1-900-Chloe (Chapter Ten)

Chloe dropped her fork.

Of course, that was nothing compared to Clark spraying iced tea on his plate with superhuman force. His spaghetti escaped his plate quickly, some landing in his lap, some in the middle of the table. Chloe could feel a wet piece dangling off her ear. Maybe the rest was halfway to Jupiter.

She could only stare. Martha, however, took action.

She just stood, calmly walking around the table and hitting Clark on the back. She leaned over him as he coughed slightly. "You okay, Honey?"

"F-fine," Clark choked out, looking down.

Martha smiled and moved back to her seat, giving the both of them a smile before sitting again.

Chloe moved her plate and her chair slightly away from Clark.

Martha stared at Clark, as if waiting for something. Sure enough, he picked up that damned glass again and took another sip. Both females watched him swallow before breathing.

"Well," Martha said brightly. "I didn't exactly get an answer." Clark reached for his glass again, but Martha stopped him, reaching across the table and sliding the glass toward herself. "Are you on birth control, Chloe?"

Chloe stared at her plate. "Yes," she said to a meatball. "I've been on birth control since I was thirteen." She looked up, then, her eyes widening. "Um... Not that I've been having sex since I was thirteen. I mean... Well, I was irregular and the doctor thought it might..."

"Oh, good," Martha cut in quickly. "Well, then... That's all I have to say, really." She glanced at Clark. "You okay?"

Chloe followed her gaze to Clark. His mouth was hanging open and his eyes were like saucers. But there was a slight movement to his head.

Martha seemed to find that encouraging. She looked to her plate again. "I'm not trying to make the two of you uncomfortable. I mean, you are old enough to make your own decisions. But we have no idea about the affect of Clark's... well, anything. So I'm glad the two of you are proceeding with some kind of caution." Chloe caught the first hint of nervousness from Martha. She was slightly red as she pushed her plate away and stood. "Who wants dessert?" She smiled. "I made brownies. Just from a mix, of course. No time for anything special. I've been busy, as you know." She seemed to take their silence for an answer, taking their plates and moving into the kitchen.

"Thanks a lot," Chloe hissed to Clark when Martha moved out of sight. She pulled a piece of spaghetti out of her hair. "You could have played it just a little bit cool."

"My mom talked about sex," he said dumbly, staring straight ahead.

"Oh, she did not. She just asked if I was on..."

"Birth control," he cut in. "Which means sex. Which means my mother knows we had sex... a lot."

"Clark, we knew she knew."

"Yeah, but for her to just... talk about it."

Chloe pulled another piece of spaghetti off her shoulder. "I'm just relieved she doesn't hate me now."

Clark turned to her. "Of course she wouldn't hate you. You're the girl. The girls never get any of the crap in these situations."

"Oh, please. I did corrupt her baby boy with my dirty lady parts."

"Yeah." Clark pulled some spaghetti from the front of her turtleneck... very slowly. "You sure did."

"Like you were an innocent bystander?" She pushed his hand away, then pulled the rest away herself. "Hands off the lady parts. Your mom is in the next room."

"Thanks for reminding me." He sat back in his chair, giving her chest one last mournful glance.

She snorted.

"What?"

"Nothing. It's just kind of funny. This morning you're in my shower, freaking out that I'll want sex all the time and you'd be expected to perform with all that power anxiety and... Well, you're kind of a huge horndog."

He drew back. "I am not." He gestured to her chest. "I was only helping."

"Hmph. More like groping."

"Well, this whole thing is your fault. If you hadn't started having phone sex, then I might have been able to not think about your lady parts so much."

She turned fully to him. "Oh, so now this is a bad thing again?"

"I didn't say that. I just... my mom knows, probably the whole town after the thing at the Talon and..."

"That was all you, Clark."

"Now everyone's going to look at us, all knowing."

"That didn't bother you before. You were the one that wanted to tell Lana, even."

"Well, that was in that before-and-after sex haze, before my mom started talking about Kryptonian pregnancy. It's all different now. It's all real and it's too much, too soon."

Chloe nodded. "So the haze is gone already." She stood suddenly. "Got it."

Clark stood as well. "Where are you going?"

"To my dorm. I think you and my lady parts need some space and time and..."

"Brownies," Martha announced, coming through the doorway. "They're still a little warm, but that's really the best way to..."

"I really appreciate it, Mrs. K, but I have about a ton of homework, so I'll just go." She moved to the door, then stopped and moved back, making a beeline for Martha. "Those actually smell really good." She grabbed a brownie off the plate. "Thanks." She moved to the door again and walked out.

*******************************

Clark stared after her.

"What did you do?"

"I... I don't know... I didn't mean..."

He heard a plate hit the table. "I don't care what you did or didn't mean. That girl knows your secret. She's been in our lives for years. You finally get it right and I finally have someone to talk to and you're chasing her off? You rush right after her this second and..."

"I don't think I have to," Clark said, staring at the door.

"Of course you have to. I don't care how old you are. I am still your mother and you will do what I..."

"She hasn't left."

Chloe was standing in the doorway, looking sheepish. She stared from Clark to Martha. "I forgot. I didn't drive."

He felt his mother's hand on his arm, pushing slightly. "Clark will take you home, Dear."

"Um... Why don't I borrow the truck and Clark can come run and get it after..."

Clark stood and let his mother push him toward the door. "Of course not, Sweetie. That just wouldn't make sense. And you know, one of my main issues has been conservation, what with... Oh! Wait here."

"I don't want you to take me home," Chloe hissed as Martha rushed into the kitchen.

Clark out his hands in his pockets, then took them out again, flicking another stray piece of spaghetti to the table. "Well, Mom has a point. With the price of gas, it makes sense to..."

"Oh, don't give me that," she sneered. "I heard your mother. The only reason you're going after me is because she told you to..."

"I would have gone anyway."

"For what? To talk?"

"Well, we should probably..."

"I don't want to talk." She stuffed a piece of the brownie into her mouth. "I want to brood and mope. You know, that thing you do every five seconds."

"Here we go." Martha sailed out of the kitchen and thrust a plastic bag at Chloe. "Just keep the tupperware. I have more than I need."

Chloe swallowed. "Thanks. But about that truck thing..."

"Don't be ridiculous. Clark can get you there much faster." Martha pushed at them both. "I won't waste time on long goodbyes. I'm sure I'll see you tomorrow. Have a lovely night and I can't wait to read your article."

The door closed, just barely behind them. He watched as Chloe tossed the rest of her brownie off the porch and into the dirt. "I need to stop letting you drag me here with no way out." She turned. "Take me back." He moved toward her and she put a hand up. "But you keep your hands platonic. Got it?"

He clenched his teeth and rushed forward, grabbing her under the knees and shoulders. He stopped only moments later, putting her down.

"Whoa..." Chloe shook her head and stumbled backward. "That was a little faster than I'm used to." She looked around. "This isn't my dorm."

"No. It's a highway rest stop. I figured we should..."

"You figured wrong. Clark, I want to go back to my dorm and..."

"And sit there and brood," he snapped. "Just like me. Got it. But... I don't want you to. I don't want you to be like me."

She stared at him. "It's not like I'll use up all the moping. There'll be plenty left for you, so don't..."

He moved forward and grasped her shoulders. "I want you to be like you. I want you to call me on it when I freak out and..."

"Oh, is that what I'm supposed to do? Because I can never tell what you want from me."

"It's what you do," he said, his hands softening. "I flip out and you talk me down and..."

"Yes. Fine." She broke away. "That's what I do when trouble's afoot, but... Clark, you've never seen me when it comes to you.. to us. I run off, I stew, I... sometimes throw things, and then... I gain some perspective, and..." She took a deep breath. "I come back ready to deal with you as just a friend again. So just let me..."

"You think I want to be just friends again?"

"Well, don't you?" She strode away and sat on a picnic table bench. "I mean, you yourself said it was too much, too soon."

"But that doesn't mean I want it to just stop. That just means... That I need a second. I don't know." He sat on the bench beside her. "It doesn't mean you need to storm off and get mad."

"Well... That's another thing I do," she sighed. "Clark, I've had years of convincing myself you do not and will not ever want me and resigning myself to it over and over and... It's hard for me to get used to being that girl that isn't brushed aside, crying into her mint chocolate chip ice cream. It's like a new identity."

"Then you should understand that it's hard for me to be Clark Kent: Guy Who Has Sex. I've always been that guy who was pretty damned petrified to have sex. And now... You're right. I'm a horndog and... God, even my mom knows." He dropped his head to his hands. "I just... I guess I need you to let me freak out, get used to it."

She bumped him with her elbow. "Well, I might need that, too." He heard her deep breath and glanced over. "You're my best friend."

"You're mine."

"And now we've just jumped into all this sex..."

"Great sex," he corrected.

"Yeah?" She smiled. "How great?"

He nodded to the squat, square building that called itself a restroom. "That bathroom is probably really disgusting and I would still be totally fine with having sex with you in it right now." Actually, that sounded good.

"Really?" She wrinkled her nose. "Ew... I mean, thanks. But still... Ew. Of course, you're probably impervious to the many diseases we could get should we jump in there, but I'm n..."

"What are we gonna do?" he cut in, trying hard not to look around and the many more sanitary places they could have sex.

She stayed silent, staring at him. "I don't know. Maybe we should... go out."

"How could we possibly go out more than we do? We've been about everywhere together."

"Yeah. But we've only been on one actual date ever." Chloe shrugged and looked away. "I mean, it might not hurt to just go for coffee."

Clark smiled. "Are you asking me out? On a date?"

She rolled her eyes. "Well, sex can sometimes lead to things like dating." She leaned back on the picnic table behind her. "I don't know, Clark. We're best friends and then wham! Sex! I mean, it might not be too crazy to ease into it a little, maybe be seen in public together."

"But we're always in public togeth..."

She swatted him lightly. "Oh, you know what I mean."

"I do. So... It's probably no different than always. Except, when we go out together now, I get to do this." Clark leaned toward her.

"No, no, no." Chloe scooted over on the bench.

"I was only gonna..."

"Kiss me. And that leads to other things that good girls don't do until after at least two dates... Well, starting now."

Clark's jaw dropped. "Really?" Two dates... Could they maybe double them up and have one mega date? And now? "Are you serious?"

Chloe shrugged. "I don't know. I am a little sore."

"I'm sorry. I could be gentler."

"But it's not just that. In twenty-four hours, we've had all this sex and these meaningful talks and maybe it is too much, too soon. We could talk, get to know each other..."

"But you already know everything about me and I know everything about..."

"You know everything about friend Chloe. You've never met girlfriend Chloe." She shook her head. "Hell, I've never met girlfriend Chloe. And I have no idea how she and boyfriend Clark are going to get along."

"Okay. I get it." Clark huffed and stood, pulling her up to him. "Girlfriend Chloe's a tease and she needs to go to her dorm to mope."

"And boyfriend Clark's a horndog." She threw an arm over his shoulder. "But you know I'm right."

He picked her up. "You might be. Doesn't mean I like all this... easing." Couldn't they ease with just a little sex? He sped her to her dorm. "So when's this date?" Clark put her down, trying not to linger with the touching, considering it was going nowhere for tonight. He could understand her wanting to ease into it from here on out... and it was killing him. If they could get through these dates, then there could be more sex. "I mean, you did do the asking, so..."

"How about tomorrow?" She leaned against the outside door. "Little coffee over The Daily Planet's evening edition. There's an article in there the both of us might want to..."

Clark couldn't help it. He backed her to the door and kissed her silly. Between the ups and downs of this day, it all came flooding back. Her article. The catalyst for this whole crazy shift. "That article is the end, right? No more phone sex?"

"It wasn't exactly my dream job," she breathed. "Then again, it did bring certain jealous aliens up to scratch, so..."

"Don't joke." He pulled back.

"You know it's over, Clark. All but in print... which reminds me." She grasped his shirt and laid one on him, then quickly pulled away. "Got a few finishing touches. See you about six?"

"But I thought you were... done," he finished as she opened the door and disappeared behind it. He supposed he could follow, see how sore she really was. But there was a roommate there. Not just any roommate. A Lana.

Forty-eight hours ago, he might have rushed up there for her sake. It was insane what a paradigm shift did for a guy. It allowed him to see the fantasy for what she was and the real girl for what she'd always been. He'd never been sure how Lana would react to his secret. And her ability to be with him seemed to hinge on her knowing. Chloe... she'd made it clear years ago, even before she was close to knowing what he was, that she would accept him. And she wanted him, even before, even with the secrets.

That was so scary. This working, them working, was actually possible in a way nothing else had been. There were no obstacles, no secrets, no fear. It was all too easy.

Except for that "easing into it" part. That was a killer.

He smiled, looking up and through the walls as she leaned against her door, sighing.

"This is going to work," he whispered. He knew it. She'd know it, too.

**********************

Chloe pressed send and let her final modifications buzz their way to Kahn as the phone rang. She picked it up quickly, glancing at Lana who turned over in bed, muttering something about pancakes.

"Hello?"

"What are you wearing?"

She smiled and leaned back. "I thought you didn't want me to do phone sex anymore."

"That's just for guys that aren't me."

"Well, guys that are you just agreed to taking it slow."

"Who's being fast? Just two friends talking about what the other may or may not be wearing with lots of detail."

She giggled. "Fine. Sweatpants, Tweetie Bird T-shirt, fuzzy slippers."

"That's so hot." There was a pause. "Hey, you got that T-shirt when we went to the Lowell County Fair. I won it for you in the frog toss. That was just the two of us. Alone. Kind of like a date. So we only need one more date, then..."

"I didn't know about your powers then. That win seems so much less impressive now."

"And you told me all about how your dad teased you about having a Tweetie Bird shaped head when you were a baby. That's an awful lot to know about you."

"Clark..."

"Yeah. I know. Taking it slow... Want to know what I'm wearing?"

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Chapter Eleven