D E R E K ' S   P O V

This sofa sucks ass.

The springs are digging into my back, the blanket is scratchy and I can't stop tossing and turning. The room is dark and my arms are crossed over my chest, frowning at the ceiling while I wait for sleep to come.

I jolt when a pillow unexpectedly smacks me square in the face. "What the fuck was that for?" I laugh, squinting in the darkness when I sit up.

"You're making so much noise," Layla says, reaching over to turn on the bedside lamp. A dull light illuminates the room and I can see her tiny figure curled in the duvet looking over at me. "I can't sleep with you audibly sulking over there."

I launch the pillow back at her. "Oh I'm sorry miss princess and the pea over there with the softest, fluffiest, most luxurious feather mattresses in the castle."

Layla's soft laugh travels between us and a smile crosses my lips at how much I love that sound. "Come on," She says though a roll of her eyes. She pulls back the covers, opening up some space. "Sleep up here then, dramatic ass."

I pause with one foot off the sofa, shooting her a teasing look. I'd never turn down that offer, but you best believe I'm going to taunt her about it. "Isn't this breaking the friendship rules?"

Another pillow is tossed at my head. "Shut up and get up here before I change my mind."

Crossing the room, I slip underneath the comforter, immediately sighing contently as my back sinks into the soft mattress. I keep some space between us, staying to my side of the bed and Layla stays to hers. The lamp is switched off and Layla mumbles a quiet goodnight which I return.

Twenty minutes pass and this time it's not me who's tossing and turning in the bed. I groan and a sleepy, questioning sound falls from my lips.

"I'm sorry," Layla says quietly, turning on her side to face me. "I can't sleep."

"You know what helps me sleep?" I grumble into the pillow.

"What?"

"Orgasms."

I slowly peak one eye open when I don't get a response from her. She's already looking at me, and the expression on her face is intrigued. She's been the one putting the stop on us getting physical again and I think I may have caught a moment of weakness and broke the barrier. I've got her attention, now I need to convince her because she wants it, I can tell by the look on her face she wants to give into her desires, but a bigger part of her also looks like she's about to shut it down.

Sure enough she groans, covering her face with her hands. "We can't. We're just friends, Derek. Friends."

The words she's saying does not match her shaky tone one bit. She wants this. I hope she's not banking on me being the tough one too stop whatever is happening between us because fuck that.

The room is dark, only a sliver of moonlight peeking through a gap in the curtains and hitting the wall above the bed. Layla's breath hitches when I place my hand on her hip, slipping my thumb underneath her shirt to draw circles in her skin.

"Don't you remember how good it felt?" I say, slowly inching closer to her. My fingers dance over her smooth skin, feeling the way she unknowingly leans into my touch. "I'm attracted to you, you're attracted to me, so what's the issue?"

I don't know why Layla even thinks she can deny it because it's blatantly obvious. "No I'm not," She says weakly.

My gaze drops to her chest and the peaks poking through the thin fabric of my shirt. "Really? Because your nipples could cut glass right now."

Layla shoots me a surprised look before she accusingly waves her finger in the direction of my crotch. "Yeah, well, you have a boner."

I shrug shamelessly. Obviously I've been bricked up since the second I slid into the same bed as her. "I'm not the one denying the attraction."

She wants to say yes so bad, I can see it in her eyes. So to test my theory, I dip my head into her neck, hovering my lips over the sweet spot underneath her ear to catch her reaction. She sucks in an anticipating breath, rolling her head to the side to give me better access.

"Come on," I murmur quietly, my lips curving up into a smile when they finally connect with her skin, planting soft kisses down the column of her neck. "Tell me you want me."

"We work together," She says quietly, breathing getting heavier as my palm splays flat across her stomach, slowly inching upward.

"I'm aware," I mumble, nipping at the sensitive spot underneath her ear, immediately smoothing my tongue over it.

Layla's hands roam across my back and shoulders when a soft moan slips past her lips. "Which is why we shouldn't do this."

"Mhm," I hum, rolling over to settle between her parted legs. Them legs then lock around my waist, pulling my body closer. "We shouldn't."

Still kissing her neck, I press my hips down against her and I'm rewarded with another one of those soft moans that are like music to my ears.

"Fuck it," She whispers breathlessly, tilting her hips up to grind against me. "We're doing this."

Layla takes me by surprise when she grips the hem of her shirt, keeping her eyes trained on mine as she inches it up her skin. She throws the material down on the ground and my jaw goes with it. I knew she was hot, but for 'friendship' reasons, I guess I was trying to convince myself that her body was not all that. But, oh boy, it is.

My mouth is practically watering at the sight in front of me as I watch her perfect handful size tits bounce as her back settles back into the mattress. I swallow harshly as my eyes drag down her dipped waist to her full hips and thick thighs that I will someday be suffocated by and I'll thank her.

I push up onto my knees between her legs, running my hands up the smooth olive skin of her thighs. With her knees bent, she lets her legs fall open in front of me and I lick my lips, desperate to taste her. I force myself to tear my gaze away from the damp spot in her panties to meet her eyes.

"I am going to ruin you."

Layla's finger pushes against my puckered lips when I hover over to kiss her. "No kissing on the lips," She says, reaching down to palm me through my boxers. Her hand applies some pressure and I fight back a moan. "And we stick to hands only."

I'm not about to argue. I'll take what I can get. "Deal," I mumble against her finger, shedding myself of my boxers.

Lips now out of the question, I start to rain hot, open mouth kisses across her jaw, down her neck to her chest. Layla gasps, head rolling back against the pillow when I drag my lips across her breast, sucking the perfect pink bud into my mouth. I soak in every whimper that falls past her lips while I lick and suck, grazing my teeth against the sensitive area.

Moving to the other breast, I pause for a split second when my eyes settle on that tattoo she mentioned a couple days ago. It's on the left side of her body, high up on her rib cage in the side boob area. I would try to analyse it right now.. but there's a pair of tits in my face so I'll leave the analysing for later.

My eyes find Layla's when I release her nipple from my mouth and bring both my hands to her tits, kneading them with my palms, my eyes threatening to roll back at the handful of soft flesh. "I am going to fuck these one day," I say and her tits jiggle perfectly when I give them a squeeze.

"Derek," She says breathless and frustrated, squirming beneath me. "I need you to touch me."

"Oh yeah?" I smirk, pining her hands to the pillow behind her head, hovering my lips over hers. "Beg me for it."

"Please," She whispers as my fingers ghost over her damp panties. "Please, touch me. Please."

My dick twitches when I let the knuckle of my middle finger brush along her silk covered slit, feeling the material slick with her arousal. "Fuck, you're soaked."

Another gentle moan passes her lips when I reach for the hem of her panties and pull them down her legs, the only boundary left between us where I find her swollen and dripping, aching for my attention. And it's confirmed, she has the prettiest pussy I've ever seen.

My groan falls between us when Layla's hand reaches down and wraps around my cock, pumping it twice. My breath hitches in my throat as I watch her thumb ghost over the red tip, my hips jolting forward slightly.

My jaw slacks when she slides my cock through her folds, coating it with her arousal before she moves her hand up and down, making sure it's coated before she starts stroking me.

"Fuck," I whisper breathlessly, my lips grazing the shell of her ear. "Your hand looks so good wrapped around my cock."

"Derek," Layla says with a threatening tone in her voice, dragging her parted lips down my neck and biting the delicate skin. "If you don't touch me right now, then I'm going to do it myself."

"So demanding," I tut, nipping at her jaw when I finally slide my fingers through her folds, circling her clit. My free hand travels down the outside of her thigh, hooking it around my waist to open her up wider. "Where?" My thumb presses up harshly against her swollen clit, dragging it down south as she whines again. "Here?"

Layla's breath shudders as my fingers teasingly circle her entrance. "Yes...fuck, please."

Satisfied that my fingers are now soaked and she's writhing beneath me, begging for some relief for the ache between her legs, I push two fingers inside of her, curving them up in the exact way she liked last time. She doesn't stop jerking me off as her head rolls back onto the pillow, her eyes fluttering closed as I pump my fingers in and out.

Layla's cries grow louder and louder as I increase my movements and pace, and I admire every expression of pleasure she makes, watching her back arch into me while I rain gentle kisses across her chest.

"Oh fuck," I groan, dropping my head to her shoulder and letting my eyes fall between us to watch her hand on me, twisting and squeezing my cock perfectly, using her thumb to spread the precum around the head. "Just like that."

"Don't stop," She pants softly, rocking and tightening around me when I slip a third finger inside of her. "Please, don't stop."

"Fuck, I'm so close," I gasp, drinking in the view of her tits softly bouncing from the force of my fingers pumping in and out of her. "I want to cover you in my come."

"Not happening," Layla gasps softly and to my surprise, she uses the strength of her legs wrapped around my waist to flip me underneath her to where she's now on top, straddling my hips. From this position, instead of my come covering her, it's now going to end up on me. Layla squeezes me harder, slowing her strokes. "You don't get girlfriend privileges on a friendship salary."

I want to laugh at that comment so bad, but I can't because my lips are parted with a moan, the sight of her now on top of me bringing me closer to the edge faster than I expected. The base of my spine is tightening, toes curling as I tether on the edge of my orgasm.

"Don't hold back," I pant, tearing my gaze away from the way she's perfectly focusing the pump of her hand around my swollen head to the sight of her practically riding my fingers. I use my free hand to grip one side of her waist, drawing slow circles in her clit with my thumb. "I want to hear all those pretty sounds you make when you come."

My fingers work faster between her thighs while Layla's head falls back, looking at me through pleasure stricken eyes while nothing but sweet moans of my name passes her lips. Her soft sighs and my grunts are the only sounds filling the room as we both fall over the edge.

Layla's legs tremble, body shuddering on top of me while she comes on my fingers at the same time pleasure spreads across my body in waves and she angles my cock for the white ropes of my arousal to spill from me across my stomach and chest. We share laboured breaths as we remain still for a moment, trying to come back down to earth.

I slip my soaked fingers into my mouth, sucking them clean and enjoying every sweet drop of her because she's the best thing I've ever tasted.

"Someday you're going to let me actually go down on you, and you'll never let me come up for air again."

Layla raises an eyebrow, flicking her hair behind her shoulders when she leans over me, keeping her eyes on mine while dragging her tongue up my stomach and chest, licking every drop of my arousal up.

My muscles tense and my mouth drops open. Not to be dramatic, but watching that was quite literally the best thing I've ever witnessed. "I think I might love you," I mutter in awe.

Layla's licks her lips clean before hovering them over mine, like she's about to kiss me but moves away when I try to close the distance, leaving me aching for her lips.

"Someday," She says, repeating my words back to me. "If you're lucky enough that I do go down on you, you might actually fall in love with me."

I can't find it in me to come up with a teasing reply, I can't do anything but watch her as she climbs off my body, scooping up her shirt from where it was flung on the floor as she makes her way to the bathroom.

"This was a slip up," She says, pausing at the bathroom door. She turns to face me, raising an eyebrow. "When I get out of here, this never happened. Got it?"

I nod, fake saluting her. "Yes ma'am."

I've regained my composure a little more by the time she steps out of the bathroom again, and much to my dismay, that gorgeous body is covered up by my shirt again.

"This really weird thing just happened," I say teasingly as she crosses the room to the bed. "I'm missing a huge chunk of time from just now. Any idea what happened? Short term amnesia maybe?"

Layla giggles, slipping underneath the comforter. She slaps her hand to my chest, nuzzling her head into the pillow. "Shut up and go to sleep."

We fall into a comfortable silence and now that my mind has settled a bit, I'm ready to circle back to something from earlier. I know I'm meant to 'forget' what just happened, but I have to ask.

I turn to face her and my thumb brushes over her shirt, right where the tattoo I saw earlier is. "Can I ask about your tattoo?"

It wasn't highly detailed, there's minimal shading and texture to it, but it's a small bouquet of flowers and makes for a perfectly dainty tattoo. The end of the bunch trails of into a single line with the word hope beautifully intertwined.

"It's for my mom," She says after a moment of hesitation, giving me a sad smile. "She died when I was twelve."

I know all about loosing a parent, so my next question could push a boundary, so I ask it very carefully. "Can I ask how?"

"Cancer," Layla says with a heavy sigh. She lifts her shirt slightly to bring just the tattoo into view. "Her name was Hope," She says quietly, brushing her finger against her skin. "She doodled this one day when I was with her at the hospital. I saved that scrap of paper until my eighteenth birthday and got it tattooed the closest place I could to my heart."

When she pulls her shirt back down, I get the sense that it's still quite a sensitive subject for her to talk about, so I take her focus away from her loss to mine.

"You see this one?" I say, nodding at the lion head tattoo on my bicep. Layla nods, reaching her finger out to trace my skin. "I got it for my dad. He died when I was ten."

Layla's face softens and she gives me a sad smile, her eyes clouded with sorrow. "Why a lion?"

"Lion's are cool as fuck," I laugh and her eyes brighten when she giggles. "Courage, power, nobility and strength. Everything I loved about my dad."

Just like I didn't say I'm sorry for her loss, Layla doesn't say she's sorry for my loss. It's just one of those things, there is no right reply.

Layla's eyes meet mine and her lips fold into a thin line. "It sucks doesn't it?"

"Yeah," I sigh, trying not to reminisce on everything in my life my dad has missed out on. "It really does."

"Derek?" Layla says, her finger freezing from where she's still tracing my tattoo and her eyes lift to mine. "You know how people say when someone close to you dies that they're always watching over you?"

I tuck a loose piece of hair behind her ear, nodding even though I'm confused on where she's going with this. "Yeah?"

Layla's nose scrunches up in disgust. "I really hope my mom did not witness the past half hour."

Our eyes meet and our blank expressions don't last long before we both burst into a fit of laughter.

I haven't laughed this hard in a long time. Sorry, dad.

-

A/N: just friends my ass🙄 lol I hope you enjoyed this chapter! :)

Also just a pre warning, I plan on making you guys fall in love with Derek and Layla, break your heart, then stitch it back up.. you're welcome😌😌😌