Disclaimer: Still own nothing, blah, blah...
This is for Lisa; without her, we'd probably all be banned from FF. :-)
******
Motive: Romance
It figured she would run into him at the Beanery. She'd been avoiding him since the kiss, and she thought he'd finally decide to put a little work into his 'business venture'. (Even though Chloe got the impression he was as annoyed with Lana as she was...) She never fathomed he'd be visiting the Talon's biggest competition, but, then, she'd learned that he often did things she didn't expect.
Chloe had been sipping her mocha latte and people-watching out the window, when she heard someone slid into the booth across from her. "Really, Lex, just go ahead and sit down!" she announced with false enthusiasm.
"So glad I have your permission," he shot back. "I was worried."
With an exaggerated sigh, she turned away from the window and faced him. "Is this the part where you mention that I've been avoiding you, and I subsequently deny it?" was her flat question.
His eyebrows raised and he set down his cappucino (he always ordered the same thing, without fail.) "You said it, I didn't." Her eyes rolled, and he added, "Well, what's your excuse?" Instead of sounding amused, he seemed almost annoyed.
The long, slender fingers of her left hand tapped rapidly against the shiny surface of the table, and she fixed him with a disinterested glance --hiding the fact that she was nervous. "You won't accept any excuse I give you, so there's no point."
Lex leaned forward, coffee forgotten. "If you were to say you were too overcome with undying passion to look at me without pouncing on my unsuspecting body, I'd believe *that*." Now he was amused.
"You're annoying," she shot back convincingly.
"But I'm sexy."
Her own eyebrows raised, and she almost laughed. "What's your problem, Luthor?"
He appeared completely sincere when he whispered, "I haven't seen you for days."
"How is that a problem?" Chloe returned, mystified.
A slight smile. *Does she really have no idea...* "Miss Sullivan, you gave me the greatest kiss I've ever received the other day, and you don't seem to want to discuss it. There's no reason for you to be uncomfortable."
"Oh, really?" she snapped.
He rubbed the bridge of his nose with his index finger and thumb. "What's *your* problem, Miss Sullivan?"
Chloe scowled. "I gave you a really great kiss in your office, and I don't want to talk about it, even though you seem to want to."
He couldn't stop himself; he reached over and brushed her cheek with his thumb lightly. "You're scared."
An undignified snort. He noticed, however, that she didn't shrink away from his touch. "Oh, well, then, Doctor Freud, of what am I scared?"
Lex, smirking slightly, sat back down and observed her. "You're afraid you might be falling for me, and that I might be falling for you as well. You aren't sure you can fully trust me, or if the rumors about my past are true. You're terrified that, if something happens, your father and/or Clark will find out, and either man will shun you." He finished in a soft tone that was undercut with an edge.
Chloe blinked her long lashes, then shrugged. "You're awfully full of yourself if you believe that everything in my life revolves around you."
"I didn't say 'everything'."
Her tiny nose wrinkled, and she finally ventured a sip of her now-cold beverage. "It's cold; figures," she remarked casually.
Digging around in the pocket of his pants, he pulled out a leather billfold. "Let me buy you another. I suppose it's my fault it got cold." The edges of his lips quirked into a smile, as an attempt to relax her.
"No," she said briskly, "that's unnecessary. I should get home."
She was standing, styrofoam cup in hand (she planned to throw it away on her way out), defiant expression on her attractive face. "Please have dinner with me," Lex blurted out before she could head for the door.
Turning slowly to face him, Chloe smirked. "That's what started this whole mess."
He steepled his fingers. "Then at least let me take you out tonight. Doesn't have to be dinner, could be a show or the museum, or we could just walk around Metropolis. If you say 'no', I'll be profoundly unhappy. You don't want to make a Luthor unhappy."
Her brow furrowed; she wanted to ask why he was trying so hard. All she said, however, was, "pick me up at eight."
******
Eight o'clock on the dot. Lex stepped out of his silver sports car, his shiny black shoes clicking against the paved driveway while he walked toward the modest, blue house. There were drawn blue curtains in the tiny window next to the white door; the curtains parted for a second when he rang the bell, and Chloe's face peered out of the window. Her face then disappeared, and the door was thrown open.
"Miss Sullivan," Lex greeted her with actual happiness tinging his voice. His eyes swept over her lithe frame, and he almost gasped; she was absolutely stunning in a tan leather skirt that extended to just below her knee, a soft, white button-down shirt (the top two buttons open, exposing a black tank top), and a pair of straw sandals; her blonde curls were styled in such a way that they fell down her back. He'd never seen anyone so exquisite in his life.
"Lex, you okay?" she asked with a smirk.
"You're..." he swallowed, tried again. "You're amazing."
A pause. Chloe debated whether to roll her eyes at his sweet words, or allow herself to really be touched by them. In the end, she went for a combination of the two, with emphasis on the latter. "Thanks. You don't look un-amazing yourself." (He wore tan pants, instead of his usual black, with a pale blue button down shirt.)
"Do you need to tell you father you're going?" Lex continued, wanting so badly to be alone with her.
"Dad!" Chloe yelled over her shoulder. "I'm leaving now! Bye, I'll be back by midnight!" Gabe called back something that resembled, 'okay, love you', then Chloe flashed her date a smile. "We can go now."
Lex, after extending her arm and escorting her to the car, asked, "he's okay with you going out with me?"
She made a face when he opened her door, but she slid onto the black leather seat without comment. "Yeah," was her response to his inquiry. "I said you'd granted me another interview, and that I'd get a free dinner out of the occasion."
He refused to let it go. He manuevered his car out of the driveway while talking. "And he..trusts me?"
Chloe sighed dramatically. "Yes; as his boss and an interview subject. Now, if I were to detail our dinner the other day --about which he knows nothing, by the way-- he'd probably disown me. As my friend, or anyone's boyfriend, he can't fathom trusting you. Not that he said so-- I just pick it up." While babbling, she'd turned her head toward the window, and watched the scenery fly by. The street lamps and the moon gave the trip a romantic feel.
Lex, quite amused by her babbling even though he was the subject, chuckled. "Most people don't even trust me as much as Gabe does. I should be grateful that he allows me to see his daughter."
He said it nonchalantly, but it made Chloe feel strangely warm all over. "Where in Metropolis are we going?" she wondered, ignoring his spiel.
Her companion patted her hand for a moment. "You'll find out when we get there."
******
The drive hadn't taken two hours; not the way Lex drove. They reached their destination at about nine-fifteen, which left plenty of time. "The museum," Chloe remarked getting out of the vehicle slowly and stretching her tired legs. "Isn't it closed?"
Lex, who was locking the car, looked up and smirked. "It is. Open the trunk." Keys were being tossed at her, and she snatched them out of midair.
Baffled, she moved to the rear end of the car, and did what he asked. Inside the truck were a wicker basket, a plaid blanket, and a bottle of sparkling water chilling in a mini cooler. "A picnic, Lex?" Her eyebrows were raised, and her eyes were sparkling.
He was by her side, lifting the first two items, and giving her the third. Inclining his head, he made his way through the nearly empty parking lot (the security guards' cars were still there) toward a park behind the building.
Once they found a spot underneath a tree, they spread out the blanket and food. For the next half hour, they talked, flirted, laughed, and ate a fairly simple meal (homemade fried chicken, potato salad, and eclairs. 'My chef insisted that we include something out of the ordinary,' Lex explained.)
"Why are you doing this?" Chloe began quietly when they were strolling around downtown, hands entwined.
Lex glanced at her for a beat, then faced forward again. "Do you even have to ask?"
Her brow furrowed. ('No immediate witty retort' he observed.) "Yes."
He stopped suddenly, pulling her backward so quickly that she bumped into him. 'You know I really like you, Chloe. I wanted to show you," he whispered, so sincerely and unlike himself that she shivered.
"Then buy me a singing telegram or something equally cheesy. That way I can identify the sweet gestures without your help. Your pointing them out kinda ruins the whole concept, doesn't it?" It wasn't her best, but she was too busy trying hard not to kiss him.
Grinning (the moonlight playing off his features), he wound his arms around her, tugging her nearer. "A moonlit picnic isn't sweet?"
That was it; her brain short-circuited, and all she could do was kiss him fiercely.
MORE SOON