***

Part 1/1

I’m at my best when I got something I’m wanting to steal
Way too busy for them problems and problems to feel (yeah-yeah)
No stressing, just obsessin’ with sealin’ the deal
I’ll take it in and let it go

One Republic - I Ain’t Worried

***

It was a sunny spring Saturday afternoon with temperatures in the mid-seventies in Metropolis. Clark had pulled the Jeep into the parking lot of Funtyme Adventure Park with Lois looking around in the passenger seat.

“What are we doing here?” Lois asked, shifting in her seat.

“Well, I thought we could have some fun on our date today,” Clark replied, unbuckling his seat belt. ”You were kind enough to let me take you out after last night, so I thought we could do something fun.”

“Basically a little competition,” Lois smiled, putting her hand on Clark’s arm.

“I already have competition when it comes to you,” Clark responded, looking into her eyes.

She had let him take her out last night as long as he promised to be there at seven and even after. Because Scardino had to go out of town, Clark had been able to take Lois out for a romantic dinner like they had on their first date.

“Can we not talk about Dan?” Lois stated, “You kept your promise to me last night, so I told you we could do something again today. I didn’t know it was going to be this, though.”

“I remember how much fun you had with the golf simulator when we were investigating Lucky Leon before,” Clark recalled as he opened the door. ”Plus, who wouldn’t want to play a game of mini-golf or do go-karts?”

Lois got out of the passenger seat of her Jeep. She was dressed in dark-colored jeans, a deep violet short-sleeved sweater and tennis shoes. Clark was dressed in blue jeans, a light blue t-shirt, and a plaid blue-shaded flannel. As they walked along the sidewalk to the entrance, she grabbed his hand, and he looked up at her. When he gave that look to her, she felt like the only woman around. It made her melt, but there was no time for melting. This was a competition.

Within a few minutes of checking in, they were set up for the first hole of the mini-golf course. It had been years since she went miniature golfing with anyone. The weather today was perfect for it.

“Ladies first,” Clark said as they stood at the two-par shot, which included a couple of curves. Lois put her ball on the tee and lined up her shot.

“So, are we going to bet on who wins?” Lois said before taking the shot.

“Lois, you do realize I already won, right,” he declared, leaning against the large oak tree behind him and crossing his ankles with a large smile.

“I say if I win, you tell me why you keep disappearing on me,” Lois said matter-of-factly.

Clark uncrossed his legs and stood up taller. He knew that this was going to happen eventually. He needed to tell her the truth. And she would try every trick in the book to win this game. Was it the right time to tell her? It wasn’t the right place.

“What if I win?” he wondered as he went up to the tee to take his first shot.

Lois walked over to take her next shot, and it landed in the hole. She had made her shot perfectly. There was no way Clark could win this game. It may have been years since she went miniature golfing, but she knew Clark could get flustered when it came to her. At times, when they kissed, he was out of breath. Well, if she was honest with herself, she often became breathless after their kisses as well.

“What do you want?” she asked seductively, turning around as he came up to her. She didn’t wait for his answer. Instead, Lois turned immediately and started to take the few steps to the next hole. She put a little more sway to her hips while she walked, knowing full well he was watching her.

He became a bit flushed at her bravery. Clark needed to be brave and stand his ground. He whispered, “You, I want you,” before he took his shot and missed. This was going to be a very long day.

After two more holes, Clark was losing by five strokes. It wasn’t right how Lois was playing, but Clark was enjoying her escapades, wondering how far she would go. He decided by hole five it was time to fight fire with fire. Lois went up to the tee for the hole where the ball had to cross a thin bridge and curve to the left.

“Wait,” Clark uttered as he took a step closer to her. He leaned into her and whispered into her ear. “You are breathtaking.”

Then he stepped back and watched as she tried to catch her bearings. Seconds later, she hit the ball, and it went askew and out of bounds. Lois stomped her foot and stood back to let Clark take his turn. He managed a hole-in-one, of course. And now, after finally getting her ball in the hold after two more tries, she was leading by only two strokes.

“You know, we could make this interesting,” Lois stated as Clark lined up his next move.

“How so?” Clark wondered, looking up to her while he took his shot and once again got a hole-in-one.

“Well, if you win, you could cook me a nice romantic dinner at your place,” Lois suggested as they walked up to the next hole.

“Lois, I already planned to cook you dinner if this date continued as it is,” he stated, stopping and turning to her. He covered his hand over her cheek and leaned in to kiss her. The kiss started out innocently until she dropped her putter and wrapped her arms around his waist.

“Get a room,” a teenager shouted, breaking Lois and Clark apart.

Lois leaned into Clark’s chest and giggled. Never in her wildest dreams would she have thought she would get caught kissing someone in public. She was never one for public displays of affection, and now here she was, kissing Clark at an outdoor establishment where children were present.

“We should finish this game,” Clark laughed as he wrapped his arms around her tighter.

“We could call it a draw and get out of here,” she proposed, looking up at him.

“Lois Lane, calling a draw. Wow! Never thought I would hear that from you,” he responded, tightening his grip on her.

“It doesn’t mean I don’t want to hear why you keep disappearing on me,” Lois commented, pulling away from him. “I don’t know if you are afraid of intimacy or what’s going on, but you owe me the truth.”

“We will call it a draw, and I’ll tell you everything at dinner tonight,” he replied, reaching for her hand. ”Let’s get out of here.”

They walked away from the miniature golf course toward their future. Lois looked down at their joined hands and didn’t worry. Clark looked over at Lois and then at their joined hands, and he realized he couldn’t be worried as long as he had her.

THE END