The Arrangement (NC-17) Updated: February 21, 2011

[hfce]

YES!! Finally!!! I am so happy that they have admitted they have feelings. There is no way they will break up for long if it leads to that. They are just to addicted to each other. More please I want more..

[Gaia]

I would not be surprised if they end the arrangement for a while......because with their current attitudes it is very hard for them to make this thing work...
more soon please

[lilinny]

I have to say that I really did not think of the ramifications of dating outside the arrangement.

I thought when the moment came it would be something like the movie Secretary.

But it was awkward. Hope Chloe and Lex can work out the kinks. (Damn, did I just say that?)

As always a fantastic chapter.

[DiscoGhostie]

Hooray! I've been AWOL for a while and coming back to this was like a burst of sunshine through winter clouds. So very, very good. I'm really glad to see them exploring the emotional, them stuff. The arrangement sessions are hot and so detailed, but after spending so long with them as dom and sub, it seems like much of the descriptions of their thoughts were repeating what had been so well established already. New territory is so exciting! Keep up the good work, ladies.

[somethingeasy]

Just who in the hell did the prick think he was? Because Lex had slept with her twice, Lex, not her dom, Lex Luthor, and then not hung around in the morning. She wasn’t some whore.

heeee!!! I loved, LOVED Chloe’s huge and overwhelming outrage over Lex’s shoddy morning after behaviour. It IS a pretty shitty thing to do… for a guy to sneak away after a night of amazing sex. And for Lex to sneak away from Chloe under these circumstances…? LOL! She has every right to be at castration levels of angry.

It was also good to see evidence on how Chloe didn’t feel awkward, guilt-ridden or anxiety-ridden over last night. So Lex DID over-react, huh? Heh… good to know. I can’t wait to see how she handles him when they finally meet up face to face.

He had spent the entire day coming up with explanations, apologies and negotiations but now that he stood in front of her he had no idea what to say.

It had taken him five minutes after getting home to figure out that leaving was the most stupid thing he could have done. By that point, it had been too late to go back though. Then he’d tried to call Gary but the man hadn’t been available so he’d been on his own the whole day, trying to figure out what to do about his gigantic fuck up.

LOL! I loved seeing Lex grovelling even before meeting up with Chloe. He was completely distraught and resentful… I LOVE seeing Lex when he’s grovelling with intense remorse, LOL! It was also so much fun seeing how freaked out and confused he was about how to handle this impossible situation. I can just imagine him searching frantically for Gary for some advice, and freaking out because he couldn’t find anyone to help him out.

When Chloe hadn’t answered his first call, his stomach had twitched like he was going to be sick. It had only gotten worse when she ignored the following three calls as well. Half an hour ago he hadn’t been able to take it anymore.

heh… and Lex’s grovelling, repentant freak-out was only exacerbated by the fact that Chloe was seemingly ignoring his calls. ROTFL! Perfect! I loved that he was panicking because he was imagining that Chloe was getting herself ready to cut him out of her life… let’s see whether this panic is going to make him more malleable during the upcoming argument, LOL!

LOL! And it was so much FUN to see Lex’s panic mount up yet some more because he couldn’t see the reassuring sight of his collar around Chloe’s neck. I wonder whether she hid it away on purpose? LOL! Evil woman! But he deserved it!

When Lex didn’t seem to have an answer, she picked her pen back up and tried to find her place again. “Fine. Got it. I can expect you to slink off every time things get weird. Good to know.”

heee! Nice way of stating so bluntly the reason WHY Chloe is so veru disappointed and disgusted with her dom. She hit him where it hurts too… questioning his reliability! Excellent!

“I was hardly drunk,” she hissed at him. “I wanted you.” And it was freeing to finally be able to admit that. “Not dom you. You you.”

But Lex would not go quietly into that good night and accept that. “You were running around naked, singing. You were drunk.”

“Oh, as if I wouldn’t do that sober!”

“That’s hardly the point, Chloe.”

“No,” she said, getting more and more agitated, “your point is that you took advantage of poor, helpless, stupid me. Well, fuck you.”

LOL! The fight’s barely started… they haven’t even gotten to the main topic of contention yet, and it’s already gathering up such heated steam. WONDERFUL!!! I loved the way that Lex and Chloe were determined to stick to their perspectives on this matter… Lex was convinced that he had taken advantage, and Chloe was bristling with offence over the implication that she was to be viewed as helpless in any way.

I can see both of their points of views over here. Lex IS her dom, and he should have minded himself (and her) better last evening. But Chloe wasn’t in submission mode last night, and I can see why she would be offended that she needed minding and ‘taking care of’ even while she’s OUT of sub mode.

“Lex, this has happened twice. It’s not a fluke. And that is what we have to deal with here.”

squeeee!!! And here we are to the REAL controversial topic between them. It’s a serious issue that Chloe has raised. I actually thought that Chloe and Lex might have done the same thing as last time and swept it under the carpet again… never to speak of it again… so I was ecstatic to see that Chloe was insisting that they should be addressing the real root of the ‘problem’ rather than ignoring the symptoms again.

“Ok, so you’re not going to come up with some excuse or not talk about it this time.” Chloe was more talking to herself than him but realized that she had been too loud when she saw the look on his face.

LOL! I loved Chloe’s implications in painting Lex as an avoider and coward about this issue. Lex is a smart guy, and I’m sure he must have picked up on Chloe’s suggestion over there, LOL!

Yayyy!!! So everything has been cleared, right? Lex and Chloe want each other even outside of their Arrangement roles. Now we settle into the happy, loving relationship?

Heh… yeah right! As if it’s going to be that simple (or that dull!), LOL!

“For starters, I don’t mix arrangements with relationships. I have the former and avoid the latter.” She should be able to at least remember his abysmal track record with relationships. She’d been around to witness at least three of them so she really couldn’t plead ignorance on that.

It was very interesting seeing this stark and uncrossable line Lex has drawn between what entails an Arrangement, and what entails a relationship. It’s really intriguing to see how he doesn’t consider this arrangement of Chloe to be a relationship of sorts. It’s an interpersonal interaction with someone that has been building up for about a year now… by most people’s estimates, this is the longest and most stable relationship Lex has ever been in.

Lex expelled an incredulous breath. That was hardly the point. The point was that every relationship attempt had ended in violence and madness. Not just the three or four she had been around to see. So it had to be something about him that caused it. And if things ended, this time he wouldn’t just lose a relationship.

Heh… actually, I’m guessing that most of his wariness about calling it a relationship is a self-protective measure. He doesn’t want to ‘doom’ it to fail by categorizing it in the same class as all his marriages… so he calls it an ‘arrangement’ for reassurance.

“Okay, let’s assume for a moment we do date, and you do not suddenly find an urge to kill me. But then it doesn’t work out anyway. Can you honestly say you would still want to be my sub?”

Because here was the crux of the matter. He didn’t want to lose their arrangement but he just knew that would happen if they decided to date. Because he didn’t do relationships, so they would break up and then he’d have nothing.

Chloe had to admit that was an excellent point. “That’s a good question,” she admitted. “The answer is that I honestly don’t know.” It all depended on the situation, she supposed. “But, I do know that another accident will happen.”

Squeeee!!! This is awesome, amazing and promising to be so much FUN! I love the fact that neither Chloe nor Lex have ANY idea on where things are going to go from here or what kind of shape and structure their relationship/arrangement/partnership is going to take from here on in. It’s going to be a fun time watching them both feel their way through it… negotiating through delicate landmines without having ANY idea what they’re doing, LOL!

It’s especially going to be fun watching LEX be in this position, where he’s being forced to think on the spot all the time without having any real opportunity to plan or strategise ahead. He’s been planning out this arrangement months in advance… perhaps he’s even got a three year plan set for their arrangement? He won’t be able to do that while treading on this whole new territory

“That depends on which page you are on exactly,” he shot back, still staring at the tiny glimpse of platinum flashing at the edge of her neck. The sense of relief at seeing it mingled with his dread for where their current situation was headed. The only thing he knew was that he didn’t want to lose the thing they had and that worked for them, their arrangement. They’d been going strong for well over a year now and that was the longest he’d ever gone in any kind of personal relationship.

heee! So he DOES think of this as a (sort of) relationship already… even if he’s not ready to admit it to his conscious mind yet. I liked the feeling of intense relief he felt knowing that Chloe wasn’t planning on dumping him as a dom right away. He’s grown really dependant on having her in his life, hasn’t he? Awesome!

Her expression went sour as she looked at him shrewdly. “That’s not the sort of response a girl wants when she’s asking someone on a date.”

By now, Lex knew where this was going and what would happen. It was a fucking catch 22 because he was fucked if he did and fucked if he didn’t. Either way he would be losing their arrangement, he just knew it. The only difference was how long he had before it inevitably happened.

ROTFLMAO! Oh poor Lex! Look at him, being trapped into a corner where all options look equally horrible and terrible to him. He honestly thinks he’s being forced between the ‘more acceptable’ of two evils here.

ROTFL! And it was really funny seeing Chloe huff in indignation seeing Lex accepting her date proposal as if it was a tax audit, LOL! That is NOT the way to accept a lady’s invitation to a night out evening, Lex! LOL! Where did all of his smooth, sophisticated charm vanish to?

Lex ran a hand over the back of his neck and took a deep breath. “I don't want to do anything that would break what we have. As I see it, we're fucked if we do, and fucked if we don't. If I don't date you, you'll break things off, and if we do date, you're going to realize that it won't work and then break things off.”

you’re going to realize that it doesn’t work and break things off? He’s not tagging on an ‘if’ or a ‘maybe’ to that possibility. He doesn’t even see it AS a possibility… only an absolute certainty. No wonder he was accepting Chloe’s date like it was a death sentence. He WAS viewing it as a herald to the doom of their relationship/arrangement.

Lex shot a pointed look at her neck where he now knew her collar was still resting. There was no way he would be the one to break off their dating, simply because he knew what was on the line. If their dating didn’t work out, he would lose her and the only stable relationship he’d ever had.

squeee!! Wasn’t that awesome?! I loved the fact that this ‘relationship’ is starting out with Lex already so completely invested in Chloe that he honestly cannot imagine contentment or happiness in a life without her. He actually finds it unimaginable that he’ll dump [I]her[I] under any circumstances.

Lex’s eyes flashed but he managed to keep his voice calm. “It has everything to do with it. Because if us dating doesn’t work out, you will take it off without a second thought.”

So his whole fear about this relationship is that Chloe will be the one to get sick of him and dump him to the curb?! Can’t the poor man imagine that any woman might want to actually be with him outside of a dom/sub affair?

Hmmm, and I do wonder what Chloe is thinking about the new structure of their arrangement now that ‘dating’ has entered into the picture. What does she mean that their now budding relationship has nothing to do with their arrangement? Are they going to keep the two sides of their affair separated from each other?

But it really didn’t matter now. “Don’t worry about it, though. What you said tells me everything I need to know.” The only reason he wanted to date her was to secure her as his sub. Not because he wanted to for the sake of it.

Chloe had dated enough men for bad reasons. She wasn’t going to add Lex to that list.

She’d seen the way that his eyes had honed in on the collar that she wore. That was what was important to Lex where it came to her.

I felt a pang of sympathy for Chloe as I felt her sadness and dejection over here. Lex is not dumping her, but he IS rejecting an essential part of her. It must hurt for her to imagine that, while Lex is crazy about her as his sub, he doesn’t particularly like her personality. How horrible!

She nodded but he wasn’t sure she got the point. “Outside of our arrangement, we’d be constantly clashing, fighting over who wears the pants.” He knew that as well as he knew the back of his hand. “Cause let’s face it, you are only submissive when you want to be.” It had been a surprise to find out she was submissive in the first place considering she had never shown any proclivity towards meekness, nor had she been the ‘overly stressed executive’ stereotype who ‘needed to let go’.

I liked the way that Lex was humiliated imagining that Chloe believed him being afraid of strong women with their own minds, opinions and thoughts. It was good that he clarified that he liked and appreciated her personality and outspokenness, but feared that they were not suited for each other outside of their arrangement roles.

It was amazing to her to see the way that Lex viewed himself. And his relationships.

“But, I do dispute that having someone yes you all the time wouldn't drive you crazy.”

Lex seemed to be at the end of his rope. “Do you even realize how stupid that argument is? I have been your dom for over a year now.”

He probably wasn’t done but she was bristling and her mouth opened of its own accord. “You’re stupid. Being a dom is one part of your life!” Lex couldn’t seriously use that to define him wholly.

“One out of two,” he countered.

heee! It’s so much FUN seeing them both arguing around circles in this manner. And neither of them willing to back down on their own personal opinion. Actually it’s pretty hard to say who is right over here. Lex has a point when he calls himself an extreme control freak who likes being in unquestionable charge… but Chloe also has a point that even he wouldn’t want to be in unquestionable charge ALL the time, right…?

One out of two? Does Lex truly view his life as consisting of only work and sex? It’s good for a while, but it’s not wholly fulfilling in the long-term. Heh… trust me, Lex! You’ll be grateful that Chloe insisted on pushing for a relationship… well, you’ll be grateful eventually, LOL!

When he called people in for their sessions it may look like the world was falling to its knees in front of him but sadly that was not the case. In business not everyone rolled over just because your name was Lex Luthor. In fact, people were more likely to saw at your chair and try to cut your throat because they wanted to use your proverbial body as a stepping stone to get higher up the ladder.

His arrangement with Chloe was what kept him sane. He was in complete control at all times and all he had to do was think through his steps and follow them accordingly because she worked with him. She let him take the lead and didn't play against him to bring him down. He needed that, sometimes more than he needed food or sleep.

I LOVED that, BlueSabby! I loved how you brought us some insight into how and why Lex needed his role as a dom to keep him balanced and stabilized with his life. It actually makes sense that he’s want to get away from all those tedious, countless, trivial and endless boardroom meetings by meeting up with a sub who will trust him completely; do whatever he asks without nitpicking, plotting or arguing back. I LOVED getting some psychological insight into why Lex needed this dom/sub arrangement… to the extent where he might actually go insane without it.

But she was seriously going to because she kept on talking. “In fact you like it. You smile and you laugh and you’re all…” She made a hand waving gesture towards him. “You know, you.”

He stared her down. “Do you see me laughing right now?”

“No,” she rolled her eyes. Why in the hell would he be laughing right now? It made no sense. “But that’s because this is serious. We both enjoy our arrangement. It’s like a vacation for us. And I don’t want you to think that I’m not taking this seriously…”

LOL! He doesn’t get it, does he? And he doesn’t remember that lovely morning, LONG time ago when he and Chloe fought over the newspaper. Lex was greatly amused by her stubbornness and he felt fun and delight during their mock-fight. He enjoys it when Chloe digs in her heels and opposes him… providing it’s not a really serious issue that they’re fighting over of course.

Lex sighed and looked deep in thought. No doubt thinking about faith and how it got Jesus to the cross with a crowd.

hmmm, I wonder if it’s partially their inclinations towards sub and dom contributing to their attitudes over here. Perhaps Chloe finds it much easier to take things on ‘faith’ than Lex does? Chloe is capable of letting go and surrendering to whatever what might come… while Lex is simply incapable of surrendering to anything. Especially to an uncontrollable situation.

He’d always been the all or nothing type. However, he’d been sure that their arrangement was the all. Now it was like the fates had thrown a crowbar between his feet just to watch him stumble and fall. Like they always did when it came to him and personal relationships.

Chloe leaned against her desk and looked down at him. “So you either want to go back, or you want a guarantee, which I can’t give you.”

I loved Chloe’s summation over here. She’s very sharp in pinpointing what Lex was trying to tell her about what he wanted from this situation. And she obviously knows Lex very well indeed to see this deeply into exactly what Lex wanted. Oh dear… a guarantee? It figures that is exactly what Lex would want at this point, even though he KNOWS it’s something ridiculous to ask for.

She tried to lighten the mood by jabbing him in the chest and asking, “You doubting my sub abilities?”

But he didn’t find that funny. Not in the least.

“I don't doubt your abilities as a sub for a second, but what do you think will go through your mind the next time I fuck you face to face?”

Chloe stiffened a little at the question. She got what he was getting at but she could control herself. She’d already proven that to him.

I doesn’t matter what claims Chloe makes about being able to ‘handle this’. She stiffened when Lex asked her how she’s going to feel remembering this next time they’re face to face… and I’m sure Lex noticed her stiffening. He knows how she feels, and he won’t be willing to force her to just ‘make do’ with ANY part of their arrangement.

Did she really think he needed to hear the basic rules parroted back at him? “That’s simplifying it.” And she should know that. “You can put aside embarrassment, yes, or a certain level of discomfort. You can let go of any damn thought pertaining to the outside world.” That was the point of submitting yourself, giving up control and casting off everything that wasn’t in the room with you and your dom.

“However, you’re going to be looking at the very thing that you want to push aside the entire time.” The arrangement couldn’t work if she had to push him away. She wouldn’t be able to let go and he wouldn’t be able to give her what she needed.

I loved the way that Lex has changed his mind about pursuing the relationship with Chloe. He’s not doing it particularly because HE wants to… because in fact he really doesn’t. But he’ll do it for Chloe’s sake… because not pursing the relationship will make her unhappy and discontent in the arrangement, and that is something intolerable to him. I LOVE the way Lex always puts Chloe’s needs and desires first and foremost waaaay above his own what a great dom!

Ooooh, and I think this is their first step in the relationship… learning how to compromise! Excellent! LOL!

The reason for that rule was as simple as it got. If she had to use her safe word more than once, they obviously didn’t work together. Just as obvious as their arrangement wouldn’t have a leg to stand on if she couldn’t even tolerate looking into his face.

LOL! I remember how this had been debated and finally clarified a looong time ago in a big Review Discussion… the reason behind why Chloe only gets one ‘free’ use of a safeword before she has to pay the price of a broken arrangement. The reason stills holds good now… in fact, after seeing how their arrangement works, it holds now better than ever.

Hmmm, but I do wonder whether throwing a budding relationship into the mix is going to complicate the use of the safe word…? Heeeee! It’s going to be FUN to see what kind of awkward complications come about after this!

Lex took a deep breath and ran his hand over the back of his head. “That’s because the chances that it won’t are overwhelming.” Apparently, he’d have to spell it out. “But in comparison, a marginal chance that it might work is better than none at all.” He looked up and met her eyes. “And I know that our arrangement has zero chance of surviving if we keep going like we were before.”

Poor Lex! I can practically taste his frustration here. He HATES being forced to change his mind and take a path that he thinks is nearly the worst idea in the world… because there are honestly no other choices left. But I really admired Lex for recognizing the necessity of taking this decision, even though it was hard, difficult and sounded terrible to him.

“I’m just trying to help you make a decision that doesn’t cause your face to look like that.”

He arched a brow and cocked his head to the side. “Like what?”

He was confused at first, but Chloe managed to wrangle him out of the chair and bring him to the first reflective surface she could find in her office. The glass door to her fancy bookshelf.

“Like that.” She gestured to his reflection. “Like I just killed your puppy and made slippers out of him.”

heh… seeing Lex being forced to commit to a decision that goes against his good judgement is not easy for Chloe either. He might have been brought over to ‘her side’ of the argument, but she didn’t want him FORCED into it… not when he obviously makes him this apprehensive, anxiety-ridden and miserable.

LOL! So far, their relationship is off to a stunning start, isn’t it? LOL! You set the relationship up so perfectly, BlueSabby! I’m having a seriously good time watching the state it starts off in.

“What I don't want is to lose you. So given these options, it's obvious which one I will choose.”

It was sort of sweet in a fucked up way.

Awwww… it IS so sweet!!! I love Lex’s priorities. And, all things being said, it’s actually a good start to a new relationship… where both sides are committed to making it work! They know it’s going to be difficult and a lot of work, but they’re willing to put in the work… which is a lot more than most couples are willing to do

“Okay.” She nodded. After a short pause she continued. “Should I pick you up being that I asked?”

Lex closed his eyes, stifled a groan and took a deep breath. Their problems were already starting and they hadn’t even made it to the first date yet. “I’ll pick you up. You can decide where we’re going.” Compromise, negotiation. He could do that. He didn’t want to do it, but he could do it.

ROTFL! I loved the way that Lex’s mind spat out the words ‘compromise and negotiation’ as if they were filthy, disgusting curse words. LOL! But he’s capable of compromise, which is a great start.

“Ok, I’ll see you then.” Silence. And it was awkward. She made a move to give him a small kiss but then she noticed that he tensed up. Chloe pulled away.

Lex stood there for a moment, looking unsure of what to say. “Go ahead, we don’t want you to be late.”

It wasn’t a big deal. They were still figuring this out. They’d get there.

LOL! I can see already that Lex is going to have some intimacy issues while they’re dating. Will he at least be willing to hold hands? LOL! This was a GREAT start to the relationship, BlueSabby! Beautifully done! I can’t wait to see how it’s ‘figured out’ in continuing chapters. Please update soon!

Is Lex going to be visiting Gary anytime soon and asking for some advice on balancing relationship and arrangement? I think Gary might have some good, sound advice. Not to mention it will be FUN seeing Gary smirking at Lex that he knew it was headed down this path all along, LOL!

[BlueSabby]

A/N: Blue: Let the games begin! Welcome to the new stage of their relationship.

A/N: Sabby: And this is it! Their first date. I hope it's not too anticlimactic.

~~

Lex wasn’t even sure what he was doing here, but still he wasn’t going to turn back around now. He’d gone to Gary the last time he’d fucked up royally and this screw up was even bigger than the last. Logically, he knew that the man wouldn’t be able to help him with this, but at least he could find out just how bad he’d really fucked himself and maybe get a time frame of how much time was left before his arrangement with Chloe went to hell in a hand basket.

He knocked on Gary’s office door and stepped inside. Gary was just finishing up a phone call and waved a hand to motion him to sit down. Lex sank into the chair, crossed his legs and folded his hands in his lap.

When Gary hung up the phone Lex got right to the point. “I fucked up again, and this time it’s worse.”

Gary’s brows flew to his receding hairline and Lex continued. “Chloe and I have decided to start dating.” The tone of his voice made it perfectly clear what he thought of this. “So tell me, how long do I have before I lose my sub?”

Well, well, this certainly was interesting. Gary wasn’t sure it was surprising, exactly, but it was interesting. This happening between a dom and a sub wasn’t unheard of. It was rare, yes, but not unheard of. Especially in the walls of this club.

“If you think that you’re going to lose her, then why start dating her?” Lex Luthor was a very controlled man. Yet, with Chloe it seemed as if he wasn’t in control of himself at certain points.

And what he was asking was a key question. If Lex thought that he’d lose all of the work that they’d put in together, then why chance it? He had a pretty good idea of what had occurred. Again.

But he needed Lex to tell him that.

Lex sighed. “It was a catch 22.” Gary would need a little more than that to understand though. “I fucked her outside of the arrangement again.” Off of the other man’s look, Lex could imagine what Gary was going to say. “I know, I know. Long story short, I had the choice between dating her and losing her right then and there. She wouldn’t be able to handle just the arrangement.”

Truth be told, Lex had a mild suspicion that Chloe had gone and fallen in love with him. Just sex, he would have been able to handle. But it was obviously more than that. And it wasn’t like he was completely opposed to the idea of having everything with her. It was the fact of the matter that love had a bad habit of turning on him like a pet with rabies.

“Do I look like I have a crystal ball?” He gestured to his desk. “I might be able to dig up an 8 ball if you give me some time.”

Lex did not look amused. “What else do you want me to say? You come in here after having another accident with Chloe, tell me you two are going to date and that you want to know when it’ll all be over. All in one breath.”

“Lex, I’m not the one in charge of any or all of that. You are. And Chloe. And you can both be stubborn bastards when it comes to getting what you want.” He knew that from personal dealings with both of them.

“What makes you think it won’t work out? That this is the end of everything that you two have?”

Because lately, Gary was of the mind that what Lex and Chloe had was deeper than an arrangement. But he wasn’t going to be the first one to say it. He needed Lex to admit that little before Gary took the plunge and told Lex a pretty fucking big secret.

Lex snorted. “You’ve known me for a good long while, Gary. Have you ever seen one of my normal relationships turn out alright?” He shook his head. “It’s not going to work. She may think she wants me now, but give her a few months and wanting me will turn into wanting me dead.”

If he believed in that sort of thing, Lex would swear that he’d been cursed. And it wasn’t just bitches and money diggers that had made him believe it. There had been perfectly nice girls in his past and even they had turned on him like rabid dogs. “I can make an arrangement work, but not a relationship. And the bitch is that I don’t even know what I do to turn them against me. It’s like they just wake up one morning and decide they really want to see me suffer.”

“You’re right. I do know you. And I’ve met some of the women you’ve dated.” They ran the gamut from being soul sucking bastards to decent people. “But, and here’s the key thing,” he leaned forward, “do you think that you’ve ever really let loose with any of them as much as you have with Chloe?”

People thought that being a dom was about always being in control. But there was give and take. As a dom, you had to trust that a sub would follow your words. That you trusted your sub enough to trust you. It got very muddled but the two roles were equal.

Lex was always in control, but he only asked for that type of trust from a sub. Never a woman that he dated.

“She knows what you need and she’s more than happy to give it to you. Over and over. The fact that this has happened…you’re actually quite lucky. You can both have it all, Lex. Do you know how rare that is?”

Lex released an exasperated breath as he looked over at Gary. “She’s willing to give me that as a sub. However, the moment the session is closed it’s a whole different ballgame. And that’s the problem about the whole thing.”

He uncrossed his legs and leaned forward to brace his arms on his thighs. “Don’t get me wrong, I see your point. Yes, I’ve been more open with her than any other woman given that our lifestyles match.” That was why their arrangement worked. They had laid down their rules and neither of them expected anything more than the other was willing to give. “But what good is that going to do when we clash outside of the arrangement? No matter her sexual preference, Chloe is anything but meek and submissive.”

“And you think that you want that out of a woman in real life?” He couldn’t help the incredulity in his tone. Lex was severely mistaken if he thought that a woman like that would hold his interest for any more than eight minutes.

Gary laughed. “I’m sorry, Lex, but the thought of you with a woman, really with a woman, who would defer to you in any and all things is ridiculous.”

Lex liked a challenge in everything. That, unbeknownst to the man himself, would also have to translate into a real relationship. “I’m not saying that you’d want to fight all of the time with a woman. No, who in the hell wants that?”

Women could drive you crazy when you were fighting with them.

“But for you to have a woman by your side that just yessed you all of the time? God, that would be even worse. For you, at least.”

He leaned back in his chair. “I know you don’t want to hear this but you suit each other very well. She’s tattooed, pierced and collared. What’s with a few dates? Or another type of ring a few months or a year down the line?”

Lex’s jaw almost dropped. “Are you insane?” He couldn’t believe that Gary had just suggested that he should propose to Chloe. “I might as well just hand her a shotgun and ask her to shoot me, the results would be roughly the same.” The only thing that was worse than dating in his record was trying to get hitched.

He shook his head. “And I’m not saying that I want her to ‘yes’ me all the time. I just…” To be honest, he didn’t know what exactly he wanted. All he knew for certain was that relationships never turned out in his favor. And that he had no idea how to change that.

“Never mind. But you can’t tell me that having a relationship on top of an arrangement doesn’t upset the balance. There’s no way that it wouldn’t interfere. If we got into a fight over some damn shit or another, there’s no way she’d turn around and drop to her knees when I want to start a session.”
“That’s very insulting to her, you know that right?” Because Chloe was one of the best subs that Gary had ever seen. And he’d seen thousands of them. “If you slipped into being her dom she’d get down on her knees and do everything you asked her to.” He paused. “Insulting,” he repeated himself.

“And you’re wrong about something else, too.”

This was the moment.

He opened his desk and took out a ring.

He placed it on the ring finger of his left hand.

Lex looked stunned. Not in the usual sense of the word. In the sense that he looked as if he’d been hit with a taser. His mouth was slack and he was staring at Gary’s hand.

“Mary Ann always does what I tell her. Even if we’ve just had a knock down drag out fight. If you think make up sex is amazing…” Gary whistled.

“Wait until you have a make up session. I think I almost went blind and saw God at the same time once.”

“We’ve been married for 11 years now.” He played with his ring a little. “I don’t regret doing it, ever. It was a tough thing to realize that I didn’t just want her as my sub but that I wanted her as my wife. But someone helped me out with that. Which is why I’m able to help you now.” He cleared his throat. “I’m assuming I can trust you to be discrete about this, yes?”

Lex closed his mouth and nodded. He’d suspected that there was more to Mary Ann and Gary, but he hadn’t known for sure until now. He’d been certain they were business partners after the incident with Charlize. And here Gary sat calmly, telling him that he’d been married to his sub for 11 years.

“How do you make it work?” It was the only question that Lex could think of.

He knew enough married couples, but he’d never consider asking any of them how they did it. Not just because their situation couldn’t compare in the least, but also because most of their marriages were barely more than a façade.

Gary shrugged. “I don’t think it’s all that different than other marriages, really.” The idea of it was the biggest hurdle to get over.

“When she’s my sub, she’s my sub. And when she’s Mary Ann…” He shook his head and smiled. “They’re two different people. Much like Chloe.” He’d seen enough of her as a sub and as a person to say that.

“We have sex as man and wife and as dom and sub. It’s very different but both are enjoyable in their own way.” He wanted to be as helpful as possible. “And both of you get used to switching roles. Sometimes even in the middle of things going on.”

He’d changed his mind about who he wanted a number of times when they were about to have sex.

“After the day here, we’re husband and wife. Watch TV, go to dinner, argue, make up, pick out furniture. Then there’s the other side to our relationship.”

“And, I honestly have to tell you. It intensifies things in a way I can’t even describe. You and I? We’re territorial doms. And knowing that Mary Ann is mine in every single way. It’s the biggest rush.”

Lex couldn’t argue with that point. He’d even told Chloe as much when they’d discussed things. If there was any way of having it all without ruining everything, he’d go for it in a heartbeat. It wasn’t an issue of wanting though. It was an issue of making things work. And he’d never been able to make relationships work.

“It sounds so easy the way you talk about it.” Lex rubbed a hand over the back of his head and massaged his neck. He was starting to get a headache from his circular thoughts. “But I don’t know what to do to stop this relationship from going the same way as all the others I’ve had.”

“Relax a little. You’re all twisted.” He gestured to Lex sitting in the chair. “You’re so worried about it tanking that it’s going to tank because you’re so worried about it.” He smiled a little at Lex.

“Let me guess? Chloe’s not concerned at all.”

Off the look that Lex was giving him, he knew that he’d guessed right.

“Follow her lead, then. She’s a smart one. Knew it from the first time she squeezed free membership out of me sitting in that same chair.”

“Go out with her and don’t think of her as your sub or you as her dom. Just think of it as a night with Chloe. It sounds ridiculously stupid, I know, but keeping it simple is the best advice that I can give you.”

There was a knock at the door and after Lex nodded, Gary called out a “Come in.”

It was Mary Ann and he saw her gait falter a little when she noticed he was wearing his ring. He held out his hand and she took it. His drawer was still open and he took out her ring. She put it on as he stood up.

“Now, I’m going to go home and fuck my wife.”

“Gary!”

Mary Ann knew it was a little odd, but she felt that that sort of talk was a little out of order.

Lex stifled a chuckle at the indignant tone in Mary Ann’s voice. All of them knew she’d heard and said a lot more outrageous things. “I hope you don’t mind that he told me, Mary Ann.” He pointed to the wedding rings to clarify what he was talking about. “I needed some advice and your husband was kind enough to give it.”

He got up from his chair and nodded at both of them. “Thanks, Gary.”

Lex had a lot to think about and only a few days until the first date with Chloe. Gary’s advice might have been shooting birds with cannonballs but there was something to it. Now, if he could only find a place inside himself that was willing to follow someone else’s lead completely, he might just be able to pull it off.

Yeah, it definitely was a snowball’s chance in hell.
~~
Chloe was screwed. Completely and totally. Lex was going to be here in about two minutes and she’d only gotten home ten minutes ago.

How in the hell was she supposed to wow him when she had 12 minutes to get ready?

At least she’d gotten her clothes off, had the quickest shower in history and was now standing in her bedroom in the sexist bra that she had and scanning her closet for an acceptable dress.

When the doorbell rang, she cursed, grabbed her robe and made her way to the door.

“Hey,” she said. She wanted to explain why she wasn’t ready but then she saw Lex had brought her flowers. Smiling, she reached out for them. “Thank you. Come in.”

She smelled the flowers as she went into the kitchen to look for a vase. “Sorry I’m not ready. Had a bitch of a day and I got home about 15 minutes ago.”

Lex ambled after her into the living room and watched her put the flowers in a vase and smell them again before she set them on the counter. “Want to tell me what happened?”

He could see that she was frazzled and part of him wanted to order her to take a deep breath and sit down. However, that was not his prerogative in the current situation. This was exactly what he’d been talking about when he mentioned the problem with dating Chloe to Gary. He was standing in limbo.

“Just a number of people all seeming to go crazy at the same time.” She glanced over at him. “I’m sure that’s happened to you. You put one fire out and then your phone rings and it’s someone else telling you that they think there was an accounting error made because a client is screaming about a multi million dollar bill that makes no sense.”

“Everything’s fine now,” she assured him when she saw that he was still a little tense. She got it. He was used to taking care of her and to not be able to had to be hard. Well, he’d get used to it.

“That’s why I’m not ready. I had to run out of there to get here so I wouldn’t stink to high heave.” Attractive, very becoming, Chloe. “And I’ve been trying to figure out why everyone seems to have taken their stupid pills on the same day.”

Lex chuckled at that. Mostly because he’d caught the look on her face after her first comment. At least he knew she wasn’t going to turn phony on him while they tried this dating thing. “I personally think it’s more like a virus infection. If one person gets it, they’ll spread it to the others faster than Ebola.” He leaned against the couch and crossed his arms over his chest. “Good thing it usually only lasts a day.”

He watched her go into the bedroom to change out of her robe. Out of nowhere, the picture across from the bed flashed across his mind. Lex pinched the bridge of his nose and tried to ignore it. He couldn’t be thinking about their arrangement at all or this would never work.

Chloe left the door open so they could still talk. Or, well, yell. “From your lips…”

Because she really couldn’t handle normally intelligent people being dumbasses again tomorrow.

“Maybe Mercury is in retrograde.” What was she going to wear? She had a fantastic green dress. It went perfectly with her collar. And, really, that had some sort of symmetry to it. Wearing a dress for an actual date that complimented the symbol of their arrangement.

She took it off of the hanger and slid it up her body. Chloe had to admit that she looked good. Especially her ass what with the no panty line.

“Might be the full moon that's causing it,” Lex chimed in helpfully. “Has anyone started howling for no discernable reason?”

Chloe laughed as she quickly dusted her lids with shadow. “Only when I stepped on their toe.”

“Accidentally, I’m sure.” She could hear the smirk in his voice. It made her smile. But she had to stop that to put on her gloss.

“Of course,” she said, getting up and walking back over to her full length mirror. Her hair would have to stay down and be a little wild. She selected her shoes and put them on. “Anything else would be rude.”

Lex smirked and raised his chin to yell towards the bedroom again. “And you would never be rude.” He laid the sarcasm on thick.

At this moment she stepped out of the bedroom and Lex lost his train of thought for a moment. The dress she was wearing was gorgeous. And it would draw everyone’s attention onto her collar.

“We both know I’m never rude, Lex,” she said with a smile, “I’m direct and…”

Lex was still staring at her collar but thankfully she seemed to not have noticed so he ripped his eyes back up to her face.

“What’s another word for rude?”

He cocked an eyebrow and tilted his head slightly. “Straight forward, uncouth, discourteous?” he supplied.

“I believe that I’ll take straight forward.” Now that she was more relaxed, she could focus on him. And how had she not seen that he looked really good tonight?

“Of course you do,” he said with a grin. “Are you going to keep moving around like a top for the rest of the night?”

“No, you can’t pace while eating,” she told him as if it were the most obvious thing. “And I’m starving. I’m going to order a whole cow.” Then she thought better of that.

“Except for the tongue. And testicles. And hooves.”

“So the tail is alright?” She hated it when he had a point.

“Ok, not that either. I’ll just have chicken.” She’d continued to try and stealthily check him out but decided to be more honest about it.

“And, I was so straight forwardly only thinking about myself that I forgot to notice how delectable you look tonight.” She let herself ogle him. “I mean wow.”

Lex looked down at himself and shrugged. “Casual Friday.” Which meant that he could get away with wearing a sweater over his dress slacks instead of the usual three piece suit. “You look beautiful, though.”

And he was trying hard to not pay attention to the collar because it would only mess him up to even think about their arrangement. “And you can’t be that starved if chicken will satisfy your hunger. That’s a lot smaller than a cow.”

“I can have two,” she replied offhandedly. “And cake.”

He could tell where her priorities lay. “I’m glad you stopped starving yourself.”

There had been a time frame where he’d literally ordered her to eat because she’d lost too much weight. And here he was again, right back to thinking about their arrangement when he was really trying not to. The problem was that there was not going to be much of anything between them that didn’t involve that, unless they started digging out old skeletons from back in the days. And he was pretty sure they were on the same page when it came to that.

“I never starved myself.” Where had Lex gotten such an idea? Yes, she liked to be fit but she wasn’t about to forgo cake and chocolate and the other stuff you had to not eat in order to be skinny.

When he arched a brow in her direction she got the impression that he didn’t believe her. “I watched you lose 12 pounds before I started ordering you to eat.”

Did he really think that that was what had happened? Well, he needed to be clued in to the truth.

“Lex, I lost weight because my body wasn't used to the work outs you gave it.”

“And because you didn't eat properly,” he said in an accusatory tone.

“Oh, like you do!” She gestured to him. She knew that he ate a lot of meals at his desk and that he didn’t exactly look at nutritional labels. “Pot kettle, blackness ALL over the place Lex.”

At least he didn’t have a habit of skipping meals all over the place. But, he was not going to get into a fight over this, so he just nodded it off. “Right, let’s go get some food then.”

That way they’d both be well fed and there would be nothing to argue about. At least when it came to food. This was only the first in a chain of disagreements after all.

“Good,” she said and snubbed her nose at him. “I’ll show you eating.”
~~~
After Chloe put her fork down and took a sip of water, she knew her suspicions were true. “Lex, I think I made myself sick.”

She was so stuffed she might actually burst. She felt like that blue kid in Willy Wonka.

Lex’s eyes ran up and down her body, assessing what he saw. It made her smile. He was still having problems not being her dom.

“I knew I shouldn't have let you have that last piece of cake,” he muttered.

She laughed. “Let me, huh?” Chloe leaned a little across the table. “As if you could stand between me and chocolate. I know what my mistake was.”

After another sip of water, she clued him in to the answer. “I just shouldn't have eaten dinner, silly. That would have been much more logical.”

Another laugh at the look on his face.

Lex shook his head. “Right, in your crazy brain maybe.”

He’d been glad to see her eat a healthy meal and take a second helping, but when she’d gotten to her second helping of dessert he’d been worried that this might happen. Moderation was apparently not Chloe’s strong suit.

“It tastes better,” she said. “That’s why it makes sense.”

Lex stifled the urge to roll his eyes.

“In fact, where’s the waiter? I want to take a piece home for later.” Chloe was already looking around to find their waiter. “Or maybe breakfast,” she said as she turned in her seat.

Lex arched a brow at that. Chocolate cake for breakfast? Between the two of them, she clearly was the one who was eating less healthy.

“What?” she gave him a quizzical look. “It’s the same thing as a muffin.” Off of the look he gave her she amended, “Sort of.”

The look on his face didn’t change as he leaned back in his seat. “Except that it has thrice as many calories and no real nutritional value.”

It was time he cut in before she actually got that piece and stuffed herself with chocolate cake in the middle of the night when she’d only get sick from it.

Lex spotted the waiter in his discrete corner with a trained eye and waved him over. “Check please.”

“But…but…cake,” she said as she watched her one link to cake walk away to get their check.

“No more cake,” Lex said as he shook his head.

“Cake!” She said the word like a pouty toddler and she could see Lex barely holding it together from bursting out with laughter. Especially when she added the pout.

“No. I’m going to take you home, then you're going to take a hot bath and relax.”

Chloe noticed that he didn’t mention any hot sex in the equation. Very disappointing.

“I just need to walk around. I’m not going to keel over.” Not from a little overeating.

“Fine,” he relented.

The waiter came back over and Lex gave him his card. “The next time you get it in your head to try and out eat me, try to think of something else.”

“Ok,” she agreed. She tried to think of something else. “How about out drinking you?”

Lex gave her a look that spoke volumes on the subject. “Don’t even go there.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right.” She waved it off with a hand gesture. “I don’t think a coma would be good for my pallor.”

“Definitely not,” Lex agreed as he got up and walked over to help Chloe out of her chair and into her coat. “Nor for my mental health.”

“Thanks,” she said and turned around.

Then she did something completely unexpected that made him freeze. She kissed him. Right on the mouth. Just a peck, but she’d done it. “What was that for?”

If she started doing things like that, he would have liked some warning beforehand. Because he had no idea how to deal with it when it just jumped out at him like a shark out of blue water.

Poor Lex seemed so downright confused by her action. “For being you,” she told him as she laid a hand on his cheek.

She took a step back before his head exploded and gave him a smile.

“I think it’s time to get you home,” he said after clearing his throat.

“Ok,” she agreed.

All she knew that if the date had been interesting, their good night dance was going to be downright fascinating.
~~
They had spent the drive home in mostly comfortable silence, but Lex had been preoccupied the entire time with the song and dance that was about to ensue. He knew Chloe’s body language and even if he hadn’t, he just knew she would ask him if he wanted to come in. She probably wouldn’t even make a pretense by offering coffee.

He already knew his answer to the question, however. He just didn’t want to have to go through it because all of these were things that he’d pretty much said good riddance to after he’d found their arrangement to be more fulfilling than any fling could hope to be.

There was no way to evade it, though, so he brought her up to the door and waited for it.

Lex looked like he was waiting in line for his turn at the gallows instead of at her front door. Chloe tried to remember just how hard this was for him. It really was the only thing that kept her from jumping him.

“I suppose inviting you in is too slutty for your liking, right?”

She wasn’t going to pretend that she wasn’t disappointed. But, she really wasn’t surprised by it, either. It made sense that Lex wouldn’t want to just jump into it.

“You want to try to be like real people for a little while.”

He laughed at that. “We are real people. All the time.”

“I mean real people who don't sleep together on the first date.” Because most people didn’t do that. She thought. She really didn’t know.

Lex nodded. “Something like that.” It was hard enough for him to try to mesh his lifestyle with normal dating. He was absolutely not going to throw sex in the midst of the mess they were already stuck in. Not for a long while. Their sexlife would stay strictly by arrangement for now.

Chloe looked very disappointed. Well, she didn’t come from where he did. Sure, she’d had messed up relationships, but he knew for a fact that there’d been at least one or two good ones in her history. He didn’t have that kind of faith to fall back on.

She accepted his answer though, which he was glad of.

“Okay,” she said. But then she stepped closer instead of away. “But can I get a good night kiss?”

At least this time he could see the shark coming. However, running away from it wouldn’t do any good.

He smirked and reached up his hand to tilt her chin up as he leaned down to brush his lips over her mouth. That was as innocent as he could make it without acting like a five year old about it. “Good night, Chloe.”

Then he stood back and almost laughed at the look on Chloe’s face when he looked at her. “That’s it?”
She sounded so scandalized that it was nearly impossible to keep a straight face. “Yes, that’s it for tonight.”

“Who would a thunk it,” she asked as she fished her keys out of her purse. “Lex Luthor a tease.” But she smiled at him to make sure that he knew she was joking. “Thanks for dinner.”

“You’re welcome.” And with that, he was gone. And Chloe was pissed that he hadn’t at least given her the go ahead to get herself off.

Sighing, she opened her door.

[hfce]

I am so glad Lex went to Gary and got that advice. He can see that it can work. Lex is the only thing holding this relationship back. I love how Lex is still having trouble and Chloe is like what ever he will get over it. This update was good.

[lilinny]

The date was hilarious!

Hopefully Lex will work out his inhibitions.

Can't wait for more.

[lj715]

Great update. Love that all he got on the first date was a kiss.

[westwingwolf]

I knew Gary and Mary Ann's relationship was more than an arrangement but I can't remember if that was from inferring or you guys actually said something. I'm glad that Gary was helpful in encouraging Lex to be more excited about this so he wouldn't blow it but thinking it would just doom. I hope Lex is able to put aside his worries. That first date was nice, they had touch and god moments but handled it just fine and could laugh about things. I kinda hope Lex senses that Chloe needs him and comes back in dom mode.