Cherry Wine {lex luthor}

chapter twenty

The next morning came with a raging hangover and dreary, overcast skies. I sat up in bed, wrapped in the soft black duvet, and groaned. My head was pounding and the room felt like it was spinning around me. Even the gentle grey light coming in through the closed curtains was too much for my sensitive eyes.

I wanted nothing more than to stay curled up in bed all day, preferably with a bottle of aspirin, but Lex had already laid out a dress for me and left the room to get the car. He had smirked knowingly at me when he woke me, seeing the hangover on my face before I even opened my mouth. He hadn't said a word about it, but instead gave me directions to meet him at the car in fifteen minutes.

The dress laid out for me was a black, short sleeved with a white collar. I slid it on, shivering in the chill morning air, before grabbing my pink velvet jumper from the chair it was draped on. It was far too cold to be wearing short sleeves, and I certainly was not going to give Lex the satisfaction of giving me his suit jacket again-I had forgot a sweater on an earlier excursion of ours, and he had teased me about it mercilessly for the rest of the trip.

I stuffed my hands into the pockets of my hoodie, and made my way down the stairs, clenching my fists to stop myself from vomiting. The stairs seemed uneven and far, far longer than they ever had. It felt like hours before I reached the front door, and when I did, I sat heavily on the bottom step, hands over my eyes.

"Well, don't you look chipper." Lex said from above me. I winced at his voice, and looked up grouchily. He looked as well-groomed as always, his hair brushed and his suit well tailored. I felt like a garbage rat next to him.

"I feel like I am going to die." I said, and dropped my head back into my hands. "How are you not hungover?"

Lex laughed, and dropped a hand to my head, his fingers massaging my scalp. I sighed at the relaxing feeling, my headache relenting just a bit.

"I have a very high tolerance, and I've been drinking for most of my life. Plus, I know the secret hangover cure."

"You do? What is it?"

Lex took my hand, and placed three pills in it, and handed me a travel mug.

"Three aspirin and strong black coffee. Road trips with your boyfriend also help." He winked, and I blushed. It was the first time he had used that word.

I stood up, swaying as the blood rushed from my head. Lex steadied me with one hand, opening the closet door with another. He pulled a pair of white sneakers from the racks, and put them down in front of me.

"I think we had better stay away from heels today." He said. I nodded, and shoved my feet into them. It was no surprise that they fit perfectly. I had long ago accepted that Lex somehow knew my size for everything, from shoes to dresses.

Lex waited until we were out of the driveway, underneath the tunnel of trees before he spoke again. I was well used to his long silences. He spent a great deal of time thinking and plotting. I could see when he slipped away into his own little world-the way his head would tilt and his eyes would glaze as he perfected some blueprint of a plan.

"The lady we are meeting with today is a senator." Lex said, his gaze not wavering from the road. "I've been trying to get her to give me an import license. I thought your presence might sway her."

I wrinkled my nose, and looked at Lex.

"How?" I asked. "I'm not exactly a politician."

Lex smiled, the corner of his mouth twitching. Part of me wanted to kiss it, but I stayed curled up in my seat, coffee mug clutched in both hands.

"No, you're not, and that's part of the appeal. You're living proof of what Superman can do to innocents. You have no political agenda, no corporations to appease. You have nothing to gain from her doing this for me, and that will make you all the more believable." Lex's voice was firm, and I shrank away a little at the sheer callousness of his tone.