Even after Crater Lake was once again declared safe, Clark and Chloe continued going to "The Grotto" as they liked to call it. After all, most of Smallville went to Crater Lake, but the forest pool had become a special place for just the two of them...along with their doggie chaperone.

The Grotto was also the only place outside her own yard that Chloe would don a bikini. The wardrobe change was quickly noticed by Shelby, who upon seeing Chloe in a two-piece, grew excited for a visit to his favorite place with his best people. For Clark though, the excitement was for a different reason. He really liked how Chloe looked in those bikinis, and while he didn't tell her so, they were a big part of why he most often wanted to return to the secluded spot.

Once alone again in their beautiful place, the two teenagers would chase each other around the pool, laughing and splashing like children until they became exhausted. Then they would float quiet and still, watching the fluffy clouds through the canopy of trees overhead, arms linked like otters so they wouldn't drift too far apart.

Sometimes they would explore the rocks and foliage in and around the pool for unique and shy aquatic life. Chloe would never let Clark forget the time a curious little fish swam up his suit, making Clark scream and flail at his groin. Ever after, the mere thought of it would cause Chloe to erupt into streams of endless, snorting giggles as she gasping out things like "Did you think it was a kryptonite minnow?" or "Don't let anyone find out about your fatal flaw - guppies!"

But when they were soaked and tired, they would emerge to lie on the beachside blanket and talk for hours, munching on sandwiches and sodas.

The hours they spent there were some of the happiest Clark had ever known. Alone with his best friend and his dog in this magical place, Clark didn't think he could be any happier.

Then one day, everything changed.

Clark felt warm and happy under the stippled rays of the sun on the shoreline of their pool. As she sometimes did, Chloe hadn't put back on a cover-up when they had emerged from the water, choosing instead to let the sun dry the water from her skin. Clark stretched out on the blanket, and folded up one arm to pillow his head. Chloe laid down next to him, but instead of using a towel as a pillow as she normally did, she instead used his shoulder. He felt her relax against him with a little sigh and smiled. Her hair was cool and silky-feeling on his skin and had a fresh smell from the pool's water. As they lay together, her body's heat was warmer even than the summer day where it touched his own. They didn't normally cuddle, but Clark found the position easy and comfortable. Enjoying the feel, he used his free arm to wrap around her and pull her even closer.

Opening his eyes, he tilted his head down to give an easy smile at the girl curled against him, but the expression faded when he caught her looking back at him...with something heated in her eyes. Want.

His breath caught at the look and Chloe's gaze darted away, but it was too late. He'd seen what lay in her eyes, and it had triggered something deep inside him. Something he'd known, but had been pushing away. He wanted her too.

The girl in his arms wasn't just a girl. She was a woman, and a beautiful one too. But more even than that, she was...

"Chloe..."

Just her name breathed on a sigh escaped his lips. Desire. It ran fast and hot through his veins then, and his head dipped down to hers.

Her lips were warm from the sun and both soft and firm as they met his. He marveled how the shape of them fit together with his own so perfectly. He forgotten that from their other kisses. Kisses few and far between, and most often rushed things that had taken him unawares. This was different. Slow and warm like honey left in the sun, the kiss unfolded between them. First gentle and slow as they explored the shapes of each other lips, then with gentle pressure and teasing nibbles and darts of tongue. Clark shifted slightly so he could better wrap around Chloe's small body, giving them better access to each other's mouths. Her hands drifted up into his hair, and he felt fingers that moved so easily over a keyboard grip onto him with more intensity than she had ever given to any story. His own hand freed itself to rest gently on her waist. The dip there had fascinated him since he'd first seen it when she had stood up from that silly kiddee pool in this same bikini. Feeling emboldened by her groan of desire into his mouth, Clark moved his hand lower to her hip and he squeezed gently, loving the feel of firm but pliant flesh there.

"Clark?"

He mumbled a reply.

"Clark, honey, you need to get up."

"I am up," he rasped in reply.

Someone shook him gently. Clark's eyes snapped open and he saw his mom looking down at him quizzically. Confused, Clark met her gaze. It took him a moment to realize he must have been dreaming. Flames burst to life in his cheeks as he realized the nature of the dream his mother had interrupted...and its influence on his body. Frantically, he grabbed the covers and bunched them around his waist to disguise his body's very potent reaction to the dream. His mortification only increased when panting dog breath hit his face. The warm shape that had been cuddled next to him? It was actually Shelby.

Groaning in dismay, at the dream he had spun, Clark buried his red face in his hands.

He heard his mom ask, "Clark, honey. You ok? You were making some weird noises. Bad dream?"

If possible, Clark felt himself turning even more red, but he dropped his hands from his face. "No. I'm fine. It wasn't, umm...bad. Just...um..different..."

She reached forward and felt his red face as if checking for fever. "You sure you are ok? You are all red. You want to talk about it?"

"NO!" he nearly shouted, causing Martha to step back in alarm. He modulated his tone. "I mean no. Sorry, mom. Thanks, though."

"Oh, ok, if you are sure. Well then, can you get dressed and come down to breakfast, please? Your father needs help fixing the tractor."

"Sure, Mom. Of course," he replied hopping to his feet, hoping his body's fading reaction wouldn't be noticeable. Shelby got up as well and jumped down from the bed. He followed behind the departing Martha with a happily wagging tail, ready for his own breakfast.

Looking around his room, Clark expected something to appear different, but it wasn't. The room, the day outside, everything was completely normal. But routine as it all seemed, Clark knew things had changed. After that dream, he couldn't deny it any more.

He was crazy about his best friend.

"You're it!" Chloe cried, splashing away through the water of the forest pool.

Clark watched her trying to escape with a grin. They both knew he could catch her easily - even without superspeed. But that was no fun. The fun was in the chase, and catching her where she didn't expect him to be. So watching the trail she made through the water, he closed his eyes and ducked under. When he resurfaced ten feet away, he burst up with a grin ready for the surprised Chloe. Only...she wasn't there. Confused, he swam in a circle, looking for where she might have gone. The pool wasn't that big, but he didn't see her. He just started to worry when suddenly, he felt a pull on his own ankle and let out an undignified yelp that turned into a swirl of bubbles as he was pulled under. Under the churning waters, he was confronted with Chloe's smiling face and hair floating dreamily for a moment before she shot back to the surface.

In his distraction, she had managed to sneak up on him under the water!

Grinning now, he too shot back to the surface, laughing and accusing her, "You lied! You said I was it!"

Grinning back she replied, "You were, but I so rarely get the chance to pull a fast one on Clark Kent that I had to take the advantage."

"You know I'll have to get back at you now."

She mock-glared at him with narrowed eyes. "Just you try it, superboy."

Narrowing his own eyes in response, Clark shot through the water at her, wrapping his arms around her waist and swirling them around in a cascade of splashing water. The huge waves they cast out as they circled were quite beautiful and set both of them to laughing in joy. Whirling them in circles, Clark slowly made his way to shallower waters. Once he felt both their toes drag along the soft sands lining the bottom of the pool, he let the waves die down slowly and grinned down at the soaked Chloe still clinging to him. Water droplets coated her face and clung to her eyelashes, sparkling in the dappled light of the grotto.

Nothing had ever felt so right as having a warm and happy Chloe in his arms. Her eyes, always such a brilliant green, almost glowed with light and laughter. Her skin - so very bare in a slim 2-piece blue striped suit - was warm and inviting as the sun's rays where it touched his own. It wasn't a conscious decision, but between his dream and the feel of her body - lithe, but soft and delicious, tangled around him - the friendly, teasing embrace changed. Holding her eyes, which were darkening with uncertainty, he reached up and gently stroked her cheek. Last night's dream had finally forced him to confront the fact he'd been suppressing a growing desire for her for months. And now, he couldn't imagine pushing it away any more. Chloe made a small sound, and he pulled her even closer, seeking...something. He paused again when he felt her stiffen, afraid he had misunderstood her initial reaction. He moved to drop his arms so she could pull away...but then she relaxed against him.

And Clark saw then that his dream was right. She was a beautiful woman, yes, but she was also Chloe. His best friend, his ally, and his partner. And at this moment, in his arms, she was everything he had always wanted, looking on him with glowing eyes and softly parted lips.

"Chloe..." Her name like a prayer of thanks, breathed on a sigh escaped his lips, even as his head descended.

They had kissed before, of course. In fact, she had been his first kiss. But this was different. It felt like their first real kiss. He didn't know how she had known what he was about to do, when he hadn't even known. He had, in fact, been fighting the feeling all day. But she was ready for him, her lips rising to meet his half-way. Her lips were dewy with the water of the pool, but he still tasted the slight tang of cherry lip-balm and cola in a way that would forever after cause him to associate Cherry Coke with Chloe. Her lips were both soft and firm and the lovely bow-shape of them fit perfectly with his own. He remembered the kisses she didn't from the back of Pete's car and The Talon when he had been dosed with Red-K and she'd had a mind parasite. Suddenly, he wished that she too could have those memories, and found the kiss turning more heated as he poured the passion of those forgotten kisses into this one. He felt her mouth opening under his and his tongue swept inside, teasing and stroking hers as they had years past. The taste of her was drugging, as was the feel of her skin as his hands moved over her body in the water. Even though the water was warm, he felt her shiver in response. His own body had turned rock hard, which made the softness of her own seem even more appealing. Pressing into her, a groan tore from his throat as she cradled him against herself for a moment. Then she pulled away.

"Clark..." she said his name on a sigh, but he felt his chest contract at what he felt in that one word.

She wanted him to stop.

Disengaging from her slowly, but still keeping one hand on her face, he met her eyes, searching for why she had pulled away. The green of her irises had deepened with desire, but he saw a shade of pain he didn't understand in their depths.

"We should go..." she said, turning from him and making her way up to the beach.

Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Chloe accused herself. She knew better! She knew not to let Clark Kent under her skin or into her heart. Despite what she felt, her love was not safe with him, he'd been careless with her feelings too many times. He didn't really see her as anything more than a friend, she reminded herself. Any kiss between them was just a fluke. Rejection was inevitable. How had she forgotten? How could she have let that happen?

Then heated memories filled her mind. Clark's wet, beautiful body pressing her close. The ridged feel of his desire pressing into her own softness. The flickering flames in his eyes.

And the way she had caught him looking at her sometimes when they came here...

NO! It was her imagination. This wasn't real. Clark didn't really want her. Would never really want her, no matter how confused he was now.

She had to stay strong...for both their sakes.

The kiss didn't repeat, and as the weeks wore on, Clark began to fear for the end of the summer would also bring an end to their visits to The Grotto...as well as his chance with Chloe. She remained his steadfast best friend and ally, but nothing more. And already, north as the forest pond was, the air was growing steadily cooler and would soon to be too cold for swimming. What would he do when they could no longer escape together to their special retreat? Those visits had become so important to him, and he found himself wishing things could always be as they were up there - him alone with the water and the sunlight and Chloe forever.

The thought haunted him as he found himself watching the wheat in the Kent Farm fields grow tall and heavy from his loft in barn. He told himself he was thinking, not moping. He knew Chloe would still be his friend come fall, but she'd become so much more to him in that place. He really wished he had Chloe's way with words, so he could explain to her all she meant to him. The way he thought she sometimes understood when they were at The Grotto together.

But with each passing day, he saw the end of their time in the beautiful place as the end of his chance to tell her that what he felt for her was much more than friendship.

With trepidation, he watched the sun set over the fields of corn and wheat as another summer day passed. He heard the sound of a whine. Looking down he saw Shelby looking up at him sympathetically, his expressive eyebrows working. Clark crouched down and started scratching behind the dog's silky ears. "So what do you think boy? What should I do?"

Shelby's tail wagged, making a thumping noise against the wood floor before he leaned forward and planted a wet lick on Clark's face.

As always, the dog's good humor broke Clark's mope, causing him to laugh even as he pushed the dog away. Of course Shelby would think sloppy kisses would be the answer.

Though maybe the dog wasn't totally wrong...a kiss had opened up the possibility for him in the first place. Should he try again?

But what if Chloe didn't see it that way? Could he risk their friendship in case she said no?