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Lena walked into Code Red, an exclusive Sapphic women’s club in downtown National City for the wealthy, for celebrities, and for women with connections shortly after 8 pm. Security was handled by gay men and women, no one straight was allowed into the club at all. Membership included access to numerous well kept, clean apartments on the floors above the club where you could take someone you met for a good time. The rules were simple - no names, never ask for identifying information, enjoy yourself, and never expose another member of the club. Violation of these rules meant an immediate ban along with the offender’s name being passed on to other such clubs around the world.
Because these clubs ensured discretion and gave their members a way to blow off steam without forming committed relationships, many gay conservative politicians came here as well. Lena avoided them like the plague though more than one had hit on her during her visits here. She despised people who worked against their own communities while wanting the intimacy those same community members provided.
And Lena needed to let off steam now, more than ever, since she had testified against Lex, sent him to prison for centuries, and had taken over the company she was preparing to rename L-Corp. She hadn’t moved to National City full time yet but she would soon and establishing herself at Code Red seemed a prudent move considering she’s sworn off relationships after what Andrea did to her.
Her first stop was the bar where the bartender asked, “What will it be?”
Lena looked at the woman and said, “Scotch, on the rocks.” She turned her head and surveyed the other women in the club. Some people were pairing off and others were eyeing the field, seeing who they might like.
Lena’s eyes stopped on a shorter woman, with short black hair. When the woman turned, she recognized her as Kate Kane. She couldn’t mention that, of course, and Kate would recognize her if she turned to face Lena but Lena had always gotten a “don’t even try” vibe from Kate when she’d flirted with the woman before.
Kate was clearly gay as hell and just as clearly didn’t see anything in Lena, at least sexually. Lena wondered what Kate was doing here, given that she lived in Gotham, but being wealthy and now in charge of Wayne Enterprises, she might have any number of reasons for visiting National City. And Kate Kane would definitely know every exclusive Sapphic club in every major city she frequented.
But it was who Kate was talking to that caught Lena’s attention, a tall blonde, absolutely stunning even though she wore glasses and had her hair up in a ponytail. Lena stared.
Raina Blackthorn, owner of Code Red, slid up to the bar beside Lena. Everyone knew Raina and Raina wasn’t here looking, seeing that she was happily married to one of pop music’s greatest Sapphic idols. But Raina worked the club floor every night, talking to her guests, ensuring things ran smoothly.
Raina looked at Lena, followed her gaze, then looked back at Lena with a grin. “Someone has caught your eye tonight?”
Lena glanced at Raina then back at the blonde. “Yes, as if that wasn’t obvious enough. I’ve never seen her in here before.”
“She’s been a member for a little over a year now,” said Raina. “And you’ve been here only a few times yourself so far, though I assume you’ll be frequenting my club more often?”
“I’ve never seen her at gatherings of the wealthy and definitely not in films or television,” said Lena, fishing for answers she knew she wouldn’t get. “And that blue dress certainly shows off her impressive physique.” She turned to look at Raina. “And yes, right now I expect to be here more frequently.” Lena’s attention went back to the blonde.
“She’s special,” replied Raina. “You already know there are women here who are neither wealthy nor celebrities and you know none of us will tell you why we gave them admittance. Those are the rules. But each person admitted here is admitted because we find them interesting, not because of wealth or fame alone. But as I said, the blonde is special.”
Lena glanced again at Raina, saying, “I’m quite aware of the rules.” As she turned back to look at the blonde, she found the blonde staring straight at herself, as if she knew what Lena and Raina were saying. And in that moment, the blonde began moving through the crowd toward Lena.
Lena sucked in her breath in surprise. Raina laughed. “Seems she noticed you staring. I’ll get out of your way.”
The blonde stopped in front of Lena and smiled. “Did you like what you were looking at?”
Lena’s eyes went from the blonde’s eyes to her lips down to her cleavage then back up to her eyes. “Yes,” Lena said confidently. “You’re definitely interesting.”
“Interesting enough that we’re going to do more than just talk?” asked the blonde. “Or should I keep looking?”
Lena set her scotch on the bar having barely touched it, took the blonde’s hand and headed for the elevators. As she reached the security station, one of the guards smiled at the pair, handed Lena and the blonde each an electronic key, then let them pass.
Aboard the elevator, as soon as the doors closed, Lena surged against the blonde pressing her against the wall. One hand went to the woman’s right breast while the other hand slid behind her neck to pull her down into a deep kiss.
The blonde’s mouth opened and tongues found each other, dancing together. The blonde moaned softly and Lena felt her desire leap through her whole body.
The elevator doors opened and Lena broke the kiss, grabbing the blonde’s hand and pulling her along to their room. She slid in the electronic key, watched the lock switch from red to green, shoved open the door, then pulled her partner for the evening inside.
“My god, your arms,” murmured Lena softly.
“You like that?” asked the blonde, sweeping Lena off her feet and taking her further into the room, dropping her on the king bed, then leaning over her, arms holding Lena’s hands above her head. “Do you want me?” asked the blonde as she kissed slowly up Lena’s neck, ending with a gentle nibble on Lena’s ear lobe. Lena wiggled against the blonde’s grip but found herself unable to free her hands.
“You like to be in control?” asked Lena, looking up at the bluest eyes she’d ever seen.
The blonde leaned in close, nibbling the other side of Lena’s neck but carefully leaving no marks. “I’m a switch,” said the woman. “I like to be in control sometimes and sometimes I like someone else in control.”
“Oooh, perfect!” whispered Lena. “So am I. You can have me, seeing that I can’t get free of you anyway, but I want my turn when you’re done.”
The blonde began undressing Lena then sensuously undressed herself, not letting Lena touch her as she did so slowly and provocatively. She set aside her glasses and pulled her ponytail down, her golden locks deliciously framing the blonde’s beautiful face.
The next four hours passed in a haze of desire, orgasms, and a level of passion that Lena had never ever felt before, not with Andrea, not with any of her other lovers. The two of them fell asleep just before 1 am but when Lena awoke after 3 am, the bed was empty and the blonde was gone. And while this was normal for Code Red, for the first time after an encounter here, Lena wanted to know who the other woman was and to see her again. Worse, Lena thought she might want more than casual sex from this woman.
But though Lena returned to Code Red frequently over the next several weeks, she never saw the blonde there again. She almost chose to beg Raina Blackthorn for contact information about the blonde but she knew that if she did so, Raina would bar her and that would get her barred from every Sapphic club anywhere.
***
In the weeks since the encounter at Code Red, there had been another attempt on Lena’s life just before she left Metropolis for her official move to National City. When her personal jet touched down in National City, it was only minutes later that Cat Grant called her.
“Lena! Finally making the move here?” asked Cat.
“Finally,” said Lena. “There was a lot of paperwork and I wanted to be sure we had buyers for the L-Corp facilities we’re closing in Metropolis. We’re keeping a small office there and one research lab but everything else is moving to the west coast, most to National City and one lab is moving to Star City.”
“It sounds like you have a lot on your plate,” replied Cat. “I know you don’t like most reporters so come by my office sometime and we can talk. I’ll do your interview myself and you’ll get a positive welcome to National City.”
Lena looked at her watch. “It’s just after 10 am here and I left Metropolis at 8 am. For me, it’s like 1 in the afternoon and I’ve not eaten yet. I need to stop by my new penthouse, get some lunch, so how about I come over there at 2 pm today?”
“Today? That would be great!” said Cat. “I’ll block out the time slot for you, an hour. Even if we finish the interview before then, we can just chat, woman to woman.”
“Sounds great, Cat!” said Lena. “See you at 2!”
Lena arrived at CatCo Worldwide Media at 1:51 pm, checked in with security, and was escorted to the floor containing Cat Grant’s office. As she stepped off the elevator, Lena saw Cat sifting through some papers on what Lena assumed was the desk of Cat’s personal assistant.
“Did you fire another personal assistant?” asked Lena, with amusement.
Cat’s gaze turned toward Lena with a laugh. “No, she’s off handling an errand. This one is quite good.”
Lena laughed in response. “She’s lasted more than 90 days?”
Cat stood up straight, then turned and looked at Lena with complete seriousness. “She’s been my PA for two years now.”
Lena’s smile vanished and she blinked. “You’ve kept the same PA for two years?”
“She’s special,” said Cat, waving toward her office. They entered and Cat closed the doors behind them.
They moved to the couch and sat down. Lena asked, “This is surprising, given your strict attention to details and high standards.”
“She meets them flawlessly,” said Cat, "and she’s instrumental in my day to day operation of the company."
“It almost sounds like you have personal feelings for her, Cat,” teased Lena.
Cat shook her head. “No, though I’ve come to look at her as perhaps the daughter I might have wished to have. I push her and she responds. At the same time, she looks after me. She’s been slightly off her game the last several weeks though. Her name is Kara Danvers.”
“Something personal?” asked Lena.
Cat nodded. “She met someone but it was purely casual for the other person. I’ve never seen Kara like this but it might be the first time I’ve met someone who’s experienced what the French call le coup de foudre, the bolt of lightning. It’s what we call love at first sight.”
“I don’t know that I’d call it love at first sight,” said Lena, "but I had an encounter of my own several weeks ago that left me wanting to find that woman again. Of course, I never did.”
Cat’s brow furrowed and her eyes narrowed as she studied Lena for a long moment. “Your encounter was at Code Red? I’m aware you’re a member there.”
Lena’s face softened with a gentle smile. “It was and,” she paused trying to find the right words, “I felt a connection like I’ve never felt before but, it’s Code Red, and you know the rules there.” Lena shrugged because she didn’t know what else she could do to find the blonde.
Cat’s brow furrowed deeper for a moment but then her face relaxed as a look of certainty swept across it. Lena noticed that look but had no time to ask about it as Cat changed the subject. “I heard you asked Superman if you could work with him but he rejected your request?”
Lena nodded. “He did. And I can’t blame him. The Luthor family name doesn’t deserve his trust, I suppose.”
Cat’s head tilted slightly. “Have you asked Supergirl?” Again, Cat was studying Lena closely.
“I’ve not really paid a lot of attention to Supergirl, though I guess I should, moving out here to National City,” said Lena. “I’ve never even looked at her photos that closely.”
Cat looked toward the main area and saw Kara come out of the stairwell and sit down at her desk. Her eyes narrowed again then she got up, went to her desk, opened a drawer, and withdrew a photo. She walked over to the couch, sat down, and handed the photo to Lena, eyes locked on Lena’s face as Lena looked at a picture of Supergirl up close for the first time.
And Cat saw it. Cat saw the recognition, the realization, the shock on Lena Luthor’s face. Lena swallowed, her eyes rising to look at Cat. “She’s… she’s…”
Cat sat there, a smirk now on her face. “She’s the woman you had the encounter with? The one you want to find? The one you want to get to know better?”
Lena nodded, a stunned look on her face.
“Shall I introduce you?” asked Cat. “Because I know she wonders who you were too.”
“You can do that?” asked Lena. “And she wonders about me?”
Without raising her voice, Cat simply said, “Kara, I need you in here right now. Please close the door when you come in.”
Lena frowned as Cat said that. “How can she hear you?” But she heard the door opening and turned her head to look and saw her, the blonde from Code Red, with the glasses, the pony tail, and Kara Danvers looked as shocked as Lena Luthor felt. Kara stopped, holding the door, staring at Lena Luthor.
A smirk still on Cat’s face, she said to Kara, “Do please come in the rest of the way and close the door, Kara.”
Kara obeyed mechanically, walking into the room and standing in front of the couch, her eyes locked on Lena. Lena was struggling for words. Kara appeared equally speechless.
Cat smiled. “Kara, take the rest of the day off. You’ve been less than yourself of late and I plan to fix that. Please spend the rest of the day and hopefully tonight with Lena. You two have a lot to catch up on.”
Lena stood and stepped toward Kara and Kara pulled her in close. “You want this too?”
Lena nodded and smiled. “I kept going back to Code Red looking for you but I never saw you again. I think I want this and the only way to find out is to try, right?”
Cat spoke again. “And Lena, when one of you proposes, I get dibs on the story.”
Lena opened her mouth to make a remark back at Cat but then remembered Cat’s extraordinary success rate as a matchmaker. She also thought about who it was she was falling for. Finally, without taking her eyes off Kara, she said, “If it happens, you get the story.”
Cat laughed. “Oh, this is going to happen. I’m sure of that. Now get out of here, you two.”
Kara grabbed her purse and coat on the way out, and left CatCo hand in hand with Lena Luthor.
And yes, Cat Grant got the proposal story ten months later.