Wanna Bet?

Not again, Chloe Sullivan thought. She sighed. She had just walked into the Talon when she spotted the infamous Clark Kent gawking at the oh-so-perfect Lana Lang. Will he ever just ask her out and stop torturing me?

She scurried over to a booth in the back and plopped down. She sighed again. It had become a routine, the sighing thing. Ever since she had told Clark she had feelings for him she had noticed more often how much he was in love with Lana.

It doesn't make any sense! I have always been his best friend, but he never even notices me! What does Lana have that I don't? Well, besides the beauty, kindness, and being friends with everyone thing? Uh, nevermind. I guess I just answered myself.

She knew she had to get over Clark, but she wasn't sure if it was as easy as she made it sound. She had been in love with him for years, how was she supposed to suddenly forget him? Was it even possible?

That's when she decided what she was going to do. The next male to walk in through the doors of the Talon she was going to devote the next two weeks on seducing. Unless he's hideous looking or way old, she added.

She would try to seduce him for two weeks and act only friendly towards Clark. If she won (by somehow winning said male over and hopefully no longer liking Clark), she would treat herself to as much coffee as she wanted. But if she lost, she would convince her dad to take her to one of those boring LexCorp conventions in Metropolis. She knew how boring those things were and that would definitely be a punishment.

She smirked slightly when she realized that this might actually work. But her smirk quickly turned into a frown when she realized who was about to walk through the door.

-

Lex Luthor had just had about the worst possible day ever. Holy shit! That was the most boring meeting I have ever attended! How can people talk about fertilizer for two and a half hours? he asked himself. He definitely needed some black coffee. Good thing he owned a coffee shop.

He pulled his red Porsche over in front of the Talon and put it in park. He climbed out with the grace and agility he had been taught as an adolescent and sauntered into the coffee shop.

He spotted Clark watching Lana again and smirked. Whenever he saw Clark he always seemed to be following that girl around. Not that it seemed she minded. Young love..., he thought as he walked up to the counter.

"Hello Clark. How're you doing today?"

"Lex, hey. I didn't notice you came in." Of course you wouldn't, Lex thought, you were too busy ignoring the rest of the world. Lex watched him smile sheepishly in that innocent farm boy way. After Lex nodded, he continued. "I'm doing alright. How's the company going?"

He smiled. "Isn't that usually a question I hear from Ms. Sullivan?"

"Oh! I didn't mean it like that, Lex. I was just wondering for your sake. You seem kinda beat."

Lex sighed. He was beat. He wished he could just snap his fingers and make the business disappear. Of course, that wasn't possible, but he could always pay everyone to go away. Ha. I'm sure Dad would just love that, he thought sarcastically.

"Yeah, it was a tough day. And boring, if I might add. Whatever you do, Clark, don't get into the fertilizer business. Trust me."

Clark was about to respond when Lana walked over. "Hi Lex! Can I get anything for you?" She smiled whole-heartedly at her employer. Lex wondered if she was ever not smiling. Probably not.

"Yeah, a cup of strong, black coffee."

"Coming right up!" was her only response.

That's when Lex noticed Chloe in the corner of the back of the shop. She seemed to be muttering something, and she had the ugliest look on her face. Almost as if she were lecturing herself about something she had done wrong. Hmm...that's odd. But, then again, it is Ms. Sullivan.

He looked over at Clark and saw that he was back to his gawking game and decided that he probably wouldn't even notice if he left. So he made his way over to Chloe's booth. He couldn't help but notice how she was blushing and trying to hide when he started over in her direction.

-

Oh God! How could this happen? Of all things! Of all people! Humph. She could feel the blush reaching her cheeks, which made her blush even more. She even tried to hide from him, but it didn't work. Nothing passed a Luthor.

He came up to her and asked, "May I join you, Ms. Sullivan?" He smiled at her, but she mistook it as the sort of smile a person gives to a child or an inferior. The blush passed.

"If you want to, I guess I don't mind, Mr. Luthor," she answered nonchalantly. But inside she was screaming, I CAN'T SIT WITH HIM NOW THAT I'VE DECIDED TO TRY TO SEDUCE HIM! Oh well, Sullivan, tough it out, you made the bet! He slid into the seat across from her, almost in defeat.

She watched as his mouth fell into a slight frown, and she knew it was because she had called him 'Mr. Luthor.'

"Ms. Sullivan, how many times do I have to tell you to call me 'Lex' and not 'Mr. Luthor?' "

"Why do you insist on my calling you 'Lex' if you are always calling me 'Ms. Sullivan?' "

"Well, you never asked otherwise," he stated, matter-of-factly. A small smirk played across his face, showing his obvious, yet annoying, logic to the situation.

"Humph. Well, I suppose I could call you 'Lex.' "

"Oh, how very gracious of you, Chloe." He accentuated her name, making it sound more beautiful than she had ever heard. This might not be as bad as I thought. I mean, YES IT IS! Ugh. This can't be happening.

-

Chloe sure is acting strange. Maybe its because of Clark. He knew he shouldn't ask, but he went ahead anyway.

"Chloe, is something wrong? Maybe having to do with a certain clueless farm boy?"

His question was innocent but he could tell that it brought upon the wrong result with Chloe. She seemed sad and mad at the same time. Most likely annoyed.

"Damn it! Why does everyone think that when something's going wrong its because of Clark? There are other things to this world besides the famous Clark Kent! Am I the only one who realizes this??" Her reply was both a whisper and a shout. She lowered her head into her hands and sighed. Oops, wrong subject.

"Chloe, I'm sorry to have upset you. My intentions were nothing of the sort," he replied truthfully. She looked up at him, and he could see the obvious pain and sorrow etched across her face. She was too damn beautiful too look so sad.

He reached out and took her hand, which shocked both himself and Chloe. He smiled innocently and continued, "Chloe, you are much to beautiful to appear so sad. It's a Friday night; definitely not a time for worries. Just cheer up and I'm sure that whatever is bothering you will pass and you will be able to move on to better things. 'Worry a little bit every day and in a lifetime you will lose a couple of years...' " Lex quoted intelligently.

He saw Chloe smile as she quickly finished the quote, " '...If something is wrong, fix it if you can. But train yourself not to worry. Worry never fixes anything.' " She smirked at her knowledge of the Mary Hemingway quote.

"You've heard it before." Lex knew she was smart but had never expected her to know the quote. But then again, this was Chloe Sullivan he was thinking about. Of course she knew the quote.

She nodded slightly and continued to smile. She then realized that Lex was still holding her hand, and she looked down at it. When he followed her gaze to their touching hands, he became uneasy and pulled his hand back.

-

Wow. That wasn't weird, I swear, she told herself sarcastically. She uneasily smiled and pulled her hands into her lap.

Lex was being so gentle and kind, it was a side of him that she had never seen before. She had never pinned him as an evil person, but neither as a sensitive romantic that he was showing now. She knew that he was helping Clark win over Lana, but she had presumed it was so he would stop gawking at her and just ask her out.

"Chloe, how would you like to accompany me to dinner tonight? Nothing fancy, only something my cooks can come up with at such a short notice...but I'm sure it will be desirable. You look like you could use some tasty food now. And of course, if you are feeling up to it, some of the usual verbal judo that we love to engage upon?" He smiled whole-heartedly at her, and when she looked at his face there was no way she could decline.

"Why Lex! I thought you would never ask!" She faked a southern belle accent and placed a hand over her heart for dramatic emphasis. He laughed, a fun, cheery one at that, and she smiled back at him. He stood up and put her arm in his to escort her to his "carriage" waiting outside.

-

Lana and Clark watched the couple leave arm in arm. They exchanged glances and turned to look back at Chloe and Lex. How odd, the both thought. Lana placed her unserved strong, black coffee down on the counter after realizing that he wasn't going to come back for it.

-

So whaddya guys think?? I hope you like it. The next chapter should be up within a few days. Review if you'd like. It makes me feel better! :)