Excellent start. The conversations are insightful and their reactions to each other are believable without being predictable. Also like the idea of the two of them in the pool at night... oh and by the way, if you plan to move this to the NC-17 section as the story progresses I wouldn't be opposed to that ;) The writing flows naturally and the plot sounds like it will be a good read too. Hope to see more soon!
I'm really enjoying this story. I like that it in the future. It's given them time to reflect and mature. They're away from Smallville, so the story can focus soley on them. The dialogue is great, not too heavy, just the right combination of banter and insight. Can't wait to see what happens in the next chapter.
awwwwwwww that a great begin more please
You know, this story will forever more go down in my head with the tune of "Nightswimming." It's all I could hear as I read... and did I mention I LOVE what I read.. and can't wait to read more? :biggrin:
SaraC
I just wanted to beg you for an update to this excellent story!! :worship2: Please!! I can't wait for more!!uppyeyes: :chlexsign4:
Great beginning! :yay: Please come back and update soon!
See disclaimers in part one.
A/N: You might have noticed that this shifts POV quite a bit. I’m trying something new. You also might have noticed that this f--ker is getting pretty long. I’m trying to contain the muses but it ain’t working. I’m going to try to keep this to five parts but no promises. Thanks to Kit Merlot for the read through.
Also thanks to SaraC for reassuring me that someone else here knows of this tune. I don’t feel quite so out of it now. Thank you all so much for all the lovely FB. I bitch sometimes, but I do like this story and I am very happy that you guys are enjoying it. Still mulling over the requests for making this NC-17. I’m a virgin when it comes to writing smut so I need to think about it some more. We’ll see.
Also still needy on the FB front, so keep it coming.
Chapter Two – Day Two
Hotel lobby…the following morning…
Chloe cradled her cell phone under her ear as she stole a glance towards the elevators one more time. Lex was not late. That was probably against some code of his. No, she was early. She had come down to lobby early to get a clear signal on her phone to call her father. They spoke several mornings each week, before they each went to work. It was ritual she made sure she kept up, even when she was away on a story. Chloe had come close to losing her father before, taking him for granted was just not in the realm of possibility now.
“It’s a beautiful hotel, I wish you could see it, Dad…Yeah, I’m just heading out to breakfast now, then over to the Convention Center…No, I’ll walk, it’s not far…I will.” She considered telling him about Lex but quickly decided against it. There was a high probability that she and Lex wouldn't see each other again after breakfast, so what would be the point?
She shifted in the antique chair to face the plate windows instead of the elevator bank. "It's 75 and sunny here. Let me guess…it's cloudy and rainy there?...Big shock….I don't know how you do it…I know, I know…alright, I will…I love you, too. Bye." She pressed the button to end the call and looked up. Lex was standing over her. He had snuck up on her. Again. 'Figures.'
*****
Lex stepped out of the elevator and immediately caught sight of Chloe sitting on one of the chairs in the lobby, once again talking into her cell phone. She was almost as bad as he was with that thing. But, he mused, Chloe never liked to be far away from any source of information. She was probably talking to her editor or following up on a lead, like always.
He stepped closer to her, and caught the endearment and frowned a bit. He hadn't meant to eavesdrop on a personal call…with…? Before he could stop himself, he found himself hoping it was her father. She hadn't mentioned being with anyone, not that she should have…they had only swam and chatted in the hot tub. 'Get a grip, Luthor, you don't have time to investigate Chloe Sullivan's love life, you’re here to work.' He had himself back under something resembling control when she ended her call and looked up, clearly surprised to see him.
"You just love sneaking up on me, don't you?" she grumbled when she recovered.
"I had no intention of scaring you, is it my fault that you're not as aware of your surroundings as you should be?" Casually, almost too much so, he added, "Important call?"
"Yes, but I'm done now." She slipped the phone in her bag and stood up. "You ready?"
"And good morning to you, too."
First eye roll of the day. "Good morning, Lex. Are you ready? Because I, for one, have a schedule to stick to today."
"My driver is outside." He replied, leading her towards the door. She looked questioningly at him. "The company I'm working with provided a car for me as a courtesy."
They stepped out into the bright glare of sunlight and, sure enough, a sleek black limousine was waiting at the curb, complete with black suited driver.
"Where to, sir?" asked the driver, opening the door.
"What's your name?" she asked the driver.
"Ronald, ma'am."
"Well, Ronald, we won't be needing the car," she reached over and plucked Lex's briefcase from his hand "or *this*, for a little while. Why don't you chill out until he gets back? Here, you can read my paper." Chloe tossed Lex's briefcase into the back seat, and dropped her newspaper into Ronald's hands. She glanced back at the bemused expression on Lex's face and smiled, "We're walking, Mr. Luthor. Follow me."
Lex smirked at the driver for a beat before following Chloe, who was walking towards the Embarcadero, the promenade that ran along the bay.
For the second time in two days, he had to walk briskly to catch her. Lex was not used to people walking away from him. Correction, he was not used to people walking away from him and expecting him to follow.
By the time he reached her, she had slipped on her sunglasses and was watching the gulls skip across the water. Though it was still early, there were quite a few people on the Embarcadero. Tourists sight-seeing, natives jogging and biking, and shopkeepers opening up for the day.
“How many times have you been here?” he asked her, slipping his own shades on.
“Three or four. My roommate in college was from the area. I came down with her on breaks and she would show me around.” She cast a sidelong glance at him and smiled when she saw the sunlight glinting off his head. “I certainly hope you’re wearing sunscreen, the sun here is intense. That’s the first thing she taught me.”
“SPF 45.”
“That should do.”
“I suppose asking you where we’re going would be a waste of time?”
“You catch on quick.”
“Well, how about telling me about this busy day of yours that you’re late for keeping up with?”
“Why should I? Are you going to tell me about yours?”
“No, but there are laws against insider trading preventing me from doing that. Nothing’s stopping you.”
“Fair point, but I’m not sure you’d really care to know what journalists talk about when they’re away from everybody else.”
‘Maybe I do.”
Chloe stopped walking and turned to face him.
“Really?”
“Really.”
Chloe bit her lower lip, a habit he recognized, and leaned forward a bit. In a hushed voice she said, “If you must know, we make up naughty limericks about politicians, celebrities and such. Stop me if you’ve heard this one: There once was a bald billionaire from Kansas…”
Lex smirked and started walking again, effectively, and thankfully, cutting off her words. “Still love being a smartass, don’t you, Miss Sullivan? I’m surprised that mouth of yours hasn’t gotten you into trouble.”
“Not lately, although you’ll never know, you didn’t let me finish my limerick,” she retorted as she walked past him.
She seemed to have a specific destination in mind. She strolled over to one of the small freestanding shops that lined the walkway. A line of people stood waiting and several more people were standing nearby or sitting and eating at the small tables surrounding it. There was the smell of something spicy and warm in the air. Lex raised an eyebrow when Chloe got in the line.
He followed stood next to her. “Here?”
“Here.” She confirmed and turned to face him. Looking him up and down, she shook her head. “Come here.”
“What?”
“Just stand still.” Chloe reached up behind his tie and began unbuttoning the second button from the top, then the third. ‘What the hell---?’ thought Lex. He moved to still her hands but she waved them off.
“Hello? What are you doing?”
“Saving you the trouble of having to go back to the hotel to replace this lovely, but likely overpriced, tie.” Working quickly, she tucked the silky scrap of fabric into his shirt and smoothed her hand down over the button placket of his shirt. Lex inhaled sharply, then immediately hoped Chloe hadn’t noticed his reaction.
“There, that should be OK.” She looked up him, her eyes barely visible through the dark lenses of her glasses. She gestured to the other businessmen milling about. They all had their ties similarly tucked in or tossed over their shoulders.
“These can get kinda messy. It helps to take precautions.”
“And ‘these’ are?”
“You’ll see.”
Lex looked up at the top of the building hoping to see some kind of marker indicating what Chloe was intending to do to him. No sign. ‘Figures.’
*****
Chloe patted his chest once more and then gave him a light shove. “Be a dear and find us someplace to sit.”
He looked at her blankly. “Excuse me?”
“Look alive, Luthor! Go find us someplace to sit. I’ll take care of this,” she replied, trying very hard not to laugh at his perplexed state as he obeyed her request.
He looked less sure of himself than she had ever remembered seeing him look, which was exactly the point. If she simply wanted to have breakfast with him, they could have chatted over perfectly poached eggs in the hotel restaurant, but she didn’t want that. A person that was too comfortable tended to talk about comfortable things. Throw them off, even just a little and they tended to drop their guard, often without realizing it. Chloe hadn’t learned that in journalism school. It wasn’t something you could put in a textbook.
Of course, if she was unnerving him, he was doing the same to her. ‘No one should look that sexy at 8 in the morning,’ she decided. ‘Even if their name was Luthor and they had all he money in the world to buy custom-made suits…and they smelled terrific. Shit.’ Still, she was pleased with herself for her performance with his tie. She could have simply tossed it over his shoulder as most of the men did but then she wouldn’t have had an excuse to unbutton his shirt. Hell, this was Lex Luthor, who knew when she’d have a chance again? If ever. Take your chances when you can. That was her motto…now.
Soon it was her turn at the counter. She held up two fingers and nodded at the counterperson, the same sweet, middle-aged Mexican woman who had waited on her before.
Within minutes, she handed Chloe her order, still warm, and two steaming cups. ‘Perfect.’
Balancing everything on a cardboard tray, Chloe made her way through the small crowd of hungry people and found Lex sting at a table.
“Here we are.” She sang as she sank into the empty chair next to him. Lex cocked his head at the steaming fried dough concoctions on the tray. “What are *those*?”
“*Those* are the best churros to be had in the entire city of San Diego. If we want better ones, we’d have to go down to Mexican border but I just don’t have time today. Bummer.” She shoved his share of the breakfast towards him and he picked it up and examined it. “It looks kind of like a doughnut…that’s been run over by a semi.”
Chloe took a bite of hers and giggled at him. “That’s because it is a doughnut, silly. Sort of. Think of them as what doughnuts could be, if our bland American tastes didn’t ruin them. Go ahead, try it.”
Lex frowned. “Is there any way to do this without getting it all over me?”
“Nope, not really.” ‘Not that I’d tell you anyway.’ She added to herself, seeing Lex trying in vain to eat a churro without getting covered in cinnamon and sugar was too priceless to pass up.
He finally took a bite. And another. And another. Chloe smiled to herself. ‘That was too easy.’
Halfway though, he paused. “Thanks for the tip about the tie.” He was trying and failing to get the sugar off his fingers.
“Don’t mention it.”
“How are you managing to stay relatively clean?”
“Practice.”
“So there is a trick to this?”
“Yes, but we don’t tell it to rookies. Getting covered in sugar your first time is part of the experience. Try the coffee.”
This time he didn’t hesitate. “Oh my God.”
“Good, isn’t it?”
“Oh, my GOD!”
“That was my reaction, too. I mean, I’ve had good coffee before…” she trailed off as she took a sip of her own.
“What is *in* this?” he wanted to know.
“What’s it taste like?”
“Cinnamon…something else…I can’t…”
“I think it has some kind of special sugar you can only get in Mexico, plus some other stuff. It’s called café de olla, by the way.” Chloe shifted a bit closer so he could hear her better. “The first time Carmen brought me here, I begged the lady behind the counter to tell me what she put in it.”
“What did she say?”
“Many, many good things.”
“And you settled for that?”
Chloe shrugged. “Yeah, I did. I can’t imagine the real answer could be any better than that. Can you?”
Lex took another sip of the heavenly coffee and gave what she recognized as one his rare genuine smiles. “No, I guess it can’t.”
They finished eating in comfortable silence and sipped their coffee as they looked out over the water.
“So you’ve fed me Mexican junk food and the best coffee I have ever had, do you plan on telling me about your busy day?” he asked a few minutes later.
“Mostly seminars on media issues, trends, roundtables, that sort of thing. Some of it very snooze-worthy, some of it interesting. This afternoon, though, I’ve been asked to be a panelist on a new seminar they’re running for journalism students from the nearly universities.”
“Really, what about?”
“It’s called ‘Getting your first J-Job and Keeping It.’ It’s essentially a bunch of journalists yammering about breaking into the business. I’ll be the youngest one there.”
Even partially hidden behind his sunglasses, she could see his eyebrows rise. “Impressive. How do you feel about that?”
“A little floored. Honored, of course. Nervous, nevertheless. I’m only a couple years older than some of those students. I guess part of me is worried that they’ll see me like I was back in Smallville...Obsessive…”
“Driven,” countered Lex.
“Annoying…”
“Dedicated.”
“Naïve.”
“Honest.”
“Flatterer.” she muttered through her blushing grin. “I think you’re the only person who knew me in Smallville, other than my dad, who would say those things.”
“I doubt that, Chloe. What about your friends?”
She sighed, heavily. “Maybe Pete…but that’s it.”
“Clark?”
“Clark and I aren’t friends anymore, Lex.”
“But you’ve kept in touch…I assumed he’d visited you when he did his little ‘finding himself’ thing when he took that year off before starting college.”
“He didn’t. And we’ve barely kept in touch, and even then, only as acquaintances. We don’t really talk. The occasional generic email. Christmas cards. That’s it. It’s better this way.”
“Why?”
She looked up, startled at his inquiry. ‘I’d think it was obvious.’ “We can’t be friends anymore, Lex, if we ever really were. For a friendship to work, there needs to be trust and we both blew that. Sky high. So to speak.”
Lex only nodded.
“What about you, you’ve stayed in touch with him, right?”
“Somewhat, though much less since I left Smallville. I didn’t hear from him that whole year and then he just showed up at Metropolis U. He pops in now and then to chat but you can never pin him down. He’s just…”
“Clark.”
“Right.”
“Pete tells me he’s doing the whole journalism thing, too.”
“Yes, he is.”
“Good for him….Hope he’s mastered the spell check by now.”
Lex smiled at her disgruntled muttering.
Chloe snuck a look at her watch and cursed. “As much as I would love to sit here and drink this coffee all day with you, Lex, I really have to go.” ‘Shit, what the hell did I just say?’
He rose with her and helped her collect their empty paper items. “I should as well. I really enjoyed this, I’ll probably be on a sugar high all day but…this was good. Can I offer you a ride somewhere?” She shook her head, and pointed to the sprawling white building further down the Embarcadero. “No, the Convention Center’s right over there. I can walk.” Chloe tossed their trash in a nearby basket and turned back to face him. Smirking slightly, she reached up and pulled his tie out again and re-buttoned his shirt. “There, no clumps of sugar.”
Lex reached up with his own hand and brushed his thumb across her cheek. “Except for right here.” He picked up few grains of cinnamon sugar, and drew his thumb to his lips, his eyes locked with hers the whole time.
‘Breathe, Chloe, Breathe.’ “Hey…maybe I was saving that for later!” ‘Good, go for humor. Do NOT focus on his tongue. Do NOT…Shit!’
“Too bad, maybe next time.” He leaned over and kissed her check exactly where the sugar had been.
“It was nice seeing you again, Chloe.”
When he pulled back slightly, Chloe gave him a devilish grin of her own. “It was nice seeing you again, too. Lex.” She then ran her index finger high across his bare forehead. “Don’t forget to reapply every two hours. Wouldn’t want you to burn.” And she stepped away, quickly, before he could respond. She wanted very badly to look back and see the look on his face but she didn’t dare. Instead, she settled for the one that sprung to her mind and that image kept a smile on her face for most of the day.
*****
Hotel lobby…later that evening…
As he walked into the hotel lobby later that night, Lex Luthor was high. Higher than he had been since he stopped relying on ‘chemical enhancement’ several years ago. Maybe it was the large amount of sugar and caffeine he had ingested that morning. Maybe it was the fact that his acquisition meetings with CalChip had gone exceptionally well. Or maybe it was the fact that he had been unable to get Chloe Sullivan’s smile out of his head for most of the day. ‘Could be a combination of the three,’ he thought to himself. His mind had also been working on ways to see her again before he left. He alternated between thinking it was a great idea to thinking it would be a colossal mistake.
They lived halfway across the country from one another. The both had demanding careers. They couldn’t start a… ‘A what, Luthor? A friendship? Something more?’ It was a good question, but one he couldn’t answer. At least not without his stomach clenching into knots.
Still deep in thought, he headed towards the front desk to collect the papers he knew his office had overnighted to him. Was it wise to allow himself to become as fascinated with Chloe Sullivan as he had secretly been in Smallville in the final months before all hell broke loose? Many of the obstacles that existed then were gone now. But they were replaced with others. Distance, of course. Time. And there was the little matter of him not knowing if Chloe saw him as a potential romantic interest. He cringed at his mind’s choice of words. ‘Potential romantic interest? Could you *be* any colder? Could you really expect someone as passionate as Chloe to…’
His musings were interrupted by the distinctive voice of the subject of his thoughts echoing through the lobby. He turned around to see a very annoyed looking Chloe Sullivan striding through the lobby towards the elevator…being trailed by a tall, dark-haired man. Despite his height advantage, the man seemed to be having some difficulty in keeping up with her. Lex studied Chloe’s pursuer, he was handsome and well-dressed, more lanky than muscular and he had thick, wavy hair that was just a shade too long than was the norm in business world. Lex’s immediate impression was ‘investment banker, fussed with wannabe rock star.’
“What part of ‘I don’t want to talk about this anymore’ is not getting through that thick skull of yours, Mark?” Lex heard her say.
“Chloe, hon, I’ve apologized half a dozen times already. Can we just talk about this rationally?” the man replied.
Lex blinked. ‘Hon?’
“Don’t call me that!” she ordered as she arrived at the elevator bank and stabbed at the ‘UP’ button.
‘Well that’s a good sign.’
“Chloe, I know I asked you the wrong way, but that doesn’t change what I asked. Are you going to say yes?”
‘OK, now that’s *not* a good sign.’ Lex edged closer to the couple, partially hidden by one of the lobby’s marble pillars. His mind was racing, she had called the man ‘Mark’. He vaguely remembered that when they met in the elevator yesterday, she had also been talking to a Mark on her cell. Then there was the decidedly personal call he had overheard this morning. ‘SHIT!’
“You asked me in front of a room full of people -- people we *work* with, Mark! Are you insane?” she crossed her arms over he chest and tapped her foot as the numbers on the elevator blinked slowly. “Did you honestly think doing that would make me say yes?”
“No…well, maybe…I don’t know. It seemed like a good idea at the time. I certainly didn’t think you’d get this upset. I thought this was what you wanted!”
“I really don’t know that. Maybe I’m happy where I am. Did that occur to you when you dropped this on me in front of everyone at the CAPA dinner! No, of course not!”
The elevator arrived and Chloe stomped in. To Lex’s increasing annoyance, ‘Mark’ followed.
“Can we just talk about this? It’s not as if you have to decide right now.” He placed his hand on Chloe’s back and Lex felt his fists clench, almost of their own volition. “At least allow me to make my case. Please, Chlo?”
The elevator doors slid closed so Lex never got to hear Chloe’s answer.
Lex leaned back against the pillar as he tried to process the scene he had just witnessed…and reconcile it with the time he had spent with Chloe over the last two days. He hadn’t seen her in a long time, yes, but he got the distinct feeling that Chloe had been flirting with him at times, and that she had been as affected by being near him as he had been by her. The apology, the kiss, breakfast this morning, had he been reading too much into them?
The conversation he just overhead implied that Chloe was not only with someone, but they were serious. Lex sighed and pushed himself off the pillar and straightened his back. ‘Better to find out know before you made even more of a fool of yourself.’ He walked over to the elevator and stabbed the ’UP’ button, chiding himself for getting too caught up in the past, infatuated with a memory. He’d be on a plane headed back to Metropolis soon enough.
*****
Patio…later that evening…
Chloe sat at the edge of the pool. She alternately gazed out at the moonlit bay and then absently down at her pale legs as they dangled in the water.
She heard movement behind her and, looked, not behind her, but to her left, at the shadow that the person made. Unmistakable.
“Hey, Lex.”
“How’d you know it was me?” he asked. His voiced sounded a bit flat, which prompted her to turn around. He was slightly turned away from her, pulling off the t-shirt he wore over his swim trucks.
“You cast a pretty distinctive shadow and I’m not speaking metaphorically, either.”
Lex smirked at her and visibly hesitated before crouching down beside her. “I guess this is becoming a habit of ours…the swimming. Something the matter with the water?” he inquired, noticing that with the exception of her legs, she was still dry.
Chloe shrugged. “Just haven’t gotten around to diving in yet. Been sitting here enjoying the scenery.”
He looked at her downcast gaze. “The scenery’s over there.”
“You don’t say.”
Lex sat down and mimicked her position, dropping his own legs into the water. “Something the matter?”
“Long day.”
“Ah.” Chloe could tell he wasn’t sure whether he should ask her a specific question or stay silent so she made the decision for him.
“I just spent the last two hours on the phone trying to convince my editor that I wasn’t quitting the Chronicle.”
“Why would you need to do that?”
“Because my bonehead friend Mark decided to offer me a job at his magazine…in front of everyone at the conference dinner.” Chloe muttered, then looked up to see his reaction. He looked genuinely surprised, and even a little…relieved?
“He offered you a job?” he breathed.
“In front of everyone, and the jackass expected me to just say yes right then and there, as if he was God or something. By the time I got back to my room, someone had already told my editor about it and she was pissed. She thought I was trying to play hardball with her. It took me *forever* to calm her down.”
“He offered you a job,” repeated Lex.
Chloe cocked an eyebrow at him. “Ye-ah, we covered that part. Are you OK?”
“But…why would he offer you a job?” he asked, ignoring her question.
“Gee, thanks.”
“That’s not what I meant…why would he do it like that?”
“Because he’s loves attention. He always did. He knew it would cause a stir. And I guess he thought I wouldn’t say no in front of everybody.”
“You sound like you know him pretty well.”
Chloe felt herself color a bit. “Sort of. He used to work at the Chronicle. He was there when I interned and for a while after I got hired. We had a…thing, briefly. It was over before it really started but we’ve stayed friends. Anyway, he just got a job as an associate editor at a news magazine. He’s looking for writers to make the move with him and he asked me.”
“Did you really tell him no? It sounds like a great opportunity for you.”
“It is and it isn’t. It’s complicated. I told him I’d at least think about it but I’m not sure it’s the right move for me. I wasn’t lying last night when I said I was happy where I am.”
“I didn’t think you were…lying, that is. Is it because of the history with him, is that why you don’t want to take the job?”
Chloe shook her head. “Nah, we’re cool with that. He’s a big flirt but we know where we stand on that, we weren’t a good match. No, this is more about me.” She finished cryptically, hoping that Lex would get the hint that she wasn’t ready to talk about the underlying reasons.
He seemed to. “It looks like you have some thinking to do.”
And she shrugged again, kicking up a small wave of water droplets. “I do, thanks for listening, though.”
“Anytime…now, being that we’re both here and we both haven’t started swimming yet, what do you say to a little competition?” Lex said, smirking madly. Chloe noticed that he seemed in much better spirits than when he first arrived.
“Define ‘competition.’”
“Competition, from the Latin competere meaning ‘an occasion on which a winner is selected from among two or more contestants for a profit or prize.’”
“You smartass, that’s not what I meant and you know it! Although I am not at all surprised that you know that off the top your head.”
“Sorry, couldn’t help it. I was thinking of a race. What do you say, 10 laps? I’ll even let you get a head start to make up the height advantage. Or I could do 11 or 12 to your 10…”
“Not on your life. We both do 10 or we don’t do it at all. And no head starts.” Chloe swiveled and jumped down into the pool to punctuate her statement. They were closer to the shallow end so the water only came up to her ribcage.
He repeated her action, keeping his hand anchored to the wall. “Chloe, it’s not really a fair match that way…”
“I know that, maybe I just want to see how close I can come to kicking your rich boy ass fair and square. And who knows? I may surprise you.”
“Chloe, you do that pretty well without kicking my ‘rich boy ass.’” Lex replied, as he maneuvered past to her to get in one of the other lanes. Chloe blinked at his words and took a deep breath to calm her racing heart. She was standing in very cool water in her swimsuit and Lex Luthor was making her body heat up just by his mere presence. She swam to the end of her lane and saw Lex do the same.
“Ready?” he called out to her.
“Wait, what are we competing for?”
Lex shrugged his bare, muscled shoulders. “Let’s just say ‘bragging rights’…until we think of something better.”
Chloe rolled her eyes at his evil grin. “Deal.”
“Ready?”
“GO!”
For the next several minutes, the only things Chloe was aware of were the rushing and splashing sounds in her ears, the feel of the water around her limbs and the occasional roughness of the pool walls gently scraping her hand as she counted off each lap. She felt the familiar tingling in her lungs as she held her breath, and then rose up thorough the surface to gulp more air. Swimming was the only exercise she could tolerate on a regular basis. Back home she walked, rode her bike occasionally, even worked out with weights every now and then. But nothing was like swimming.
She touched the wall a final time and pulled herself up to hang onto it, and looked over to see Lex next to her in his lane, breathing heavily but smiling nonetheless. ‘Looks like I lost.’
*****
Lex pushed himself through the water at his normal spend, knowing very well that Chloe would kick his ass for real if she thought he had let her win. Pretty soon he was lost in the feeling of the water pushing back against his body. He felt weightless, not just because he was swimming, but because he had been mistaken about the conversation he overheard earlier. He was never so happy to be wrong in his life. Now he just had to decide what he was going to do about it.
He gripped the wall after his tenth lap and looked around for Chloe. She was at the other end of the pool, a little more than one lap behind. ‘Impressive.’ He used the extra time to catch his breath and watch her move through the water.
When she reached the end and looked over at him, he sent her a sheepish smirk.
“How much did you beat me by?”
“About a lap, that’s pretty impressive considering the height and upper body strength difference. You’re a good swimmer.”
She splashed water at him. “I should have done better considering you had the extra weight of your ego to drag.”
He splashed her back. “Sore loser.”
“Whatever.” Chloe let go of the wall, flipped over on her back and began to drift, as she had done the night before. “So you won. What’s your prize?”
“Let me take you to dinner tomorrow night. Your choice.”
“Are you sure? We could end up eating churros again.”
“I don’t mind, I wouldn’t turn down more of that coffee.”
“No, I have a better place in mind.”
“So that’s a ‘yes’?”
“Of course it’s a ‘yes’, you think I’m going to pass when a billionaire wants to buy me dinner?”
Chloe had drifted towards the ladder by then and she reached out to anchor herself to it. “You getting out anytime soon?”
Lex nodded. “I’m kind of winded.”
“Ten laps are all it takes to wipe out Lex Luthor? I’m so disappointed,” she teased
Lex braced his hands on the side of the pool and pulled himself up from right where his was. He didn’t trust himself to get too close to Chloe right then, at least not until she thoroughly caught her breath and her chest stopped heaving. It was more than a little distracting.
“I’ve had a long day and besides, you’ve got youth on your side.”
“That’s the third crack you’ve made about my age, Luthor,” observed Chloe as she climbed the ladder. “I’m beginning to think you still think of me as a teenage reporter.”
Lex had his back to her as he dried his face with a towel. “I assure you that is not case, Chloe," he said, but the towel muffled his voice.
“Pardon?”
He turned to face her. “I said, I assure you that is not the case. I’ve always been aware of exactly how old you are.”
He could see the movement in Chloe’s throat as she swallowed. “Is that right?” She reached for a towel of her own. “Why is that?”
He waited until he had her full attention before he answered. He had decided to be honest with her and he wanted to make sure his words had their intended impact. “Let’s just say that reminding myself that you were 17…kept me out of trouble when we were back in Smallville.”
Though she tried to contain her reaction, Lex could see that he had unnerved her by his admission. She blushed immediately…all over. The sight of her pale skin turning pink right before his eyes made his own heart beat faster… sending blood rushing to various places in his body
She turned slightly away from him and continued to rub the towel over her skin. “It’s a good thing that *one* of us was thinking clearly back then,” she replied shakily.
A smile spread slowly across his face as her words sunk in. She noticed immediately. “Stop looking so smug, Luthor.”
“Who, me? Smug?”
She threw her towel at his head, relieving some of the tension that had settled over them.
When he pulled the damp cloth from his face, he found her slipping into her robe. She sent him an apologetic look. “Sorry. I’m going to skip the hot tub tonight. I’ve got an early conference breakfast in the morning.”
Lex suspected that her decision had more to do with the discussion they had just been having and he couldn’t blame her for being a little skittish. He certainly didn’t trust himself in a hot tub with Chloe Sullivan, not until they both knew what they were getting themselves into, that is.
“You’re probably right; I have an early meeting too.”
She moved toward the patio doors and he followed, pulling his shirt back over his head.
“How’s your acquisition going?”
“As expected.”
“Jackass.”
They were both laughing when the elevator arrived, more from giddiness than anything else. They stepped in and Lex pressed the buttons for their floors
“I guess it would be waste of time for me to ask where we’re going to dinner.”
“As much of a waste of time as it was for ask me about that company you are acquiring.”
“Now who’s being difficult?” He stepped closer to her until they were face to face. “Maybe I just don’t want you to go to jail because of me."
“That’s very sweet of you, and for the record, I doubt the sheriff of Smallville would have dragged you off to jail because of *me*.” Lex could feel her breath on his face.
“Don’t be so sure. She really had it in for me. But maybe it would have been worth it.” He rested his hands at her waist and caught her lips with his own. He heard Chloe sigh and felt her palms on his chest.
The kiss wasn’t very deep or intense. It was soft, sweet and positively electric. It was at once an acknowledgement of what they already felt and a promise for things yet to come.
However, as Lex felt the places where their damp bodies touched grow warm from the contact, he felt the distinct urge to press her against the wall and explore her mouth and possibly the rest of her more thoroughly. From her soft moans, he doubted she would argue.
The elevator chimed signaling that they had arrived at her floor. They pulled apart reluctantly.
Lex licked his lips. “So…should we say tomorrow night, seven o’clock?”
“I’ll meet you in the lobby.”
“Sleep well.”
Chloe nodded and squeezed his hand once before releasing it and disappearing down the hallway. Lex fought the urge to follow her and leaned against the back wall of the lift with a sigh. A smile spread across his face as the elevator doors slid closed.
End Chapter Two.
AWWww that was like a breath of fresh air. I loved the banter and the teasing and the growing closeness between these two. Keep up the great work . :biggrin:
Hope :chlexsign2:
"Everyone seems normal until you get to know them. "
NBG, I love this story! From the churros, to the swim competition to the kiss--EXCELLENT!
You can make this story as long as you like :biggrin:
KATHY
"Don't quote me to me!" Detective Danny "Danno" WIlliams, Hawaii Five-0, episode 1.8 Mana'o
"This could barely fill up Thumbelina!" SALIGIA by westwingwolf
My Fanfic Master List
My livejournal: An Accused Heretic
:biggrin: GAH........ NOW THATS WHAT I CALL CHLEX!!!!!!!!!
Gimme more baby!! MORE!: :worship2:
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks