pick a card

Chloe pushed open the doors to the mansion’s library, expecting to find Lex busy at his desk with a mountain of paperwork. She was surprised to see him sitting on one of the leather couches, pawing through a cardboard box. She frowned and blinked. Was that a shoebox?

Lex looked up as she approached and smiled. Chloe felt the familiar tingling sensation that began low in her belly whenever Lex smiled at her. Six months together, and he still had an effect on her. She hoped it never went away.

“What are you doing?” she asked, dropping her purse on the glass coffee table beside the box. She inspected the label. It was no ordinary shoebox, but one for a pair of Italian loafers. Except, there were no shoes inside, only dozens of small plastic cards. “What are these?”

Lex held up a handful and grinned. “My secret collection of gift cards.”

“Gift cards? I don’t get it.”

Chloe sat down beside him and picked up a card. It was for $25 at Barnes and Noble. A picture of the fifth Harry Potter book decorated the front. Chloe examined more of the cards and found they all had a picture on them, not just the amount of money they were for.

“I find the decorative pictures to be very attractive,” Lex said. “I buy new ones that interest me.”

“Lex, you’ve got hundreds of dollars in gift cards here,” Chloe said, thumbing through ones for Best Buy, Target, Blockbuster and Sam Goody. “You don’t use them?”

Lex shook his head. “No, I just collect them.”

“You’re weirder than I originally thought,” Chloe said, nudging him playfully.

He laughed and nudged back. “I found two more in my briefcase that I never added to the box,” he said. He picked up the cards from the table and passed them to Chloe.

“X2 and Lord of the Rings?”

“Yes. Great movies, cool cards, don’t you think?”

Chloe wasn’t sure what to make of this. “Don’t most people collect stamps? Silly little figurines? Seashells?”

“I’m not like most people.”

“Have you ever spent one?”

Lex shook his head. “I’ve never bought one I didn’t like.”

“Do people give them to you?”

“No one but you knows I collect them.”

Chloe leaned back against the couch and lazily ran her hand up and down Lex’s back. “I’ll bet I can find one you’ll hate so much, you have to spend it.”

“I doubt it.”

“No, I will.”

Lex glanced over his shoulder at her. “If you do, I’ll fly you to Rome for a romantic dinner.”

Chloe sat up straighter. “What? Are you serious?”

Lex planted a kiss on her nose. “That’s how sure I am you’ll never find one I wouldn’t keep.”

“You are so on, buster. How long do I have?”

“Take as long as you need.”

Chloe took this challenge quite seriously. She searched all over Metropolis, dropping money on every kind of gift card she could find. Lex laughed at the one for $5 at a gothic clothing store, but he liked the design.

Chloe checked on eBay for used gift cards. Over the course of a month, she purchased a dozen. Each one, Lex looked over, then added to his box. Chloe knew he wasn’t lying either. He thought they were unique and interesting, and he genuinely liked them. He was also incredibly amused at the time and energy that Chloe was putting into this challenge.

One day, Chloe sat at a table at the Talon, sipping a coffee and trying to come up with more places to find gift cards. Lana sauntered over and refilled her cup.

“You look deep in thought,” Lana said, her smile almost annoyingly perky.

Chloe sighed. “Do you know of any places I can find gift cards?”

Lana grinned. “As a matter of fact, I just got some for the Talon. Want to see?”

“Sure.”

Lana nodded and went back to the counter to retrieve one.

“So far I only have one design, but I’m thinking of adding others,” she said.

Chloe took one look and had to bite her tongue to keep from laughing.

“Um, did Lex see these?”

Lana shook her head. “He said I could put whatever I wanted on them. What do you think?”

All Chloe could think was that she was going to Rome for sure. She looked up at Lana and said, “I’ll take it.”

Chloe was practically skipping when she arrived at the mansion. Lex raised a brow when she hopped onto his desk and waved a white envelope in his face.

“Tomorrow night okay for dinner?” she asked. “I’ll wear a little black dress, and you can whisper naughty Italian words in my ear.”

Lex smirked. “You think you’re so sure. Well, let me see it.”

Chloe pretended to examine her nails as Lex opened the envelope and pulled out the gift card, but she watched him out of the corner of her eye.

Lex’s smirk slowly disappeared and was replaced with a frown, then a look of horror.

“Dear God, tomorrow night it is then. We have to go spend this now. Now,” he said, leaping to his feet.

Chloe clapped her hands and laughed. Lex tossed the card to his desk and took her in his arms. She squealed in delight and kissed him.

Lana’s smiling face was plastered on the card, and they spent it that night, Lex gladly handing it over. As they left the Talon, Chloe thanked a confused Lana for helping her get to Rome.

~end