AUTHOR'S NOTE: This was one of my first continuous stories that I ever wrote. There are some things I might have done differently if I were writing the story now - especially in the first eight chapters - so please keep an open mind when reading them.
AUTHOR'S NOTE 2: This story is completed. There are a total of forty chapters and an epilogue.
CHAPTER 1
Crater Lake
Great! He moans inwardly at the thought of Lois living at the farm again. He looks out at the lake and watches her swim to the diving platform. I'll never have a hot shower again, he thinks. But in spite of himself, he continues to watch her as she climbs out of the water and makes her way to the edge of the platform; her body glistening from the water.
She sure likes to wear those sexy little bikinis. Wait a minute Kent! – This is Lois we're talking about. You can't think of her like that. You're supposed to be in love with Lana, he tells himself. She's standing right next to you for Pete's sake. He turns his head to Lana and gives her a smile. At the same time, Lois dives off the platform and into the water. But no one sees her hitting her head just below the surface of the water.
Chloe notices that Lois hasn't resurfaced. She's becoming very concerned. She turns to Clark and tells him, "Clark, there's something very wrong. She hasn't come out of the water."
Clark immediately runs down to the water's edge and dives into the water. He super swims right over to where Lois is floating unconscious. He puts his arms around her and swims to the surface – then quickly carries her to the beach and lays her down.
He checks for signs of breathing, but finding none. He starts to administer CPR to her; gently pushing down on her chest. But when he puts his lips on hers and starts to breathe air into her, he finds himself strangely turned on. It confuses him. It doesn't make sense. But finally she coughs up the water and starts to breathe again.
He breathes a sigh of relief as she starts to open her eyes. Her eyes notice the smoothness of his chest first, then they travel up and stares stupidly into the eyes of Clark Kent. It can't be. Not Smallville. But then she can't help but think of how muscular his body is; how sexy he looks. Okay Lois, get a grip. All he did was save your life. I'll never hear the end of it. She's still looking into his eyes and is confused by the way he's looking back at her.
"You okay?" he asks – brushing a lock of hair away from her face.
She finds the innocent gesture to be anything but innocent. "I'll be fine," she manages to say. "But don't you think you should get off me now?" she retorts.
"Sorry," as he stands up and gently pulls her to her feet. She's a little wobbly and starts to stumble when he catches her. There's that look again, she thinks; feeling a tingle when he caught her; his hands gently touching her back.
Lana notices the way that Clark and Lois are looking at each other. Why is he looking at her like that? As if he wants to do more than…She gives herself a mental shake. Maybe he's just being a concerned friend. Yah, that's probably it, she tells herself. But what if that's not it? She doesn't want to finish that thought.
Why is Lois looking at me like that? He wonders. Out loud he says, "Chloe, would you mind taking Lana home? I really should bring Lois back to the farm to get some rest."
"I don't mind Clark," she says.
He turns to Lana. "I'll call you later, okay?"
"Alright," she says, making a point of kissing him in front of Lois. But she doesn't feel the usual tingle from him. He doesn't see her frown; having turned his attention to Lois.
"Are you ever gonna put me down Smallville?" she retorts – staring up at him.
He carries her back to the truck and helps her get in. The engine roars to life as it pulls out of the parking lot.
The Kent Farm - twenty minutes later...
Martha and Jonathan are in the kitchen having a cup of coffee when Clark brings Lois in. "Is everything okay?" Martha asks - a touch of concern in her voice.
"For Pete's sake Smallville – will you PLEASE put me down?" a trace of annoyance in her voice.
He finally puts her down. "What's with you anyway?" brushing the hair out of her eyes.
"Well excuse me for being a concerned friend," practically spitting out the words. He turns around and walks back out the door in a huff.
Jonathan and Martha look at each other – thinking the same thing. "What's going on Lois?" he finally asks.
"I hit my head when I dived into the water and Clark jumped in after me. He …well…"
"Well, what?" Martha asks.
"He saved my life. He gave me CPR," she says, rubbing the back of her head. "I think I will lie down – after I change out of this wet suit." She walks over to the staircase and climbs the steps to Clark's bedroom; closing the door behind her.
"I'll go talk to Clark and see what's bothering him," says Jonathan – getting up from his chair. "He's probably in the loft." He opens the kitchen door and walks out.
In the loft...
Clark takes his usual position by the window; his arms crossed. Why did I get all huffy with her? You know why Kent. You're suddenly attracted to Lois and don't know what to do about it – that's why. But before he could make sense of any of it, his father comes up the stairs.
"Hey Clark, he says – sitting down on the couch. "Do you want to tell me what that was all about?"
"I don't want to talk about it," his back still turned to him.
"Come on Clark. You'll feel a whole lot better if you talk about it."
He turns around and looks at him; sighing as he walks over to the couch and plops down next to Jonathan. "It has to do with Lois."
"What about Lois?"
"Well, he starts to say, "It's hard to describe. When I put my lips on hers to give her the CPR, I felt…" struggling to think of the right word, "turned on by her. It feels so different than Lana. But what's really confusing is just how right it felt."
Oh boy, Jonathan thinks. He's in love with Lois. He's definitely a goner. Out loud he says, "I felt the same way the first time I kissed your mother."
Clark's eyes widen in disbelief at Jonathans words. "What are you saying Dad? That I'm attracted to Lois? That I'm falling in love with her? I can't stand her. She always seems to know just what buttons to push – just to drive me crazy. She gets under my skin like no other woman I know." He adds, Besides, I'm in love with Lana," he says.
"Are you sure about that? Because if you really were, then it wouldn't have felt right."
Clark starts to open his mouth, but then shuts it. He gets up from the couch and goes back to the window – just staring into space.
Jonathan walks over to him and puts his arm around his shoulder. "I don't know what to tell you Clark. This is something you're gonna have to figure out for yourself."
Back in Clark's bedroom…
Lois closes the bedroom door and slowly walks over to the bed; sitting down on it. She pulls her knees up to her chest and wraps her arms around them; rocking back and forth. She tries not to let anyone know how much Clark's 'kiss' really affected her. The softness of his lips pressing gently on hers. She sighs; remembering how very nice it felt. How she wishes he would do it again.
Okay Lois – you can't think about Clark like that. He's with Lana. But what about the look he gave me when he caught me? All she could think of at that point was how much she wanted to glide her hand across his bare chest. Don't go down that road Lois. But that image of him is almost too much to bear. Maybe it was a fluke – yeah, that has to be it. But what if it wasn't? How can I find out for sure? Should I try to get him to kiss me again? And how would I go about it? Shrugging her shoulders, she gets up from the bed and goes over to the closet to find something to wear.
One week later…
Clark is trying to do his chores, but finds it impossible to concentrate. All he can think about is Lois. It's driving him crazy. For the last week, there's been a weird kind of tension between the two of them. She hasn't been bugging him like she usually does. He wonders if it has to do with what happened at the beach.
What should I do? Dad was right. I have to figure it out for myself. Maybe it was just a fluke, he tells himself, not realizing that Lois was thinking the same thing. Maybe I should try kissing her again. That might be the only way I'll ever know for sure. But how? He tries to come up with a solution, but can't. He throws down the pitchfork in frustration and decides to go back to the house.
At least I'll have the house to myself for the next few days, his parents having gone to Metropolis for Jonathan's regular physical with his heart doctor. But he has no idea that his life will change forever when he opens the kitchen door…
TO BE CONTINUED...