Motive: Trust
Disclaimer: Still own nothing, rating is mild
Author's Note: Still for my Truth Seeker friends. :-)
As soon as her quadruple-shot espresso was slid across the counter into her waiting hand, Chloe walked purposefully across the tiled floors of the Beanery, smirking. "Fancy meeting you here, *buddy*," she remarked wryly, sliding into the booth so she was facing Lex.
The newspaper he was reading lowered several inches until his eyes were visible. "Hello, Chloe," he said casually, breaking into a grin despite himself.
"I would've thought you'd be at the Talon, since, you know, you own it and all. Don't you have to, I don't know, maybe this is a stretch, act like you care about it?" she wondered innocently, bringing her mug to her lips. "And other thing, can't you get Lana," once again there was snide emphasis on the name, "to make coffee that's actually palatable?"
Shaking his head and setting down his paper, Lex grinned again. "I agree Miss Lang isn't exactly cut out for business--"
She interrupted. "Oh, 'Miss Lang'; are you going to try to become 'friends'," she set down her cup to make air quotes, "with her, too?"
"You don't like her, do you?" he asked, already knowing the answer; he just wanted to see how bad the Lana-bashing would become.
Chloe crossed her bright eyes, then leaned over the smack him smartly on top of his head; it wasn't a playful tap, it seriously stung. Being Lex, however, he made no indication. "Wow, the billionaire is not only rich, semi-charming, and slightly sexy, he's also INCREDIBLY perceptive! I *knew* those prep schools were good for something. You get a proverbial gold star." This was all said with a straight face, though her voice was undercut with sarcasm.
Smirking, he leaned on his elbows. "You know the real reason why I stopped by here today, Chloe?" he asked quietly.
Her eyebrows raised over her mug. "To seduce young high school girls who aren't me?"
"I knew you wouldn't be caught dead in the Talon," was all he said, ignoring her remark.
She blinked her lashes, frowned. "Yeah, so what? You wanted to see me?" To herself she muttered, "there's something seriously wrong with the universe when Lex Luthor goes somewhere because he wants to run into Chloe Sullivan."
She was so charming (without even trying to be) that Lex couldn't believe it. "Do you distrust all men, or just me?"
A snort while she focused her gaze on the window; the gold letters that spelled the name of the coffee shop in old-fashioned script seemed to fascinate her. "If I say just you, you won't expect me to give you some statuette, will you? Because I'm broke right now."
That was interesting. "But you agreed that we're friends, right? How can you be friends with someone you don't trust?" he asked calmly, finishing his beverage quickly.
Her eyes met his again, firmly, though the familiar sparkle was still evident. "I'm friends with Clark." A pause while she let that sink in. "Did it occur to you that maybe I was *kidding*? Geez, hanging out with Lana must have killed your sense of humor. I trust you enough to assume that you won't try to slip your hand up my shirt every time we're together. How's that?"
Shrugging, he folded his hands on the tabletop. "Fair enough. Just so you know, the only reason why I haven't tried to slip my hand under your shirt is because I'm afraid that you'll kick me in the balls if I do. And while that can be fun, I imagine you can make it hurt."
Chloe frowned, tapped the fingers of her left hand (the hand that wasn't holding the mug) against the sticky tabletop. "You're really twisted, Luthor."
A wry grin. "Did it occur to you that maybe I was *kidding*?"
"Want to find out if I can hurt your balls?" she snapped, only half-joking.
"Want to have dinner with me tonight?" he threw back immediately.
Her eyes narrowed. "Where and why?"
"My house, because I like you." She appeared to consider this, and he added, "friends, Chloe. Friends have dinner together."
She was smirking once again, the tapping increasing. "No, I don't really want to have dinner at your house, Lex," she said simply. "Don't make that face at me, damnit; just because you've never been rejected by a girl before..."
His hand raised, stopping her rant. "You really *don't* shut up, do you, Chloe? The reason why I don't get rejected by girls is because I don't approach them with dinner invitations; I'm not usually the guy who brings 'nice' girls over for Daddy to meet. I hope you realize the uniqueness of this situation, and cut me a bit of slack. Please."
His companion couldn't stifle a guffaw. "I'm...sorry," she gasped through peals of laughter. After a beat, the grin faded and she calmed down. "Ahem. First of all, most guys only bring so-called 'nice' girls home if said guys and said 'nice' girls are dating. You and I," she motioned with her fingers to indicate them, "aren't dating. Secondly, what's this about me being a 'nice' girl? *Lana* bloody *Lang* is a 'nice' girl. Don't you dare generalize me like that." Gazing at him defiantly, she picked up her rapidly cooling coffee and ventured a taste.
For one of the first times in his life, Lex was completely speechless. Chloe, being perceptive, noticed that he had no witty retort. "It wasn't that good of a rant, Lex; really, I've done better. There's no reason why you should be giving me that shocked look." Snapping her fingers quickly, she waved her hand in front of his face.
His fingers clasped around hers, tugging her hand out of the air. "Do you trust me?" he whispered, his skin warm against hers.
Her brow furrowed. "What the hell?"
"Do you trust me, Chloe?" he repeated slowly, calmly. The mood had changed quickly.
Did she trust him? Looking into his icy eyes, noticing the respect gleaming in their depths, she had to nod. "I guess so. Why?"
In lieu of a response, Lex gently kissed each of her fingertips, then her palm, then the pulse point on her wrist; all the while, his gaze never wavered from her eyes. "Okay," Chloe whispered, her heart thudding so loudly she was certain the other patrons could hear it over the blaring music, "why'd you do that?"
"To make sure you trust me."
"How does that prove anything?"
He smirked, letting her hand drop to the table. "If you didn't trust me to not seduce you or try anything, you would have slapped me."
*Wow. He's got a point.* "Or kicked you in the balls," she shot back, grinning.
Lifting his hand as if to say, 'there you go', Lex nodded. "Or that."
The caffeine from her drink hit, or maybe the smile he flashed her briefly (the real, open smile that he used as sparingly as possible) affected her brain. Either way, she was overcome with the sudden urge to flee; while she trusted him, she suddenly didn't trust *herself*. "You know what, Lex, I should go. Homework and all. It was nice to see you again." She was standing up, bouncing slightly on her heels.
His eyebrows raised. "You, too, Chloe. We'll do this again." He raised his empty mug.
"Sure. Bye, *buddy*." Smirking, she waved then bounced to the door.