"What's the emergency?" Jimmy questioned as he marched into the apartment looking around for some kind of disaster. It wasn't until he had actually showed up at her door that she realized how foolish she felt for making him come over.

Irene groaned as she motioned for him to follow her into her room where clothes and shoes were scattered all over her bed and floor. Not that her room or apartment were always spotless, but the current state of her room was actually embarrassing.

"What the hell happened here?" He questioned as he took in the condition the room was in, kicking aside a pair of black heels that had been discarded a couple of inches away from his feet.

Again Irene couldn't help but feel like a mess.

Irene sighed as she gestured at some of the dresses that she had laid out on her bed. "I'm going on a date tonight and I don't know what to wear."

Jimmy's eyes widened, probably because Irene hadn't been on a date in almost two years. "Clark?"

"Clark." She confirmed knowing that there was no point in hiding that fact from her best friend.

"He's a farm boy from Kansas." Jimmy stated as if it was a fact that was unknown to her. Part of Clark's charm was that he was a shy farm boy from the middle of nowhere. "Irene, you could wear jeans and a flannel and he would be charmed."

She realized that Jimmy was right. But she didn't want to just charm Clark. She wanted him to be crazy over her. "Yeah well I don't own a flannel so..."

Jimmy chuckled as he looked down at the options displayed for him. Irene had complete trust in Jimmy and she knew that whatever he chose was what she would end up wearing. Mostly because she knew she would never be able to come to a decision herself.

"The white one." He said with confidence as he pointed at a simple white dress. At first Irene thought that maybe it was a little too simple, but as she picked it up in her hands she realized that it was actually perfect. It had just the right amount of modesty and sexiness that a farm boy from Kansas would appreciate. All her other dresses were colorful and too loud. Sure, she was sure that Clark would appreciate any of them, but she was sure that he would love the white.

"Okay now you have to help me clean this all up." Irene ordered as she looked around the room frantically not knowing where to begin. She needed to clean her room and get ready in an hour.

Jimmy groaned in response, not pleased with the idea of having to organize a whole closet of clothes and shoes. Things that Irene annoyingly had plenty of. "Can't you just clean this up in the morning?"

She looked at her friend in disbelief as she shook her head beginning to pick up the discarded clothes off the floor. "No."

"Why not?" Jimmy questioned and when he earned an annoyed look from Irene the realization slowly dawned on him. "So you're expecting to go all the way tonight."

"I....no." Irene said quickly, only just realized that was exactly what she wanted to be prepared for. "I don't know. Maybe."

Jimmy pressed his lips tightly together, clearly trying to suppress a smile or keep himself from laughing. If it wasn't for the fact that he was on the other side of the room Irene would have slapped his shoulder to wipe away that smile. "Okay well let's get this place cleaned up."

When they finally finished cleaning her room, Irene knew there was nothing she could do to thank Jimmy for putting up with her. He hadn't even teased her about the fact that she wanted her apartment clean in the hopes that she would have sex with Clark tonight.

Two hours slipped by too quickly but as Irene waited by the balcony she was surprised to hear a soft knock at her door. Opening the door she couldn't help but feel shocked that he had chosen to use the door, especially when he always preferred the balcony.

But all other thoughts left her mind at the sight of Clark. He looked handsome standing at her door holding a bouquet of flowers. He looked like a dream, and suddenly she didn't feel so angry at him anymore.

"Wow." Clark told her softly as he seemed to take in every detail about her. "You look beautiful."

"You don't look too bad yourself."

"These are for you." He declared as he held out the bouquet of red tulips that he had in his hands.

Irene smiled as she took the flowers. "Thank you."

They remained silent as Irene took a vase from under the sink, filling it with water and placing it inside. The silence made Irene nervous, because if they could come up with anything to say in the short two minutes that it took her to put the flowers in a vase, what would they possibly talk about during an entire dinner?

Or whatever it was that Clark had planned for tonight.

"Come on." He suddenly stated once she was finished. Taking her hand he guided her to the balcony where the warm summer breeze had started to pick up.

Realizing that wherever they were going required them to fly caused her to feel a light sense of panic. Not because she didn't trust Clark, but because now she was wondering if she was dressed appropriately for where he was taking her. "Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise." Clark replied, and withouthout a warning he placed an arm around her waist. Before she knew it they were flying across the city and Irene wondered if she would ever get used to the feeling of flying.

It wasn't long before they finally arrived. When Irene's feet touched the green grass, she immediately looked around taking in her surroundings.

Irene recognized where they were immediately. They were at The Kent Farm, the house only a couple feet away. Looking questiongly at Clark who was opening the door to the barn, Irene couldn't help but wonder what they were doing here.

Holding the barn door for her Clark smiled nervously as he waited for her. Seeing Clark nervous caused Irene to also become nervous, not sure what to expect. She had never thought that she would be back at the Kent Farm, but here she was entering a barn during what she thought was going to be a date. 

The moment she went through the door she froze at the sight in front of her, needing to process what she was seeing.

"I know it's not much." Clark stated as he followed her further into the barn.

Maybe Irene had overdressed a little. She didn't know what to expect. But she absolutely did not expect all of this.

The entire barn was lit by dozens of flickering candles, a table at the center of the barn was beautifully set up with rose petals at her feet. It was like a scene out of a movie and Irene felt overwhelmed by the fact that no one had ever done anything for her like this before. And no one probably ever would, because only Clark Kent could do something like this.

It was a gesture that left her without words. "I love it."

Clark smiled brightly, clearly relieved and Irene couldn't help but wonder why he would ever think that she wouldn't love what he had just set up for her. "I ugh... I hope you like lasagna. I used my ma's recipe."

At that moment Irene couldn't help but feel a little irritated at the realization that he had made her dinner. If Clark's goal was to prove to her that he was perfect, he had certainly accomplished just that.

That realization came with many others including the fact that she was doomed. That there was no way that she would ever be able to fight what she felt about Clark. Not when he was so perfect. Not when he was everything that she wanted.

Irene's worries about them not being able to find anything to talk about no seemed ridiculous. In fact it seemed that there wasn't enough time in the world for them to talk about everything they wanted to talk about.

But the moment they finished dinner Clark stood, taking Irene's hand and helping her to her feet. Irene couldn't help but feel a little confused as to why he wanted to suddenly rush things. But whatever it was he wanted to do next, he was clearly eager about.

"I wanted to show you something." He told her as he laced their fingers together and guided her back outside of the barn where it was now completely dark. Unlike the city the lack of lights and car headlamps had the field of the Kent Farm consumed by pitch black darkness. If it wasn't for how beautiful the night sky looked Irene would have wanted to return inside the candlelite warmth of the barn. "The night sky looks so much better in Smallville."

Irene couldn't help but agree. It was rare to see stars in Metropolis, and the night sky looked breathtaking from Smallville. It was an endless sea of stars, and there was something about the Kent farm that felt like home. "You can't even see the stars at Metropolis."

Clark said nothing as he walked a couple feet ahead, where a telescope was set up in the grassy field. Bending down Irene looked into the telescope. It had clearly been here for a couple of years now but she could still see through it clearly. See how the stars twinkled from millions miles away.

There was a time that she didn't think there was much out there. Never considered that there might be life on other planets. But here was Clark standing beside her, the man that caused her to rethink everything that she believed.

"When I was a boy I would always come out here, look through this telescope and wonder what I was doing. What my purpose in this world was." Clark said suddenly causing Irene to look up at him and the intensity that he was looking at her with.

She always knew that Clark felt like an outsider, how could he not when he was from a different planet? But there was something about the intensity that he carried now that made her heart start to beat just a little bit faster in anticipation.

"Irene I spent years trying to find myself and where I belonged on this Earth. Then you came into my life and everything seemed to fall into place. I fell in love with you the moment I saw you on Ellesmere. I knew I had to see you again, but you found me in Smallville and after that you kept coming into my life. I found my place with you and the Daily Planet."

His confession was causing her head to spin and she wasn't sure if she could hear anything else that came out of his lips. "Clark..."

"I didn't come back that night because you overwhelm me. Just think about everything that had to happen for me to be standing in front of you now. Out of all the galaxies and planets out there I landed in the one that had you in it." He continued before she could interrupt him. His words made her heart swell and in this moment she didn't think she could be happier. "I'm overwhelmed by the fact that you exist and I want you to continue to overwhelm me, because I can't visualize my world without you."

She had no words. Because how could she possibly come up with any words that came close to the ones that had just left Clark's lips.

Instead she did the only thing that she wanted to do at that moment and kissed him.

His arms immediately went around her as he pulled her close to him, deepening the intensity of the kiss. It wasn't long before his hand had found itself tangled in her hair.  Desire began to quickly pump through her veins as his grip on her waist tightened slightly. It wasn't until a moan escaped both of their lips that Irene was able to pull away from the kiss feeling absolutely breathless. "Clark, now would be a good time to take me home."

Understanding dawned on him as he nodded, pulling her closer again and in an instant they were in the sky again flying back to Metropolis. Smallville was no short drive away, but they had made it back to Metropolis sooner than she had expected. 

When her feet finally touched the ground of her balcony she headed straight for the sliding glass doors pushing them open.

Slowly she took the hand that was gripping her waist and guided up her back to where he could find the zipper. Irene tended to be bold in moments like this, alway knowing what she wanted. And she was aware of just how badly she wanted Clark, especially after everything that he had just confessed to her. After he set up what could have easily been the most romantic date Irene had ever experienced.

As bold as she was, she couldn't help but feel nervous. Afraid to ruin what was happening between them before it even started. But all her worries disappeared the moment that he pulled her even closer and began to kiss her again.

Slowly he pushed down the straps of her dress allowing it to fall to the floor around her feet. Irene was left only in her lingerie, and as Clark's warm hand made contact with her newly exposed skin it suddenly felt like liquid fire was pumping through her veins. With what seemed like a lot of effort Clark pulled away from the kiss again and looked down at her similar to how he looked at her earlier when he arrived at her door.

But this time there was a deep desire reflected in them as his eyes seemed to studdly every inch of the skin he had not seen before. Clark swallowed nervously as his eyes met hers again, and in that moment Irene saw it. How she overwhelmed him, and she couldn't help but feel a little proud that she was able to get this kind of reaction from him. At the knowledge that only she could get this godlike man to feel this nervous.

With one hand he lifted, and instinctively Irene's legs wrapped around his waist. It was an action that required very little effort on his part, but it made him all the more attractive to her.

As they continued to kiss Clark walked them over to her bedroom and Irene couldn't be more grateful to Jimmy for helping her clean it.

He laid her down on the bed like she was the most priceless thing on the planet. And when she was fully laid across the lavender sheets Clark pulled away as he began to unbutton his shirt, and in what felt like an eternity he shrugged his shirt off tossing it to the other end of the room.

Irene's mouth seemed to immediately go dry at the sight of Clark Kent shirtless in front of her and suddenly she couldn't even think straight.

Seeing his perfectly sculpted chest Irene suddenly had to question whether or not Clark really was a god. Because that was really the only way to describe him. The beautifully sculpted greek statues paled in comparison to Clark Kent.

As Clark bent down to kiss her again, Irene placed a finger to his lips needing a moment before she lost all sense of control or reason. And even as she told herself that she needed a moment to catch her breath, one of her hands began to trail down his chest. And she hated herself a little for not being able to resist a little longer.

"Did you mean it?" Irene questioned softly, needing to hear the words from his lips again. She wanted confirmation that the man in front of her was hers.

"I do. I love you." He confirmed, causing a wide smile to spread across her lips. Irene was sure that she was going to simply melt away into the mattress. She knew his words were genuine from the way he was looking at her.

No one had ever looked at her that way. And she didn't want anyone else to.

She wasn't going to say it back now. If she did it would feel cheap. Like she was saying those words because he had said them to her. When she did tell him she wanted it to be on her own terms. Irene wanted him to know that she meant them.

Like how she knew that he meant them now.

Instead Irene pulled him closer. Kissing him again hoping that although she couldn't say those words that maybe he could feel them through the kiss. And from he way responded, deepening the kiss she knew that he did.

And in this moment Irene knew. She knew that being in the arms of Clark Kent...

...well there was simply nothing like it in the world.

A/N: So what did you all think about this chapter? Maybe a little long overdue but those who read my work know that I don't like rushing the relationships. It's all about the slow burn for me. I know maybe some of you were expecting something a little more spicy, and although I'm not much of a smut writer there will be some actual spice coming soon. The rest of this second part will now focus on the villain. Have you all figured it out yet? Cause the next couple of chapters are going to be exciting.