to lay off.

Lex shook his head. Chloe had gotten that statement wrong somehow. “That's exactly it. It's not about the looks; it's about the way she fits in. She will be heard. People will ask her questions and reporters will be after a quote or an interview. A person like her will step on too many toes if she doesn't know how to be friendly and charming instead of just waltzing in and declaring her view of the world and expecting people to just accept that as given.” He took a swig of his water, still wondering why Chloe had gotten so obviously upset about his earlier statement. Thinking back to the movie, it clicked. Chloe had obviously identified with the leading character and took his answer as a personal insult. “Besides, this fictional character is exaggerated; I haven't met anyone that out of line for a long time.” Maybe that would get her rattled nerves down a peg and spare him a long discussion.

Chloe took a long time before she spoke again. The phrase 'the way she fits in' kept repeating itself in her head. The way that Lex talked about the woman that he would be with seemed off to her. He spoke about the way that she would fit into the public sphere of his life but made no comment about what he wanted personally. 'As if he's going to open up to a total stranger about that,' she reminded herself. Nodding, she said, "Well, if the character wasn't so crazy, there wouldn't be a movie, would there? A sane person would realize that all of the time that they spent arguing was just a cover for how she really felt about him."

Lex shrugged. “Life is like that sometimes, too. Just because others can see it, doesn't mean we necessarily do too. We can't look into another person’s feelings, and the closer you get the harder it is to see the big picture.”

Chloe toyed with the frayed edges of the blanket, thinking about what Lex was saying. "Tell me about it," she muttered. She thought back to all of the times she tried to understand what was going on in Clark's head. The wasted hours piled up. "Objective perspective is a hard one."

Lex got up from the couch. “Agreed, and on that note, I think I'll call it a night. I'll see you tomorrow morning.” He moved around the couch, heading for the stairs.

Watching him leave, Chloe murmured her goodnight to him. She shut off the TV and then went to the kitchen, carrying their glasses. She boxed up the leftovers and then washed the utensils and glasses. Before going up the stairs, she dragged the blanket off of the couch, taking it with her. She passed Lex's room and saw that the light was off. Undressing quickly, Chloe went over the past few hours of her life. 'Weird even for Smallville standards,' she thought. She washed her face, brushed her teeth and then crawled into her bed. Looking at the alarm clock, she decided not to set it. She deserved her rest.

[Not An Addict]

Aww, they're both so cute and obnoxious with their bickering. ^_^ Though this is going to lead to massive problems. One of the reason I'm usually fairly passive about what I do with my friends is that I grew up with older sisters who refused to let me have my way 90% of the time. Two people who are completely used to having things done their way . . . *whistles* Hope the house is still standing by the time Gabe gets back. ^_~ Great chapter!

[deessedelune]

Wow. Great chemistry between our favorite lovebirds. Of course, they're too dense and stubborn to notice it. More please! :biggrin:

[ColumbiaBlue]

Chloe rubbed at her eyes as Lex spoke to her. When the words seeped into her brain and she actually heard what he had said, she turned to him and said in a dead pan voice. "I want to bear your children." Her eyes fell on the coffee pot and she scampered over to it, not bothering to see Lex's reaction.
Chloe reminds me of me in the morning! Seriously, I'm the poster child for 'not a morning person,' and if you talk to me before I've had my morning dose of caffine I'll either bite your head off or ignore you completely so I don't have to try to comprehend anything. lol

Chloe and Lex are so funny together! God, they remind me of an old married couple and it's just so cute! :wub:

I love this story!!! Update soon!!!!

~Manda :blinkkiss:

[asharnanae]

:biggrin: wonderful, just wonderful. :worship2:

[scifichick774]

Aww. Their bickering was kind of cute - but it reminded me more of a sibling relationship than possible romance. *sigh* Okay, I can settle for just friendship right now - but it better be romance later. You hear me? Doesn't have to be smut, but romance.

[Clannadlvr]

yeah, I'm with Kris on this one...they definitely seem more like siblings...BUT that little convo about people not seeing what's right in front of them?

Priceless!!

Can't wait to see where this goes.

Great job, guys!

[newbatgirl]

Thanks for the update. Please post more SOON. I love this premise.

[Jenmar]

I really like this part. I have to agree with the other two reviewers. Chloe and Lex bantered but there was no sexual tension to the banter, it was more of a friendship thing. I liked that. It's more of a natural progression from acquaintances with two people in common to friends. I'm excited to see what Day Two of the Sullivan-Luthor household brings.

[carebear72884]

wow, this is really good so far, even without the smut, I am looking forward to more, update soon.

[hfce]

That was a great update :clap: more please....



Hope :chlexsign2:

[Val]

Originally posted by Jenmar@Jan 29 2004, 07:37 PM
I really like this part. I have to agree with the other two reviewers. Chloe and Lex bantered but there was no sexual tension to the banter, it was more of a friendship thing. I liked that. It's more of a natural progression from acquaintances with two people in common to friends. I'm excited to see what Day Two of the Sullivan-Luthor household brings.
You pretty much said it all!

Update this soon!

[autumngold]

Yay!! A new update!! I'm always so excited when you post a new chapter to one of your stories!! Will Lex be disappointed when Chloe doesn't wake up in time for breakfast with him? When will he start to see her as a girl? Please post again soon!! :biggrin: :chlexsign4:

[Dannyblue]

I'm really into this story. The interractions between Lex and Chloe are great. And I loved the morning scene. I can just imagine Chloe staggering into the kitchen, and not even caring that a sexy millionaire is seeing her with bed-head and pillow creases on her face.

And what must J.T. be thinking as he drives back to the restaurant? ;)

So, basically, it was a great chapter. I'm looking forward to the next update.

[katspell]

I'm really loving this. I love the Chlexy bickering, I love the insight to each character, I loved the JT - Lex bit.

[gina]

I loved all the Chlexy interaction!

This fic is really great, I can't wait to read more! :)

[sara_noele]

Can't wait for day two!! :biggrin: This is so good, please update soon!

[tigroon]

I'm waiting for the part where one of them walks in on the other in the bathroom.
hehe...
don't keep us waiting for too long... :yay: :yay:

[vardaquareien]

Originally posted by Jenmar@Jan 30 2004, 10:37 AM
I really like this part. I have to agree with the other two reviewers. Chloe and Lex bantered but there was no sexual tension to the banter, it was more of a friendship thing. I liked that. It's more of a natural progression from acquaintances with two people in common to friends. I'm excited to see what Day Two of the Sullivan-Luthor household brings.
Yep I agree with this one too. They're just starting to get to know each other at the mo. The bickering was cute. So was Chloe taking care of Lex. I like that Lex wondered what she'd want from him because of it...I can't wait to realise that she doesn't want anything!

Can't wait for more!

[Robyn]

Great update! I love the bickering. I'm glad they don't exactly get along, but that they're slooooowly getting there. Makes it all the more fun to read a story like that! :chlexsign1:

[Béatrice]

Pleaaaasssseeee!... Update please... I am not a patient person. :yay:

[Susie Q]

:hehe: Chloe and Lex remind me of a crankier sibling version of Fred and Ethel Mertz from “I Love Lucy.” It will be interesting to see this relationship evolve as it seems that at the moment they each see the other as something of an irritant. Looking forward to seeing what's on the agenda for day two! :yay3:

[BlueSabby]

A/N:Sabby: Ok... this is a huge one, mean like Really huge! because yeah, somehow when the lizard and the moose get started....longwinded is a short word to describe it. Have Fun! and thanks for the reviews specially the lurker ones. Keep em coming ;-)

A/N: Blue: Ok, hugeass update. So, yeah, no complaining that you want another one now! You guys are a bunch of ficfiends....the first step is admitting you have a problem. Enjoy.


This time, Lex had made sure to have a one hour dinner break at work, since he didn't trust that Chloe would actually stick to her promise of buying something and making dinner. When he rounded the corner to the street of the Sullivan's house, his eyes widened and for a second he was sure his heart stopped. A fire truck blocked the driveway and a good part of the sidewalk, blocking his view from the house. Lights flaring. He speeded up behind the truck and came to a screeching halt about one foot behind it. Killing the engine he jumped out of his car and jogged around the truck. A fireman stepped out of the open front door, a hose leading into the house. Lex grabbed the man by his arm. “What happened,” he demanded harshly.

The fireman took off his hat and looked down at Lex’s hand on his arm. "Calm down, sir. It was just a little kitchen fire. No permanent damage done. We'll be cleared out of here in a few minutes." The fireman looked back into the house. "Let me give you some advice. Enroll your girlfriend in some cooking classes. Or, get better fire extinguishers."

Lex didn't bother to correct the man, his only concern was that Chloe was alright and apparently, no major damage had happened. “Thanks for the advice I'll make sure to get some immediately.” With that he let the man go and stalked into the house in search of Chloe.

"Now, take a deep breath for me again." Chloe rolled her eyes at the paramedic but did as instructed. He had been listening to her heartbeat and checking for smoke inhalation for the past five minutes. At least, that's what he claimed to be doing. He had asked her to unbutton the few top buttons of her shirt, and she suspected that her chest had to do more with the attention she was getting from him than any possible medical problem she had. "Good," he said to her. He took the stethoscope out of his ears and said, "You sound all clear to me." Chloe was sitting at the kitchen table and the paramedic was kneeling in front of her. "But," he said, rising, "if you have any trouble breathing, go to the hospital."

"Got it." Chloe nodded and then looked at her watch. She was hoping that all of the various firemen and paramedics would clear out before Lex got home. She would still have to explain what happened, but it would be less embarrassing if he didn't see the huge fuss she had caused.

Lex passed another fireman in the living room, the hose from the engine leading straight into the kitchen. “Chloe!” He made his way straight to the kitchen. Pushing the door open he found the girl sitting on the kitchen table and a paramedic sitting in front of her ogling her chest. “Chloe, what the hell happened?” He swept the room with a glance and didn't know if he should laugh or yell at her. The oven and surrounding area were completely black, the cabinets above it and next to it burned on the bottom and the lacquer on them blistered off.

"I cooked," she said. "I wanted to do a flambé dish but it didn't work the way that I planned." When her response got a stern look from Lex, she sighed. "I tried to make something simple. Washed my hands and put the dishtowel too close to the flame. When I saw it was on fire, I freaked out at first and the fire spread. By the time I figured out how to use the extinguisher, the alarm had already been triggered. It wasn't a big deal, but, here we are." She gestured to the cabinets and then the paramedic.

Quickly, the paramedic put his tools back in the medical kit. He noticed that the girl's top was still unbuttoned. "You can button up, now," he said, using his most business like tone. He could almost feel the glare coming from the man behind him.

The paramedic grabbed his bag. "Remember what I told you and I'm glad you're ok." He nodded at Lex and walked briskly out of the house. He let out a breath when he cleared the threshold of the door. Seeing a little cleavage wasn't worth being killed by Lex Luthor.

Lex took the seat next to Chloe and took another look at the mess, then back at Chloe. He honestly didn't know what to say. There wasn't much he could do now, and he really didn't want to go into the roll of an admonishing parent. “I'll have the kitchen renovated as soon as possible. I'm glad you're ok, just next time, be more careful. I don't want to have the death of a teenager on my hand for neglecting my duty as your temporary legal guardian.”

Chloe stared at him for a moment, taken aback that he hadn't started yelling at her. "You don't have to renovate the kitchen. Everything miraculously still works, it just looks bad. We have insurance. Also, you're not my *guardian*," she looked pointedly at him, "you're my roommate." She turned away from him and busied herself with rebuttoning her shirt. "Bunch of pervs run emergency services, by the way. If I hear one more hose joke...." she trailed off.

Lex wasn't about to let either part of her statement go. “Technically, I *am* your guardian, since your father left under the impression that I will take care of you while he is away. And as for the renovating, I insist on it. This place looks like a mess, and the cabinets and stove are beyond saving. I don't want to take the risk to come from work next time to find the whole kitchen exploded just because you tried using the stove again.” He got up from the seat and went to the fridge to get something to drink. He picked out a bottle of water and handed it to Chloe first. He knew first hand how smoke could stick to your throat and leave a dry and scratchy feeling for hours. “And I promise, no hose jokes from me.”

Uncapping the bottle Chloe asked, "Is there anyway that I'm going to win this argument?" When Lex shook his head, Chloe said, "Fine. Tomorrow we can look at swatches or whatever the hell it is you do when you renovate.” She took a gulp of the water and then coughed a little as it tickled her scratchy throat. One of the firemen had just reentered the room to retrieve the hose. When he heard her coughing, he said, "Miss, I could go and get the paramedic if you're not feeling..."

Lex turned around and answered before Chloe could get a word in. “That won't be necessary, she's fine. Thank you.” He stated it with all the finality in his voice he'd use when closing a business deal.

'Okaaaaaaaay,' the fireman thought to himself. He got out of the room as quickly as possible.

Chloe ducked her head and smiled at Lex's display. While she knew, logically, that Lex must at least like her a little, it was nice to see him trying to protect her. Not that she needed it. Or couldn't do it herself, of course.

Getting up from the table, Chloe walked over to Lex and said, "If you keep scaring them, they won't show up the next time there's an emergency." She smiled and then gently hit him in the stomach with her water bottle, "But, thanks."

Lex took the bottle from her and uncapped it. “Don't mention it.” He smirked, then took a long pull from the bottle. “Let me take you out for dinner.” Lex wagered that she hadn't had much to eat since she spent her time preparing their dinner and ruining the kitchen.

Smiling, Chloe said, "Ok. But only because we're not supposed to use the oven until tomorrow. Let me go and change into something that doesn't reek of smoke." She headed out of the kitchen and then popped her head back in. "You can take me to dinner, but I'm paying." Before Lex could protest, Chloe ran upstairs.

Lex looked at Chloe's retreating back, shaking his head. “We'll see about that.” He wasn't sure if she'd heard his comment, but Lex had no intention of letting the teenager pay for what would probably be a pricey dinner. Neither did he have the intention to stay hungry just to keep the check low.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Even though neither of them mentioned it, there seemed to be a silent agreement between Lex and Chloe that they shouldn't dine within the Smallville city limits. Chloe leaned back in the seat and stared at the passing cornfields. After changing out of her smoky clothes, Lex had led her to the car. Even opening the door for her. She smiled, softly, thinking about all of the times she had gone somewhere with Pete or Clark. It had never occurred to either of them to be a gentleman with her. She liked the new treatment much better.

Smoothing out her knee length black skirt, Chloe also was amazed by the fact that she and Lex could sit in comfortable silence. Lex had in a classical CD, something familiar but she really had no idea who it was. She felt relaxed, which was saying something after the events of the past few hours. She turned her gaze to Lex, just taking in his appearance. Chloe could tell that he was trying not to go too far over the speed limit with her in the car. His gaze kept shifting to the speedometer and more often than not, he would have to let up on the gas when he saw the number.

Chloe realized that she felt safe with Lex. Not in that the big, strong man will take care of me and whisk me away to a house where all I will have to do is raise children and knit type of way. More like she knew that she could trust him.

Breaking the silence she asked, "Have you ever been to Grandville?" Thinking about his vast travel experience, Chloe amended, "I mean to just go out and explore the town?" She hoped that he would answer in the affirmative. She hadn't known what to wear for their....whatever this was. She had settled on the skirt and a V-necked sweater. It had turned chilly after the sun had set.

Lex nodded once, shifting gears as he took a left curve. “I've driven through it quiet a few times...” His eyes shifted to Chloe, a smirk on his face. “But I guess that doesn't count, does it?” Lex's eyes went back to the road in front of them. Glancing at the speedometer, he subtly let up on the gas once more. 'Damn, why do I do this anyway?' He felt like a fool for driving like a responsible adult with a car like this. 'Because she's your responsibility now.' That was the part of his brain that he'd call his conscious, Lex had never been sure he had one but apparently, there it was. He let up on the gas again.

Tentatively, Chloe put her hand on his knee. "Lex, you can go more than 50, you know? I do it all the time." Chloe felt the car maintain its speed. "If you don't, we might not get home till after my curfew." Chloe hadn't had a curfew for about a year now. But, Lex didn't know that.

Lex stifled a groan. 'Great, try to hold one rule while not breaking the other, oh why the fuck should I care?’ He stepped down on the clutch, shifted into fifth and almost floored the gas pedal. His eyes shifted to Chloe again. “I won't tell if you don't.” Lex winked at her, a small grin on his lips before he turned his attention back to traffic.

"I think that can be arranged," Chloe said, a slow grin spreading across her face. "For a price." 'Am I actually flirting with him,' she wondered. Quickly, she took her hand off of Lex's knee and broke eye contact with him. All of a sudden, the car seemed very, very small. Chloe cleared her throat and said, "By the way, no, driving through doesn't count. I guess we'll just have to walk around and see where we want to eat."

Lex nodded. “I guess so.” To be honest Lex didn't really fancy walking through a small town and drawing a lot of attention, but for now, he'd humor Chloe. They fell back into a comfortable silence and she started looking out the window. Lex couldn't help but steal occasional glances at Chloe; she looked good in her outfit. It wasn't the usual flippy style she showed off, more subtle and mature. He caught himself staring at her legs and ripped his eyes back to the road.

Leaning back into the seat, Chloe tried to remember that last time she had been to Grandville. She went through Main Street in her head, trying to find an appropriate restaurant. Come to think of it, she didn't relish the idea of walking around outside in this weather. She nibbled on her lower lip and toyed with the simple, silver necklace she was wearing.

Lex pulled into the suburban part of Grandville, heading downtown. “Ok, should I park on the beginning of Main and we just walk through, or drive by and we try finding a restaurant first?” Lex didn't really want to park his car anywhere out of sight. 'It's Grandville, nothing will happen.'

Glancing over at the console, Chloe noted the temperature outside. "Not to be such a girl, but it's cold out. I go for looking while in the car." She took a peek out of the window at the town. "I doubt it will take us long to look at all of our options." The only place Chloe could even remember was the Grandville Grand Ole Steakhouse. Horrible name, but good food.

Lex let go of a small breath. “Good. Do you think they even have a restaurant here?” The sun was already down and it would take too long to get to Metropolis now. He really hoped that there was an acceptable place here.

"They do," Chloe said as Lex made a left turn onto Main Street. "The food is really good. It just may not be up to your usual standards." Chloe was concerned that Lex would take one look at the restaurant and turn back towards Smallville. It was times like these that she remembered how different the worlds they came from were. She tried to visualize Lex with one of those steak bibs on and that eased some of her tension. She had to bite back a fit of laughter at the image.

Lex glanced sideways at her. 'Here we go again with the rich kid prejudices.' “Chloe, just because I appreciate French cuisine, doesn't mean I don't like pizza or ordinary food. I have been known to wolf down a pizza in five minutes flat when I was on a deadline in college.”

Chloe looked at Lex and narrowed her eyes. "Five minutes? Amateur. I could do it in less." She was glad to hear that he wouldn't freak out when he saw the place she had in mind. He laughed and she pointed to the storefront. "It's right there. Oh, look, a spot right outside." She spied another car coming down the street in the opposite direction. "Hurry, get it!"

Lex chuckled and stepped on the gas, driving into the spot with ease. When they were parked, the car whisked by without so much as losing speed. “Seems you were stressing without reason.” Lex got out of the car and walked around front to open her door. Chloe was already half out of the car when he came around. He held the door open until she had climbed out and closed it behind her. “Grandville Grand Ole Steakhouse.” He read the words over the entrance. “Charming. I bet they've got the best steaks you can get in Kansas.” Lex put his hand on the small of Chloe's back as he held the door open for her.

Chloe nodded as she walked through the entrance, letting Lex guide her with his hand. "They're huge, too. So, I hope you're hungry. Plus, I think that you could use some of the decor they have here in the Manor." Chloe pointed over to the moose head that was mounted above the huge bar.

Lex chuckled. “You really haven't seen much of the mansion if you think that this would fit anywhere. Plus, the maid would demand an incredible raise for a dust catcher of that size.” He led Chloe to one of the empty tables in the back of restaurant. The booth was comfortable and the table nicely decked with a small candle in the middle. “It's actually pretty nice here.”

"Yeah, and they've done a whole lot more since the last time I've been here," Chloe said. She craned her neck around the room, noticing a new jukebox and seeing that the bar had been redone. She hoped that she had a better time than the last time she had been here. Chloe had come here for the date from hell. Pete had set her up with one of his football buddies from camp who had sworn was also a genius. In the end, Chloe had to find her own way home when his friend's 'genius' had been the ways that he tried to get her clothes off.

The waitress came over with their menus and Chloe almost groaned when she saw the way the brunette's eyes lit up when they came to rest on Lex. "Hi," she said, "I'm Jessie; I'll be your server this evening." She handed Lex a menu and, absentmindedly gave Chloe hers. Chloe couldn't help but notice that Jessie eyes never left Lex's face. 'She's exactly his type, too.'

Lex glanced up at the waitress and smiled politely. “Thank you.” His attention turned back to Chloe and he caught a minute scowl on her face. “What's wrong?”

Seeing the pleased look on Jessie's face, Chloe said. "Nothing. I'm fine." She smiled at Lex. She really didn't want to have to discuss her own insecurities over dinner. Unbeknownst to her, her scowl deepened when Jessie touched Lex's shoulder. "Can I tell you our specials for the evening? They're delectable. And our desserts, they're downright sinful." Jessie's voice became low at the last word and Chloe could believe the nerve of the waitress.

Lex looked at the girl’s hand on his shoulder, then pointedly back up. He gave her a cold stare, the rest of his face impassive. “No, thank you. We're going to decide ourselves. I've lost my taste for sinful pleasures quite some time ago. You can bring us a Coke and a beer.” With that he pointedly turned back to Chloe. “If coke is all right with you?”

Chloe had to mask her laughter at the waitress's crestfallen expression with a cough. Once she had composed herself she said, "A Coke would be fine." Jessie wrote down the order and Chloe shook her head at her departing form. Lex looked at her, a question in his eyes. "I think you just ruined her evening." 'Not that I care,' Chloe thought.

Lex smirked. “Well I can't honestly say that it bothers me. And her way to come on to me was just ridiculous.” He shook his head. “Our desserts are downright sinful.” He mocked the tone the waitress had used. “Please!” He scoffed. “I've heard better lines from Vicky.” At Chloe's questioning look he elaborated. “Victoria Hardwick. She has a talent for wrapping ignorant men around her little finger.”

Nodding, Chloe began to absently play with the candle at the table. She swiftly ran her hand through the flame. She remembered being amazed as a little kid when she discovered that you wouldn’t get burned if you moved fast enough. 'That's probably something that Lex learned as well. Don't make any ties, they can't come back to strangle you.' Chloe was surprised that he had brought up his old girlfriend. "She never struck me as a Vicky," Chloe said, evenly.

Lex arched an eyebrow. “You haven't met her, have you?” Lex looked at her over the candle and watched Chloe playing idly with the flame. “One of those times you're going to be too slow and burn yourself.” He looked back at his menu and started reading through it. It pretty much covered every part of the cow you could chop off and make into a meal.

"Oh, Lex, haven't you heard," Chloe dropped her voice, mimicking Jessie's tone. Lex's eyes darted up to meet hers. "I like playing with fire." When Lex didn't smile or break eye contact, Chloe felt her breath hitch in her chest. The lighting in the place was dim and she could see the candlelight reflected in his eyes. She looked down at the table and answered his earlier question. "No, I never met her. But, Clark filled me in about her."

Lex smirked. 'For someone who likes to play with fire she pulled away damn fast.' “I wager he didn't have anything good to say about her. And he would have been right. It was more of a business venture. She wasn't pleased to find out she'd lost.” He continued to peruse the menu and decided to try the rumpsteak. He was hungry by now. “So what's it going to be?” Lex looked back up at Chloe and held her gaze.

Looking back at her menu, Chloe said, "I suppose you'll make fun of me if I have a salad. So, I'll have to go with the ribs. The sauce they make here," Chloe grabbed her chest and moaned, "it's sinful." She smiled devilishly at Lex.

Lex chuckled. “Well when you say it like that, I'm almost tempted to let myself be seduced.” He gave her a sharky grin and waggled his eyebrows. Right at that moment, the waitress popped up again with their drinks. Lex's grin became a little sharper as he knew she'd caught the exchange.

Jessie carefully placed Lex's beer on a coaster and thumped Chloe's Coke down in front of her. The drink almost spilled and Chloe had to bite her tongue. She found a better way to enact her revenge. Hoping that Lex wouldn't freak out at her words, Chloe reached across the table and murmured, "What do I have to do to get you to give in to temptation?"

Lex went with the game and took her hand in his, stroking his thumb over the back of her hand. “Now, it would be too easy if I told you that, wouldn't it?” He made his voice low and sensual giving Chloe his most suggestive look, making sure the waitress caught it.

Noticing that Jessie was rooted to the spot, Chloe stepped up her actions. She snaked her other arm under the table and put it on Lex's leg far enough up so that Jessie would have an unobstructed view of it. She ran her thumb in a circle, slowly. Checking the instinct to fix the front of her low shirt, Chloe said, "That's true. Especially since I know that you like things *hard*." Chloe slowly ran her tongue over her bottom lip and let her gaze wander down Lex's body.

Lex's facial expression didn't change, but he had a difficult time keeping his body from having inappropriate reactions to Chloe's touch.

Chloe held Lex's gaze, never wavering. She was anxiously waiting for his response when she heard something clatter to the floor. Jessie had 'accidentally' dropped some utensils on the ground. "Oh, silly me," she said as she bent over, her shirt displaying her cleavage. 'Oh, give me a break,' Chloe thought.

Lex was jerked out of his haze when the utensils clanked onto the wooden floor, but his gaze was still on Chloe. He thanked whatever higher being that the stupidity of the girl had caused Chloe to remove her hand from his thigh. "So, shall we order now or skip the meal completely?" He had tried for joking but it sounded too much like a suggestion in his own ears.

Chloe fought the urge to tell him what she really wanted to do. She released his hand and trailed her fingertip over the lines in his palm. She made her best pouty face and replied, "I'm hungry." When she saw Jessie get back up she added, "Besides, I think I'll need my strength for later." She winked at Lex and then turned towards the waitress. "I'll have the ribs and he'll have the rumpsteak." She picked up the menus and thrust them at Jessie. "Thanks," she said, curtly. Chloe turned back to Lex and saw Jessie stalk away out of the corner of her eye.

Lex smirked at Chloe over the light of the candle. "That was an amusing little game. I'll give it to you, Chloe; you know how to play the part of the temptress. The look on her face must've been priceless."

Chloe let a look of distress flicker over her face. "What do you mean, playing? We're not going to go home and rip each other's clothes off?" She smiled hugely at Lex and then said, "How disappointing." Picking up another thread of their conversation she said, "She didn't take it too well." Chloe's face scrunched up. "I just hope that she doesn't spit in our food."

Lex's look darkened for a second. "She won't if she knows what's good for her." He pondered for a second. "But if the salad dressing looks off then we should better stick with the steak and potato." Lex leaned back in his seat. "I never asked, what were you actually trying to cook tonight?"

Covering her face with her hands, Chloe groaned. "I was hoping I wouldn't have to discuss my cooking debacle." She looked over at Lex and he crossed his arms, waiting for her answer. "Fine, fine, you win." Chloe pointed at him as he began to smirk, "Just don't get used to it, Mister." She picked up her Coke and took a sip of it. "I was starting to boil some water because I was going to try and make us some pasta with a sauce that's an old family recipe."

Lex chuckled unbelievingly. “You actually managed to set the kitchen aflame, trying to cook water...” He shook his head. “I'll make sure the next stove is electric. Do you prefer any special color or should they just go with the former scheme?”

Before she could stop herself, Chloe threw her napkin over the table, hitting Lex squarely in the face. "See if I ever try being nice to you again," she joked. "I have no color preference. I'd say just go along with what we have now. My dad picked out the colors and being that he spends more time in there than me I guess we should stick with them."

Lex looked picked the piece of cloth from his suit and shot her a questioning look. “So you have to *try* being nice to me? If the effort is too much, you can stop anytime.” He smirked at her. “I'll make the call about the kitchen first thing tomorrow morning.” He swept the room with a glance, seeing if their food was finally coming.

Chloe leaned back in the seat, enjoying the new, relaxed Lex Luthor that sat in front of her. "Nah," she said. "I think I'll keep up the ruse. That way, if I ever need a good lawyer because I've slightly bent the rules during a story, you may have pity on me." She spied their waitress coming out with their plates. "Oh, and when you have the workers install the stove, make sure it's at a decent hour. I can't miss one minute of my beauty sleep."

Lex saw the waitress too and leaned forward as well. “Of course, I'll instruct them to come in the morning and be quick about it. And you know that you look absolutely adorable with or without beauty sleep.” A smile crossed his face as he remembered Chloe before she'd had her first coffee.

Chloe blinked her eyes in quick succession. Was he playing with her again? It was hard to tell. He seemed earnest but the waitress was approaching and maybe this was a new tactic. Chloe shook her head a little and focused on Lex's first statement. "Thanks, we wouldn't want me to get upset and use their various tools against them. Could get ugly." She smiled at Lex and waited to see what Jessie's next move on Lex would be.

Jessie approached the table that was causing her such misery. Usually, the men fell all over themselves to get her number. But, not this guy. He actually seemed to not like it when she touched him. Then there was the little bitch that he was with. She was determined that no girl would stand in the way of what she wanted. However, she had seen the looks between the couple, so she would have to be careful.

As Jessie put the plates on the table, she slid the girl's too close to her drink. The Coke spilled over the table and then onto the girl's skirt. She watched, suppressing a smug smile, as the girl jumped up. Jessie began to apologize profusely. "Oh, I'm *so* sorry."

Lex was up in an instant and around the table. “I suggest you go and get some napkins now.” His tone was icy and he pushed the insipid girl out of the way to get around to Chloe, helping her to at least remove some of the spilled drink from her skirt. “And then I want to speak to your manager,” he continued, throwing it loudly over his shoulder.

Her hands fisted at her side, Chloe had to restrain herself from grabbing the waitress by her long ponytail. Taking a deep breath and counting to ten, her homicidal urges started to abate. Chloe couldn't help but feel better when she saw Lex bump the waitress out of the way in order to reach her.

The waitress quickly said, "Yes, sir," a tremor evident in her voice, and walked to the back of the restaurant. Muttering to herself, Chloe started to dry her skirt with the napkins. "Stupid wench," Chloe murmured as she threw the now wet napkins on the table. Luckily, Lex still had some dry ones. He ran his hand up her leg. He started below her knee and continued on until he reached her upper thigh. He repeated the action over again. Chloe could see that he was concentrating on cleaning her up, but her body was reacting in ways it shouldn't be. When he did it for a third time, a shiver ran through her body.

Lex looked up at her and pulled his hand away when he realized he'd been obviously been attending to his task a little too thoroughly. “If you want to go home, we don't have to stay here.” He stood up beside her. “But first I will have a talk with that manager. *This* was not an accident. He shouldn't keep staff that is putting their personal interest before their guests.”

Lex looked as if he were ready to tear someone's head off. Then again, Chloe was sure that her's was not a happy face, either. Thinking about their choices Chloe said, "How about we get her fired, walk out and then just eat the leftovers from last night?" She brightened a little, "Hey, we've got chocolate cake, that's all I need."

Lex furrowed his eyebrows in thought. “The microwave was still in tact, right?” At Chloe's nod he continued. “I have an idea, you just wait here.” He got up and moved towards the swing door to the kitchen.

He stepped into the big kitchen that was occupied by four people cooking on the bigger stoves and some waitresses. One of them was their waitress. What was her name again? Jenny or Janice or something. She was talking to an older man in jeans and flannel. Lex stepped up behind them. “Are you the manager of this restaurant?” His tone was sharp and his face impassive.

Jessie watched as her manager, Earl, turned around to talk to the guy at table three. She had tried to get as much of her version of the story out before sending him out to the table. However, old baldy had put the kibosh on that plan. Earl turned towards the pissed off customer and held out his hand, "Yes I am. Earl Mead. I heard there was an accident. Tell me about it."

Earl eyed Jessie suspiciously. He had hired her as a favor to an old friend. At the time she had been dating his son. Since then, she had 'dated' about everyone else in Grandville. Earl had a sinking feeling that he could guess the problem. When the young man had entered the establishment, Earl had seen the way that Jessie had perked up. And the way that her face had soured when she caught sight of the beauty that he had come in with.

“The problem is, that either this young *lady* here.” Lex knew how to make the word lady sound like the word 'bitch'. “Is either too incompetent to do her job, or too immature to accept the fact that not every man will fall for her *charms*.” He gave the girl in question a look that could have frozen the Sahara before he turned back to the manager. “She spilled a drink over my date when I wasn't willing to acknowledge her advances. With that she ruined our otherwise pleasant evening in your establishment. Now what I want you to do, is to deal with this situation accordingly.” Lex put his hands in his pockets and gave the man an expectant look that made perfectly clear what he demanded.

Having his suspicions confirmed, Earl smoothly turned to Jessie. "You're fired," he said, his tone brooking no argument. "Take all of your belongings and get out. I will also take the balance of this gentleman's meal out of your paycheck. Also, you will go out and apologize to the young lady." When Jessie began to protest, Earl said, "If not, you will forfeit the rest of your wages." He turned back to the young man and said, "I apologize for this. Is there anything else I can do to attempt to salvage what is left of this evening for you and your date?"

Lex smirked, appreciating the way that this man had handled the situation. He didn't hold a grudge against the man or this restaurant. “Actually, yes there is. Of course you understand that we want to return home now, so I wondered if you were as friendly as to prepare our meals and pack them up so we can take them with us. Would that be possible?”

"Of course, sir," Earl said, instantly. He turned around, not bothering one look in Jessie's direction. The other members of the wait staff were milling about, pretending that they weren't eavesdropping. "Jason," Earl barked at a short, dark haired kid of about fifteen, "you heard what the man said." Jason nodded and went to the table to retrieve the man's food so it could be boxed for the ride home. "This shouldn't take long, sir," Earl stated. "Again, please accept my apologies."

“Of course I do, I trust that next time our stay won't be interrupted like this.” Lex reached his hand out to the man and they shook hands. Earl was obviously relieved that there wouldn't be any other repercussions for the problem his waitress had caused.

"You have my word," Earl said. He turned his attention back to Jessie. "Now, I believe you have an apology to deliver before you leave."

Jessie couldn't believe that this was happening. It was insane. She never lost. Briefly, she toyed with the idea of just walking out, but she needed her full check. Her credit card bills were insane this month. Cursing under her breath, she walked past the two men and out of the kitchen. The blonde bitch was still trying to dry herself off and she passed Jason on her way back to the table. Jessie could also hear the sound of two pairs of footsteps behind her. The bald ass and her ass of a boss were obviously following her.

Chloe noticed the little parade that was coming her way and stopped what she was doing. Jessie walked up to her and bluntly said, "I'm sorry." Her voice indicated otherwise, however. Jessie turned back to her boss and asked, "We done here?"

"Well," Earl said, "you certainly are." Jessie growled and walked back towards the kitchen. Right before she reached the door Earl called over to her, "I don't think you're really sorry so don't bother picking up your paycheck. I'm sure the young lady here," he nodded towards Chloe, "will pick out a lovely charity that it can be donated to."

Chloe heard Jessie let out something that was between a growl and a scream before she disappeared into the kitchen. She looked at what she assumed to be the manager and said, "Thank you for that." He nodded at her and smiled warmly. "You are more than welcome. I'm very sorry this happened." They were interrupted by the young man that had cleared their plates away. "Thank you, Jason," the manger said as he took the boxes from the young man.

Earl looked at the young bald man. "Now, sir, whenever you and your date are ready, please let me see you to your car."

Lex nodded and got his black overcoat from his chair. He held it open for Chloe. It would cover most of the damage from the public eyes. “Chloe? You ready to go?”

Tucking herself into the coat, she said, "Definitely." She wrapped the expensive material around her body, trying to keep the bottom from dragging on the floor. She had to resist the urge to hold the material up to her nose when she caught of whiff of Lex's cologne on it. The manager was ahead of them; somehow carrying their boxes and holding the door open for them. When they reached the car, Lex opened the door for her and took the boxes from the manager. After the man apologized again, he shook Lex's hand and made his way back to the restaurant. Chloe heard Lex pop the trunk and put the boxes in there. When Lex folded himself into the car, Chloe burst out laughing.

Lex looked over at Chloe, huddled in his coat that must be about three sizes too big for her and arched an eyebrow as she almost folded in on herself with laughter. “What's so funny?”

"Oh, Lex," Chloe said through her fit of giggles, "what *isn't* funny? Some chick tries to pick you up, we try to fend her off with horribly over the top innuendo, she still sees me as a threat and soaks me Coke and then we get her fired. It's absurd. It almost makes me want to go back in there," Chloe pointed to the restaurant, "and check for meteor rocks. Who else does this stuff happen to? Everyone else can go out for a nice meal, but no, apparently not you and I." She shook her head. "Plus, I almost set the house on fire today."

Lex chuckled lightly, then shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I can guarantee that *this* wouldn't have happened in Metropolis. The waitresses are too afraid there to make a pass at me.... and I have an electric stove.” He grinned.

Chloe's laughter tapered off and she could sense that Lex was watching her. For once, though, it didn't unsettle her. "You want to hear something even stranger?" Chloe looked up at him and turned her body so that she was facing him. Lex was waiting for her answer. "This night is still better than most of the dates that I've ever had."

His grin tapered off into a gentle smile. 'She really must've had a lot of bad luck if she considered this a good date.' “I'm glad you're not upset about it. Now let's get home. I'm starving... and you said something about chocolate cake?”

"I may have," Chloe said as she pulled her seat belt down and placed it in the catch. "I'm just warning you, you're going to have to fight me for the big piece. And, where chocolate is concerned, I don't fight fair. Consider yourself warned." She pointed her finger at him.

Lex caught her finger in his hand. “Then it will probably be better to tell you in advance that I've been trained by a Navy SEAL, I can wrangle that cake out of your hands five different ways using only my index finger.” He gave her a mock dangerous look as he started the car and pealed out onto the road.

Chloe laughed right in Lex's face, she couldn't stop herself. "Oh, really," she said between chuckles, "well it's nice to know that the SEAL trained you to steal chocolate cake from girls that are younger than you. It's an important skill."

Lex smirked and rounded the corner out of main and towards the highway back to Smallville. “Oh, trust me, it's not only useful for chocolate cake, it also applies to stealing candy from little children and opening resistant bras in less than a second.” When Chloe's laughter faltered and a light blush crept up her face at the last remark, Lex stuck his tongue in his cheek. 'Gotcha'.

[deessedelune]

SQUUUUEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!! :yay2: :yay2: :yay2:

SQUUUUEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!! :yay2: :yay2: :yay2:

Ohmigod..that was smutlessly hot! The tension, the innuendos..it was so Chlex!

Thank you for making my Saturday!

And yes, I do have a problem, because I want MORE!!!

:chlexsign3:

[Not An Addict]

Sabby, I just have one thing to say: *TACKLE HUG*

Oh, and Blue: *gets back up* *brushes self off* *SECOND TACKLE HUG*

This was fantastic. ^_^ I absolutely LOVE it! The tension between them is incredible, and I love how you're building up the relationship between them. Not too fast, but not so slow that we all get incredibly frustrated and have to hunt you down. ^_~ And I suppose, since this was such a beautifully long post, that I'll even resist the urge to beg for more as soon as possible. *zips lips* Great job, guys!

Oh yeah. *lets Blue up* Sorry.

[Clannadlvr]

Hee hee! Nice job, ladies! I love the fact that their friendship is starting to have a flirtatious angle. Nicely done.

Can't wait to read more!

[Cheryl]

Originally posted by Not An Addict@Feb 7 2004, 07:59 PM
I love how you're building up the relationship between them.
Totally agree! It's much more realitic than where they just jump each other without a second though (though I wouldn't have a problem with that :devil: ).

And it was a long post. Damn, I totally loved it. And I'm glad that the little punkass bitch Jessie got what was coming for her. :tease:

[Gea]

Very good! This flirty friendship is getting interesting!

Gaia

[asharnanae]

:pclol:

Oh god this was just fantastic!!! I cannot say enough how much I enjoyed reading this, I was laughing out loud, so very very funny! you to are apsolute stars!!!!! :worship2: :worship2:

[BlushingRose]

I'd say we're definitely progressing beyond the brother-sister type relationship :biggrin: :biggrin: :biggrin:

Nice job, you two! Can't wait to see what happens next...

RoseAnn (who is still trying to figure out what the heck the "Rocky Horror Picture Show" is all about...or is it one of those things you're not supposed to understand???)

[carebear72884]

:hug: :hug: , oh, i love this story it is so cute!!

[hfce]

:lol: That was good. :clap: please more. ;)



Hope :blinkkiss:

[Sab_Luthor]

oh my god this part was so amazing
this was so hilarious i love it
more please

[scifichick774]

ROTLMAO!!!

Oh, I just love you two. Seriously. Love the flirtatious banter and the unexpected physical reactions they had to each other. Really nicely done! :wub: :wub:

[sara_noele]

Finally something that lightens my day!! You Guys rock!

Great, hilarious and sweet. :wub:
Loved the flirting and the beginning of something more.

[Jenmar]

A great update to one of my fave Chlex stories! I love how you're illustrating their growing relationship with one another. The banter and tension between them was electric! I can't wait for another update.

[autumngold]

Your update was just excellent!! I loved how protective Lex was of Chloe!! Their banter was great also!! This story is great, thank you so much for the new chapter!! I can't wait for the next!! :chlexsign4:

[newbatgirl]

Yes, it was a large update and I loved every word (the water bottle interaction was a nice touch) but I still want more.

I'll try not to nag you anymore. I'll just wait over here patiently.

This is me - waiting patiently.

Did I mention that I LOVE this fic?

OK, back to waiting patiently.

[Blackberry]

that kicked serious ass... woohoo! uh oh... Jessie's pissed.. she might want revenge... *ta da da!* hehe.. good update...

[jem]

hahah i agree with someone earlier who said that this fic rocked
cause it was so hot but completely smutless...

needless to say, mention of chocolate cake... *gutter*...

please write more! u guys rock..

[vardaquareien]

Originally posted by BlueSabby@Feb 8 2004, 05:24 AM
You guys are a bunch of ficfiends....the first step is admitting you have a problem.
Ok step one: I have a problem
*waiting*
...........
*waiting*
...........
Nope, it didn't work! I still want more! You'll have to give me more staps to follow coz even a hugearse chappy like this doesn't appease my adiction! Tides it over for awhile...but doesn't cure. So soon I will need more. You don't want to see me in withdrawal...it's not pretty!http://img8.photobucket.com/albums/v28/vardaquareien/Smilies/evil.gif

Loved the Chlexy inuendo and banter. :drool: Loved that Chloe burnt down the kitchen boiling water!!! :hehe: Loved Lex being all protective about the pervy paramedic. Loved that Lex got the slag fired!!! Loved that Chloe got jealous when she was flirting with Lex...well it's probably quicker if I just say loved it, full stop - and leave it at that!!!

[Queen Of Tact]

great ch... i love it..... Mmm chocolate....... LMAO I can't believe Chloe set fire to her house tring to boil water...... It was perfect..... I can't wait to read more of this so u 2 are going to have to post again soon.......


CC

[gina]

Awesome! Stupid Jessie, she should know better than to mess with the Chlex. I loved all the flirting, sexual tension, and their naughty reactions to each other's touches! I like how we're getting to see the gradual progression of their relationship.

This fic is great, please update soon! :)

[katspell]

Loving it gals. Jessie totaly got what was coming to her and the Chlex was great.

[BlueSabby]

A/N: Blue: Here's the next chapter. And the next step on the road to recovery from being a ficfiend: get another hobby. Knitting is relaxing and helps your dexterity. After I receive at least ten scarfs, you'll get another update.

A/N: Sabby: Ok, this is where we wrap up the night. Because they still have to eat dinner, no? Oh and Gabe is involved thanks to modern technology. Other than that, have fun and Lex just might surprise you in this chapter...


Chloe put her key in the door and fiddled with the lock. By now, it was freezing outside and she could see her breath. The ride home had been spent in comfortable silence. However, Chloe's brain had been going non stop, mostly thinking about Lex's last comment to her. She couldn't help but wonder if it were true. Finally, the lock caught and Chloe opened the door. She stepped away from it and said to Lex, "After you, kind sir."

Lex didn't even try to play the gentleman. Chloe was still wearing his coat and the night air was biting against his skin and through the layers of his clothes. "Thank you m'lady." He mumbled as he made a straight line for the kitchen, the boxes with their dinner under his arms.

Closing the door after them, Chloe took off Lex's jacket and hung it up in the hall closet. She watched as Lex took their dinners out of the boxes and popped them in the microwave. She took off her shoes and got two glasses from the cupboard. Filling them both with water, she walked to the couch and flopped down on it. She pulled her feet under her and waited for Lex.

While the microwave ran, Lex got their forks and found sharp knives in one of the less burned drawers next to the sink. The *ding* sounded and Lex got the food out and brought it back to the living room. "Do you need ketchup with it? It's going to be pretty dry now that it comes out of the microwave." He set the plates down on the coffee table.

"No," Chloe said as she pulled the table closer. "I should be fine. Besides, I have to save room for my cake, now, don't I?" She picked up one of the napkins that Lex had brought and placed it in her lap. Her skirt was dry and she wanted to change, but her stomach demanded some attention first. She picked up a rib and then quickly threw it back onto the plate. "Hothothothot," she chanted as she blew on her fingers.

Lex chuckled but had the decency to cover it up with a cough when Chloe sent him a death glare. “Hey, it was funny from my end,” he mumbled but reached over the table to hand her a napkin, anyway. Chloe was just about to retort when the phone rang.

Swiveling around, Chloe grabbed the receiver of the phone with the hand that was not currently on fire. "Sullivan's house of flames, how may I help you?" Chloe paused. "Oh, hi Daddy." She listened to her father's question. "Oh, nothing. No, Dad, I didn't set the house on fire." 'Just the kitchen,' she thought to herself, 'not the whole house. Technically, not a lie.' She zoned back in to the conversation and explained, "I picked up hot food and burned my fingers." Chloe rolled her eyes, "No, Dad, I do not need emergency medical assistance."

Lex smirked when Chloe had blushed lightly as she had told her father she hadn't set the house on fire. Even though she didn't have to lie to Gabe's face she was still showing the telltale signs. When she told her father she'd burned her fingers and Gabe immediately overreacted, Lex couldn't stifle a laugh. 'Way to blow things out of proportion.' Lex continued to listen intently to the conversation.

Chloe played with her napkin in her lap, not really listening to what her father was saying. He was acting like a mother hen as usual, and Chloe had learned to tune him out when he was like this. "No, I don't think there should be any permanent scars. How's your trip been going?" She was able to get the conversation away from herself for a little while. Chloe injected the right "Oh, that sounds interesting"s and "Really"s so her father would continue on with his story and forget about her little accident. Her ears tuned in again. "No," she hissed, "that is unnecessary. Dad," she said sternly, but he cut her off. Sighing, she tersely said, "Fine."

Chloe held out the receiver towards Lex, "He wants to talk to *you* now."

Lex arched an eyebrow at her behavior and took the receiver from her. “Gabe, how's it going? I hope everything is running smoothly?” He listened to the man's reply and let himself be updated on the business situation. “Ok that sounds good, so was there anything else you wanted to talk to me about?”

The barrage of questions that followed wasn't unexpected. “Yes, Gabe she's been good.” He listened for a second. “Yes, I'm sure.” Lex turned to face Chloe and smirked. “No, no she hasn't been harassing me for an interview as of yet.” When Chloe threatened him with a pillow he held his hand up in warning. “No she isn't giving me any trouble; she's been a most charming hostess so far.” Lex smiled when Chloe's glare intensified and she raised the pillow higher. “Yeah she is.” His smile widened. “No I won't.” He waited for another moment while Gabe left last instructions and a hasty goodbye. “Goodbye Gabe.” Lex handed the receiver back to Chloe. “I assume that was the control call.”

Placing the phone back on the cradle, Chloe said, "I'm actually surprised that he went this long without calling. Probably has to do with the fact that the last time he went away, I yelled at him for calling four times in one day." Chloe shook her head. "He just worries a lot." She looked back at Lex's smirking face.
"He doesn't seem to realize that I'm not a toddler anymore." Chloe stretched her left arm over the back of the couch. "And, what, pray tell, won't you do?" When Lex's brows furrowed she explained, "You told my dad you wouldn't do something, what was it?"

Lex's smirk became a rakish grin. “Let's just say your father knows you good enough to know what you're doing even if he can't see you. And he asked me if I'd let you get away with threatening me like you did, and I don't intend to.”

Chloe crossed her arms over her chest. "I do not threaten," she pouted testily. "I strongly suggest. Besides, I doubt that you'd let me get away with a tenth of what he does." She couldn't help the little smile that came over her face. When she wanted to, she could wrap her father around her little finger.

“That is a safe guess. So if I may suggest, refrain from strong suggestions and stick to subtle hints and we should get along like we do now.” He took his plate again and sliced off a bite of steak. “Mhmm remind me to visit that steakhouse again. This is really good.”

Grumbling to herself, Chloe watched Lex eat his food. She could still see the steam rising off of her plate and had no urge to burn off another layer of her skin. "It should run more smoothly next time. No psycho waitress trying to kick it to you." Chloe picked up her drink and took a sip. Deciding that she was too hungry to care about a little charred flesh, Chloe picked up a rib. It was still hot, but not dangerously so. She took a bite and licked her lips. "Yup, still as good as I remember."

Lex smiled as she started tearing into the rib. “What about that sauce? If I remember correctly you wanted to seduce me to have a taste.”

It was a near thing, but Chloe managed not to choke on what she was eating. Or show any reaction to Lex's words. She put her rib back on her plate and picked up another rib for Lex. Holding her hand under it so it wouldn't drip on the couch, she held it towards Lex, "Prepare to be seduced." She flashed him a huge grin.

Lex smirked and covered Chloe's hand around the rib with his to hold it steady and lead it to his mouth. He took a healthy chunk out of the rib and licked the sauce that had spilled from his lip. “Mmm.” His eyebrows flew up as he chewed on the sauce covered meat. He swallowed and licked his lips again. “Ok. You got me, they could make millions selling that stuff.” He chased the last bits of the taste in his mouth. “Maybe I should invest in that steakhouse,” he mumbled under his breath.

The first sign of trouble was when Chloe felt a spark run through her body when Lex touched her hand. 'Static electricity,' she reasoned. However, the fact that her eyes were glued to his mouth couldn't be blamed on the laws of physics. Out of nowhere, she wondered what it would be like to have Lex's mouth fixed on hers with such intensity. She quickly tore her eyes away and turned them towards the hand that Lex was still holding. Following her gaze, he released her hand and she said, "If you do, you'll have to give me a piece of the profits for showing it to you."

Lex settled comfortably back into the seat and smiled at her. “Of course, Chloe. That goes without saying. Plus it wouldn't do to have it all over the news that the Luthor heir is screwing the innocent teenager. I'm not planning to continue what my father started.”

"Good," Chloe nodded. "Otherwise, I'd have to skip threats and move directly to causing you bodily harm." Lex looked over at her and looked her up and down, "What, don't you think I could take you? Don't let the fact that I'm vertically challenged fool you. Us Sullivans are tough."

Lex assessed her slowly, giving her body a thorough once over. “May I should have offered you a place with the Sharks instead of an intern at the Inquisitor. Yeah, I can see it now; they'd install a completely new position for you. *Short* receiver.”

Not being able to help it, Chloe laughed. "I'm not even going to dignify that with a response. I'll also have you know that, just for that comment," she pointed at Lex, "I'm considering eating all of the chocolate cake we have by myself."

Lex spread his hands in invitation. “By any means. Just as long as you hopefully consider the amount of workout it will take to burn off all of it afterwards.” He crossed his arms in front of his chest smirking victoriously. 'They're all the same when it comes to weight complexes.'

Chloe had risen and was putting Lex's silverware on her plate. She dropped his fork and it clattered loudly. She pulled herself to her full height and placed her hands on her hips, "Are you calling me fat, Luthor? Cause, if you are, you need glasses." After seeing the error of her ways, Chloe had reevaluated a lot of things in her life. Living with Lana had given her a complex, that was fairly obvious to see. It had taken awhile, but Chloe had realized that there wasn't anything wrong with the way she looked. In fact, some days, she was down right hot.

Lex mentally back pedaled a few steps. 'Why do girls always understand 'You're fat' when we're bringing up the weight-issue in any way, shape or form?' His gaze traveled over her body once again and he withstood the temptation to roll his eyes. “Chloe, I didn't call you fat. I was just hacking on issues that every woman I met in my life has. 'Sides, anything is fair game when I want something.” He grinned up at her.

Pushing Lex's plate to the side of the table, Chloe sat down and leaned forward, locking eyes with Lex. She continued to stare at him, not saying anything. She could see that he thought he was in trouble. "I have to respect that," she said and he smirked at her. She got back up and picked up their plates. Chloe stopped in the doorway of the kitchen, "And Lex, keep in mind that I'm not like every other woman you've met, ok?" She threw the remark over her shoulder and then started walking, not waiting for his reply.

Lex considered everything he knew so far about Chloe. It surprised him to find that her statement held true.
He knew that other women he had dated would have reacted very different from Chloe if what had happened tonight at the restaurant had happened to them. 'Of course those other women wouldn't have set their kitchen on fire either....well they probably wouldn't know where their kitchen is in the first place.' Lex shrugged that train of thought of and waited for Chloe to return with their dessert. So far it turned out to be a rather pleasant evening. He'd never imagined that he and Chloe would actually get along so well.

After taking care of their food, Chloe carefully took the box with the cake out of the fridge. She opened it and practically purred with delight. 'Pete's right, you need a man,' Chloe thought when she realized how excited she got over the dessert. Now was the tough decision. There were two pieces, one sizably bigger than the other. Sighing, Chloe decided to be fair. "One or two, Lex," she called out.

Lex jerked his head in the direction of the kitchen. “Two?” It dangled somewhere between a question and a statement because Lex had no clue where she was going with it, just guessed that it had something to do with the cake. “Do you need help?” He leaned forward and grabbed the remote. Switching the TV on, he was halfway up off the couch to go and assist Chloe in the kitchen.

"No, I'm fine," Chloe grumbled. When she had asked Lex to pick, she already had both plates in her hand. In her left hand was number one, the smaller piece. Which meant that Lex had won the grand prize. Lex's form filled the doorway and she said, "Or, ok, yes I need help." She shook her head at the fact that he hadn't even waited for her answer. Chloe found it amusing that Lex seemed almost eager to help out in the kitchen. 'Guess he's bored having everything done for him.’ She held out the plate with the bigger piece on it. "Two," she said. When she saw Lex smile, she added, "No gloating."

Lex shook his head and took the plate from her left hand. “Far be it from me to deprive a growing girl of nutrition.” He turned around without another word and left to go back to the living room. He settled back down on the couch and picked up the remote to flip through the channels.

Chloe found that she was almost actually scratching her head in puzzlement. 'Luthors take what they want,' one voice said. 'But he's a gentleman,' another argued. "Shut up," Chloe muttered. She walked back into the living room and sat down on the couch next to him. "Fork," she said as she took one off of her plate and put it on the table. She eyed the remote but decided that he had given her the cake so she could deal with him being in charge of the T.V. She was about to take her first bite when she realized something was missing. Quickly, Chloe went back into the kitchen, returning with two glasses of milk. "Ok, now we're ready."

Lex smiled sideways at her and put the remote aside for a moment to take a bite of the cake. “Wow, I'm starting to appreciate Smallville's cuisine. At least they used real cocoa and not that quick mix stuff.” He licked his lips and dropped the fork on the plate to pick up the remote. Flipping through another ten channels, he stifled a groan when all that was on at this hour was mostly infomercials or cheesy soft erotic flicks. Lex shook his head ruefully. “I never thought I'd ever miss pay-tv.”

Finishing her second bite, Chloe asked, "What? I'm not entertaining enough? I know, we could always play charades." She sat back in the couch and watched as Lex continued to flip the channels. "Watch it; you're getting just as bad as I am." Lex stopped on the Home Shopping Network, shrugged and put the remote on the couch.

Chloe couldn't help but notice that they were selling a twenty-five piece cooking set. "Is this a hint," she asked, gesturing to the T.V. with her fork. She grinned at him, "Cause I already get it. I can't cook. I don't think those shiny pans will help any."

Lex grinned. “But hey, didn't you hear the lady. It's easy as pie you can't mess up, can't burn down, can't even scratch them.” He mocked the voice of the sales lady complete with the agitated mimics and gestures.

"Stop it," Chloe said as she laughed. "You're going to make me choke." She put her almost empty plate down on the table and drank some of her milk. When the next item came up she said, "Oh, look. Car wax." She watched and her eyes lit up when they showed one of the amazing attributes of the product. "I'm getting you that for Christmas. So, then I can set your hood on fire and cook on it using my new pots and pans. And, look, it's miraculous," she said, using her best announcer voice, "the wax job is still intact after suffering through the extreme temperatures." Chloe tilted her head, pretending to ponder something. "I think that I'll cook my first meal on your Aston Martin."

Lex pointed a finger at her. “Over my dead and withering body. You can try it on one of my Porsches; they're prone to be ruined anyway.” Lex set his own empty plate back on the table and grabbed his milk. Funny enough he couldn't even remember the last time he'd had pure milk to drink. Shrugging it off, he returned his attention to the TV. “Who the hell would buy something like that?”

"Clark," Chloe answered. Lex turned slowly to look at her. "I'm not lying. We watched this advertised once together and he thought it would be a great gift for Mr. Kent." Chloe shook her head, remembering how he insisted that his dad would love it. "I think Mr. Kent used it a grand total of two times. When I suggested the whole setting on fire stuff, I got a lecture on fire safety. The man even gave me pamphlets." Chloe rolled her eyes and said, "I swear, I don't know how Mrs. Kent does it. We ought to look into getting her sainted."

Lex nodded in agreement. “I'm all for it, the woman is incredible, I mean can you imagine having to live with Jonathan and Clark 24/7 and not going completely insane?”

"Lex, I'm going to go to bed soon. Are you trying to give me nightmares? What did I do to deserve that?" Chloe did try to imagine what it must be like to be around the two of them constantly. Listening to Mr. Kent's seemingly endless speeches was bad enough. But, having to deal with Clark, too. Chloe shook her head. "Maybe she's a meteor freak with an incredibly high threshold for pain. It's the only explanation."

Lex frowned. “I really don't want to think of her in that way.” He'd always liked Martha Kent. The woman was strict but fair and didn't go around judging people before she got to know them. Plus she was one hell of a strategic thinker and had even had the ability to control his father to an extent. He focused back in on the TV. “Ok, at this point I am out,” he said, as the lady on the screen ran around ripping of random people’s hair with a new wax formula.

Chloe hid her smile as Lex showed that he had a soft spot for Mrs. Kent. She found it cute and she doubted he would take that comment well. Chloe looked back at the maniac that was running around the television screen. "Well, at least you'd be safe from her. Oh, ow." Chloe cringed as the woman took off some hair from her own arm.

Lex scowled as the woman proceeded to pounce on more unsuspecting victims on a sunny beach. “This woman is a closet dominatrix. Look at the gleam in her eyes when she rips the strips of. She loves to torture people.”

Entranced by the screen, Chloe asked, "Why don't they run? If some strange lady came up to me ranting about wax, I'd sure as hell not stand still. Then again, going along with you're theory, maybe they like the pain." One of the victims on the beach howled and then glared at the woman. "Maybe not."

Lex winced in sympathy. He took the remote. “I think we should turn in for the night before we get any more nightmare material. What do you think?”

"Excellent idea," Chloe said as she stood up. She raised her hands over her head and stretched. When she felt her back pop, she put her arms down. "Though, if I have a nightmare about being married to Jonathan Kent, I'm going to wake you up and regal you with every detail." Lex bent down to pick up the plates and Chloe said, "Leave them for tomorrow." She yawned and started for the stairs. "Come on, let's go to bed."

Lex left the plates where they were and followed Chloe op the stairs. One thought was nagging in his mind. “You won't really haunt me with mental images of you and Jonathan Kent will you? If you promise to be silent I will pay for excellent therapy.”

As she trudged up the stairs, Chloe laughed. She could hear Lex's footsteps behind her as she walked to her room. "Oh, yes I will." She turned around and faced Lex. "Someone must share in the trauma and you," she poked him in the chest, "would be that someone. Because, I don't think therapy would help. I think I'd have to take some of that car wax and set my gray matter on fire to get rid of *those* pictures." Chloe walked into her room and stood by her dresser as she took off her earrings. She saw that Lex was standing in her doorway and she murmured, "Come in."

Lex stepped into the room and gave it a casual glance. "You shouldn't think of such drastic measures. It would be an incredible waste of potential. I'm sure there are better ways to get images like that out of your head. You just have to replace them with more pleasurable ones." He smirked and turned to the door again. "Goodnight, Chloe."

Chloe quickly dismissed the idea of asking Lex what images she should replace them with. She was already beginning to feel bad feelings about Lex creeping up on her. Bad feelings that were good feelings which was just bad. Instead, she said, "Night, Lex."

[Not An Addict]

*pounces on update*

Wonderful! Oh, the rising tension and chemistry. The infomercial was an inspired touch. ^_~ And I just want to snuggle Lex in this fic. He's so adorable! Thanks for the update, ladies. I can't knit, but if you want, I can make you a picture of Clark being beaten by midgets.* ^_^

*Ok, probably not, but I could make you -some- kind of picture.

[Clannadlvr]

Hee hee hee...I know what they can do to burn those images out of the grey matter. *cackles evily*

Great job, guys. I really like the fact that this fic is filled with snippets of real life, eating take out food, watching infomercials....it's not all Kryptonite and FOTWs. It's great to see.

And I love how each of them are starting to feel a little something toward the other...yay for the slow burn toward Chlexiness!!!

update soon!

[Jenmar]

Another fantabulous update! I love how this fic is taking the developing relationship between Chloe and Lex slowly. It's so much fun to read. While at the same time, the pace of the plot is not slow, it's clipping along at a great speed. Wonderful part.

As far as other hobbies...hmm...tried knitting, not really my thing. I'll have to see what else I can come up with.

[BlushingRose]

<--gets out her cross-stitch...see, I&#39;m being good&#33;--&#62;

Great, great chapter as usual. Although I did start laughing at the mental image of the woman running up and down the beach with the hair wax. That&#39;s just too close to some of the things you really see on those infomercials for comfort :rolleyes:

RA

[newbatgirl]

Great update. Good banter.

Hobby...hobby.... Had one of those around here somewhere... Does grad school count? I&#39;m sure there&#39;s some homework I could be doing.

Let&#39;s see, Managerial Accounting or Chlex? Which do you think I&#39;m gonna choose?

I won&#39;t ask for an update this time. I&#39;ll just think it really hard.

-nbg

[asharnanae]

:biggrin: that was apsolutely wonderful, the banter was spot on, when I was reading it , it was like I was there whatching the conversation in front of me. Plesure to read, real pleasure&#33;&#33;&#33; Keep it comeing guys, you are fantastic. :worship2: :worship2: :worship2:

[ColumbiaBlue]

But I don&#39;t want a new hobby&#33;&#33;&#33; :crygreen: I won&#39;t&#33; I WON&#39;T get a new hobby&#33; :tease: *crosses arms and pouts like a two year old* Nope nope, you can&#39;t make me&#33;

Well actually I suppose you *could* make me by not updating. In fact... *runs off to start knitting scarves*

I love their banter. They&#39;re just so :cute:

~Manda :blinkkiss:

[sara_noele]

Originally posted by BlueSabby@Feb 14 2004, 07:02 PM
Bad feelings that were good feelings which was just bad.
He, He... It&#39;s starting. She has feelings &#33; :biggrin:

Loved the overprotective Gabe.

And of course loved Lex&#33;


Please update soon.

[autumngold]

I know I don&#39;t tell you enough, but you guys are wonderful&#33;&#33; I loved the last chapter&#33;&#33; I actually got a visual of Lex eating the rib out of Chloe&#39;s hand&#33;&#33; Yummy&#33;&#33; Is it wrong that I want just a little Chlex lovin&#39; now?&#33;&#33; Thanks so much for the update&#33;&#33; Please, please, please update soon&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33; :chlexsign3:

[hfce]

Awwww I loved this update :wub:



Hope :blinkkiss:

[sylvia]

Loved the last two updates. I like how it was both funny and sweet. keep it up =)

[Queen Of Tact]

oh that was good... I loved it..... Lex and Chloe are just so cute......


Happy V-day

CC

[vardaquareien]

Step two: *hands ten scarves to Blue, ten to Sabby grinning smugly* I work in a craft store - and tell people how to make scarves. :blinkkiss: So that means I can have an update right? :biggrin:

Once again loved the easy banter between the two of them. Loved the phone call from Gabe and loved his "Mother henning" of Chloe - he&#39;s so adorable&#33;&#33;&#33; Can&#39;t wait for more&#33;

[SinnerSaint]

I love the whole Lex and Chloe watching the home shopping network &#33; At four in the morning when I cant sleep its the only thing on and I have actually been pretty close to ordering some of those needless products.

[LarkLuthor]

:yay: :yay: :yay: Lark is unavailable for comments at this time due to overdose of great Chlex, please call back at some other time.

Lark

[deessedelune]

Rowrr.. Sexual innuendos and subtext..hot, hot, hot&#33;

Great job again, ladies&#33; But then again, your stories have always been fantastic.

More por favor&#33;

[gina]

Loved the update&#33; The banter and sexual tension was great.


"You shouldn&#39;t think of such drastic measures. It would be an incredible waste of potential. I&#39;m sure there are better ways to get images like that out of your head. You just have to replace them with more pleasurable ones." He smirked and turned to the door again. "Goodnight, Chloe."

Hehe. I wonder what pleasurable images (and of who) she&#39;ll think about. ;)

I loved Chloe&#39;s acknowledgment of her newfound "bad" feelings for Lex at the end.

Can&#39;t wait for more&#33; :)

[Tandy]

The fic is just amazing&#33; Wow&#33; you have to update soon&#33; I can&#39;t wait to see how the relationship develops further. I&#39;m so glad the bitch got fired&#33; :devil: Update soon please&#33; Loving this&#33;


Tandy

[ruafair]

And yes, another classic from Blue and Sabby. First off, great plot idea......... and who would have guessed that Lex could be so....homely :biggrin:

The conversations between Chloe and Lex are spot on....their charactisations are perfect.

And gotta love Gabe and the over-protectivess of Chloe...sweet.

Great story my dears.

Fiona

[Val]

That was great&#33;

I loved how Chloe and Lex interacted and how they&#39;re already getting used to each other&#39;s company&#33;

[carebear72884]

yeah, an update, and it was as good as ever, keep it comeing girls. :blinkkiss:

[katspell]

hey I crochette, what colors do you guys like?????

[Kendrix03]

I think it&#39;s just me but when I read this chapter I couldn&#39;t get my mind out of the gutter.


Plus it wouldn&#39;t do to have it all over the news that the Luthor heir is screwing the innocent teenager.


"Otherwise, I&#39;d have to skip threats and move directly to causing you bodily harm."

Nevertheless, I loved this chapter. Can&#39;t wait for the next.

[Susan S]

This is hysterical&#33; I can&#39;t believe CHloe set the kitchen on fire boiling water&#33;&#33;&#33; I love the interaction between Chloe and Lex. The bit about the home shopping network was great. I can&#39;t wait to see Clark&#39;s reaction to Lex staying at Chloe&#39;s. Would love to see more soon.

Susan S

[smllvllchic703]

This story, like all of your other collaborations is great&#33; I like the friendship that&#39;s developing, with the slight hints of "feelings" happening on both sides, makes it more realistic than someone having a completely platonic relationship with someone as incredibly hot as Lex...great story, looking forward to more...

Cheri

[BlueSabby]

A/N: Sabby: So yeah here&#39;s the next one. Oh and in case anyone wonders when they&#39;d get into their first fight? Right about somewhere in this chap....Now to more personal news, I&#39;m leaving, I&#39;m flying up up and away&#33; And I&#39;ll be gone for about 5 weeks. So yeah, no peep from me until I&#39;m back. At least I don&#39;t think so. Have fun reading *waves* and I see you all when I get back.


A/N: Blue: I&#39;m very happy to see that we&#39;re working on arts and crafts together now. Sabby and I are all warm and happy now that we&#39;ve got scarves. Next step........hmmm....perhaps I&#39;ll email you all personally and make totally ludicrous demands. Now, onto a wet Lex, Mama Kent and a fight. Enjoy.

Chloe woke up and blessed the gods that invented vacations. She liked waking up when the sun was actually already up. It was a nice change. She managed to rip herself out of her warm, comfy bed and she trudged down the hall, thoughts of a nice, relaxing shower filling her head.

Had Chloe been paying attention to her surroundings, not the thoughts in her head, she would have heard the shower already running. However, she paid the noise no mind and pushed open the door. Too late, she realized that the bathroom was already occupied. Lex was leaning out of the shower, his arm outstretched as he was reaching for a towel. Chloe couldn&#39;t help it; her eyes ran over the skin that she could see. Water ran down his well toned chest and arms and she had to forcibly rip her gaze away. She met Lex&#39;s eyes, trying to come up with a casual morning greeting.

"If you want to do me a favor, stop gaping and hand me a towel, please."

Chloe angrily grabbed a towel off the rack. She was furious and for once, it wasn&#39;t with Lex. It was with herself for staring so blatantly at him. She turned back and threw the towel at Lex&#39;s face. "Now you owe me one."

Lex caught the towel before it hit. He wrapped it around his waist, giving her a questioning look. "If it&#39;s important to you, I&#39;ll get you one the next time you take a shower." He stepped out of the shower, gathering his clothes from the lid of the toilet.

Turning away from Lex, Chloe muttered, “How long are you going to need in here?" She looked at her reflection and kicked herself for wearing her Mighty Mouse pajamas the night before.

Lex stepped past her to get to the sink, brushing against her shoulder as he went &#39;Damn this bathroom is tiny.&#39; "Go ahead, I&#39;m almost done, just have to brush my teeth."

While she gave no external reaction to their close proximity or the fact that she had just had contact with Lex&#39;s body, for the second time in twelve hours, Chloe realized what a bad idea this was....and not for any of the reasons that she had first thought of.

Carefully, Chloe bent down and took her shampoo, conditioner and various other shower things out of a small cabinet that was next to the sink. She stood up and placed them on the shelf above the sink where Lex was now squeezing toothpaste onto his expensive electric toothbrush. She noticed that something was dripping on one of her hands. "Dammit." The top to her body wash had come ajar, spilling the expensive, viscous liquid onto the bottle and her hand.

Lex looked up from the sink, and stepped aside. "Usually you wait with the lathering until you&#39;re in the shower." He smirked before he switched the brush on and started to brush his teeth.

When Chloe stepped closer to the sink to wash the spilled liquid from her hand, Lex caught a whiff of the body wash. It smelled subtly of flowers and something else that he couldn&#39;t quite place. &#39;Nice.&#39;

In order to share the sink, Chloe had to step closer to Lex. Her bare arm brushed against his damp skin and she muttered a brisk, "Sorry" as she concentrated on washing away all of the liquid from the bottle and her hands. The silence in the room was thick and Chloe filled it any way she could, "I like your toothbrush." She had to suppress a groan when she heard herself say the horrible four words.

He shot her a look over said toothbrush. &#39;What the hell?&#39; Lex&#39;s eyebrows drew together when he realized that Chloe was obviously uncomfortable with the silence. He switched off the brush and pulled it out, nudging Chloe&#39;s hands away, to get a handful of water. Scooping it up, her rinsed his mouth then spit into the part of the sink that Chloe wasn&#39;t occupying. "It serves its purpose." He rinsed the top of the brush under the faucet and put it on the board above the sink. "I&#39;ll leave you to your shower, then. Call me when you need a towel." With a grin he was out of the room before Chloe could answer.

Watching as Lex left the room, Chloe realized that her usual retort of "So&#39;s your mom" wasn&#39;t an appropriate comeback. Instead, she said nothing, slamming the door when Lex had left the bathroom. She stared at herself in the mirror, "What is *wrong* with you? Great, now he&#39;s got me talking to myself." Quickly, she got undressed and took a shower. The warm water relaxed her and she was almost back to her old self when she turned the spray off. She drew the curtain back and her heart sank. Last night, she had meant to put another towel in the bathroom in case Lex was a morning showerer, like herself. But, after all of the excitement of the day before, she had been too damn tired once she reached her room.

Pulling the curtain back, Chloe silently steeled herself for what she had to do. She cleared her throat and called Lex&#39;s name. When she heard no response, she yelled louder. "What is he, deaf?"

Lex had barely gotten his clothes on, his shirt still hanging open, when he caught Chloe&#39;s yell from down the hall. Frowning, he made his way back to the bathroom and cracked the door open. Poking his head in, he found Chloe hiding halfway behind the shower curtain. &#39;No way.&#39; He had a feeling he knew what was coming and bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing. "And where do you stash the towels in this house?"

Thankful that Lex hadn&#39;t given her a smartass remark, Chloe answered without her usual snark where Lex was concerned. "Second door on the right of your bedroom. Thanks."

Lex nodded and left her without another word. When he stood in front of the open closet, he pondered for a moment. While the devil on his left shoulder told him to take a small towel, just to get Chloe a little more flustered, the angel on his other told him to take the biggest he could find, so he wouldn&#39;t get snide comments about him being a perv for the rest of the time they had to spend together. With a sigh, Lex caught one of the fluffiest and biggest bath towels and returned to the bathroom.

Chloe peeked out from behind the curtain. She was beginning to get cold. How long could it possibly take him to grab a towel using those freakishly long legs? As soon as her thought was completed, Lex appeared in the doorway, towel in hand. She could tell that he was trying to behave himself and not make fun of the situation. Without a word, he held the towel out towards her.

"Thanks," Chloe said, as she grabbed it out of his hand. After making sure that it was secure around her body, she pushed the curtain aside and carefully stepped out of the shower.

Lex stepped aside and let her get to the mirror above the sink. He gave her a short glance. “Don&#39;t mention it.” He opened the door and stepped out. “I&#39;ll be in the kitchen. But warm breakfast won&#39;t be an option sorry.” He grinned smugly at her before leaving the room.

After he had left, Chloe stuck her tongue out at him. Not her most mature moment, she knew, but he wasn&#39;t around to see it so it didn&#39;t much matter. "He&#39;s never going to let me live this down," she muttered to herself. "Set *one* kitchen on fire..." she shook her head. Chloe grabbed her clothes and wandered back into her room. She changed quickly and ran down the stairs. She was going to help one of her friends edit her term paper and she was already running late.

When Chloe got into the kitchen, Lex was on his cell phone. She sang a Madonna song in her head so she wouldn&#39;t be tempted to eavesdrop. However, she got a little too into it because Lex had to yell her name to get her attention. "Jeez, what?"

Lex shook his head and smirked at Chloe. “If you&#39;re done interpreting Madonna&#39;s &#39;Music&#39;, I just wanted to tell you that I called the workers. They&#39;ll come to fix the kitchen in about an hour. They said it would take them the rest of the day, but they can do it.” He turned around and got two cups out of the burned cabinet above the sink. Luckily, the microwave wasn&#39;t the only asset that had survived the incineration. The coffee machine had been a little singed around the edges, but was still working. He filled the cups with the steaming liquid and turned around, holding one of the cups out to Chloe. “So what are you going to do to avoid the construction site?”

"I have to help one of my friends with her term paper," Chloe ran her hand through her damp hair. Remembering Monica&#39;s penchant for spelling every other word wrong and not having any grammatical structure, she sighed, "I think that should keep me out of here for, oh, eternity."

Lex sat down at the kitchen table and took a sip of his coffee. "I&#39;m sure you&#39;ll be able to handle it. I mean, Clark has worked for the Torch and you still got it out on time every week. I&#39;ve seen his grammar. It cost me my favorite red marker to correct one of his history papers."

"I don&#39;t doubt it." Chloe drained the rest of her coffee and rinsed out the mug before placing it in the drying rack. "But, Clark is Shakespeare compared to Monica. By the time I get back, don&#39;t be surprised if I&#39;m married with three kids." She leaned against the counter and said, "You don&#39;t mind waiting for the guys to come and install the stove, do you? If you can&#39;t, I&#39;ll explain it to Monica and we can do it later."

Lex shook his head. "No it&#39;s ok. I&#39;m sure I can handle a few workers, I&#39;ve been keeping an entire plant running for three years now, I should be able to oversee a simple kitchen overdo." He took another swig from his coffee.

"Ok, then. But," she pointed her finger at Lex, "promise me that you ordered the stove that we discussed. I don’t want to come back and find some steel behemoth that I can&#39;t operate." She really didn&#39;t think that Lex would go back on what they discussed. But, she could see him deciding that he had found a better stove and having it installed without consulting her.

Lex held up his hands in defense. "I promise I won&#39;t put anything in here that requires professional knowledge of cooking or machinery. It will be a simple electric stove with a self-cleaning oven, all right?"

"Good. I didn&#39;t want to have to kick your ass when I got home." Chloe grinned at him. "Ok, now. Keys, keys, where did I put you?" She patted down the front and back of her jeans, unable to remember if she had grabbed them from the living room. She came up empty and then cursed when she looked at the time. "I have to go, I&#39;m already late." She ran out of the kitchen and then poked her head back in. "See you later, thanks, bye."

Lex grinned at her. "Keys are in your left coat pocket. Bye, Chloe." He turned back to his coffee.

&#39;Smug jackass,&#39; she thought as she fished her keys out of her jacket. &#39;But, helpful jackass, too.&#39; Chloe ran down the driveway and hopped into her car. She burned rubber as she pulled out of the driveway and steeled herself for the pain that awaited her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~

Lex had just finished rinsing his coffee mug when the doorbell rang. He jogged to the main entrance, wondering why the workers didn&#39;t come to the backdoor right away. When he opened the door, he was surprised to find Martha standing there. "Mrs. Kent. What a surprise. What brings you here?"

Mrs. Kent&#39;s brow furrowed. "I could ask you the same thing, Lex." &#39;What on Earth is he doing here?’ Mrs. Kent knew that Gabe was out of town and she had assumed Chloe was alone. That&#39;s why she decided to pop on by and bring the girl some food. Left to her own devices, Mrs. Kent was sure she would have been living off a diet of pizza and Chinese food.

Lex&#39;s expression didn&#39;t waver. However he realized that he&#39;d have to find a good explanation for Mrs. Kent. &#39;Well how about the truth? She&#39;s not going to go around telling everyone. She knows how to keep secrets.&#39; "Please come in Mrs. Kent. I&#39;ll explain it all. Do you want some coffee?"

"Sure," Martha said, slowly. Lex stepped back, allowing her to enter the house. She placed her purse and the bags of food on the coffee table in the living room and then sat down on the couch. She tried to figure out why Lex would be in the Sullivan house without Gabe at home. Apart from the obvious, that was. "Is Chloe around?"

Lex remained standing next to the table and put his hands in his pockets. &#39;Ah and the inquisition begins.&#39; "No, actually she&#39;s with a friend right now, Monica I believe, to help her with a term paper. She&#39;ll probably not be back before tonight." With that he left her and went into the kitchen getting some coffee from the still half full pot. He put the cup into the microwave for about a minute. Lex leaned against the kitchen table and wondered how long it would take before Mrs. Kent would crack and ask for an explanation. The microwave dinged and Lex took the hot coffee and brought it back to Martha who was sitting on the couch with a pensive look on her face, hands folded in her lap and fingers drumming against her knuckles.

When Lex left, Martha took the opportunity to scan the room. She noticed that there were definite signs that pointed to the fact that Lex was staying here. There were two plates on the coffee table, along with two glasses. She spied a pair of his shoes under the table as well. Having a child with special abilities kept her senses finely tuned to things that were out of order. Lex returned with her coffee and sat down next to her. "Thank you, Lex," she said, taking the cup. "I see that you are staying here with Chloe. Do you mind if I ask why?" Martha decided to get directly to the point. She still had to go to the market and pick up the dry cleaning; she had very little time for a circular conversation.

&#39;Ah thirty seconds.&#39; "Well, Gabe insisted that Chloe should have someone here to look after her for the time that he is away and since I was needing a place to stay at the same time, we agreed that I should move in and keep an eye on her while he&#39;s away." Lex noticed the plates he&#39;d forgotten to put away and got up immediately. &#39;Way to impress the most anal woman I know.&#39; "I&#39;m sorry for that, I&#39;ll be right back." He motioned to the plates before piling them. He managed to carry both, the plates and the glasses and swiftly made his way to the kitchen once more.

Martha quickly took in all of the information that Lex had given her. She found it difficult to believe that Gabe had just out of hand agreed to this situation. She was sure that Chloe had worked her usual verbal magic to get her father to agree to this. After Lex returned from the kitchen she said, "I&#39;m not sure you know exactly what you&#39;ve gotten yourself into." Martha smiled, remembering the few times the blonde had stayed with them at the farm. The girl&#39;s curiosity was boundless and it took a great deal to keep her out of the cellar. "Chloe can be a handful," she said as she sipped her coffee.

Pictures of this morning in the bathroom, the last night in the restaurant, the fire truck in front of the house when he came home and the burned kitchen he&#39;d just come from flashed through his mind. Lex wasn&#39;t even aware that he was smiling before Martha gave him an odd look. "Oh believe me Mrs. Kent, I know. But as of yet she&#39;s been good. No major trouble that couldn&#39;t be fixed with a little good will."

Martha made a noncommittal noise in her throat. She had caught the smile that had graced Lex&#39;s face as he thought about Chloe. While others appeared to be blind when it came to how Lex and Chloe treated one another, Martha had paid special attention to it. Not so long ago, she had had both of them over for dinner. This was before Chloe and Clark were no longer on speaking terms. During dinner, Martha had watched the back and forth between her son&#39;s friends. There was a spark between the two young people. Nothing so overwhelming that anyone else noticed. But, she had seen it clear as day.

Martha was sure that Gabe had no such feeling; if he had he would have never agreed to Lex staying with his daughter. "I take it I don&#39;t want to know what you mean by *major* trouble, do I?"

Lex chuckled. "Like I said, there was *no* major trouble to speak of and we get along well so far." Lex gave the brown bags on the table a look. "I&#39;m sure you&#39;ve got to get these home. I don&#39;t want to take your time."

"Oh, they&#39;re for Chloe," she said. "And you now, I suppose. Just some casseroles and such. I swear, that girl would forget to eat sometimes if no one reminded her. She gets so wrapped up in things. Very passionate about her work." Martha shook her head and put her mug down on the coffee table. "I wish Clark would take up some of her work ethics, sometimes. She stood up and picked up the bags, "I&#39;m just going to put these in the fridge."

Lex was taking the bags from her arms before she could protest. "No, it&#39;s fine. Let me do that. After all, you&#39;re my guest." &#39;Please say ok and sit down, please say ok and sit down...&#39; ran like a mantra through his head. He really didn&#39;t want Martha Kent to see a kitchen that was anything other than perfect. &#39;Hell she&#39;d get the shock of her life and probably faint or something.&#39;

"Ok," Martha said. She sat back down on the couch, very suspicious of Lex&#39;s actions. While he had always been a gentleman, he had practically ripped the bags out of her hands and hurried to the kitchen. Something was going on here and she would figure out what it was. As soon as Lex sat back down on the couch, smiling at her, Martha stood up. "I&#39;m sorry, I forgot to have you grab a serving plate that Gabe had borrowed from me a few weeks ago. Keep your seat, I&#39;ll just pop in and grab it."

Lex quelled the urge to shout &#39;No&#39; instead he put a hand on Martha&#39;s arm. "Well Mrs. Kent. I&#39;m afraid I have to tell you something..." He could pull this off. "Remember how I said there has been no *major* trouble? Well actually..." Here goes nothing. "I&#39;m afraid Chloe smashed the plate this morning in the kitchen. She got pretty upset about it but wouldn&#39;t tell me the reason until I pried. I&#39;m sorry." &#39;I&#39;ll go straight to hell.&#39;

"Uh huh," Martha said. She couldn&#39;t help but smile at Lex&#39;s last ditch effort to keep her out of the kitchen. "It&#39;s interesting that Chloe would be so upset about breaking my plate. Considering the fact that she didn&#39;t know that her father borrowed it." Martha pointed towards the kitchen, "I&#39;m going in there now. Is there anything else you want to tell me before I do?"

&#39;Damn.&#39; Lex had the decency to look chagrined. "Ok. I&#39;m sorry. I just didn&#39;t want you to see this. I&#39;m afraid there was a little accident with the stove." At Martha&#39;s wide eyes and arched eyebrows he quickly amended. "But nothing that won&#39;t be repaired as soon as that crew finally shows up." With that he let Martha step ahead and towards the kitchen.

When she entered the kitchen, Martha ran her eyes over the charred cabinets and stove. &#39;This is what he thought would send me into a tailspin,&#39; she wondered. Then again, she had to remind herself that Lex had never seen the carnage that Clark had caused when he was younger. Martha looked at Lex, who was leaning against the door and said, "I had expected something far worse. Was this your work, or Chloe&#39;s?"

Lex was between two chairs. He could either tell the truth and make Chloe look like an incompetent fool. &#39;Not an option she&#39;d kill me if she knew Martha found out.&#39; Then he could lie and say it was him and reaffirm the "incompetent rich kid" prejudice. &#39;Oh what the hell.’ He opened his mouth to speak up, but Martha beat him to it.

Martha could see that Lex was trying to make a decision. Enough times, she had seen the way that Chloe could clobber everything around her. She thought that it was sweet that Lex was trying to protect Chloe from further humiliation. &#39;This gets more interesting with every passing second.&#39; "Lex," she said, interrupting whatever he was about to say, "don&#39;t worry, I won&#39;t let her know that I&#39;ve seen this." She chuckled, "You should have seen the mess she made when she took it upon herself to wax our floors. It&#39;s the closest I&#39;ve seen Jonathan to throttling someone who wasn&#39;t Clark."

Lex smirked. &#39;Damn that woman is amazing.&#39; "Thank you Mrs. Kent." He still felt he had to explain a little on Chloe&#39;s behalf. "It could have happened to anyone though and I feel responsible since she was trying to cook in an effort to be a good hostess to me. And like I said, the kitchen will be fixed today, so I hope that you won&#39;t tell anyone about it. I really don&#39;t want to get the girl into trouble over something like this."

Two things amazed Martha. The fact that Lex was trying to convince her that Chloe wasn&#39;t a silly, little girl. Not that she needed any convincing. The second fact was the one that she focused on. "Chloe was cooking for you? Chloe *Sullivan*? About this high," Martha held her hand up to a little below her own head, "blonde, feisty." She shook her head. "Wow. The last time Clark mentioned to her that maybe she could make him something when he came over here to study, she told him to shove it. And, I don&#39;t believe I need to tell you where he was supposed to shove it."

Lex was a little surprised. Sure, he hadn&#39;t expected that Chloe was even remotely the &#39;potential housewife&#39; kind of girl, but he&#39;d thought she&#39;d cook on occasion at least. "Well, I&#39;m sure it wasn&#39;t strictly for my benefit. It was probably her way of showing that she can do it and because she was hungry herself and didn&#39;t have other options." He shrugged.

Martha had been expecting the swift denial from Lex. And, she was sure that he was partially correct. There would have been no way that Chloe would have cooked just for him. However, it would be nice for him to recognize that Chloe had not done so for anyone else in a long time. Martha decided to leave it be for now. "I&#39;m sure you&#39;re right, Lex. I doubt that Chloe would strap on an apron just to fix you dinner." She looked around the kitchen once more. "She really does have a tendency to steamroll anything and everything in her way. No wonder why Gabe just lets her be most of the time. She really is a handful." There was no hardness to Martha&#39;s voice, however. She really did love the young woman; she just couldn&#39;t imagine being the one to lay down the law with Chloe. It was most likely a very dangerous job.

Looking at the kitchen clock, Martha started a little. "Is that really the time? Damn. I have to run now. If either of you need anything, don&#39;t hesitate to call." A slight frown appeared on her face. "I assume the two of you would like to keep the living situation as quiet as possible?" When Lex nodded, she said, "Got it. So, I&#39;ll check in to make sure the two of you are doing ok. Not that you can&#39;t take care of yourself," she added. "Enjoy the food and don&#39;t worry about seeing me out. I&#39;m sure I can find my own way. Take care, Lex." Martha quickly exited the kitchen and scooped up her purse from the coffee table. As she exited the house, she decided that calling once every two days should be sufficient to make sure that the two young people were behaving themselves.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~

The goddamn crew had taken up most of the day to fix what Lex thought wouldn&#39;t have taken more than a couple of hours. The five men had arrived shortly after Martha had left and spend the next five hours hammering, screwing, sawing and generally making incredible noise.

Lex was at the end of his patience and the vessels in his head short from bursting as the headache pounded through his brain. Finally alone. Lex had taken a Scotch from the new and remodeled kitchen and dragged himself into the living-room. He sunk into the couch and let his head fell back onto the backrest. His headache was slowly dwindling down. BANG It came back on full force as the sound of the front door slamming shut reverberated through the house.

Blood boiling, Chloe stomped into the house. To say that it had not gone well with Monica would have been the understatement of the century. At first, she had been patient with the girl; correcting her horrible grammar, fixing the there, their, they&#39;re problems and giving her suggestions on how to make it flow better. After a few hours of this, Chloe could see that Monica was beginning to get defensive and pissed off.

When Chloe had suggested switching two paragraphs around, Monica began muttering to herself. Chloe ignored it and soldiered on. She came to a particularly difficult sentence. Monica had at least three different ideas in it and when Chloe asked the other girl what she was really trying to say at this point in her paper, Monica had replied, "What? You can&#39;t figure it out? I thought that you were supposed to be good at this stuff."

Instead of replying, Chloe had packed up her stuff and left the other girl&#39;s house; ignoring the rest of Monica&#39;s questions about her editing talents that she continued to pepper Chloe with. Now, that she was home, all she wanted to do was take a hot shower and relax for the rest of the night.

Unceremoniously hurling her bag on the floor, Chloe gave a terse, "Hi, Lex," as she walked past him and continued on into the kitchen.

Lex started to rub his temples when he heard Chloe rummaging through the kitchen, slamming cupboard doors and drawers regardless to the new things. &#39;Great, why me?&#39;

Opening the fridge door, Chloe looked at her beverage options. After the day she had, she wanted to go and snatch Lex&#39;s drink. However, she didn&#39;t want to sit through the inevitable lectures she was sure he would deliver. She grabbed a Coke and popped it open. Seeing the pile of mail sitting on the kitchen table, she walked over and leafed through it. &#39;Bill, bill, bill, letter from Pete.&#39; Chloe ripped open the envelope, hoping for another funny story from the football camp that Pete had decided to attend.

The slamming in the kitchen had stopped, but Chloe had still not come back out. Lex took a sip from his drink and set the glass on the table, waiting for the girl to reappear and give some comment, even though he already had a feeling it wouldn&#39;t come without prodding.

Reading over Pete&#39;s letter, Chloe was greatly disappointed. She had needed a fun story and it was basically Pete just bitching about the offensive line. Like she cared about that, where were stories about him waking up in some other guy&#39;s bunk? Was that too much to ask? A frown took over her face when Pete made some backhanded comment about how he imagined Lex&#39;s face on the tackling dummies. "Infantile," Chloe muttered as she threw the letter on the table before standing up. She grabbed her Coke and went back into the living room. Sitting down next to Lex, she let out a long sigh.

Lex turned his head to look at her. Her face was easy to read. Her mouth a stern line, brows furrowed and a put upon look in her eyes. She was pissed. “I take it the day went worse than expected?”

"You have no idea," Chloe said, keeping her face forward as she took another sip of her soda. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the couch. "Try to do something nice for someone and all it gets you is aggravation. Does no one appreciate it when a favor is done for them anymore?"

Lex smirked. “Well sometimes people are just too caught up in their own problems to appreciate the things other people do for them.” Best example, the kitchen just a door away from them.

"I know," she said, indignantly. "Is a simple thank you too much to ask?" Chloe put her drink on the table and took her shoes off, tucking her legs under her body. "Instead, my skills as an editor are questioned. See if I try and help anyone anymore." The last sentence was muttered under her breath.

Lex shook his head. She took this too serious. It wasn&#39;t like she&#39;d been questioned after working as an editor for the Daily Planet for years. “Chloe, you don&#39;t need to get too upset over this, it&#39;s just a term paper, it&#39;s not like it would have any impact...” He didn&#39;t get to finish his sentence before Chloe jumped from the couch and launched into a major rant.

"Right," she said, turning to face him, her arms crossed over her chest, "it&#39;s not like someone telling me that I suck at the one thing I want to do has any *impact* on me. In fact, I should have just thanked her for letting me know that I&#39;ve been wasting my time for the past few years." Chloe began to stalk around the room. She had already been pissed when she came home and to have Lex so easily dismiss what was upsetting her had made her bypass pissed and move right on to livid.

Her voice began to get louder. "I should just chuck all of this and quit school, too. Get married to some farmer, pop out some children and let him take care of me." She stopped pacing and stood in the V of Lex&#39;s legs. "In case this has never occurred to you, some of us don&#39;t get our dream jobs handed to us on a silver platter. Some of us have to work for it."

Lex stifled the urge to roll his eyes. Her screaming wasn&#39;t helping his headache any. Her snippy comments about being handed his career on a silver platter where far from correct so they didn&#39;t really faze him, but he was rapidly losing his patience with the teen. “You know, I was going to say that the girl had no clue what she was talking about and that *her* opinion wouldn&#39;t make any difference for your future career, but now that I see your behavior, I am beginning to doubt that you really have *all* it takes to be in a position like editor of an important paper.” He glared coldly at her and got up from the couch. “And by the way, you should know as well as I do that nothing my father gives away comes without a price.” He started up the stairs. “Goodnight, Chloe.”

Lex&#39;s comments had taken all of the wind out of her sails. Chloe&#39;s shoulders slumped as soon as she heard him climb up the stairs. Her anger had been replaced by a feeling of total stupidity. She hadn&#39;t even *thought* about what she was saying. The words had flown out of her mouth without first being okayed by her brain. Chloe knew that Monica was just pissed about the fact that her paper sucked and was lashing out. She also knew how hard Lex had worked to gotten to where he was. Chloe cradled her face in her hands and let out a muffled scream. She hated being wrong and looking like a fool.

Chloe kicked the couch for good measure and then plodded up the stairs. She stopped outside of Lex&#39;s door, considering knocking on it so she could apologize, and then moved on. She&#39;d deal with it tomorrow. She undressed quickly and changed into a t-shirt, then crawled into bed. Chloe hoped that a good night&#39;s sleep would make it easier to eat crow in the morning.

[hfce]

Chloe :nobad: shame shame shame on you.



Hope ;)

[ColumbiaBlue]

Points up at Hope. What she said. And Martha :wub: she&#39;s the only Kent I can stand. And of course she earns uber brownie points for catching the chemistry between Lex and Chloe.

Loved it&#33;

~Manda

[Clannadlvr]

*grins* I like how you&#39;re showing that even though our Chloe is smart and resourceful, Lex has age and experience on his side. He sees certain things more clearly than she. Nice touch&#33;

So are we going to have to wait 5 weeks for an update?&#33;&#33; *cries*

[katspell]

great deal of fun. Poor Chlex having bad days. Maybe Lex should get his head looked at, he&#39;s having a lot of headaches....

We&#39;ll miss you for the next five weeks&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33; :hug:

[Tandy]

Chloe chloe chloe. :rage:

Loving the fic&#33;

Update soon&#33;

[carebear72884]

Chloe, didn&#39;t you know that your never supposed to go to bed angry with someone or them angry with you.
I can&#39;t wait 5 weeks for an update, that is forever :crygreen: :crygreen: , but have fun sabby, we will miss you around here.

[gina]

Oh, bad move Chloe. I hope we get to see a nice make-up scene out of this though. :biggrin:

Can&#39;t wait for the next update&#33;

[Not An Addict]

Oh, the evils of stress and the horrors that it can make you unleash on the world. Makes me glad I&#39;m more or less a "quiet rage" kind of girl ^_~ Great chapter, guys. I especially loved that Martha had caught on to that certain something between Lex and Chloe. Nice touch.

Sabby, we&#39;ll miss you&#33; And not only because we won&#39;t be getting updates. ^_^ Have a great time&#33;

[Impress]

great update.

[asharnanae]

At first, she had been patient with the girl; correcting her horrible grammar, fixing the there, their, they&#39;re problems and giving her suggestions on how to make it flow better.

Hmmm, I feel a keen sympathy for chloe, and I feel awful, that is sooooooo what I have problems with when writeing my essays. In fact, this whole scene happened last night. it tickeld me that did&#33;&#33;



"He&#39;s never going to let me live this down," she muttered to herself. "Set *one* kitchen on fire..."

Loved this line, not that the whole thing isn&#39;t excelent&#33;&#33; you know, you do just keep getting better and better&#33;&#33; :yay: :worship2: :biggrin:

[Val]

Oh I love Martha&#33; :biggrin:
Poor Lex though... *smacks Chloe and waits for her to apologize to him*

[MagnusXXN]

Poor, poor Lex. Bad Chloe&#33; Bad&#33; :ohmy:

Martha is a saint&#33; And not just for putting up with Jonthan and Clark, who I would haev poisoned.






): )

[autumngold]

Originally posted by MagnusXXN@Feb 21 2004, 05:54 AM
Poor, poor Lex. Bad Chloe&#33; Bad&#33; :ohmy:

Martha is a saint&#33; And not just for putting up with Jonthan and Clark, who I would haev poisoned.






I so agree with you&#33;&#33; Chloe should have apologized to Lex immediately though&#33;&#33; He&#39;s only going to have time to get madder the longer he thinks about it&#33;&#33; As to your other thought, maybe Martha could poison Jonathan and Clark in the next chapter? That way she could get Chloe and Lex back together as friends sooner since they would both want to testify on her behalf&#33;&#33; Great update&#33;&#33; Please, please, please post another chapter soon&#33;&#33; I don&#39;t like Lex and Chloe fighting&#33;&#33; :chlexsign4:

[celticangel]

I love this story&#33;&#33; Can&#39;t wait for the next part :yay:

[sara_noele]

You just have to love Martha. That women is always there when you need her and always knows what is right.

I kind of can understand Chloe, in times of stress I can react like that too. But she should apologize soon. Because otherwise it just gets worse.

Sabby hope you have fun, but I will :crygreen: ...no updates&#33;

[ElizabethV]

I loved Martha&#39;s visit&#33; :) Especially when she found out that Chloe cooked- or tried to- for Lex.

"Chloe was cooking for you? Chloe *Sullivan*? About this high," Martha held her hand up to a little below her own head, "blonde, feisty." She shook her head. "Wow. The last time Clark mentioned to her that maybe she could make him something when he came over here to study, she told him to shove it. And, I don&#39;t believe I need to tell you where he was supposed to shove it."
That was great&#33; :biggrin: And the way she noticed some sparks between Lex and Chloe when they were eating at her house before- I definitely loved that.
Anyway, Chloe better apologize to Lex for what she said&#33; I get that she was all mad, but still... they have to make up. :)
Hope you have fun on your vacation&#33;

[BlueSabby]

A/N:Sabby: Boo&#33; *the voice from beyond the big pond* What? You&#39;d think I&#39;d leave you addicted lunatics for five weeks and have you bribing and threatening Blue uselessly for updates? Naah, she&#39;ll keep updating, not every day but you know *shrugs* so have fun and don&#39;t hurt my collaborator&#33; Or I will have to find and hurt you&#33;

A/N: Blue: Jeez, you people sure don&#39;t like it when they fight....hmmmmm...things don&#39;t bode well for you then, fair readers. Here&#39;s what you wanted. Enjoy


Heart hammering in her chest, Chloe sat straight up in her bed. She was a sound sleeper and she had been awaken by a loud thumping noise. Listening carefully, she heard another thud. Trying to be as quiet as possible, she got out of bed and walked towards her door. She opened it and peered out into the hallway, waiting for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. Chloe started to step out of her room and then thought better of it. She grabbed something off of her dresser and then left the room.

Chloe quickly descended the stairs and saw a tall figure in the hall. She gripped the weapon tightly and swung it at the intruder&#39;s head.

Lex had heard the noise behind him and turned sharply. He caught the wrist of his attacker before the weapon made actually contact with his head. Glaring down at what could only be Chloe, he held the struggling girl still. “Heavens woman are you trying to kill me?” Chloe immediately stopped struggling under his hands and seemed to shrink back a little.

Chloe stared up at an obviously put out Lex. "Yes," she said simply. When his eyes narrowed, she clarified her statement. "Well, I didn&#39;t *know* it was you, now did I? You could have been some insane meteor freak. Why are you creeping around in the dark, anyway?" Her voice gained some strength with her last question.

Lex took a step back from her and scoffed. “I&#39;m not *creeping*. I was merely going to go to the kitchen and get myself some hot milk.” He crossed his arms over his chest and raised his eyebrows. It irritated him that he couldn&#39;t really see her, since the hallway was still pitch black.

Chloe lowered her weapon, thankful for the darkness because she was blushing to her roots. "Oh, sorry. Well, look on the bright side; at least I didn&#39;t pummel you to death." She avoided making eye contact with him. Especially since she could see that Lex was now trying to make out what she had in her hand.

Lex shook his head and caught a glimpse of the object in her hand. "It would&#39;ve taken a long time to kill me, considering your choice of weapon. And since we&#39;re both awake now, why are we still standing in the dark?"

"Hey," Chloe said, poking him directly in the chest with the curling iron, "I got plenty of time *and* good aim." She ignored his last question. Mostly due to the fact of her choice of bed clothes. Just a t-shirt, what had she been thinking? She could also see that Lex was half naked and after all of the thoughts she had been entertaining as of late, she didn&#39;t think it wise to be around him like that. She wondered if there was any way she could get back to her room before he flicked on a light.

Lex smirked, "Whatever you say." He reached his hand to the side, feeling for a light switch and found it somewhere next to a dresser. Flipping the switch he narrowed his eyes to adjust to the sudden brightness.

Wincing against the light, Chloe threw the curling iron on the couch. She blinked a few times in order to get her eyes to adjust to the new lighting in the room. She looked at Lex, noticing that his eyes were downcast, and, not wanting to entertain the thought of what he might have been looking at, said, "Jeez, Lex. Warn me before you do that next time. You could have scarred my retinas."

Lex picked his eyes up from the floor and kept his gaze fixed on her face. He mumbled a "Sorry," His eyes had adjusted and now he had to stifle a laugh as he took in Chloe&#39;s appearance. She was wearing an oversized t-shirt that covered her to almost mid thigh and her hair looked as if she&#39;d run through a wind channel. "You might need that later." He pointed to the curling iron, smirking as Chloe&#39;s hands flew up to her hair. That reaction gave him a short glimpse of her panties as her shirt rode up. Lex forced himself to look back at her face. &#39;Man, get a grip. You&#39;ve seen women in less clothing without batting a lash.&#39; He scolded himself. Lex pulled himself out of his inner ramblings and turned in the direction of the kitchen intending to get away for a second.

Chloe ran her hands through her hair a few times before she thought to herself, &#39;What in the hell am I doing? I don&#39;t care what I look like.&#39; She glared back up at Lex but saw that he had already started towards the kitchen. She walked past the couch, picking up the iron and sped up. She passed him and then spun around in the doorway of the kitchen. Chloe planted her left hand in the middle of his chest and said, "You&#39;re right. Before you go in, I should make sure the kitchen is secure. You stay here while me and my buddy here," she waved the curling iron in the air, "check for intruders."

Lex blinked. &#39;What the hell is she….&#39; "Chloe, is everything ok with you? You&#39;re talking nonsense." He imitated what he hoped passed for a worried look and reached a hand out to touch her forehead. "No fever," he mumbled under his breath while pulling the hand slowly back, stroking over the ruffled hair on the way. "I think you might have food poisoning, you were right, you definitely shouldn&#39;t cook if the outcome is insanity." He shook his head ruefully. "I might have to take you to a hospital. Can&#39;t have you passing out on me, Gabe would never forgive me that."

She opened her mouth and an indignant noise came out. Yes, she was being slightly odd, but she had been awoken to what she thought was a burglar and almost assaulted Lex. She thought that her gesture of trying to protect him would be appreciated, not mocked. Plus, the jibe about her cooking did not go unnoticed. Her hand was still on Lex&#39;s chest and she dropped the curling iron unceremoniously on the floor so she could use both of her hands to push Lex. "Jerk," she muttered as he stumbled back. Turning around, she flicked on the kitchen light. Not caring as to how Lex would react to her actions, Chloe opened the door to the fridge and leaned down to peer inside.

Lex entered the kitchen, a snide comeback already on the tip of his tongue when his voice got stuck in his throat. He was presented with a rather enticing view. Chloe was halfway inside the fridge and bent over, her ass jutting out, only covered by some dark blue cotton panties. &#39;Wow&#39; "Nice panties." It slipped out before he could stop himself and he knew he&#39;d probably be slapped for it so he tried to find something to distract her from the comment as fast as possible, "You know what, since we&#39;re already up anyway, what do you say I make us some coffee and breakfast?"

When Lex&#39;s first comment registered in her mind, Chloe&#39;s first instinct had been to stand back up. Not wanting to give him the satisfaction, she stayed where she was and said, "Enjoy the view now, cause this is the only time your *ever* going to see them." She was trying not to fly off the handle with him anymore. He seemed to enjoy it too much. She grabbed the eggs out of the fridge and put them on the counter along with the ingredients for an omelet. She turned around and jumped onto the counter, sure to cross her legs at her first opportunity. "Well, what you waiting for? Go, cook."

Lex smirked and stepped up to her, purposely invading her personal space. "I would, but unfortunately, you&#39;re blocking the cupboard with the pans and pots." He was still surprised that she hadn&#39;t reacted more volatile to his first comment, since she obviously had to think it was meant as a jibe.

Chloe looked behind her and, sure enough, she was in the way. She tilted her head and said, “Good point.” She jumped off the counter, expecting Lex to step back to give her some room. Instead, she slid against his body, the lower portion of her shirt getting caught between them. Before she could fix the material, she felt the skin of her stomach rub against Lex&#39;s bare skin. After fixing her shirt, she glared back up at Lex. "If you wanted me to jump into your arms, you could have just asked."

Lex arched an eyebrow and tilted his head lightly to the side. "Is that an offer, Chloe?" His fingers pressed gently into her hipbones before he released his hold on her and took a step back. &#39;Damn if it isn&#39;t&#39;

Thankful for the minimal amount of space that he had put between them, Chloe crossed her arms and said, "Do I look like the type of girl who would throw herself in any guy&#39;s, much less your, arms?" &#39;And what fine arms they are...ahhhhhh, stop that&#33;&#39;

Lex gave her a casual look all the way down her body and up again then looked back at her eyes. "Oh I&#39;ve seen you doing just that, so it wouldn&#39;t come as a surprise." He left her with that comment, reaching around her to get to the pans, then turned abruptly to the stove to start on the omelet.

Chloe grabbed him by the shoulder and turned him around. She decided to ignore the way his eyes had made a leisurely trip over her body and, instead, address what he had said to her. "What do you mean by that?"

Lex cocked his head to the side and his lips twitched at the corners. "Clark Kent, ring any bells?" He turned his back on her again and proceeded to break the eggs into a bowl.

Chloe glared at Lex&#39;s back. It was a low blow and he knew it. She was now both disgusted and embarrassed by her behavior with Clark. Plus, she didn&#39;t like anyone reminding her about it. Especially if that person was Lex Luthor. "Jealous," Chloe asked. Her voice was low and her fists were clenched at her sides. "You wish girls would hurl themselves at you instead?"

Lex chuckled. "You know as well as I do that women tend to do that. Though sadly for the wrong reasons." He frowned when his nose was once again dunked into the fact that he hadn&#39;t exactly had a shining track record with the women in his life. "So no, I&#39;m not jealous. Could you hand me the pepper please?" He turned his shoulder towards Chloe and held his hand out.

Deciding that any other comment she wanted to make would cause more trouble than it was worth, Chloe wordlessly went to the cupboard and handed Lex the pepper. She crossed the room and, after grabbing everything that she needed, set the table. Once she was done with that, she sat down at the table and considered Lex&#39;s words. They were a good pair. She wasted her affections on someone that didn&#39;t return them and Lex was stuck with women who wanted him for the wrong reasons.

Lex took the pan from the stove when the eggs were finished and turned around. He decided they had been silent long enough, and it hadn&#39;t been a too companionable silence either. He brought the pan over to the table and put some of them on both their plates. "Have you ever thought about just giving up?" He asked when his back was turned once again as he returned the pan to the stove.

Chloe picked up her fork and twirled it in her hand, considering his question seriously. "In case you haven&#39;t noticed, I already have." She smiled, but it was a bitter smile, devoid of any warmth. Shaking her head, Chloe continued. "At least, I gave up on Clark. Now, I&#39;m just pissed that I wasted my time on him. Along with every other guy that just wanted me for my body heat, or just for my body, full stop. Then there is the category of the guys that you get along with great, but have absolutely no attraction to." She put the fork back down on the table before it went flying. Shrugging, not that Lex could see it, she said, "Sometimes it just seems hopeless, so why bother?"

Lex came back to the table, this time with two cups of coffee in hand. "My thoughts exactly. I know I will eventually have to find a suitable wife, but I&#39;ve given up on the delusion of the &#39;one true love&#39;. I&#39;d be happy if the woman wasn&#39;t trying to kill me for a change." The smirk he shot Chloe was nothing but self deprecating. &#39;Fooled me once shame on you, fooled me twice...&#39;

Chuckling, Chloe said, "You should set your sights a little higher than that, Lex. Though, given your history, it is a good place to start. As for the one true love thing, I blame the media." She returned his smirk. "Hey, at least you know you will get married. Have to keep the Luthor line going and all." Chloe ran her finger over the rim of her coffee mug. "I&#39;m not so sure about the whole marriage thing anymore." Reaching across the table, Chloe grabbed a napkin and then took a bite of her breakfast. "This is really good, thanks."

Lex made a noncommittal noise. "I don&#39;t know. You seem the girl to go out there and find someone during college. Probably something you&#39;d never expect wanting as a partner, like an upcoming lawyer or politician. Marriage isn&#39;t always about love sometimes it&#39;s just convenience. And relationships can be fun if you know what you&#39;re getting into and aren&#39;t blindsided by anything." He shrugged and poked around on his own plate. Lex still wasn&#39;t a breakfast eater.

Continuing to eat her breakfast, she said, "I know me. I&#39;m not one to compromise what I want. I want to love the person that I&#39;m with. My parents got married out of convenience and look where it got them. I&#39;m not as naive as you think I am, I know the odds against things working out between people. If I&#39;m not sure about him, I just won&#39;t marry him." Chloe couldn&#39;t believe that she was discussing her romantic future with Lex. "What about you? How many more years can you go before you&#39;re forced into taking some quiet and prim society wife?"

Lex pondered for a moment. "I think I might try the marriage thing a couple more times before I get tired of it and then settle for the eternal bachelor thing after I have at least one heir." He dished the sentence without an ounce of humor in his voice, because that was honestly where he saw himself going.

Chloe chewed on her lower lip. She had always wanted to ask Lex the question that was now at the tip of her tongue. But, she didn&#39;t want to make him angry or uncomfortable. &#39;Maybe start with your own issues and then ease into it.&#39; "Sometimes, I wonder how different I would be if my mother had decided to stick around. If I would be able to think differently about people sticking through it with one another."

Chloe softened her voice, "Do you think you&#39;re attitude would be different if your mother had lived?" She rushed on, "You don&#39;t have to answer the question if you don&#39;t want to. I&#39;d understand." She looked over at Lex, whose gaze was now fixed on his plate.

Lex had mulled over that question a thousand times it had come up again when Pamela had made a surprising reappearance in his life, only to leave him again for good. He really thought he would be a better man, that his life and especially his past would have been vastly different if his mother or at least Pam had not left him. "It&#39;s ok. Yes, I think my attitude would be different. I would be different." He smirked. "And somehow I can&#39;t help but think that my mother would have looked right through the ploys of both my ex-wives." He still felt uncomfortable using that term. How many men could look back on two failed marriages before they were even twenty five?

Chloe heard the bitterness that laced Lex&#39;s voice. "Hey, the first one was a meteor freak. It could have happened to anyone. If my two paramours had wanted to marry me instead of sucking the life out of me and trying to kill me in Clark&#39;s barn, I would have two marriages under my belt." Chloe offered a weak smile. She didn&#39;t really know how to broach the topic of his latest marriage, however. "I can&#39;t really talk about Dr. Bryce but I doubt that she was obvious in her treachery."

Lex smirked and pushed his plate aside. “She knew how to fool not only me, but also my father. So yes, you could say she was very capable. But I blame myself for letting my heart get the best of me when there was evidence for her betrayal.” At Chloe&#39;s questioning eyebrow he continued. “I had pictures, of her meeting with my father. I should have dropped this relationship then and there, but I was willing to believe her when she said it wasn&#39;t what it looked like.” He leaned back in his seat and shook his head. “She knew how to play me in her own way; by pulling back and running off, where others would have tried to seduce me into believing. She kept me guessing and had me on a short leash none the less.” He shrugged.

“And I fell for it every step of the way.” Taking another sip of his coffee, he waited for Chloe&#39;s reaction. He&#39;d never told anyone so much about this, but it felt good to get it out there. Lex never believed in the whole talk and get it out of your system thing. Strangely enough it seemed to work. Aside from that, he knew that Chloe couldn&#39;t do much damage with that knowledge. If he needed to, he could stop her before she got it written.

Taken aback at his naked honesty, Chloe thought for awhile before answering him. "You wanted to believe," Chloe said. "To believe that someone loved you." Her voice had softened. "Trust me, I know what it&#39;s like. You ignore all of the little things that tell you otherwise. The weird thing is that not only are they fooling you, you&#39;re fooling yourself." Chloe shook her head and toyed with her napkin. "It&#39;s human nature." She looked back up and Lex and said, "I guess it&#39;s more proof that you&#39;re not the monster some people in this town would like to think you are."

Lex felt his smirk turn into a smile. “You may see it like that, but it&#39;s going to be a lot harder to prove it to the world. They will surely spin it so that I am not only evil, but stupid to boot.”

Thinking about Pete&#39;s latest letter, Chloe found herself nodding. "You&#39;re probably right. Well, at least we both know the truth, right?" She returned Lex&#39;s smile. She started to reach out her hand to cover his but remembered his reaction when she had embraced him at the Talon. Instead, she took another sugar packet and dumped it into her coffee. "I also doubt that you care about proving yourself to the world."

Lex had caught her attempt to touch him and the hasty detour to the sugar package. He smiled. &#39;Funny how she had no problem with touching me in the steakhouse.&#39; “It&#39;s not about the world. Just the people I want to be closer to. The rest of the world can go to hell with their prejudiced opinions for all I care.” He got up from the table to get another coffee. “Do you want a refill?”

Chloe already knew that she wouldn&#39;t be able to go back to sleep so she nodded. After Lex filled her mug to the brim and sat down again, she regarded him and said, "You&#39;re in good shape, then. Anyone who gets close to you can&#39;t help but notice that you&#39;re a lot of things, but dumb isn&#39;t one of them." She was careful to keep it a neutral sentence. Chloe didn&#39;t think that Lex needed to know that she was constantly surprised by the wealth of knowledge he seemed to hold in his shiny cranium. She couldn&#39;t stifle a small chuckle when she remembered taking books out from the library on all sorts of subjects after meeting him. She hadn&#39;t wanted to sound like a dumb teenager during their brief conversations. A week later, she had berated herself and swiftly returned the books. Since when had she started to care what other people thought about her?

Lex took a sip of his coffee and arched a brow. “Two compliments in a row, one might think you actually could like me.” He smirked around the rim of his cup.

&#39;Crap,&#39; Chloe thought. She thought she was successful in not blushing but had to look away from Lex&#39;s intense gaze. It was too close to the truth. Hell, it was the truth. Chloe did like Lex. In fact, if she let herself dwell on it, she more than liked him. Which is why she changed her line of thinking very quickly. Lex, however, deserved to hear the truth. At least some form of it. Chloe shrugged and returned her eyes to his face, "I do like you. Don&#39;t get me wrong, you&#39;re frustrating, stubborn and can grate my nerves like *no one* I have ever met. But, I do like you." &#39;Now, give him a valentine, why don&#39;t you?&#39; So much for not sounding like a dumb high school girl around him.

Lex&#39;s smile didn&#39;t falter, even as all alarm bells went off in his head at the way Chloe had blushed and turned her gaze down for a while before she&#39;d answered him. “You don&#39;t lack these qualities either,” he said. “But it can only end in two ways. Either we&#39;re going to kill each other or end up sticking around each other for the rest of our lives irritating one or both of us into an early grave.”

This was all wrong. They weren&#39;t supposed to be having an actual discussion about anything. And certainly not about love and their feelings for one another. They were supposed to yell at each other, piss each other off and generally not get along, Chloe certainly wasn&#39;t supposed to be trying to figure out how she could kiss him and make it seem like an accident. When Lex had said the phrase &#39;the rest of our lives&#39; Chloe had to add in as friends, he means it as friends. Trying to shift the focus back to him, Chloe asked, "Which of the two options do you think it will be?"

Lex pretended to mull this over. “Well let&#39;s see. I survived a fatal car crash, a handful of kidnappings, two homicidal wives, a plane crash and three months alone on a deserted island.” He furrowed his brows. “What do you think it&#39;s going to be?” The corners of his lips curled upward as he ticked off each point, seeing the irony where the multitude of life and death situations were concerned since he came to Smallville. He&#39;d never gotten so close to death during his presumably &#39;wild days&#39; in Metropolis.

Chloe let out a breath, thankful they were back to the cat and mouse verbal judo that was so common with them. The shift was a welcome one, she didn&#39;t know what other embarrassing statements would have flown from her lips. "Firstly, I think that you should really look into getting yourself one of those protective bubble things. The outside world isn&#39;t a hospitable environment for you. Secondly," Chloe put down her mug and rested her chin on her palm as she looked at Lex, "I&#39;m much more dangerous than any of the other things you listed. So, no coming to me in twenty or thirty years and bitching that you weren&#39;t warned."

Lex chuckled. “I&#39;ll try to keep that in mind. But I hope that you&#39;ll stick to that as well. I will not be held responsible for any injuries you might get when trying to get to me.” He took another sip of his coffee and shot her a warning look.

Chloe laughed and rolled her eyes. "Yes, I&#39;ll be very careful around those non-existent security guards. I&#39;d imagine that they pack quite a punch. Besides, I&#39;m wily; you&#39;ll never see me coming."

Lex arched an eyebrow. “If I recall correctly I thwarted one of your attempts at ambushing me not even an hour ago.” &#39;But brushing up the security couldn&#39;t hurt anyway.&#39;

Chloe waved her hand. "I was only warming up. Just wanted to check your reaction time to danger." She put her empty mug back down on the table and narrowed her eyes at him. "I will now have to take your quick catlike reflexes into account when making up my next dastardly plan." More than a hint of humor had entered her voice during her last statement.

Lex laughed at Chloe’s attempt at an evil face, which consisted of narrowing her eyes and trying to imitate what looked like a crooked version of his smirk. “You do that, Chloe. But be sure, now that you told me you will come up with something, I will not let you out of my sight.”

Chloe got up out of her chair and chuckled. She noticed that light had begun to come through the kitchen window. Gently, she took Lex&#39;s mug out of his hand. She had noticed that he only had two cups of coffee every morning so she knew it was safe to wash the mug. She placed the mugs in the sink and leaned against the counter. "Not even *you* can watch a person all of the time, Luthor." Chloe pointed her index finger at him. She lowered her voice, trying to sound menacing. "And when your back is turned, that&#39;s when I&#39;ll pounce. This time with my hair dryer, though. It can inflict much more damage." Chloe turned back to the sink, but not before her eyes took in the new stove. She turned back around and said, "Nice choice Lex," as she tilted her head at the new appliance. "Thanks for waiting around to have it installed."

Lex leaned back in his chair and smiled. &#39;Ah so that&#39;s the Sullivan way of making up after a fight.&#39; “No problem. I was close to killing them once or twice, but looking at the outcome, it was worth it.”

Stepping back, Chloe could see that the stove was top of the line, with a few more bells and whistles than the one that had to be replaced. Lex had clearly given them an upgrade. She decided to let this one slip without making a comment on it. "It seems such a shame for it to be *here*. I&#39;m sure the Kent place would be a better home for it.” Chloe started pressing various buttons and then tried the burners on top. She pouted slightly when she watched the coils heat up instead of fire popping up.

Lex had snuck up behind her and watched her face from the side. When she pouted at the stove Lex couldn&#39;t help but think &#39;Adorable.&#39; On a whim he reached up and ruffled her hair. “I thought this would be a little safer than open fire.”

Nodding, Chloe said, "I&#39;m sure you&#39;re right. I guess I&#39;ll just have to satisfy myself by just playing with matches, then." Chloe decided to ignore the way that she was hypersensitive to Lex&#39;s brief touch and had to fight the urge to lean into it. She spared a glance out of the window and turned towards Lex. "You had better start getting ready. Wouldn&#39;t want you to be late to work." She leaned in and whispered, "Then you&#39;d have to try and sneak by your boss."

Lex&#39;s smile became smug as he leaned closer to her as well. “That&#39;s the thing, Chloe. I *am* the boss.”

Chloe smiled up at him, laughing. "Well then, I suppose you better get a move on before you have to yell at yourself for being late in front of all of your employees." Chloe, forgetting her earlier restraint, grasped Lex by his shoulders and turned him around. She gave him a gentle push in the direction of the stairs, allowing her fingers to trail down his back a little.

Lex&#39;s smile froze on his lips for a second, when Chloe&#39;s fingers trailed over his bare skin before he stepped away. He regained his composure quickly and turned on his heels facing her once more, “I never yell. I just give a stern talking to and an intense look. That&#39;s much more intimidating.” He swiveled around again and jogged up the stairs. “See you later, Chloe.”

"Later," Chloe murmured as she watched Lex run up the stairs. When he was out of sight, and earshot, she looked at her hands. "Bad, bad, bad. What have we been discussing? No touching."

&#39;He started it,&#39; she thought. While true, Chloe knew that it wasn&#39;t the point. If this kept up, she would make a huge fool of herself before Lex&#39;s stay at the Sullivan household came to an end. Chloe decided to blame it all on the fact that she was tired, yes, tired, that was the explanation. Taking in and then letting out a deep breath, Chloe walked up the stairs.

[katspell]

Originally posted by BlueSabby@Feb 25 2004, 07:20 PM
If this kept up, she would make a huge fool of herself before Lex&#39;s stay at the Sullivan household came to an end.
:biggrin: This is what I&#39;m looking forward to. Keep them coming&#33;&#33;&#33;

[hfce]

YEAH you updated thank you. :blinkkiss: That was a good update. I am so glad they made up. More please....



Hope :chlexsign2:

[Clannadlvr]

Again, I&#39;ve got to tell you guys how much I love this slow tumble you have Chloe and Lex doing...they&#39;re both thinking of each other as more then friends, but they won&#39;t say it out loud. It&#39;s a great way to have them become friends...and then possibly more.

Great chappie&#33;

[MagnusXXN]

"Bad, bad, bad. What have we been discussing? No touching."

Always a good way to slwo down the Chlex loving, but we don&#39;t want that. Touch&#33; Touch, touch, touch&#33; :worship2:





): )

[xxasaxx]

Cute Chapter. Loved the bantering.

[carebear72884]

Originally posted by BlueSabby@Feb 25 2004, 07:20 PM
A/N:Sabby: Boo&#33; *the voice from beyond the big pond* What? You&#39;d think I&#39;d leave you addicted lunatics for five weeks and have you bribing and threatening Blue uselessly for updates?
*smile* I knew you wouldn&#39;t leave us hanging for 5 weeks sabby, hope your having fun..

Great update, but why haven&#39;t they kissed yet?? they both want it so bad...

I love it when they have intmaite converstations, especialy when they talk about their mothers :wub: so adorable..

please keep it coming and update soon

[autumngold]

I&#39;m so glad that you had them make up&#33;&#33; However, I wish Lex liked Chloe as much as she likes him&#33;&#33; At least he likes the way she looks in her underwear&#33;&#33; :biggrin: Thank you for the great chapter&#33;&#33; I really enjoyed it&#33;&#33; :biggrin: :chlexsign3: :biggrin:

[ColumbiaBlue]

I just *knew* you weren&#39;t that mean&#33; Yay for the update&#33;&#33;&#33; Loved it&#33; More soon&#33;

~Manda

[sylvia]

Oh you updated&#33;&#33; heh. This is such a fun story to read, I really love the banter and the curling-iron assault was almost too funny.


Chloe waved her hand. "I was only warming up. Just wanted to check your reaction time to danger." She put her empty mug back down on the table and narrowed her eyes at him. "I will now have to take your quick catlike reflexes into account when making up my next dastardly plan."

:biggrin:

[Val]

Originally posted by katspell@Feb 25 2004, 09:59 PM
QUOTE (BlueSabby @ Feb 25 2004, 07:20 PM)

If this kept up, she would make a huge fool of herself before Lex&#39;s stay at the Sullivan household came to an end.
:biggrin: This is what I&#39;m looking forward to. Keep them coming&#33;&#33;&#33;
Ditto&#33; :biggrin:
I love their interaction&#33; And they&#39;re finally getting more intimate&#33;

Oh and Chloe: touching is GOOD especially when a naked (or at least half naked) Lex is concerned&#33;

[Lel]

This is great, but I need more. I am addicted.
The way you write then is fabtastic.

Lel xx

[Cheryl]

I kinda think Lex&#39;s gonna be the one to initiate the naughty Chlex. :devil: And Chloe won&#39;t have any trouble reciprocating, of course. Who would? If I had a half-naked Lex making me breakfast, I&#39;d... I&#39;d... well, let&#39;s just say the WB wouldn&#39;t be allowed to air it. http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/4/4_2_105.gif

Amazing writing, gals&#33;


http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/15/15_1_123.gif

[scifichick774]

*happy sigh*

I adore this fic. Their banter is spot on and *you know* if Martha sees something between them... ;)

[Not An Addict]

SQUONK&#33;

I didn&#39;t realize you guys had actually updated&#33; Yay&#33; *hugs* Great chapter. I really do love the way they&#39;re getting progressively more comfortable and more uncomfortable around each other. Damn that sexual tension&#33; No . . . wait . . . don&#39;t damn it. ^_~

I also like it that they argue and fight. It makes it that much more realistic. Loved the update, guys&#33;

[LarkLuthor]

This note is purely to inform you (Blue and Sabby) that I am absolutely enjoying the plot and banter. I would urge, beg, and over all throw a dramantic fit urging you to update but in my observation you are about the most unmovable authors around here when it comes to threat and entreaties. :tease:

The Lark

[Kit Merlot]

This is a wonderful story&#33; I like how Chloe is slowly falling for Lex, but she refuses to admit it. I also like Lex being attracted to Chloe, but he&#39;s confused as to his feelings for her. This is romantic AND funny.

I can&#39;t wait for more :biggrin:

[gina]

GREAT update&#33; The Chlex interaction was wonderful. I love seeing their attraction progress even as they fight it.

Can&#39;t wait for more&#33; :)

[Impress]

I like the slow building attraction to eachother and how you have them becoming friends first. Great work. More soon.

[Sab_Luthor]

awww such a great update i so loved it :biggrin:
more please :worship2:

[celticangel]

I love this story&#33;&#33; Especially how you resolved their arguement without making Chloe grovel. Can&#39;t wait for the next part. :yay: :yay: :worship2:

[ElizabethV]

Loved that&#33; Chloe and Lex talking about love, and the rest of their lives.... Hmmm, maybe they&#39;ll buy a clue soon and realize the 2 are destined to be joined. Also loved the physical interaction- and the way their attraction is growing&#33; :)

When he was out of sight, and earshot, she looked at her hands. "Bad, bad, bad. What have we been discussing? No touching."

[ladymichelle]

I love Chloe talking to her hands, I thought that was funny, I just wish that Lex could have heard her&#33;
Great job, I can&#39;t wait for the next part&#33;

Michelle

[Tandy]

Update soon&#33; Please&#33; You guys are amazing&#33;

[BlueSabby]

A/N: Blue: Another update, another chance for y’all to yell for more. Cause I sadistically love it when you do that. :) Enjoy.

Thankful that the day was over, Chloe flopped down on the couch. "Time for some trash TV." She hit the remote and the TV came to life. Chloe flipped until she found one of those entertainment "news" shows and left it on. "Perfect." They always played the worst, and by that Chloe meant best, crap on Fridays.

Monica had called a few hours after Lex had left and begged for forgiveness. After Chloe had made her grovel for more than half an hour, she had agreed to help her again. But, only after Monica offered to pay her, as well.

The brunette had been walking on eggshells for the whole time that Chloe was at her house. They had finished up fairly quickly and Chloe had taken her money and ran. Deciding to spend it on herself for once, she went shopping and bought a new top. It was a little more revealing than what she normally wore and she brought it over to the register before she could change her mind.

Chloe looked down at the sleeveless black shirt that she now wore and shrugged. It looked fabulous, that was all that mattered. She raised the volume on the TV and heard that coming up was the annual special on the world&#39;s most eligible bachelors. "Oh, goody, news with absolutely no redeeming social value."

When she heard the front door open, indicating that Lex was back from work, Chloe considered changing the channel. Deciding that she didn&#39;t care if Lex made fun of her, scratch that, *when* Lex made fun of her, she left the station on.

Lex entered the living room to find Chloe sprawled on the couch in front of the TV. He flopped down next to her and gave her a short once over that stopped dead at her cleavage. &#39;Woah&#39; His eyes made their way back to his face. "New shirt?"

Smiling, Chloe nodded. She was glad that Lex had noticed. She pulled it down, smoothing out the material, "Do you like it?"

Lex arched an eyebrow as Chloe tugged on her t-shirt revealing even more of her ample cleavage. “You might be careful with it though. Wouldn&#39;t want to show too much right away if you intend to catch interest for more than a moment.” He turned his attention to the TV. “What&#39;s this?” He motioned to the woman in evening gown that was taking up half of the scream with her flailing arms and obviously surgically enhanced breasts.

At first confused by Lex&#39;s comment, Chloe looked back at her shirt and realized that she was basically giving him a free show. As Lex turned away from her, Chloe fixed her shirt, feeling the tell tale heat in her face which could only mean that she was blushing. "This is one of the worst shows on TV. I&#39;m in love with the utter stupidity of it and cannot seem to break the cycle of watching it. Today&#39;s topic," she said, imitating to perfection the host&#39;s airhead voice, "the world&#39;s most eligible bachelors." Chloe dropped the voice and went back to her own. "Which isn&#39;t even true because they leave out those that aren&#39;t hotties. Anyone over the age of forty is immediately excluded."

Lex chuckled. “Well of course. This is TV and for them eligible has to go hand in hand with handsome.” He watched as another bachelor was introduced. An Indianish man in his late twenties who happened to be the heir of a middle sized country. Lex shook his head. “I wonder what these shows are supposed to be good for anyway. It&#39;s not like *knowing* they are eligible would give the women who watch a better chance to change that status.”

Chloe shrugged. "Escapism. Takes us commoners away from the real world." She gestured to the TV with the remote. "Oh, here&#39;s my favorite part. They&#39;re going to do the top ten under thirty." Off handedly, she added, "You were number one last year."

Lex frowned. “Really? That&#39;s weird.” He gave Chloe a sideways glance. “Well Bruce must&#39;ve had a girlfriend at the time.” He shrugged it off.

"Bachelor, on this show, is defined as a man who is not married. Girlfriend doesn&#39;t count," Chloe explained. "Bruce was number two last year." She growled a little when a commercial came on. "Oh, who cares about detergent, bring on the men."

Lex&#39;s head jerked around at Chloe&#39;s outburst and he arched an eyebrow. "You&#39;re really getting into this huh?"

"Guilty pleasure," Chloe said. It was true, she loved this type of junk journalism. "Plus, my dad and I bet on the top ten every year. I&#39;ve got a crisp twenty riding on this."

Lex chuckled. "And who may I ask did the two of you bet on?" He turned on the couch, lifting one leg up onto the seat to face her fully.

"Well," she said, keeping one eye on the TV after pressing the mute button, "we do the whole list, one through ten. But, if you get number one right, you get bonus points. The list doesn&#39;t change all that much from year to year so that is usually what decides who wins."

Lex propped his elbow up on the backrest and leaned his head into his hand. "And who did you bet would be number one?"

"You," Chloe said, a little distracted. The show was back on but they were doing another feature before the countdown. When she saw the beginnings of a smirk she said, "You&#39;ve won the past two years in a row, Lex. Figured you&#39;re a safe bet."

"Ah, always going with the safe options in a bet. That&#39;s good thinking." He cast a glance at the TV, then looked back to Chloe. She was avidly watching the proceedings of the show. "So who gets to vote for the bachelors anyway?"

"No idea," Chloe said, distantly. "Now, shush," she absently laid her hand on his knee and patted it once. "It&#39;s coming up right now."

Lex looked down at the hand on his knee and then back up at Chloe. She obviously wasn&#39;t even aware that she still hadn&#39;t moved it away. The touch was innocent enough that Lex didn&#39;t mind it, so he returned his attention to the TV, scowling at the obnoxious voice of the hostess. She was just introducing another bachelor, this time from Britain. He had made his millions as the son of a tea-company.

Chloe leaned back on the couch. She did this to herself every year and every year she promised that she wouldn&#39;t get so crazy. It never worked. Chloe knew that her competitive streak ran deep. As did her father&#39;s. Number three was the same British guy that had occupied that slot for the past five years. When the hostess announced the name of the number two bachelor, Chloe&#39;s jaw dropped open. Recovering, Chloe jumped to her feet as Lex&#39;s biography played itself out. Bruce Wayne&#39;s visage took over the screen, a number one in the lower left hand corner. "Come on&#33; You&#39;re *much* more attractive than he is. I cannot believe this." Chloe sat back down and put her face in her hands. "I will never hear the end of this from my dad."

Chloe&#39;s head snapped back up again. "Nu uh, this is impossible." She turned her body towards Lex. "Yeah, he&#39;s all broody and stuff but you&#39;re sexier. You dress better than he does. You handle the press better than he does. You&#39;re funnier." She ticked off the list on her fingers. A light suddenly went off in her head. "This was rigged. It&#39;s the only way that he could win." Chloe nodded to herself. "That must be it."

Lex&#39;s smirk had widened into an amused grin with the progression of Chloe&#39;s rant. She&#39;d been so caught up in her little speech that she seemingly didn&#39;t even realize he was sitting right there with her. Her face was flushed from the exertion of spouting paragraphs in one breath and speaking with her whole body. She looked damn cute. "I never would have thought you&#39;d keep that close tabs on me. But thank you for the compliments."

A voice broke Chloe out of her own world. *Lex&#39;s* voice, to be more accurate. Chloe groaned when she realized all that she had said about him. This day sucked. First, she had to restrain herself from touching him...which she failed at and then she had extolled his virtues in front of him. Like he needed to have more of an ego. "You&#39;re welcome. Now, exactly how many times are you going to repeat that speech that I just gave? I need to know when it&#39;s safe for me to show my face again."

Lex couldn&#39;t help but laugh. "Oh come on, I would hope you think better of me than that. Don&#39;t fret, your secret&#39;s safe with me. Wouldn&#39;t do if people knew you have a soft spot for the town pariah would it?" He raised his eyebrows in a challenging manner.

Chloe crossed her arms over her chest and said, "I do not have a soft spot for you. Compared to Bruce Wayne that was all true. Besides, I don&#39;t like to lose, remember? Also, if I *did* have a soft spot for you, which I don&#39;t, I wouldn&#39;t care if the whole town knew it."

&#39;Me thinks the lady doth protest too much.&#39; Lex just nodded his head and smiled. "Of course. You&#39;re not one to *deny* something because it could get uncomfortable if you didn&#39;t." Lex got up from the couch.

When Chloe saw that he was trying to hit and run again, she got up and grabbed him by the shoulder, turning him around to face her. "What do you think that I&#39;m denying, Luthor?"

Lex plucked her hand from his shoulder and brushed a kiss over her knuckles. "I never said you were denying anything, Chloe. But it&#39;s interesting that you misunderstood my sentence like that." He released her hand. "I&#39;m going to get myself something to drink. Do you need anything?"

&#39;My dignity back would be nice,&#39; Chloe thought. Ignoring the distinct tingling sensation she felt radiating up her arm, &#39;must be his toothpaste or something&#39;, Chloe muttered, "I&#39;m fine." When Lex left the room, Chloe angrily picked up her blanket and folded it. She leaned forward and fixed it so it was draped over the back of the couch. Chloe needed to do something with all of the nervous energy that had appeared along with Lex.

Lex returned from the kitchen, a glass of orange juice in hand. He settled back onto the couch and snatched the remote from beside him. Lex flipped through the channels, not quite able to decide on anything, while he watched Chloe fussing around, trying to order magazines and shuffling around on odd ends of the living room. "Will you be antsy for the rest of the night now?"

"I am not antsy," Chloe said. "I just wanted to straighten this place up a little. Losing does that too me, burst of energy and such. I just take advantage of it." Chloe ran through her top ten in her head and tried to remember the list her father had given her. Doing some quick math, she realized that she had, in fact, lost. "This sucks," she muttered to herself as she brushed some dust off of a picture that was on the mantle. After replacing the picture, she began to dig her wallet out of the back pocket of her jeans.

Lex nodded. "Ah I understand. Using your frustration as incentive for productive activity. So you own Gabe a twenty now, right?"

"Yes. And being that I just got paid for my wonderful editorial services today, I actually have the cash." Once her wallet was out, she fished a twenty out of it. "Now," she said, looking around the room, "where to hide this from him." Her gaze shifted to Lex on the couch. "Perfect." She walked over to him and took the remote out of his hand. Flicking some hair out of her eyes, she popped open the back and folded up the money. She placed it on top of the batteries and slid the compartment closed again.

Lex frowned. &#39;What the..&#39; Chloe laid the remote back into his hand and flopped down on the couch beside him. He looked at the remote, then back at her. "Why are you hiding the money?"

Chloe grinned. "I do it whenever I lose a bet with him." She chuckled, "Once, it took him three weeks to find a ten that I hid in a plastic bag in the toilet tank." When Lex looked at her as if she had lost her mind she said, "Hey, he wants my money, he&#39;s got to work for it properly."

Lex shook his head. "Women&#39;s logic," he muttered under his breath. "The money is already his and he earned it by winning the bet. It would only be fair to pay up, not make him go after it."

A slow grin worked its way over her face. "Women&#39;s logic, huh? Where do you think I picked up this little habit?" Lex&#39;s brows knit together. "Yup, good old Gabe is the one that started this." Chloe placed her elbow on the back of the couch and put her chin in her palm. "What do you have to say about my logic now?"

Lex let his head flop back against the back rest and covered his face with his hands. "It just convinces me to *never* bet on anything with either your father or you. No matter what the prize."

Chloe took her elbow off of the couch and nudged him in the ribs. "Come on, you know you want to bet on how long it&#39;s going to take him to find the money."

Lex grunted when her elbow connected with his side a little too hard. "No chance in hell." He fixed her in a stern look. "I don&#39;t want to go after whatever it is I get out of it for an eternity. Thank you, but no thank you." Lex hoisted himself out of the couch and picked up his glass. He emptied it in a few gulps. "Hey did you have dinner already?"

"Nope, too busy shopping. Then, too lazy when I got home. Though," she craned her neck as she tried to look at the kitchen, "I suppose I should give the stove a test drive after you were so nice to buy a new one." Chloe held her hand out and said, "Up, please."

Lex took the offered hand and tugged on it. Chloe didn&#39;t give. He rolled his eyes and pulled a little harder. This time she swung upward and collided rather heavily with his chest, forcing an &#39;oomph&#39; from both of them. He steadied her with a hand around her waist and looked down at her. "I better come with you, to make sure you don&#39;t manage to find a way to incinerate the kitchen again." His smirk was plain evil at that moment and he knew it.

Not bothering to step away from his body at the moment, Chloe said, "One more comment like that and I&#39;ll wreck something else and make you pay for it." Gently, she took his hand off of her waist and then brushed past him. "Coming," she asked, throwing the remark over her shoulder.

Lex smiled at her, oddly feeling the sudden lack of warmth where she&#39;d been pressed against him just a moment ago. &#39;Been too long...&#39; He brushed it off. "Right behind you," he offered, following her into the kitchen.

[Robyn]

Great update&#33;&#33; I love how she keeps embarrasing herself around him. And that speech she gave about Lex being way sexier and funnier than Bruce? Hilarious&#33; Loved this chapter.

[hfce]

Aww that was so cute. :wub:



Hope :chlexsign2:

[katspell]

ohlala. love it, tanky for the update, and on a Monday too.

[scifichick774]

*evil cackle*

Is it wrong that I&#39;m happy that Bruce won first? *ahem* Right. Not the point. I get it. I loved that Chloe and Gabe bet on it every year - that just seems so &#39;them&#39;. Loved the update. More soon please.

[Clannadlvr]

*laughs*

*dies*

*laughs harder*

*dies again*

OH my gosh&#33; Bruce Wayne won?&#33;&#33; Ok, now I am a tried and true Batman fan, but we all know that Lex in his SV incarnation is "Teh Sexy". *sighs* Well, if it&#39;s any consolation, Chloe, I would have bet on Lex too&#33;

hee hee...this is really funny guys&#33;&#33;&#33; I absolutely love how you&#39;re doing the slow build, layering on bits and bits of sexual tension until it gets to pressure cooker status&#33;

Oh, and the following line? I love Chloe&#33;&#33;


"Oh, who cares about detergent, bring on the men."

Sistah, can I hear an AMEN&#33;&#33;

[autumngold]

Oh, Lex had better not try to relieve his sexual desires with anyone but Chloe&#33;&#33; Great chapter&#33;&#33; I thought it was funny that Lex dropped to #2 behind Bruce in the contest&#33;&#33; This story is so great, thanks so much for the quick update&#33;&#33; :worship2: :chlexsign4:

[Not An Addict]

Sexual . . . tension . . . so . . . thick . . . *bangs head against a desk* Where&#39;s a knife when you need one, eh?

Thank you thank you for updating&#33; This was beautimous. ^_^ Good god, though, is one of them EVER going to realize what&#39;s going on between them?? Maybe I should just tie the two of them together until they figure it out. Ooh . . . Lex all tied up . . .

*mind dive-bombs into the gutter*

[vardaquareien]

:hehe: I loved Chloe&#39;s little speech...and agreed with every word of it&#33;&#33;&#33; These two want each other so badly&#33;&#33;&#33;

I love the way Chloe learnt the hiding-the-money-thing from Gabe. I love to think of him as being an older, male version of her...it just makes him so cute&#33;&#33;&#33;

[newbatgirl]

You guys ROCK. I love the slow build of UST. It will make the release so much better. That&#39;s coming soon right?

As is the next update?

[LarkLuthor]

:hehe: I loved the bit about the most eligable bachelors. :biggrin: More soon, right? Please?

The Laughing Lark

[Impress]

great update.

[Kit Merlot]

This was a wonderful update&#33; I LOVE that Chloe keeps touching Lex, and he doesn&#39;t seem to mind very much, does he? :biggrin:

The UST just keeps buiding--WELL DONE :devil:

[BlushingRose]

I love this&#33; It&#39;s so great to read a story that can be totally sexy without being totally smutty...not that I don&#39;t appreciate smut but...this is such a nice break :)

And, noting the rating, I&#39;m assuming that we&#39;re probably not going to get a lot of smut...if any. But still I&#39;m enjoying this tremendously&#33;



RA

[miss_sixty1115]

:wub: So sweet...

Julie ;)

[Béatrice]

PERFECT&#33; It&#39;s becoming more interesting between them. :biggrin:

Please update soon.

[ElizabethV]

I LOVED when Chloe was ranting b/c Lex lost. :)

"Yeah, he&#39;s all broody and stuff but you&#39;re sexier. You dress better than he does. You handle the press better than he does. You&#39;re funnier." She ticked off the list on her fingers. A light suddenly went off in her head. "This was rigged. It&#39;s the only way that he could win." Chloe nodded to herself. "That must be it."
That was just perfect&#33; :) And I liked the way she hides her money so Gabe has to search for it if he wants it. Everything about this story is great&#33;&#33;

[gina]

Wonderful update&#33; I loved Chloe&#39;s little outburst after Lex didn&#39;t get first place, she so wants him, hehe. And I loved all the *innocent* touching and how comfortable they were with each other. With this gradual buildup, when something finally happens between them, it&#39;s going to be explosive&#33; I can&#39;t wait&#33; :biggrin:

[ladymichelle]

I loved Chloe&#39;s rant in front of Lex&#33; That was awesome, you guys&#33;
I can&#39;t wait for the next part.

Michelle

[sydsvaughn]

do i even need to mention how much I liked the outburst? not to mention I share Chloe&#39;s fascination with those junk TV shows?

Great job&#33;

Sara

[sara_noele]

Wow, I missed two updates. Two great updates. Chloes little speech infront of Lex, priceless. Loved it. Now more, more...

[Jenmar]

Great stuff&#33; I love the UST burning through my monitor when I read this story. Keep up the excellent banter and wonderful storytelling. I love it&#33;

[Sab_Luthor]

it&#39;s becoming more and more better
i loved this part
more please

[Val]

ooh loved the update&#33;
The whole bacherlors thing was funny&#33; You guys manage to write some great chlex using the simplest situations&#33; I love it&#33;

Their little &#39;moment&#39; at the end was great too, now MORE&#33; :biggrin:

[nessa]

I loved it &#33; :wub: This story is getting better and better with every chapter. Keep up the good work. :biggrin:

[newbatgirl]

Lord, they are beyond cute. I LOVE the hiding money thing&#33; You guys rock. Please give us more soon.

[BlueSabby]

A/N: Blue: Hello, kind readers. Here’s another helping of the exasperating dance that y’all seem to love. More bantering, touching and looks that lead……..nowhere&#33; *laughs evilly whilst throwing head back* Thanks for the kind words and I&#39;m sure that Sabby&#39;ll be pleased when she sees the lovely feedback, too. Enjoy


Chloe rifled through the cupboards and took out the pots and pans she would need for the dish she intended to make. "I&#39;ve decided not to give up on the family recipe just because it tried to kill me last time." She opened the fridge and took out some tomatoes. After washing them, she put them on a cutting board and said to Lex, "Make yourself useful and dice those for me please."

Lex rolled up his sleeves and set to the task, "Sure, knife?" He stepped next to her and opened one of the drawers that revealed nothing but a creative mess of rubber bands, notepads, pencils, tupperbox lids and other stuff.

Reaching over his body, Chloe took a knife from the rack that was hidden by the paper towels. "Be careful, they&#39;re very sharp. I doubt the medics want to come over here again so soon." Chloe busied herself with boiling the water and getting together the other herbs and ingredients for the sauce. Once Lex was done, she took the tomatoes and threw them into a pot. When she saw that he was watching her every move she said, "Why don&#39;t you go and change into something less like a suit? That way, you can&#39;t steal the Sullivan recipe and pass it off as your own on some poor, unsuspecting brunette."

Lex arched an eyebrow. "I usually never go as far as to cook for those dates." He opened the first few buttons of his dress shirt. "But if you insist on secrecy." He turned towards the stairs. "Just don&#39;t set anything on fire while I&#39;m gone." He jogged up the staircase and into his room.

Chloe didn&#39;t bother to check the urge to roll her eyes. Lex was impossible, always having to have the last word. Didn&#39;t he know that that was *her* job? She quickly moved around the kitchen, adding the herbs and stirring various pots. When the scent of the sauce began to permeate the kitchen, Chloe&#39;s stomach grumbled, reminding her that she hadn&#39;t eaten much that day.

Lex ruffled through his bags, searching for some comfortable clothes. He&#39;d have to do laundry sooner rather than later, since he hadn&#39;t even had the chance to get other clothes than those he&#39;d brought on his business trip.

Shoving aside a few of his used dress shirts, he found a pair of jeans and a simple blue sweater near the bottom of the bag. Throwing them on the bed he went about changing out of his suit and into the more comfortable clothes.

The speed at which the water had boiled surprised Chloe. &#39;This thing is top of the line.&#39; She reached up into the cupboard and took out the pasta. She heard footsteps behind her and turned around. Blinking a few times, she said, "You&#39;re wearing jeans." It came out as more of a question than a statement.

Lex looked down at himself and up at Chloe with an amused smirk. "Yeah, contrary to popular belief I do have ordinary clothes." He moved towards Chloe, coming to a halt beside her at the stove. "So, how long is that secret recipe of yours going to need?"

"Impatient, are we? Well, I have something to keep you busy." Chloe quickly slapped his hand away from the pot that the sauce was in. Lex had been trying to remove the lid. "Don&#39;t touch," she said, sternly. Then, she thrust the pasta at him. "Put this in the other pot and keep stirring it. I hate it when the pasta sticks to the bottom of the pot." Lex just stared at her. Chloe put her hands on her hips. "You&#39;re wearing your ordinary clothes, pretend to be an ordinary person, ok?" She turned back to the pot with the sauce, took off the top and stirred it with a wooden spoon.

Lex shook it off. He couldn&#39;t remember the last time someone had slapped him on the fingers like that. "Are you telling me you think I&#39;m not an ordinary person?" He poured the pasta into the pot and looked around the stove for a second spoon. Finding none in sight, he grabbed the one that Chloe had left in the sauce pan while she was washing her hands and started to stir the pasta.

Chloe had fisted her hands in order to keep herself from snatching the spoon back from Lex. &#39;You can&#39;t just use the same spoon all willy nilly.&#39; While Chloe rarely cooked, when she did, she was serious about the recipe. Both Clark and Pete had actually been exiled out of the kitchen when they had tried to "help" her. Chloe leaned against the stove and looked Lex up and down, "Other than the fact that you could buy and sell me many times over, I&#39;d say yes, you&#39;re perfectly ordinary." She mulled over Lex&#39;s history. "Well, as ordinary as anyone can be in this town, at least."

Lex shot Chloe a sideways look. He caught her frowning at his hand that held the spoon. "I&#39;m sure not even I would be able to pay your father what you&#39;re worth." He handed the spoon back to Chloe. "Do you have another one?"

Smiling, Chloe opened the silverware drawer and handed Lex another spoon. "Thanks, but I&#39;m sure if you offered him Season tickets to the Sharks he&#39;d consider trading me in," Chloe joked.

Lex continued stirring the pasta and grinning at Chloe. "I&#39;ll keep that in mind." He glanced at the sauce pan again. "Now what will I have to pay to get a taste of that?" He pointed at the pot.

An image of a sparkly new laptop filled Chloe&#39;s head. "You&#39;ve already paid." She tilted her head towards the stove. "But, you do have to promise never to divulge any of the ingredients you saw out before. In fact," Chloe crossed her arms over her chest, "I think you should cross your heart and hope to die if you do." She knew that she was pushing it, but if Lex did as requested, she would be sure that hell had finally frozen over.

Lex cocked his head to the side and contemplated. &#39;Well why the hell not? She doesn&#39;t have a camera.&#39; He left the spoon in the pot and made a cross sign over his chest with his fingers. "Promise." His amusement grew when Chloe stared at his chest and blinked slowly. "Chloe?"

Chloe looked back at Lex&#39;s face, her eyes narrowing. "Are you a clone? Or a droid?" She threw her hands up in the air. "Forget it; I don&#39;t care if you are." She reached past Lex and took his spoon out of the pot and then turned off the burner. She picked up her own spoon and dipped it into the sauce. "Just a warning, though. If you are a droid, this might mess up your innards." Chloe blew on the steaming sauce a few times and, with her hand under the spoon in case it dripped, moved it towards Lex. "Be careful, it&#39;s hot."

Lex chuckled. &#39;Way to overreact.&#39; He held her hand around the spoon steady and blew on it once more before nipping on the sauce. "Mmm, it&#39;s good." Lex licked his lips to catch the taste. "A little more salt, maybe."

Chloe furrowed her brow. People usually just proclaimed that it was great, wonderful, the word orgasmic had even been used once. She nibbled on her lower lip and put the spoon back into the pot, stirring a little more. "Are you sure? I&#39;ve never gotten that before." She looked back at the salt shaker trying to remember if she had put the usual amount in.

Lex nodded and picked up the spoon, holding it out for her like Chloe had for him before. "Pretty sure, here."

Chloe put her hand on Lex&#39;s, guiding the spoon to her mouth. She tasted the sauce, then flicked out her tongue for a little more. "You&#39;re right," she said. She turned around and grabbed the salt shaker. "Care to do the honors," she asked as she held out the shaker to Lex.

Lex took the shaker from her. "Sure." He added a little salt to the sauce and stirred it around, then brought the spoon back up. He nipped on the sauce, nodded to himself, then held the spoon out for Chloe again. "Here, try it now."

After doing as requested, Chloe nodded. "Better. Can you set the table?" Chloe pointed out the various homes for everything they would need for dinner. "The utensils are in that drawer, placemats are up there and you know where the glasses are." She smiled briefly at Lex and then opened up one of the cupboards on her right, taking out two plates.

Lex went about his work and set the table. When everything was in place, he strode to the fridge and started rummaging around in it. "Ok, where do you hide the parmesan in here?" He sorted through the boards. "I swear my fridge is three times bigger and hasn&#39;t nearly that much stuff crammed into it.... Orange Juice or water?"

A witty retort ready on her tongue, Chloe spun around. However, she was distracted when her gaze fell on Lex&#39;s butt. &#39;Maybe he does Pilates.&#39; She ripped her eyes away and responded, "It should be, let me see." Chloe joined Lex at the fridge and found the cheese within five seconds. When Lex looked miffed that she had found it so quickly, she chuckled.

Lex extricated himself from the fridge. "Ok, so what do you want to drink? If you&#39;d told me earlier I would&#39;ve brought some wine." He took out the water for himself, waiting for Chloe&#39;s answer.

Affecting her best seductress voice, Chloe said, "Are you trying to seduce me, Mr. Luthor?" Not waiting for a response, Chloe grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. She placed it on the table and then went back over to the stove. She filled the two plates with pasta and then carefully poured on the sauce. Chloe looked over her shoulder and saw that Lex was still in front of the fridge. "Everything ok?"

Lex jerked himself out of his thoughts. "Yeah, sure." He strode over to the table and sat down. To say that her sultry tone had surprised him was an understatement. If she had used that tone in the steakhouse while she&#39;d gotten all up close and personal under the table, the effects would have been more than a little humiliating. &#39;She&#39;s just a kid. Just a kid.&#39; "You ready?"

"Nearly there." Chloe finished up preparing their plates and wiped away the errant splotches of sauce. She put the plates on the table and was surprised when Lex grabbed the back of her chair and held it for her. "Thanks. Now sit." Chloe motioned to his side of the table.

Lex arched an amused eyebrow. "Yes ma&#39;am." He sat down opposite Chloe and gave his plate an appreciative glance. "So you&#39;ve proved yourself. You can cook without committing arson." He smirked up at her and dug his fork into the pasta.

After picking up her fork, she pointed it at Lex. "One more remark like that and I&#39;ll never cook for you again. Cut you off totally." Before turning her attention to her plate, Chloe winked at Lex. &#39;Food good.&#39; Chloe spun the pasta onto her fork and then took her first bite. She hummed in appreciation when the sauce hit her taste buds.

Lex&#39;s expression turned blank when Chloe moaned around her food like the girl in the herbal essences commercial. A mental image of Chloe making the same sound in a completely different situation flashed through his mind before he could stop it. Lex closed his eyes and willed the thought away, concentrating on his food. He snatched the parmesan and sprinkled the cheese over the sauce.

They ate in companionable silence for a while, both enjoying the meal and shooting occasional glances when the other wasn&#39;t looking. Lex made a mental note to find a way to thank her for the meal, knowing that Chloe had gone out of her way to cook for him. "Do you have any plans for tomorrow night?"

Chloe paused in bringing the fork to her mouth as she thought. &#39;Should do laundry sometime soon.&#39; However, she wasn&#39;t about to tell Lex that her social life was so dismal that that was her one plan. Instead, she shrugged, "Don&#39;t know yet. Monica said something about repaying me for helping her. And for putting up with her bitchiness but I don&#39;t know if that&#39;s such a good idea. I&#39;ll probably end up just hanging out here, ignoring her calls. And you?"

Lex smirked. "I actually thought about leaving work a little early tomorrow, and I was wondering if I could invite you to a movie or something. As a thank you for cooking." He took another bite of the pasta, keeping his eyes fixed on Chloe.

&#39;Don&#39;t choke, don&#39;t react, don&#39;t have a heart attack.&#39; Chloe grinned at him, "You don&#39;t really need to thank me for this." Lex nodded once and turned back to his plate. "However, I&#39;d still love to go."

A smile tugged at his lips as he looked back up. "Good. You can pick the movie if you want. I&#39;m not really up to date if there&#39;s anything good running lately." Lex was sure she wouldn&#39;t pick the regular chick flick. He vividly remembered her reaction to that movie they had watched his second night in the house.

“Agreed. Though, most of what is out now is crap. There&#39;s a drive-in in Willington that plays old classics. I&#39;ve never been there but it&#39;s supposed to be cool. Does that sound good to you?" Chloe finished her water and looked up at Lex.

Lex shrugged a shoulder and took the last pieces of pasta from his plate. "Sure, if you want to. Sounds good to me. As long as I don&#39;t have to get a truck to fit in." A half smile spread over his face.

Chloe laughed at the image of Lex in one of the numerous trucks that populated Smallville. "Definitely not. Though, we may have to get there early so we aren&#39;t stuck behind all of the trucks." Chloe leaned back in her chair. "Then again, I could just go and let the air out of their tires, that would solve the problem, too."

"I don&#39;t think that will be necessary. We&#39;ll just have to be there early enough. Then again, we could just take my Hummer, but I guess we don&#39;t want to draw too much attention." He grinned as he stood up from the table and picked up their empty plates.

"Trust me, no one there will be paying attention to us," Chloe followed Lex over to the sink and dumped their silverware into it. She leaned against the counter and said, "They&#39;ll be checking to see if their truck has more stupid stuff attached to it than the guy next to them." Chloe rolled her eyes and muttered, "Boys are dumb."

When Chloe saw Lex looking at her she quickly added, "Present company excluded, of course."

Lex smirked at Chloe as he plugged the sink and filled it with warm water. "Do I detect a hint of bitterness there?" He dumped the plates into the water and added some liquid soap to it. The bubbles quickly covered half of the sink.

Chloe reached around Lex and opened a drawer. She took out a hand towel and dried the plates as Lex handed them to her. "You detect more than a hint of it." Chloe tilted her head to the side and pretended to think deeply. "Maybe I&#39;ll just chuck it all and become a nun. How do you think I&#39;d look in a wimple?"

Lex looked at her and tried to imagine Chloe in the classical outfit of a nun. "Honestly? No chance. You&#39;re not the subdued type. And you know that nuns get up at the crack of dawn every morning to pray and do the morning mass, right? That&#39;s not something I can see you doing."

"Subdued? I&#39;ll have you know I can be *plenty* subdued." Without even thinking about it, she whapped Lex on the bum with the towel.

Lex jumped back from the blow and sent her an incredulous glare. "Did you just whack me?"

Chloe almost denied it. Instead, she leaned a little closer to Lex and said, "Yes, yes I did. What are you going to do about it?" She crossed her arms over her chest and waited for his reaction. Chloe was fairly certain that Lex&#39;s innate gentleman tendencies would prevent his retaliation from being too severe.

That look on Chloe&#39;s face was a tad bit too smug for his taste. He&#39;d just have to wipe it off. He dunked his hand into the water and before she knew it, Chloe&#39;s face was covered in suds from the soapy dishwater. "This." Laughter bubbled up from somewhere inside him as he watched Chloe&#39;s outraged expression while she tried to remove the soap from her face.

Indignant noises escaped her throat as Chloe quickly wiped the bubbles off of her face. She sputtered a little as the water hit her lips and streamed down her neck. Some of it ran down into her shirt, causing her to shiver. When it was safe to open her eyes, she saw a pleased looking Lex staring at her. "I cannot believe you did that&#33; You....you...you big jerk." She tried to be mad but she actually found it quite amusing. She liked this Lex. Chloe grabbed the towel off of the counter and used it to dry off her neck.

Lex was still fighting the laughter. There wasn&#39;t much he could say to her accusation. Except maybe. "You started it." He reached for a second towel and stepped closer to Chloe. When she didn&#39;t jerk away immediately he started drying the back of her neck where some of the water had ended up. "Stalemate?"

Her head tilting forward, giving Lex better access to the spot that he was attending to, Chloe said, "I suppose. Otherwise, we&#39;d be fighting about who would have to mop this place up."

Lex chuckled. “Now we really don&#39;t want that, do we?” He finished with the spot on her neck and pulled the towel back, realizing only now how close they stood. Smirking at her he took a small step back. The scent of her lotion wafted up to him, mixed with something else now, that he couldn&#39;t quite place a finger on. Lex took a deep breath. “I think while we have the stalemate we might as well call it a night, no?” He looked at his watch, realizing that it was already well past 11. It was time to go to his room, lay down in his bed and stare at the ceiling, trying to find sleep that seemed to constantly evade him ever since he&#39;d come back from that bedeviled island.

Chloe&#39;s pulse had quickened when Lex had gazed down at her. It started returning to normal when he had increased the space between them. Looking at her own watch, Chloe nodded. "Sure." Though, she wasn&#39;t really eager to return to her room. She had been having rather odd, and embarrassing, dreams lately. Chloe took the towel out of Lex&#39;s hand and wiped down the table. She looked over her shoulder, "You go, I&#39;ll finish up here. Night, Lex."

Lex let the water out of the sink and turned around to face Chloe. She was tending to the table a little too thoroughly. He arched an eyebrow and tried to make sense of her behavior. The little moment had obviously affected her too. Lex decided to let her off the hook for this time. "Ok, sure. I&#39;ll see you tomorrow then." He was halfway up the steps when he turned around. "Oh, about the drive in?" He trailed off, waiting for Chloe to look up at him.

Hearing Lex&#39;s questioning tone, Chloe stopped cleaning the table. "Yes?"

He cocked his head to the side. "I don&#39;t really like that greasy stuff they sell there. Do you think you can call that friend of yours and see if we pick up some food before we go?”

"Sure. I don&#39;t think that should be a problem. Especially if I give him some notice this time." Chloe smiled, thinking about the look on J.T.&#39;s face if she pulled another &#39;bring me food this instant&#39; thing. She was certain that she would get an earful of his colorful language and then be promptly hung up on. Focusing on Lex once more, Chloe said, "I&#39;ll pick it up before we leave. What time do you want me to be ready?”

Lex made a few quick calculations. "I&#39;ll be here at five on the spot. And don&#39;t forget to get some of that chocolate cake. I&#39;ll already be out of the house when you wake up, so I&#39;ll leave you some money on the table." When he saw that Chloe opened her mouth to object he lifted a finger in her direction and fixed her in a stern gaze. "I insist. Goodnight, Chloe." He turned around and jogged up the steps, mentally preparing himself for another night of not enough sleep and haunting memories.

[LarkLuthor]

Update, update, we have an update. Mhhmm...Now that I&#39;ve gotten in touch with my inner 8 year old, great chapter&#33; Can we have another one sometime soon?

Lark

[autumngold]

I just loved this update&#33;&#33; :love: The banter between Lex and Chloe was wonderful&#33;&#33; :biggrin: Chloe and Lex&#39;s reactions to each other were priceless&#33;&#33; Thank you so much for this story&#33;&#33; Thank you also for the quick updates&#33;&#33; Please post again soon&#33;&#33; :chlexsign4:

[katspell]

Classic, I love this line:

Originally posted by BlueSabby@Mar 7 2004, 10:11 AM
Chloe didn&#39;t bother to check the urge to roll her eyes. Lex was impossible, always having to have the last word. Didn&#39;t he know that that was *her* job?

Gimme more, please&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;

[hfce]

I love this story. :clap:



Hope :blinkkiss:

[Clannadlvr]

Guys&#33; This slow build in tension is EXCRUCIATING but so great&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33; Keep up the good work and I can&#39;t wait to read more.

[newbatgirl]

More bantering, touching and looks that lead……..nowhere&#33; *laughs evilly whilst throwing head back*


Ahhhh, I could kill you both...but not before you give us the payoff to this wicked dance. More soon, PLEASE&#33;&#33;&#33; It&#39;s great.

PILATES&#33; HA&#33; :biggrin:

[Not An Addict]

Oh, for the love of god, JUST JUMP EACH OTHER ALREADY&#33;&#33; Sheesh. Anyway, great chapter. ^_^ I loved the way they act around each other--kind of like an old married couple only without the sex. ^_~ Gotta tell you, this tension is killing me . . . but in a good way. Can&#39;t wait for more&#33; Oh, and having them go to the drive-in? *raises eyebrows* It&#39;ll be interesting to see what happens with all this sexual tension when there are horny teenagers making out all around them.

[Queen Of Tact]

Lex&#39;s expression turned blank when Chloe moaned around her food like the girl in the herbal essences commercial.

LMAO...... I wonder why I can so picture Sab in this part.........


Great update....... Loved it, so can&#39;t wait for the movie night....


CC

[sydsvaughn]

Thoroughly enjoyed this chapter, especially the teasing banter&#33; More soon please&#33;

SaraC

[ElizabethV]

:chlexsign1: They&#39;re gonna go to the movies&#33;&#33; :) I loved this&#33; I liked that Chloe can cook without burning things, their banter, and their increasing sexual tension. :) It&#39;s GREAT&#33; I can&#39;t wait &#39;til they go out&#33;

[carebear72884]

lol, this story is so good, but why aren&#39;t they together yet??

[sara_noele]

Now we all know, what happens while watching a movie. So continue soon&#33;

Loved the update and the bantering.

[vardaquareien]

And yet another great chapter&#33;&#33;&#33; :worship2: I loved the entire thing but I must say the picture of them feeding each other tastes of sauce off the spoon... :drool: is it just me or is that scrummy in more ways that one? I can just see the tongues flicking out and licking...mmmm :smoker:

Loved the lighthearted banter&#33; Can&#39;t wait to see what happens at the drive-in&#33;&#33;&#33;

[Impress]

Originally posted by sydsvaughn@Mar 7 2004, 02:05 PM
Thoroughly enjoyed this chapter, especially the teasing banter&#33; More soon please&#33;

SaraC
yeah that.

[Sab_Luthor]

wow that was a great update i loved it
more please

[Val]

Oh I loved it&#33; I love how they&#39;re acting around each other, so comfortable with each others presence (sexual tension aside :p)

And I cant wait for them to get into that drive in already&#33; Please that just SCREAMS make out, you wouldnt be evil enough to have them just sitting at watching the movie instead of jumping each other, would you?

[Tandy]

I love that Lex&#33;

wonder what&#39;ll happen at the drive-in&#33; Update soon please

[MagnusXXN]

Thats a date&#33; Their going out on a date&#33; Can&#39;t wait to read that part.








): )

[Cheryl]

Oh god, Lex and Chloe at a drive-in??? I can only imagine the sexual tension, the subtle glances, the hot n sweaty sex afterwards&#33;&#33; :drool: Please don&#39;t leave us to our imaginations too long.

Again, fantastically written as always&#33; :blinkkiss:

[scifichick774]

*happy squeal*

Why is it that the best fics have little to nothing to do with the actual show? Hmm...

[sylvia]

Why is it that the best fics have little to nothing to do with the actual show? Hmm...

Hmm... because the actual show is a revolving gallery of "Lanatude", as Omar from TWOP calls it?

[newbatgirl]

Which I why I admire the fact that Blue and Sabby have gotten this far without a single appearance of Clunk and Blana&#33;

Extra points for sending Blana out of town&#33;

[Kit Merlot]

I love this update&#33; My two favorite parts: &#33;. Lex and Chloe "stealing glances at each other while the other one wasn&#39;t looking."

2. Lex looking away from Chloe and back down at his plate when he thought she was turning him down when he asked her to go out with him.

Now, tell me that they aren&#39;t falling for each other :biggrin:

This is a wonderful story&#33;

[crazygirl]

I love this story, the friendship, the banter, the sexual tension, *everything*. Can&#39;t wait for the next chapter *hint* :biggrin:

[BlueSabby]

Originally posted by Val@Mar 9 2004, 01:48 AM
Please that just SCREAMS make out, you wouldnt be evil enough to have them just sitting at watching the movie instead of jumping each other, would you?
A/N: Blue: Hi Val. I&#39;m Blue. *motions to wherever Sabby may be frolicking around* This is Sabby. Have we met? Apparently not. Of *course* we would be that evil. Anyways, enjoy the update peoples. The insanity continues.....

&#39;4:52.........4:53...&#39; "Stop it," Chloe muttered to herself. She tore her eyes away from her alarm clock and got off of her bed. Lying down had seemed like a good idea at the time. It had made her stop staring in the mirror as she futzed with her hair. Chloe was still nervous about the makeup that she had put on. She didn&#39;t want Lex to think *she* thought it was a date, she just wanted to look presentable to the outside world.

After the mirror thing had come the pacing. Chloe had wandered around her room, moving various objects, trying to get rid of her nervous energy. Or, trying to not think the one thought that was in the back of her mind. &#39;He&#39;s not going to show.&#39;

When she passed her mirror again and found herself stopping in front of it, Chloe let out an exasperated breath. "This is ridiculous." She angrily turned off her light, walked briskly down the hall and jogged down the stairs. Walking into the kitchen, she double checked that the bags that J.T. had put the food in were sturdy. She sat at the table and picked imaginary pieces of lint off of her jeans. They were her favorite pair, well worn, fit her like a glove and wonderfully comfortable. Knowing that the temperature had dropped in the past hour or so, she had decided on simple, red, long sleeved shirt. 4:56 now according to the kitchen clock.

Lex pulled up in the driveway. He&#39;d left work early as planned, even brushing off his secretary when she had practically tackled him with another meeting appointment that would have kept him in the plant for at least two hours. He&#39;d fended her off with a hand and a stern look. &#39;A date is a date&#39;. Lex had made a quick detour and gotten one of his more modest cars, a large Mercedes sedan. Wouldn&#39;t do to spend hours in a car that wasn&#39;t built for spending long hours in it.

Checking his watch, he jogged up the steps to the front door and quickly entered the house. &#39;3 minutes early, I&#39;m good.&#39; He smirked as he passed through the hallway. "Chloe, I&#39;m here." He took off his coat and threw it over the back of the couch on his way into the kitchen.

Chloe had let out a breath when she heard the door open. She got up from the table and called out, "In the kitchen." She turned away from the door and picked up the bags containing the food. "I hope you&#39;re hungry," she yelled. When she saw that Lex was leaning in the doorway, she smiled sheepishly. "Ear drums still intact?"

Lex uncrossed his arms and stepped fully into the kitchen. "Pardon? What did you say?" He smirked at her as he went for the fridge. "Yeah, I&#39;m hungry, but I thought we could take the food along, so that we have something during the movie." Lex rooted through the fridge and picked out a bottle of water.

"That&#39;s the idea," Chloe said as she shifted the bags in her hands so they wouldn&#39;t cut off all of the circulation in her fingers. "Grab me one, too, please." She walked into the living room and placed the bags on the coffee table. "Do you need a few minutes to get ready or should I just grab my coat," she called into the kitchen.

Lex recapped the bottle and put it back into the fridge. &#39;She&#39;s raring to go.&#39; His smirk grew. He entered the living room to find Chloe standing next to the couch and massaging her fingers. "I&#39;ll just be a minute. I&#39;m going to change into something more comfortable." He jogged up the stairs and into his room to change into the jeans and sweater from the last night. Once again he reminded himself that he really needed to get a few of his suits to the drycleaner and launder the rest himself.

As she waited for Lex to return to the living room, Chloe fetched her coat from the hall and threw it next to Lex&#39;s on the couch. She put on the answering machine and heard footsteps on the stairs.

Lex trotted down the stairs, pushing up the sleeves of his sweater. "Ok, I&#39;m ready. Are you all set?" He strode over to the couch and picked up Chloe&#39;s coat first.

Chloe went through her mental list of everything that they would need and checked off each item. She patted her pockets, making sure she had house keys and nodded at Lex. "Yup, all set. Oh, before I forget." Chloe put her hand in her pocket and fished out a wad of money. She handed it to Lex, "Here&#39;s your change." She smiled a little, remembering the exorbitant amount of money Lex had left her on the kitchen table.

Lex smiled. He hadn&#39;t expected her to hand back the change. He plucked a twenty out of the small wad and held it out to her. "Here, keep it. After all it was kind of my fault that you lost the bet with your dad." He pocketed the rest of the money and held open her coat, his motions making it clear that he wouldn&#39;t let her give the twenty back.

"Impossible man." Chloe muttered the words under her breath but Lex&#39;s smirk grew, indicating that he had caught the phrase. She walked over to where he was standing and placed her arms through the sleeves of her jacket. She cleared the collar of her hair, her hand unexpectedly brushing up against Lex&#39;s. It seemed as if he had had the same idea. After an awkward pause, she murmured a "Thanks" and stepped away from him.

Lex gave her a small smile and grabbed his own coat, quickly pulling it on. "Oh, and we take my car. I made a quick detour to the mansion and brought a more comfortable one." He motioned with his arm for her to step past him and towards the hallway.

Grabbing the bags and then turning back to Lex, Chloe narrowed her eyes. "It&#39;s not the Hummer is it? Cause, if it is, this field trip," Chloe realized that she had come dangerously close to saying the &#39;d&#39; word, "is over before it&#39;s begun. I don&#39;t intend to have to bring a megaphone in order to talk to you." She grinned over her shoulder as she walked to the front door, Lex following behind her.

Lex chuckled. "No, it&#39;s not the Hummer. You&#39;ll see." He opened the door for her and took the bigger bag from her hand while he held it open for her.

Chloe walked out the door and was relieved to see a regular Mercedes-Benz in the driveway. &#39;Yeah, regular except it costs more than both your car and dad&#39;s put together.&#39; "Nice," Chloe commented. She opened one of the back doors and put her bag on the floor, making sure it wouldn&#39;t tip over on the way to the movie.

Lex smirked. &#39;And they always say woman don&#39;t have a thing for cars&#39; "I&#39;m glad you like it." He put the second bag next to the first and closed the door, then opened the passenger side door for Chloe.

By the time Chloe had settled herself in the front seat and put on her seatbelt, Lex had slid into the driver&#39;s seat. She turned her body towards him, a mischievous glint in her eyes, "If you&#39;re not sure how to get there, I could drive." She knew that there was no way he&#39;d let her, but she had to ask. Couldn&#39;t let a golden opportunity slip by.

Lex buckled himself in and grinned sideways at Chloe. "No chance, but nice try. But you get to yell at me if I don&#39;t follow your directions correctly." He pulled out of the driveway and onto the street out of Smallville.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There was no yelling on the way to the movie. Lex followed Chloe&#39;s instructions to the letter. He even managed to speed a good 15 miles above the limit without Chloe&#39;s prodding. When they reached the drive-in, Chloe was pleased to see that it wasn&#39;t packed. She thought that it had to do with the fact that they weren&#39;t showing a new movie tonight. She chuckled when she noticed that their&#39;s was the only car. The rest of the vehicles parked in the lot were trucks.

Lex found a spot in the front between an old pickup and a slightly newer truck model. He leaned over to Chloe and spoke in a stage whisper. "Maybe we should have taken the Hummer after all."

Chloe peered out her window and then leaned over to look out of Lex&#39;s. "I think we can take them," she said, confidently.

Lex shrugged. "I&#39;ll take your word on it." He unbuckled his seatbelt and got comfortable in his chair. "So, why are here no pillars for the boxes? Or are they going to show a silent movie?"

Lex had turned off the ignition and Chloe reached over and turned the engine back over. "We need the radio on," she explained. Thinking for a moment, Chloe changed the radio station to the correct frequency and the cheesy movie muzak filled the car.

Turning towards Lex, she said, "Much better than hanging one of those speakers on your window, don&#39;t you think?"

Lex leaned back farther into his seat and grinned sideways at Chloe. "Definitely. Especially since the sound system in this baby should give us excellent sound." He motioned to one of the buttons. "If you get cold, you can adjust the heater here." Lex slowly moved his hands between her knees and underneath her seat. "If you want to shift back your seat, you just have to pull the handle here."

Remaining as still as possible, Chloe nodded and said, "Thanks, but I&#39;m pretty comfy right here." Chloe hit the window button and a breeze wafted through the car. She quickly hit the button again, closing the window. "Heat controls, heat controls," she muttered as her fingers found the buttons Lex had pointed out before. Chloe felt her seat heating up and she grinned, "Cool. I have to get me one of these when we get back to Smallville."

Lex grinned at her. Sometimes it was just too easy to mess with her head. "I&#39;m sure I&#39;ll be able to arrange something if you really want it." His head whipped around to the drivers side window when he heard a loud thudding sound from the left. Looking into the window of the pickup left to him, he saw a pair of tennis shoe soles pressed firmly against the glass. Lex chuckled. "I thought it was common rule to do that during the movie, not before it even started."

Chloe leaned forward to get a better look and laughed. She looked back at Lex and affected an upper crust, stuffy accent. "Well, some people have no decorum. Thankfully, we have more class." When there was an even louder thump from the car next to Chloe she muttered, "And some people just really want to tear each other&#39;s clothes off."

Lex laughed. "Well, teenage hormones can be very persuasive. Or do you think it&#39;s something about the trucks?" He reached behind Chloe and grabbed one of the bags from the floor behind her seat.

"Combination of both. The hormones probably make the boys buy the trucks. And, really, all girls know that the size of a man&#39;s truck...." Chloe trailed off. Before Lex could jump in she added, "Don&#39;t blame it on *teenage* hormones, either. I&#39;ve seen plenty of grown men blinded by their hormones when a pretty woman is in the picture."

Lex&#39;s smile froze on his face. &#39;Thank you for reminding me of my stupidity.&#39; She probably didn&#39;t even know that she&#39;d hit a sore spot. &#39;Chloe&#39;s different, she wouldn&#39;t rub it in, would she?&#39; He kept a neutral expression. "Sometimes we all do things that completely defy common sense." He rifled through the bag in his lap and picked out a simple white box. Opening it he found a healthy slice of lasagna. "Do you want something, too?" He held the box out in her direction.

Chloe shook her head and reached into the backseat, taking the other bag. Though she still couldn&#39;t read Lex totally, she had heard the slight change in his voice. When she realized that Lex may have felt she was talking about him, she had to suppress a groan. "I agree. But, some of us," she smiled at Lex, "have the excuse that we were under the influence of meteor rocks while others of us are just plain fools."

Lex felt like an idiot. A paranoid idiot. &#39;Not everybody is out to insult you.&#39; "Yeah, those damn rocks. Sometimes I wonder why everybody is staying in Smallville." He shook his head. "Me included." He shook his head. "Now where is that cake?" He ruffled through the bag again.

“It must be the fresh country air that all keeps us there. Or maybe, the rocks have some other property that makes it impossible for you to leave once you&#39;ve stayed in Smallville for any long period of time." She chuckled at her own absurdity. She fished the pieces of cake out of her bag. "I hope you don&#39;t intend to eat your dessert first."

Lex looked at her a questioningly. "Well, why not? I&#39;m breaking the rules already by eating in the car, so what&#39;s the reason to stick to the usual course of menu?"

The only thing that Chloe could come up with was, "Because it&#39;s dessert." It sounded lame even to her. She watched, unbelieving as Lex began to eat his cake. Now, she wanted to eat hers. But, she couldn&#39;t allow herself to do so. Instead, Chloe opened her container and started to eat her chicken dish. It was incredible, but it wasn&#39;t chocolate cake. &#39;Stupid Lex,&#39; she thought to herself as she pouted.

Lex chuckled as he watched her poking around in her chicken. "You know, I won&#39;t tell anybody if you decide to eat your cake now." He picked up a small slice of cake and brought it to his mouth, making an appreciative sound around the bite.

"I don&#39;t *want* my cake now." &#39;Liar,&#39; she thought to herself. She took a bottle of water out of the bag, twisted it open and took a healthy gulp of it. She had burned her tongue on the hot food. Chloe licked the remaining droplets of water from her lips and turned her attention back to her main course. Lex continued to eat his cake, driving her mad with the noises that he was making. She was about to comment on them when a louder moan came from the car next to Chloe. "Guess they&#39;re enjoying their cake too," she mumbled.

Lex was about to comment when a shrill shriek followed by a "Yes, Bob&#33;" followed the moan. "Didn&#39;t know there was a cake called Bob." He smirked over at Chloe who was glancing curiously through the window. "Doing some investigating, Chloe?"

Chloe tilted her head, "No," she murmured absently, "I&#39;m just trying to figure out how one would get their leg like that. It looks *really* uncomfortable." Once her imagination had come up with a plausible way for two people to get into the position she could make out through the fogged up window, she turned back to Lex. "Besides, I don&#39;t think meteor rocks have anything to do with that."

Lex nodded. "Yeah, it can&#39;t be easy, being horny and having no better place to go than the cabin of a truck." He finished up his cake and went on to the lasagna, now that it wasn&#39;t steaming hot anymore. &#39;Damn, I didn&#39;t even know how hungry I was.&#39; The final commercial ran and the screen went black for a second. "Oh good, finally."

&#39;My thoughts exactly.&#39; Lex&#39;s earlier comment had made Chloe think of all of the better places to make out. Unfortunately, they all seemed to be places in Luthor Manor. She finished up with her chicken and carefully placed the box in the backseat. Chloe decided to save her cake for later. "I hope you like Bogey and Bacall." The main titles of the movie came up and Chloe prayed that it wouldn&#39;t be followed by a disgruntled groan from Lex. She had often tried to get Pete and Clark to watch classic movies but they always complained the whole way through so she had given up on them.

Lex remembered watching a lot of those movie classics with his mom. She&#39;d always been a fan of Bogart. "I actually know this movie better than you might think. It taught me a few things.”

Unable to resist, even though she knew it was incredibly cheesy Chloe said, "You know how to whistle, don&#39;t you, Lex? You just put your lips together and... blow."

There was a small pause while Lex tried to not let her tone have an effect on his body. He willed away the mental images that Chloe had evoked before he grinned at her. He let out a low wolf whistle under his breath, then switched effortlessly into the main tune of the movie. Lex shifted his legs a little as inconspicuously as possible to get more comfortable. That voice of Chloe&#39;s could definitely be dangerous.

"Very nice segue," Chloe said. "You sounded exactly like him in the movie." She leaned back in her seat and read the rest of the credits. "Did you know that she was only nineteen when they met and fell in love?" Chloe had loads of useless tidbits about the movie stored up and was happy for an excuse to unload one of them on Lex.

He arched an eyebrow and glanced at Chloe. "Really? I know she was younger than him, but I never knew it was that much." Lex watched the movie with one eye, keeping the other on Chloe. She was intently focused on the screen. "But don&#39;t you think it&#39;s odd that it worked between them, with an age gap as huge as that between them?"

As she watched the movie, she answered Lex. "Maybe a little. But it worked for them. He had been three time before and none of them lasted. *They* were married until the day he died. When he was buried," she looked at Lex, "she put a gold whistle into his casket." Chloe shrugged, "I may be very jaded, but even I have to acknowledge what sounds like true love to me."

Lex shrugged and kept his eyes on Chloe while he answered. "I don&#39;t know. It seems too unrealistic an idea to me." It was time to change the topic, they didn&#39;t have to get into this discussion again. Sadly if you want to change the topic you often have the problem of having no clue *what* to change the topic to.

Chloe shrugged. "I&#39;m just telling you what I read. It has to work out for *someone* though. Otherwise, we wouldn&#39;t be subjected to all of these movies. They were just lucky to find one another and not give a damn about what everyone else thought."

Lex decided, if he couldn&#39;t change the topic, he would at least end the discussion. "Maybe. Some people are just supposed to find a companion while others are meant to be alone, I think." He shuffled through the almost empty bag in his lap again and found a thermos bottle. "Of course you would never forget the coffee." He threw a smile over at Chloe, then uncapped the bottle and poured the hot liquid into the cup like cap.

"Perish the thought," Chloe murmured. She had already been sucked into the movie and knew that her witty comebacks were going to suffer for it. She leaned further back into the seat and got comfortable. She was warm, full, had coffee and good company; Chloe couldn&#39;t ask for much more. She sighed contentedly.

Lex smiled at Chloe, then turned his attention to the movie. He realized that he was actually relaxing more and more by the minute. His eyelids became heavy and he decided to give his eyes a rest for a moment. He knew the movie by heart, so it was enough to hear the banter and snark traded back and forth between Bogart and Bacall. &#39;Reminds me a little of Chloe.&#39;

Chloe had become so engrossed with the movie that she hadn&#39;t noticed Lex&#39;s lack of comments. She was pulled out of the action on the screen when she heard an unfamiliar cadence fill the confines of the car.

She looked over and was surprised to see that Lex had fallen asleep. The noise that she had heard was Lex, he was snoring lightly. The screen forgotten, Chloe watched the steady rise and fall of his chest. His lips were parted slightly and he appeared younger now that the constant guarded look had slipped off of his face.

When his snoring became louder, a small smile broke over her face. It was nice to see that he wasn&#39;t the picture of cool at all points during the day. When he started moving around a little, Chloe held her breath, waiting to see if he would wake up. Lex seemed to find a more comfortable position and his body came to rest again. She knew that he wasn&#39;t getting much sleep at home. Every night, as she succumbed to sleep, she could hear Lex moving about in Lana&#39;s now defunct room.

Knowing that it wouldn&#39;t look very good if he woke up to find her staring at him, Chloe turned her attention back to the movie. The moans and gasps on either side of their car were ignored as the movie played out before Chloe. When the final credits rolled, she was amused to see that both of the couples in the trucks had actually noticed. After a few minutes of fixing themselves up, the cars pulled away. Lex was still asleep and Chloe knew she would have to wake him up. There was no way that she would be able to drag him to the passenger&#39;s seat without him coming awake. "Lex," she whispered his name.

Lex remained motionless and Chloe called his name, louder this time. When he still showed no reaction, she gently placed her right hand on his chest, noticing the steady, strong beat beneath her palm, and shook him. "Lex, wake up."

Lex jerked awake in an instant, grabbing the hand on his chest sharply. He jerked his head to the side to see who it belonged to. When his sleep muddled brain finally registered that it was Chloe on the other end of the arm across his chest, his grip on her wrist eased at once. He rubbed his thumb over her wrist and gave her an apologetic look before he let her hand go. “I must&#39;ve fallen asleep. Is the movie over?”

Seeing his discomfort at being touched, Chloe quickly brought her hand back to her side as soon as he released it. She decided to ignore the pleasant sensation that had coursed up her arm when Lex rubbed his thumb against her skin. Chloe nodded, "Yeah, it is. And so are the other two shows." When Lex&#39;s eyebrows rose up she gestured to the two vacant spots that were next to them.

He nodded and straightened himself in his seat. Lex couldn&#39;t remember the last time he&#39;d fallen asleep in company. Usually the presence of another person made it impossible for him to let his guard down enough to even close his eyes for a longer stretch of time. “How long was I out?” Morbid curiosity. He couldn&#39;t help but know how long he&#39;d left himself vulnerable like that. It wasn&#39;t something that happened to him. Lex started the engine and pulled out of the space, turning the car towards the exit of the drive-in.

Lex&#39;s reaction was unexpected. Chloe couldn&#39;t put her finger on it but he seemed, well, not embarrassed, but something..... "I think you nodded off about ten or twenty minutes into the movie." Chloe grabbed her seatbelt and popped it into place. When she saw that Lex hadn&#39;t reattached his, she made a quick decision. "Seatbelt," she said, as explanation when she started to lean over his body. Sure to keep her head out of his line of sight, Chloe grabbed the belt and then popped it into place as well. "With both of our driving records, we don&#39;t want to take any chances."

Lex kept his eyes stern on the road. His body had tensed up automatically when Chloe had practically draped herself over it to adjust the seatbelt. Close proximity. Another of these things he didn&#39;t usually allow. There was just something about Chloe that seemed to circumvent each and every one of his rules. “Thank you,” he muttered when she settled back into her seat. “I hope I didn&#39;t insult you by conking out on you. It usually doesn&#39;t happen.”

"Not at all. I know you haven&#39;t been sleeping well." Chloe cringed when the words left her mouth. When she saw Lex&#39;s questioning glance, she explained, "I&#39;ve heard you wandering around your room before I&#39;ve fallen asleep." &#39;Now he&#39;s going to think you&#39;re some psycho that has her ear pressed against the wall to his room.&#39;

“Oh,” Lex didn&#39;t like the fact that she knew he had a problem with sleeping. Or a problem, period. He tried to think of a valid excuse for his weakness. “I tend to work out speeches or go over meetings when I find the time and quiet to do it, which is mostly in the night. I&#39;m sorry if it kept you up.” He made a mental note to not pace his room anymore and find some other method to occupy himself during the sleepless nights.

"You haven&#39;t," Chloe said, quickly. She didn&#39;t want Lex to alter the way that he did things just because he was staying in her house. She shrugged, "It&#39;s just something that I&#39;ve noticed. It doesn&#39;t bother me." Chloe nibbled on her lower lip. "I thought it might have something to do with, you know, what happened to you." Her voice had become lower. "I know that after I was buried," the word came out of her mouth, but it was a struggle, "in that box, I couldn&#39;t sleep at all."

Lex had heard about that event from Gabe. The man had been out of his mind at the time it happened and Lex hadn&#39;t hesitated to give him off as long as he needed while and after the incident. “I heard it&#39;s a normal reaction after traumatic experiences.” He didn&#39;t want to talk about this. She was trying to get past his defenses again, but not this time. “So how about I take you to a midnight snack? I promise I won&#39;t fall asleep on the table.” He allowed himself a small smile and glanced sideways at Chloe.

Picking up the &#39;I don&#39;t want to talk about it&#39; signal loud and clear, Chloe dropped the line of conversation. Besides, she didn&#39;t really want to rehash the whole being buried alive by a madman thing, either. "As long as it&#39;s unhealthy and has no nutritional value whatsoever, you have yourself a deal." In reality, Lex could have asked her if she wanted to go visit with Lana and take the other girl shopping for pink clothing and Chloe still would have said yes. She had gotten a rare smile from Lex and that tended to overrule any of her higher brain functions.

Lex had seen her deadpan expression as she delivered her demands and couldn&#39;t help it. A bout of laughter bubbled up from inside and broke free. “Sure. Whatever the lady wants.”

The deep rumbling sound of Lex&#39;s laughter caught Chloe offguard. She didn&#39;t even bother to hide the fact that she was blatantly staring at him. After a beat, she began to smile. It was a nice sound. However, much to her dismay, she felt her attraction to him step up another level. &#39;Mental note, don&#39;t make him laugh again. Very bad things would happen.&#39; "I like the sound of that," Chloe murmured.

Lex&#39;s laughter had tapered off enough for him to hear Chloe&#39;s statement. He lightly turned his head to look at her. “Just don&#39;t tell anyone, it might ruin my reputation with the townspeople.”

"Don&#39;t worry, your secret is safe with me." When Lex looked over at her, Chloe made an X over her heart with her pointer finger for emphasis. "Cross my heart and hope to die."

Lex turned the next right and onto the highway, knowing that sooner or later they&#39;d come across some diner.

[MissMed03]

That was so sweet...except for Lex falling asleep, that&#39;s a big date no,no&#33; Anyway great chapter, I can&#39;t wait for more. Hint Hint, update soon

[Jenmar]

He let down his guard around her...awwwwww&#33; That was another wonderful addition full of spine-tingling UST. At this rate, Chloe and Lex are definitely giving Mulder and Scully a run for their money. Great story.

[Kendrix03]

I would prefer that sooner or later they&#39;d run across a motel before I die from the overwhelming amount of UST. :blush:
Lol, I&#39;m thrilled that you updated. Every touch, every smile, every lingering stare drives me crazy but in a good way of course.
I must say that his falling asleep in front of her reveals a great amount of trust on his part, whether he realizes it or not. Hopefully, the next time he falls asleep, it will be due to some exhausting, night-activites. :devil:

[Robyn]

AW&#33; Even though falling asleep on a date is a very BAD thing to do, atleast he&#39;s comfortable enough around her to actually do that. All this friendly ( ;) ) touching and smiling and her making him laugh&#33; I love it&#33;&#33; Great update. Can&#39;t wait for the next&#33;

PS: Chloe still has her cake left... maybe they can use that for those night activities Kendrix just mentioned. :devil:

[carebear72884]

wow, the UST is just to much in this fic, and i loved how he feel asleep, :wub: aww..its just so cute when he lets his guard down...more soon please, it&#39;s about time they hooked up, right? right??

[ColumbiaBlue]

Loved it. :wub: More soon&#33;

~Manda :blinkkiss:

[Not An Addict]

I hate you guys. Hate, hate, hate, hate. It&#39;s like the two of them have been bashed over the head with a Cute stick, and, god help me, I LIKE IT. *hides face* Lex is just being so gentlemanly and opening doors and taking the heavier bag and helping her with her coat and HE&#39;S SO FREAKIN&#39; ADORABLE&#33; Damn. You guys are going to have me begging for more soon, you know. *grumbles* Stupid addictive fic.

Great update--more SOON&#33;&#33;&#33;

[hfce]

Awwwww that was so cute :D


Hope :wub:

[Clannadlvr]

You guys are KILLING me with cute&#33;sensitive&#33;Lex&#33;&#33;&#33;

And him letting his guard down in front of her, falling asleep?

Priceless&#33;

[Val]

Originally posted by BlueSabby@Mar 11 2004, 10:14 PM
A/N: Blue: Hi Val. I&#39;m Blue. *motions to wherever Sabby may be frolicking around* This is Sabby. Have we met? Apparently not. Of *course* we would be that evil. Anyways, enjoy the update peoples. The insanity continues.....

I should have known that coming from YOU guys, the UST will last for a looong time&#33; :p
I loved it anyways&#33; Its really cute how they&#39;re acting around each other and I want more NOW&#33; :biggrin:

and however unlikely, I love Kendrix03&#39;s Motel idea heh... :devil:

[sydsvaughn]

You know, I adored this chapter&#33; It was so nice to see Lex relaxing. The UST is wonderful and I am going to put up with it because I know that sooner or later, they&#39;ll end up together.

Sooner?

&#39;Nough said.

Love it and can&#39;t wait for more&#33;

SaraC

[vardaquareien]

Great chappy&#33;

I loved the whole Bogart/Bacall conversation about true love and age difference...hope it gave them both a few things to think about&#33;&#33;&#33; They&#39;re so adorable&#33; I love the way Lex fell asleep, letting down all his defences. Beautiful&#33;

Can&#39;t wait for more&#33;

[gina]

:wub:
Their "date" was so cute. I love that Lex is comfortable enough to fall asleep next to Chloe. It&#39;s good that they&#39;re acknowledging to themselves their attraction, but I wish they would act on it.

Great update, can&#39;t wait for the next one&#33; :)

[LarkLuthor]

Originally posted by Jenmar@Mar 12 2004, 04:03 AM
That was another wonderful addition full of spine-tingling UST. At this rate, Chloe and Lex are definitely giving Mulder and Scully a run for their money.
Ah, finally someone who appriciates UST&#33; Very good thing you know&#33; It&#39;s just better if it ends RST. I mean really how many of you guys would really enjoy it if all the fics were the way you suggest in responces to angst or UST? Example:

Lex: Hello Miss Sulivan, how would you like to be my love slave.
Chloe: Okay, lets fall into great lustful sex, who cares about banter or the fact we&#39;re intellegent adults, lets act like sloshed 16 year olds.
Lex: yeah, no talking until afterwards then we&#39;ll have fluffy out of charater declarations of love even though we&#39;ve never talked to each other much and I never let myself care about anyone without a fight.

Now that I&#39;m finished with my soapbox tale, great chapter&#33; Loved the Bogart/Bacall stuff. Can we have more soon, Blue?

Lark

[BlueSabby]

A/N: Blue: Nice to see that ya’ll are trying to guess what’s coming up next, though, no laundry hijinks await you in this chapter. Sabby wrote the wonderful ‘pink’ line, so all credit goes to her. Enjoy and leave us the feedback we so crave. :)


Without fail, whenever Chloe entered this particular store, she had the same impulse. She ran her hand through her hair, smoothed out her clothing and tried to blend in. The store was decorated in soft, muted tones that clashed obviously with her loud jacket and Doc Marten boots. She passed another customer and smiled at him. He nodded politely in return and she walked over to the section of the store that housed the drinks.

Chloe slid open the glass door and perused the colorful glass bottles until her eyes caught the familiar blue bottle that she was searching for. Lex hadn&#39;t told her how many he wanted so she grabbed as many as his leftover money would allow. Careful not to make too much noise with the clinking bottles, Chloe carried them over to the checkout counter.

As Chloe approached the counter, she couldn&#39;t help but feel as if the woman behind it was studying her. Every other time Chloe had come in here, there had been an older gentleman, the owner of the store she had later learned, that had rung her up. She smiled at the woman and carefully placed the bottles on the counter.

Nancy Garland reached over the counter and helped the young blonde arrange the bottles before they could topple over. There was just one person she knew that had a knack for this brand of water. And the perky blonde thing didn&#39;t really look like one of his staff. "New at the Luthor manor?" She flashed a smile at the blonde while she rung up the check.

Startled that the woman had been able to place the product with a particular customer, Chloe took a moment to respond. "I don&#39;t work at Luthor Manor." A quizzical expression took over the woman&#39;s face. "But, they are for the lord of the Manor," Chloe rolled her eyes, "so to speak."

Interesting. Nancy tried to place the girl. If she wasn&#39;t one of the stuff, but buying water for the very eligible Lex Luthor, then it could only mean that said Luthor wasn&#39;t so eligible anymore. "Oh, this man can&#39;t live without his water for a single day, huh?" She smiled brightly at the young woman, still trying to fit her to any pictures she might have seen in the society pages. The weird thing was, a girlfriend of Lex Luthor surely wouldn&#39;t buy his drinks for him herself. Couldn&#39;t be a rich girl then. But then what was she doing with the young Luthor?

Chloe laughed. "No, he&#39;s been roughing it for the past few days. I guess he just reached his breaking point. Though, I really wonder if he&#39;d notice the difference between water from," Chloe picked up the bottle and read it, "Wales and Smallville." An evil idea formed in her mind but she quashed it before it could get out of control. When she saw the woman across the counter smiling at her she realized her mistake. &#39;Crap, she thinks I&#39;m with Lex. He&#39;s gonna kill me.&#39;

"Oh you should better not try that. I know how my husband is about his beer. Once I got him the wrong brand and he held out on me for days *and* had his mother coming to visit for a week." Nancy was sure now. The girl must be the Luthor&#39;s new ladylove. A Luthor wouldn&#39;t rough it for a girl if there wasn&#39;t more involved. She had to tell her husband as soon as she got home. They had a bet running, and Ed would definitely owe her that vacation in Vegas when she was right. She&#39;d bet that the third time Lex Luthor got married, it would last. &#39;Third time&#39;s the charm&#39; her grandma had always said, and this one sure looked like a candidate.

Chloe was able to trap the small noise of dismay before it passed her lips. This was bad. Like bad bad. The woman was now grinning from ear to ear at her. Most likely thinking of her and Lex as a cute, new couple. And, she seemed the friendly sort of woman that would remark on it to Lex the next time he came in here. Chloe leaned forward and said, "It&#39;s not like that between me and Lex," she inwardly winced when the use of his first name caused the woman&#39;s smile to increase, "we&#39;re just friends." &#39;Lamest. Excuse. Ever.&#39; When the woman started to nod, clearly not believing a word Chloe said, she added, "I swear."

Nancy barely kept herself in check from making an aww sound. They were trying to keep their relationship a secret. That was so goddamn adorable&#33; She packed the bottles into a huge brown back, making sure to cover them with a newspaper. &#39;Wouldn&#39;t do to get people suspicious.&#39; "Of course sweetie." She winked at the young girl and handed her the change back. "I won&#39;t breathe a word of it." She smiled brightly and made a zipping motion over her lips with her fingers.

Realizing that she hadn&#39;t even come close to making the other woman believe her, Chloe tried again. "There&#39;s nothing to breathe a word about." Chloe was distracted when another customer entered the store. She leaned forward and whispered, "Seriously, nothing is going on." &#39;You are making this worse, just shut up and leave.&#39; If Chloe had been the woman, she sure as hell wouldn&#39;t have believed her. The more someone usually denied something, the truer it was. Accepting defeat, Chloe murmured, "Thanks. Have a nice day."

&#39;Yepp. Vegas here I come&#33;&#39; "You too, my dear. I hope to see you back soon." Nancy waved after the girl, then turned her attention to the new customer. "Don&#39;t say a word, a pack of Marley&#39;s and... this." She pulled a box of chewing gum from the rack on the counter and turned around to grab the pack of cigarettes. &#39;I&#39;m gonna go to Vegas, soon. Soon.&#39; She had to restrain herself from squeeing in excitement.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~

Lex had thrown the last load into the drier a few minutes ago. He glanced at his watch and groaned. &#39;Damn I never knew how much time laundry can eat up.&#39; Thankfully he was already dressed for business. He strode through the living room, grabbed his coat from the hanger in the hallway and was out the door within minutes. Just a quick check-in with his secretary. Somehow he had the feeling he&#39;d forgotten something. It couldn&#39;t be that important if he forgot it in the first place, but better be safe than sorry.

Halfway to the plant and he still had that niggling thought that he&#39;d forgotten something. He hated that with a passion, because usually his memory was above average. Lex floored the gas pedal and sped the rest of the way. The best way to remember something was not thinking about it for a few minutes.

It still hadn&#39;t come to him when he pulled into the driveway of the plant. &#39;Fuck, so much for that theory.&#39; He left his car in front of the main entrance and strode towards the metal doors with a determined look on his face. &#39;What do I have a secretary for anyway?&#39; It took him another few minutes, walking through the main halls, up with the elevator and through to his office. There she was. Good. "Barbara. Anything of importance I need to take care of? Bring me the reports of last week, my schedule for next and a water. Thank you."

He closed the doors to his office behind him and walked over to his chair, sinking into it and exhaling a deep breath. In a few minutes, he would know what he&#39;d forgotten.

Before Barbara could even respond to Mr. Luthor&#39;s question, he had already entered his office. That was his usual way of doing things so she wasn&#39;t put off by it. She gathered up the various reports he needed to go through and put his schedule for the upcoming week on the top of the pile. After filling up a glass with water from the water cooler, she picked up the papers and rapped on his door.

Lex&#39;s head jerked towards the door. "Come in." He leaned back in his chair and waited while Barbara tripped up to his desk. What was it with secretaries and high heels?

"Here are the reports you asked for and your upcoming schedule." She placed them in front of Mr. Luthor along with his water. She took a post it note out of her pocket and read over the short note that Hannah, the weekday secretary, had left for her. "Hannah also wants me to remind you that you are supposed to attend a charity ball this week." She placed the post it note in the center of Mr. Luthor&#39;s desk.

&#39;Fuck.&#39; Lex read through the note. "Tomorrow." And that was what he had forgotten. He clenched his hand into a fist, crumpling the note between his fingers. He looked up at Barbara, trying to keep his temper in check. "I don&#39;t want to be disturbed in the next two hours, and I don&#39;t want any calls to be put through. Thank you, that&#39;s all." He turned his attention to the reports, throwing the schedule aside for now. His problem was now to find a decent companion for the Charity event in Metropolis, tomorrow night. &#39;Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck&#33;&#39;

Barbara knew the look on Mr. Luthor&#39;s face. She had seen it one too many times when his father came in for a &#39;friendly&#39; visit or when one of the quarterly meetings didn&#39;t go well. He was covering his anger well, but she knew her boss. "Yes, sir. If you need anything else, let me know." She nodded once at him and then fled from his office. When she sat down at her desk, she could see that Line One of the phone was already in use. Mr. Luthor hadn&#39;t wasted any time in springing into action.

One hour and about 20 phone calls later, the list of acceptable women was rapidly coming to an end.

"Carol is that you?.... Yeah this is Lex...Listen, I was wondering if you were free tomorrow night...." Lex blinked in confusion. "A babysitter?...Of course, ok. Nevermind. Give my best to your husband."

He hung up and scribbled two linked rings and a k behind the name Carol Wickley. Then he quickly called the next on the list.

"Hello, this is Lex Luthor, may I speak with Anne?...Oh...Oh..." Lex frowned. "I didn&#39;t know that... I&#39;m sorry for your loss Mrs. Pearson, if you should need anything, you can always let me know...Yes...thank you...Goodbye."

He made a little cross next to the name and pushed the intercom button. "Barbara, I want you to send a bouquet of" He cross referenced with his book, "Irises and a condolence card to Mr. and Mrs. Floyd Pearson." He released the intercom and sunk back into his chair for a moment.

Shaking himself out of his contemplations, he went on to the next number, only to find that it was the last. Sending a quick prayer to whichever higher being might listen he made the call.

After the fifth ring, someone finally picked up.

"Clarice, hey this is Lex...." He tried to bear with the rapid fire prattle that followed. "Yeah, listen I&#39;m kinda in a predicament...." More rapid fire talking from the other end of the line. "Clarice, please&#33;" Silence. "Ok listen, there&#39;s this charity event, tomorrow night in Metropolis..." Lex jerked the receiver away from his ear. The sound of tinny laughter echoed into the room. "Yeah, I know it&#39;s short notice and I know what you are going to say, but come on. You know you still owe me one..." Lex breathed deeply. "Ok, if you can manage it I will owe you..." Lex suppressed a wince. "Just let me know when you&#39;re sure...Ok call here at the plant...Yeah...Thanks Clarice. Bye."

Lex hung up the phone and expelled a long breath. This day was hell. Pure and simple, something must have sucked him into the ninth ring of hell while he wasn&#39;t watching. Massaging his temple, he reached for the first of the weekly reports...and groaned. Tossing it back on the table, he picked up his water and emptied the meek rest that was still in the glass, and warm by now. He just wanted to get out of here, sooner rather than later. “Fuck it,” he muttered under his breath and stood up from the table. He grabbed his coat from the back of his chair and prowled towards his office doors. Ripping them open, he focused in on Barbara.

“As soon as Clarice McFarland calls here and comes through with her decision,” he grabbed a business card and a pen and scribbled the Sullivan home number on the backside. “Call me at this number and let me know. I&#39;m heading out and I won&#39;t return. If there are any problems, call me on my cell.” He stalked away from the desk and to the elevator, pushing the button with a vengeance.

"Yes, sir," Barbara called after him. She set the business card on the desk and stared at the number. There was something familiar about it. She knew she knew the number...but, she couldn&#39;t place where from. Numbers just seemed to stick in her head. Which was a good thing when her boss needed something but not such a good thing when knowing you knew a number threatened to drive you insane.

Barbara drummed her fingers on the table and continued to stare at the numbers....which seemed to be mocking her now. Thinking back to the last few months that she had been here during the weekend, a light bulb went on in her head. About two months ago, the weekend plant manager had taken unexpectantly ill and Mr. Luthor had requested that she call Gabe Sullivan to come in. Gabe Sullivan...who was currently out of town. Gabe Sullivan....who had a teenage daughter. The same young girl that Hannah claimed had been able to make Mr. Luthor laugh. "Crap," Barbara said aloud.

Hannah had gone on to tell Barbara that it was only a matter of time before what she called &#39;Now Legal Sullivan&#39; and their boss got together. According to the young woman there were &#39;looks&#39; and &#39;brushing up against each other incidents&#39; that could not be ignored. Barbara had thought that the young woman was mad. But, if Gabe was out of town and Lex was staying with his daughter..... Barbara groaned, thinking of the never ending litany of "I told you so"s that she would have to endure.

[asharnanae]

:biggrin: FANTASTIC&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33; i love how all the characters think that lex and chloe are together&#33;&#33; more please&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33; :yay: :worship2:

[Not An Addict]

HEE&#33;&#33; Oh man. For something they wanted to keep relatively on the dl, the news sure is spreading. ^_~ I wonder what they&#39;re going to do when everyone in town thinks they&#39;ve shacked up. &#39;Course, at that point, it would be a damn shame to be accused of the act without actually having partaken in the pleasures of it . . . *innocent look* What? It&#39;s a perfectly logical thing to be thinking of. ^_^ Loved this&#33; More soon, please. ^_^

[ColumbiaBlue]

I wonder what they&#39;re going to do when everyone in town thinks they&#39;ve shacked up. &#39;Course, at that point, it would be a damn shame to be accused of the act without actually having partaken in the pleasures of it . . . *innocent look* What? It&#39;s a perfectly logical thing to be thinking of. ^_^
NAA&#39;s right, ya know... Very, very, right. Oooh, yeah... It would sooooo be a damn shame too if they&#39;re being accused of something and not even reaping benefits from it. :biggrin:

~Manda :blinkkiss:

[Val]

Originally posted by Not An Addict@Mar 28 2004, 08:06 PM
HEE&#33;&#33; Oh man. For something they wanted to keep relatively on the dl, the news sure is spreading. ^_~ I wonder what they&#39;re going to do when everyone in town thinks they&#39;ve shacked up. &#39;Course, at that point, it would be a damn shame to be accused of the act without actually having partaken in the pleasures of it . . . *innocent look* What? It&#39;s a perfectly logical thing to be thinking of. ^_^ Loved this&#33; More soon, please. ^_^
Oh I love it&#33;

You&#39;re SO right NAA&#33; And is it wrong that Charity Balls always scream Sex on a Limo to me??

[newbatgirl]

Originally posted by ColumbiaBlue@Mar 28 2004, 07:34 PM
It would sooooo be a damn shame too if they&#39;re being accused of something and not even reaping benefits from it.
So....? Can we commence with the reaping of benefits? Many different positions of said benefits?

Oh, yeah, not NC-17, I remember now. Damn&#33;

OK, then, I&#39;ll settle for some PG-13 limo fun&#33;

Seriously, cute chapter, girls. I also love the thoughts and perspectives of the other characters. Especially the one about Chloe being able to make Lex laugh. We&#39;ve seen that&#33;

I&#39;ll take you both to Vegas if you update soon&#33;

[carebear72884]

yeah, a great update to make my day, your girls are great, more soon. :biggrin:

[Clannadlvr]

*grins*

I&#39;m definitely with NAA here...if every body starts to believe the pretense, they may as well give in to it, right?

heh heh heh...more soon please&#33;

[randa]

that was hilarious
i cant wait for more

randa

[hfce]

That was great. I loved it. :clap:




Hope :blinkkiss:

[sydsvaughn]

I guess its true appearances can be deceiving :)

Seriously though, I loved this chapter and can&#39;t wait to see where all this &#39;speculation&#39; ends up&#33;

SaraC

[autumngold]

Originally posted by Not An Addict@Mar 29 2004, 01:06 AM
&#39;Course, at that point, it would be a damn shame to be accused of the act without actually having partaken in the pleasures of it . . . *innocent look* What? It&#39;s a perfectly logical thing to be thinking of.
I agree&#33;&#33; If Chloe and Lex are going to be accused of the act at least they could enjoy some smoochies&#33;&#33; :biggrin: Thank you for the wonderful update&#33;&#33; I hope that Lex&#39;s date falls through at the last minute and he has to take Chloe&#33;&#33; That would really make people talk&#33;&#33; This story is so great&#33;&#33; I can&#39;t wait for your next update&#33;&#33; :yay: :chlexsign4: :yay:

[Impress]

lol. that was great. it will be interesting to see how they handle it when more people start thinking they are together.

[gina]

Wonderful update&#33; I love how everyone they run into is just assuming they&#39;re a couple. I can&#39;t wait to see what happens with the charity ball. Please update soon&#33; :)

[LarkLuthor]

Originally posted by newbatgirl@Mar 29 2004, 02:26 AM
I&#39;ll take you both to Vegas if you update soon&#33;
Woah, that&#39;s some offer. I forgot for a minute there that you work for a billionaire, NBG. ;) Say hi for us to our second favorite billionaire. Great update&#33; Can&#39;t wait for more. :biggrin:

Lark

[newbatgirl]

Originally posted by LarkLuthor@Mar 29 2004, 03:14 AM
Woah, that&#39;s some offer. I forgot for a minute there that you work for a billionaire, NBG.*
Cons: Cave is a bit drafty, work hours suck, boss is a bit of a type A.

Pros: Boss looks great in skintight kevlar, cave gets LOTS of satellite TV channels, boss gives me access to one hell of an expense account.

[Queen Of Tact]

I love it.... Just the update i needed to read...... I can&#39;t wait to read more....


CC

[Jenmar]

Originally posted by BlueSabby@Mar 29 2004, 12:43 AM
"Don&#39;t say a word, a pack of Marley&#39;s and... this." She pulled a box of chewing gum from the rack on the counter and turned around to grab the pack of cigarettes.


I don&#39;t know if this line is supposed to mean anything in this story but it definitely caught my attention. Either the customer behind Chloe likes the herbal refreshments with their gum or they&#39;re a bad guy (a la Chris Carter)...or I&#39;m thinking about this way too much.

Anyway, great chapter. "Now Legal"-hilarious&#33; :biggrin:

I love your great story and can&#39;t wait for the next update. Excellent work you two.

[scifichick774]

*snicker*

Everyone notices except for them...hee hee. And I bet if Barbara (that was the secretary&#39;s name, right?) saw them together, then she&#39;d see it too. Looking forward to seeing what twists you throw in next. More soon please.