"Jimmy, I'm writing a free lance article, and I wonder if you could help me."

Jimmy watched Lois cautiously. Mr. Kent was out at the scene of a jewel theft, but Mr. White was in his office, just on the other side of a door. She hadn't come over to hover. She was sitting at her own desk, and the look she gave him was open and friendly. "Sure, Lois. If I can."

"Good. This is really important for me. It's for a major psychology publication. I'm doing a survey of young men in the workplace. I'll talk to several different subjects at different employments: box boys at the supermarket, ushers at the movies, apprentices in machine shops. You'll be my office worker representative, okay?"

"Sure. What do you want to know?"

It started out innocently enough. What courses he took, what he planned to do in the next two years, five years, his eating patterns, his sleeping patterns. "Sleep patterns are very important, as they affect the rest of your life. What size bed do you use?"

"Single, long. The standard is a little too short for me since last year." He usually got to bed between ten and eleven, slept till about seven thirty.

"Peaceful sleep? Do you dream?"

"Sure, everyone dreams, don't they?"

"What do you dream about?"

"Gosh, I dunno. All sorts of things. Writing big, important stories, playing sports, just walking around. A lot of it doesn't make sense."

"How do you dress when you sleep? Pajamas? Underwear? Nude?"

Jimmy looked at her sharply, but she was studiously taking notes. "I usually sleep in my boxers. Keep some pants by the bed in case there's a fire or something."

"Good. How often do you have to change the sheets?"

He blinked. "I dunno. Mom takes care of that. Two, three times a week, I guess."

"No, how often does she HAVE to change the sheets?"

Jimmy felt himself flushing. "I don't have that problem," he said hotly. "Not since I was three."

Lois laughed. "I wasn't asking if you wet the bed, Jimmy. I meant the other kind of messes."

"Other kind of..." He trailed off, and now the color did flood his face.

She nodded. "Wet dreams. You know, you have a sexual dream, and your body reacts. A healthy young guy like you, you must wake up every now and then sticking to your shorts."

"Miss Lane..."

"You don't? Then you must be entertaining yourself on a regular basis, Jimmy. How often?" Now her face was flushed a little. Her eyes sparkled as she put down the pencil. "Bet you can manage twice a day, maybe more."

One of her hands disappeared up under her A line skirt. "Do you do it dry, or do you use hand lotion? How long does it usually take before you cream yourself? Do you do it hard and fast, or do you try to make it last a long time?" Her hand was moving slowly. "I bet you do it in the shower. Lots of guys do. What do you think about when you're stroking yourself, Jimmy?"

Jimmy bolted up out of his chair and ran for the office exit. He jerked the door open and ran into what felt like a cloth covered brick wall.

"Whoa! Steady there, boy!" Clark Kent grabbed his shoulders before he could lose balance. "Jimmy, what's wrong?" He peered over his shoulder. "Is there a fire in there, or what?" He was in time to see Lois wiping her hand on a tissue. The hem of her skirt, usually so precisely placed, was rucked halfway up her thighs. "Oh." His eyes narrowed behind the hornrims. "I see. Wait out here in the hall, son." He stepped inside and closed the door.

The doors at The Daily Planet hadn't been designed to muffle noise. "Lois, what have you been doing to that poor kid?"

"Not near as much as I want to, damn it. Trying to get past that shyness a little, but he's making it tough on both of us." Lois's voice was a little ragged.

"You've got to leave him alone. You're scaring him half to death."

"Oh, come on, Clark. I'm just teasing him. It's not like I jerked his pants down, threw him over a desk, and mounted up." A pause. "Though that idea does have certain appeal." Jimmy stifled a panicked moan.

"Can't you see he's not interested?"

"Yeah. I wonder why?" She sounded puzzled. "I'm not vain, Clark, you know that. But I'm no bowser, either. There aren't many men I can't get to stand at attention, if I put my mind to it. Jimmy's being a hard sell. He should have had his tongue down my throat by now. Like you said, he's a young seventeen, but, I mean... My God, He's seventeen! They get horny just breathing at that age."

"Some of them have more self control than others."

"Jimmy?" A snort. "The way he colors up? Have you seen the way he blushes? God, it's beautiful. Better than a virgin novice hearing a dirty story. He just goes pink right up to the roots of that flaming hair, and he look so yummy I could just eat him with a spoon... Clark?" Silence. "You're awful quiet there, buddy." Still more silence. "Ohhhh, well that would explain all those quick goodnights on our dates, wouldn't it?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Come off it, Clark. It doesn't make any difference to me, and I don't blame you. I have the hots for him myself, don't I? I'm just warning you, I'm not giving up yet. I may be able to wear him down. If I can't, you can always give it a try. But I'm guessing you're too ethical to make a play, what with him being underage."

Jimmy leaned against the wall, suddenly dizzy. Mr. Kent? Was Lois implying that Mr. Kent was interested in him? Why, Clark Kent was the most masculine man Jimmy knew, next to Superman.

Maybe a little more masculine, truth be told. That costume was a touch flamboyant. Mr. Kent always wore neat, squared away suits. No matter what the hour, he was never rumpled or grubby. Jimmy wasn't small, but his head barely topped Clark's shoulders, and Mr. Kent was almost two of Jimmy across. He was massive, someone you could hide behind. Or lean against. He hadn't thought of that before.

He heard Clark's voice again. "Just leave him alone, Lois."

"I'm bored, Clark. He's fun. Now go away, I have work to do. I've fallen a little behind."

Jimmy stepped back quickly as footsteps approached the door. Mr. Kent came out and said, "Jimmy, why don't we go to the break room for a minute or two? I think we need to talk."

"Yessir."

In the break room, Clark fixed coffee for them both. Without asking, he laced Jimmy's cup heavily with milk and sugar. Jimmy was a little surprised that Clark knew exactly how he liked his coffee. He must have watched Jimmy fix his cup before, and remembered. That was thoughtful.

They sat side by side at the table, drinking in silence for a moment. Then Clark said, "You've been tense lately, Jimmy. I think I know why, but maybe you should tell me."

Jimmy shrugged. He didn't know how to talk about it.