Title: Appetizer (Nourishment: Second Helpings 16)
Author: Janet F. Caires-Lesgold
Feedback to: jfc@freeshell.org
Archive: Mailing list archives only--others please ask permission!
Category: Story, Lex POV
Spoilers: None ever anymore
Rating: T (older teens and adults only due to sexual references)
Pairing: Clark/Lex established relationship, and a surprise
Summary: Starting something

DISCLAIMER: These characters do not belong to me. Smallville is the property of Alfred Gough, Miles Millar, Tollin-Robbins Productions, and Warner Bros. Television, and based upon characters originally created by Jerome Siegel and Joe Shuster. This story is just for the entertainment of my online friends and myself, not for any profit.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: All parts of "The Nourishment Series" and "Second Helpings", which precede this story, can be found elsewhere on this archive - Enjoy!

AUTHOR'S ADDENDUM: The show as we knew it no longer exists--we've gotta write it ourselves now.

DEDICATION: For Tiff, so she doesn't forget.

COPYRIGHT: (C) Janet F. Caires-Lesgold, March 20, 2006, jfc@freeshell.org

Please don't redistribute or alter this story in any way without the express permission of the author. Thank you very much.

____________________

Clark has an admirer.

Oh, he's had girls following him around before, but nobody that either of us ever took seriously. Some of them ended up in Belle Reve or dead, but none of them had the potential to turn his head.

Actually, neither does this one. It's just Chloe. But somehow, that makes all the difference.

I guess I've known how she feels about Clark since they went to that formal together way back when. The fact that he let her down gently and she's still his friend makes me understand just how strong her character is, more than any impression I have of the girl from my own dealings with her. Then again, she faced down my father on the witness stand, which speaks volumes in and of itself.

Chloe is a fine girl, a fact I suppose I've taken for granted since she moved into the mansion for her own safety several months ago. I see her at dinner sometimes, or working on her computer, or reading in the library, or sitting in my study watching television or playing the piano. We speak like friends, but once I am satisfied that she is comfortable and doesn't need anything, I find I don't know a lot about her, and don't pay a lot of attention to her. This, I believe, is my loss.

Recently, though, I have been reminded that we have an interest in common: Clark. With him in mind, I suspect we have much to discuss. I tucked a note under her bedroom door this morning, asking her to come to my office when she had a moment free to talk. She's been quite busy since school started up again after the holidays, so I haven't seen her at all since New Year's Eve. It's entirely possible that she's been avoiding me.

Is she embarrassed that she found Clark and me cavorting on the sofa in front of the fire that night, or perhaps that I caught her observing us? She certainly seemed unafraid then, to the point of bringing herself off as she watched us. This didn't bother me at all--in fact, it gave me an idea.

I have tried to give Clark, who was just a sheltered, virginal farmboy when I met him, a vast range of experiences--an "education", if you will. My goal has been to broaden his horizons a little, to prepare him to deal with anything that might cross his path in the future. Then again, some of the adventures he's had I wouldn't have wished on my worst enemy, about which I feel immensely guilty. For example, had he never met me, he never would have been raped in prison.

During his recovery from that attack, he hinted that he didn't want any other man to touch him but me. This does massage my ego, but makes me hurt for him. Does he never want any other man to touch him from now on? I've never demanded faithfulness from any of my lovers, nor would I expect it from him, no matter how conservative his upbringing. I'd hate for him to be stuck with me as his only sexual contact for the rest of his life.

So I've decided that maybe my father was right--Clark could use a girlfriend. While he's mentioned some more-than-friendly interaction with girls, at which I've done my best not to feel jealous (with varying degrees of success), I know it hasn't ever gone very far. Perhaps it is time to introduce a new skill-set to my lover's repertoire, with what seems to be a willing participant. What harm could it do, especially if I approve of the girl?

The girl in question knocks on my office door just as I am wrapping up a call from an investor, so I wave her in and direct her toward the couch as I hang up, then push the Do Not Disturb button. To my great relief, she smiles sweetly when I offer her a cup of coffee and sit beside her.

We exchange smalltalk about school for a moment, until she arches an eyebrow and regards me quizzically. "Lex, I don't think you gave me a written invitation to talk about my chemistry midterm. What's really on your mind?"

She is a smart girl. I put down my cup and turn a bit in my seat to face her. "Did you have a nice holiday?"

"Christmas with my cousins was fun..." she trails off, still looking puzzled.

"And New Year's?"

I give her credit for not blushing, nor even looking away. Instead, she sets down her own beverage and apes my posture against the opposite arm of the couch. A devilish grin settles on her face, and she says, "I was wondering if you were going to mention that."

"How could I not?" I reply through a grin of my own.

"You two made quite a picture that night. I'm sorry if I disturbed you at all."

"No, Chloe, not at all. Did you have a good time?" I ask, peeking up at her under my eyebrows.

"You tell me, Lex. After all, you did watch me come." She snags her cup for a sip, then sets it down again, her gaze a pretty challenge.

I don't miss a beat. "Do you often touch yourself and think about Clark?"

Drawing out her first syllable, she parries, "Maybe, but who said I was thinking about him that night?" Her grey-blue eyes twinkle at me like diamonds.

This takes me aback, yet makes my plan click into place quite neatly. "I'm flattered... Tell me: are you seeing anyone at the moment?"

"No--no, I'm not."

"Are you a virgin?"

"No," she admits, a bit more shyly than anything she's said so far. "There was this nice boy at the Daily Planet when I did my internship there..."

Gently, I move closer to her but touch her only with my voice, which has fallen nearly to a whisper. "Was he good to you?"

She smiles warmly, remembering. "He was sweet. I have no regrets." Dwelling in her reverie for a moment, she finally captures my gaze again. "So, Lex, was there something specific you wanted to talk to me about?"

"I believe I am correct in assuming that you liked what you saw the other night, when Clark and I were making love in the study."

Her eyes dip down for just a moment, then come right back to mine. "Yes. I enjoyed it very much," she answers, her teeth worrying her bottom lip prettily.

"Chloe, would you be available for something similar? Would you by any chance be interested in joining us?"

For a moment, her mouth opens, but no words come out. "Now I guess it's my turn to be flattered." She blinks a bit in surprise, a tiny frown gracing her brow for just a moment, as if all of my words have just sunk in. "Wait... Us? You mean Clark, too?" Her face, with its wide-open eyes and agape smile, could be that of an eleven-year-old who'd just been offered a pony of her very own. "Did he even know I was there? Are you sure he'd be interested?"

"Don't worry about Clark. I'll talk to him. So tell me: do you want to come to bed with us sometime?"

"Oh, God--yes," she breathes, then pulls her feet onto the couch under herself and crosses the remaining distance between us on her knees. "Yes, Lex. Yes."

Her hands grace my shoulders, then she leans in purposefully and kisses me, tentatively at first, then more bravely, her lips caressing mine without more than momentary hesitation. After a few moments, I gather her onto my lap and kiss her more emphatically, encouraging her with my tongue to open her mouth, which she does willingly.

I am more than aware that we really shouldn't go much further than this for now, so I'll cool things down in a moment. Well, in a few moments, anyway...

Clark has an admirer, and, if I'm not mistaken, she has an eye for me, too.

THE END