While the Cat's Away by jessica
"Where are you phoning from?"
Lex has a talent for picking up pay phones. Clark isn't sure who exactly it impresses, but he shows off the talent like he were eating fire.
"It's the one outside the cafeteria." Lex is quiet. "I told him I was going to the bathroom, okay?"
"Clark. I love you. Stop calling."
"Lex, I--"
"Stop calling." He's not mad at all, in fact, Clark can hear the smile in Lex's voice. "Go out. Get Ethan to take you to a strip club, or something."
Clark sighs. "I'm meeting some of his friends tonight. Some art department gala, I think."
"You can pretend I'm just across the room, hanging out by the bar."
"Hitting on the bartender," Clark teases. "I miss you."
Somebody grabs the receiver before Clark hears Lex's answer. Ethan's standing in front of him, phone to his ear, both their bags hanging from his shoulders.
"Lex?" Ethan asks into the phone, but his face is all confidence. "Absolutely, Mr. Luthor. You can count on me." He adds a salute for Clark, making him laugh.
Clark's been playing it safe since he moved to Metropolis, and he doesn't move fast enough to say goodbye to Lex. Ethan slams the receiver back in its cradle and drags Clark away, floundering under the weight of their bags.
"Tonight we get Clark Kent laid!" he shouts. It's the lunch hour rush and Clark knows somebody heard that.
Ethan passes him a plastic goblet of champagne and leads the way through the crowd. Clark follows close, a hand on Ethan's shoulder so they don't lose each other in the sea of suits and gowns. Except for their own frayed cuffs and sweaters full of holes, it's just like every party Lex has ever taken him to. Even the pictures on the walls look the same - black and white prints with pretentious captions, like "Kings and Dumpsters" or "Priscilla was her name".
Ethan jumps up to get a better look around the room. "Tommy!" he shouts, more of a football cheer than a greeting.
In the distance, Clark sees a blonde boy look up, his skinny frame wrapped in a long black coat. He shakes his head with a laugh, not at all surprised at Ethan's butch tone. When they get closer, he drops the hand of the girl standing next to him and holds it out for Clark.
"It's Thomas, actually." Ethan rolls his eyes at the correction. "My parents don't even call me Tommy. You're Clark?" Nodding, Clark plays nervously with the hem of his sweater. "Ethan talks about you a lot. My girlfriend, Franny."
Clark shakes her hand and says, "Hi." She's quiet, holding his hand and his eyes, studying him.
"You're gorgeous," she tells him, a simple statement of fact that still makes Clark blush.
"Hey." Thomas pulls a wounded look and takes her hand again.
"I meant as a model, sweetie." She stares up at him, a different look in her eyes than the one she gave Clark. It works, and he leans down to kiss her. Boyfriend pacified, Franny turns back to Clark and continues as if uninterrupted. "I'd love to sketch you sometime."
"Oh, um--"
Ethan cuts in. "You'll have to send an application to LexCorp first, Franny. Clark's got a jealous one at home, too."
All three are staring at Clark now. He gulps down the last of his champagne and clears his throat. It's not a secret, but he hasn't had as much practice telling people as Lex has.
"Lex Luthor's... um, I mean... he's my boyfriend."
Thomas' eyes go wide and Franny lets out a curse in one long breath. Ethan looks pleased.
"Think he wants to buy some art?" Franny asks after a long moment.
"Oh." Clark is caught without answer. "He's out of town right now, but I'm sure..." He glances around the room, searching for something that Lex might tolerate, hoping it might be Franny's.
"I'm kidding, Clark," and she smiles up at him, making him feel better.
"Oh."
"So, we're supposed to take Clark out tonight," Ethan declares. "Show him a good time. What do you guys say? The Cavern? On Lex?"
Nobody actually says 'yes', but the decision's already been made. Franny says a quick goodbye to her professor and they're out the door. Piling into Franny's Volvo, Clark asks under his breath, "Lex isn't paying you, right?" Ethan doesn't answer, just smiles.
"What do you think of that guy?"
Ethan's already written off the band as a waste of time. His focus is on the boys off-stage now.
"Yeah, he's been looking," Clark says, absent-mindedly, not even sure if it's true.
Ethan's taken him out a few times, trying to impress Clark, the more obscure the club, the better. Clark held his own - music knowledge and his ability to drink more than one beer - and apparently, passed Ethan's friendship test. It doesn't seem many people get past that first stage.
Lex has shown him around Metropolis, too. Dancing at the more exclusive clubs, but it was never about picking up guys. Clark gets approached, but he never knows what to do. Lex calls that 'a good thing.'
"What about now?" Ethan asks, low in Clark's ear. The blonde is still looking.
"Yeah," Clark answers, bored, and reaches for Ethan's half-empty beer.
"You're not having fun?"
Clark leans back against the wall, training his vision out onto the dancefloor. He lets each layer of frantic movement fall away, until he finds Thomas and Franny. Thomas looks a little lost, not sure what to do with himself. But with Franny's hands on his hips, he finds his space and moves, grinning down at her.
"You can't feel that, Clark?" Ethan pushes off the wall and steps in front of Clark. He's stripped down to his t-shirt and pops his hips with every beat. "Mad sexual tension filling the room." He runs both hands through his hair and smiles, waiting for Clark to do the same. "Hey, that'd be a great name for a band, huh?" Clark shakes his head. Ethan laughs, kisses his cheek and dances away.
Clark digs in his pocket. He dropped the last of his change in the bartender's tip jar, but he's sure Lex will accept the charges.
"Clark Kent?" Lex's sleepy voice answers the phone with a question. "The Clark Kent I know is supposed to be out getting trashed with his friends."
"Yeah, Ethan's already there. He's hitting on half the club."
There's a rustle of sheets over the line, barely perceptible with the noise of the band. It's Lex getting comfortable, probably laying on his back, Clark thinks.
"Are you okay, Clark?"
He takes a deep breath and finally says what he's been thinking all week. "I could be there in fifteen min--"
"No."
"Lex, I could--"
"No, Clark. Emergencies only."
"This is an emergency," Clark pleads, his voice dropping deep and slow. "Let me listen to you, Lex."
There's a groan from Lex, matching perfectly with the thumping bass of the newest song. "Don't do this to me, Clark."
"Are you hard, Lex? Are you touching yourself?"
The hiss of Lex's 'yes' takes hours to reach Clark's ear.
"Just keep doing that. Tell me how it feels."
"I want you here," Lex gasps. "I want to tug your hair and fuck your mouth."
"Anything you want," Clark says. "Just come home."
Then he's coming, murmured words and shouts over the line. Clark reaches down and presses his hand against his own erection.
"I love you," he tells Lex.
He hears only, "Fuck you," and then the buzzing of the dialtone in his ear. Clark can't help but laugh.
Ethan's nowhere to be found. Clark tries to walk home, but Franny insists on giving him a ride. They drop him off at LexCorp Tower with 'oohs' and 'ahhs' and other impressed noises. Franny promises to call about a modeling session. Clark waves, and he doesn't say 'no'.
There's a message waiting for him on the machine. It's Lex, groggy and a little out of breath.
"Too bad Clark Kent didn't get laid tonight."
But he does go to sleep with a smile.
05/02/03