L A Y L A ' S   P O V

I quite like the travel aspect of this job because I love hotel life.

You always have fresh towels without ever doing laundry, someone else makes your bed and if you run out of something, it appears at your door. What's not to love?

The team and I got called away on a case this morning to Long beach where the victims were found dead from arsenic poisoning and the unsub is leaving handwritten death threats with Greek mythology. Everyone on the team keeps telling me that you'll think you've seen it all.. until you get called on another case. I definitely believe them. Murderers are so weird.

After a long day of examining the victims bodies, it's needless to say I was excited to get back to the hotel and hop into the shower the second Hotch called it quits for the night.

Wrapping a fluffy white towel around my clean body, I step in front of the bathroom countertop when I start my skincare routine.

The hotel did book us the right amount of rooms this time so I didn't have to share with Derek.

Should I be mad about it? No.

Am I? A little.

I pump some of my cerave cleanser onto the palm of my hand and pause, looking at it...I should call him.

No, Layla. No. Sometimes my horny thoughts take over and I have to keep myself in check.

I try to wind down by getting myself comfortable in bed, but I already know I won't be sleeping any time soon.

I've never been to California before so I'd love to go out and do something, but there's also a serial killer around so there's zero chance I'm going alone.

I pull out my phone and decide to text the girls first.

Penelope is obviously back in DC, so that's a no go. I do get a quick response from Emily though, which is just the word 'busy' with a tongue and cat emoji. Considering the lack of response from my text to JJ, it leaves little to the imagination as to what's happening there. I'm not going to analyse that any further, but I love that for them.

I would text Rossi, but last I seen of him a couple of hours ago he was heading to the casino and that's the last place I should probably go. I have shit luck and would loose all my money quicker than I'd win a single dollar. And Hotch, he's definitely held up in his room still looking over case files. I swear that man never rests.

I only have one other option.

So I slide open our chat, shooting Derek a message.

Three dots appear on my screen but disappear so quickly that I frown.

But the next thing I know there's a knock at my door and I look though the peep hole to find Derek waiting outside.

"I thought you were going to ignore me," I laugh, opening up the door to let him into my room.

Derek groans when he sees my appearance. "You're in my shirt and no pants?" He waves an accusing finger at me, raising an eyebrow. "This is one hundred percent a booty call."

"Ha ha," I mock, pulling open my go bag and taking out some sweatpants. I would have put on pants had he texted me back, but he's seen me literally spread out beneath him so is it even that big of a deal?

And yes, I did steal the shirt he let me borrow last week and no, I will not be giving it back.

Now dressed appropriately for the public and not trusting myself to be alone in the room with Derek any longer, I head towards the door. "Let's go."

"Where are we going exactly?" Derek ask, following behind me.

"I don't care," I shrug. "I just wanted to get out."

Derek grins at me when we step onto the elevator and he presses the button for the lobby. "I know what we should do."

I'm not sure if I like or trust the mischievous look on his face, but fuck it. At least tonight won't be boring.

-

"Let me get this straight, you want us to break into a community pool?"

Derek nods his head at my question, kicking his foot against the wire fence enclosing the pool to test the sturdiness of it. He grasps the top of it in his hands, hanging his weight of it.

He steps back and shrugs. "Should be good," He says. "Come on, I'll help you over."

The pool is just on the other side of the fence and I have to say the pale blue water illuminated by the lights does look very tempting. Not sure if us doing this is a good idea but once again, fuck it.

"Okay," I say and a smile crosses Derek lips. "Let's do it."

In one quick motion Derek grips my hips and lifts me like I'm weightless. As I climb, his travelling hands wander while he helps me swing one leg over the edge.

"Derek, you're meant to be helping me. Not copping a feel."

I hop down on the other side of the fence to see Derek's grinning face through the chain link fencing. "I was helping," He says. "In my own way."

While Derek climbs over the fence himself, I walk over to the gate to unlock it to make it easier for us when we're leaving...only to find it already unlocked.

"Are you kidding me?" I laugh, turning to face him. "The gate was unlocked this whole time."

"It was?" He gasps, clutching his hand to his chest. "And I got to touch your ass all for nothing? What. A. Shame."

Rolling my eyes at him, I bend down to pull my sweat pants to above my knees. I find a dry spot on the edge of the pool before I sit and dip my feet into the water.

"What the hell are you doing?"

I whip around to face Derek, a now shirtless Derek. Oh, god. "What?"

He gives we a duh look, undoing the button on his jeans. "If we're going to break the law, we're at least going to do it fully."

His pants hit the ground and I look at him standing before me, in just his boxers. "Skinny dipping?" I laugh, standing up. "Seriously?"

"No risk, no fun," He says before he lifts his arms above his head and dives in. He swims under the water until he's in the middle of the pool and when he surfaces, he turns to face me. "Are you coming in or what?" He says, a tiny little smirk forming at the edge of his mouth.

I look over my shoulder. There wasn't too many houses on the street we walked down to get here and it's dark and covered by tree's so we probably won't be seen from here.

Derek's face breaks out into a huge grin when he notices that I'm joining him. I whip off my shirt and shimmy out of my sweatpants. Once I'm just in my bra and underwear, Derek whistles at me and I laugh, rolling my eyes. Following his lead, I dive straight into the water.

"Oh my god," I gasp when I surface, threading the water. "It's fucking freezing."

"I know," Derek laughs, swimming around me. "I didn't tell you because I knew you wouldn't get in."

I swim closer to him and hop onto his back and Derek turns his head and smiles at me over his shoulder but his face drops when my expression no doubt shows my true intentions.

"Don't do it," He says, raising a challenging eyebrow.

With my two hands on his shoulders, I use all the strength in my body to dunk him underneath the water. He stays under for approximately three seconds before I feel him effortlessly push up and I know I fucked up.

"Oh, shit," I laugh, immediately swimming away while he chases me. "No, no, no, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

I barely get a yard away before I'm pulled underneath the water by him holding me down while I attempt to squirm and get away.

We're both laughing when Derek finally gives up his death grip on me and we both resurface the water in the shallow end where we can both stand. Derek is pressed tightly to me from behind, one hand on my hip and the other splayed flat across my stomach.

He sweeps my wet hair over one shoulder, chuckling. "I think you forget I'm three times your size."

"Hey," I gasp, wiping the water from my eyes. "I put up a good fight."

Derek's warm lips press a kiss to my bare shoulder when he mumbles, "Yes you did."

Not trusting the sexual tension he just created with one little kiss, I step out of the heat of his body and swim over to the deep end. I grasp the edge when I make it over and Derek joins me not a second later. Side by side and silently, we both lean back and look up at the dark sky.

Now that the hustle and bustle of the day is over, this is the most relaxed I've felt in a long while. I love the feeling of floating in the water and feeling weightless while gazing at the starry night.

"You're going to say some sappy shit about stars now, aren't you?"

"Actually I was," I reply smugly, letting my head roll to the side to look at him. "Want to know what it was?"

Amusement clouds Derek's eyes. "Go on."

I take a deep breath, looking towards the sky. "Those stars tonight are so bright but.." Our eyes meet. "Do you know what the brightest thing out here tonight is?"

A ghost of a smile grows on his lips, completely confused on where I'm going with this. "What?"

"The moonlight bouncing off your head."

Derek bursts out laughing while I swim desperately to try to get away from him. I can feel him threading the water behind me, hot on my tail for payback for that comment.

"I'm sorry," I say, laughing and breathless. "But you walked right into that one."

I gasp and suck in air when I feel his hand circle around my ankle and him pull me underneath the water. My eyes are screwed tightly shut while I kick and punch at him but I can practically feel the amusement radiating off Derek when he finally releases me.

When I break the surface, I'm a mixture of laughing and choking on water.

The first thing I do is lock my arms around the back of his neck and cling to him so he can't push me down anymore. We're both still laughing when Derek guides us over to the edge of the pool. My back hits the wall and Derek's bare chest presses to mine, his arms resting on the ledge on either side of my body.

Derek presses his tongue into his cheek, unable to hold back his amused smile. "You think you're so funny, huh?"

"I'm hilarious and you know it," I say, blinking away the water droplets from my eyelashes. I feel one slide down my cheek to the curve of my lips.

Derek's eyes follow the drop of water and his eyes fall to my lips. The playfulness in his face disappears, replaced with a look in his brown eyes so intense that it almost feels suffocating. In the best way possible.

One of his hands falls to my hip and the other rests on the side of my neck and his thumb applies gentle pressure underneath my chin to angle my face up to his.

He inches closer, our mouths a mere centimetres apart. Our hot breath fans together while we look at each other, waiting for someone to take the plunge. Derek finally dips his head and places the sweetest kiss on my lips.

I almost whine in frustration when he pulls back. It was far too short and Derek knows this. He gave me just enough to see if I want this too, and spoiler, I do.

This time it's me leaning in, hands on his neck while I crane it to my height. This kiss is longer than the last, more passionate, more heated. More. Yet, it's still delicate as our lips slide against each other's effortlessly.

Derek slips his tongue inside my mouth when I part my lips. He's gentle with it, but purposeful. While he's busy stealing my breath away, his hand moves from my back until he's holding both my cheeks in his hands, pushing my face harder into his.

The kiss is a battle for dominance, one he always wins.

When we finally pull away both breathless, he places two chaste kisses on my lips before resting his forehead against mine. We both look at each other unable to speak.

"Fuck, Layla," He whispers quietly, still breathless.

My heart is beating furiously in my chest and my palms feel sweaty. Blood rushes to my cheeks and I'm sure they have a pinkish tint that could easily be mistaken in the dark of night.

That one kiss felt a hell of a lot more intimate than anything we've done before.

The pad of Derek's thumb slowly slides across my kiss swollen bottom lip while his dark eyes trace the movement intently.

I guess I'm going to have to be the one to say what we're both thinking.

"That wasn't very just friends of us."

I love the way his eyes crinkle when he smiles at me. I'm not one for clichés, but the smile he gives me has butterflies erupting in the pit of my stomach. He has to have felt that too. There's no way he didn't.

Derek leans down again and his lips barely brush mine before—

"Hey! You're trespassing!"

Derek and I's heads both snap towards the sound of the unfamiliar voice, seeing a security guard heading our way, his flashlight bobbing as he runs towards us.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit."

Derek hops out of the water, grabbing both my hands when he pulls me out too. Picking up our clothes, Derek grasps my hand again when we both book it out the gate, streaking half naked down the street while we both laugh our heads off.

We're a couple blocks away before we both slow down to a walk, looking over our shoulders to find the residential street empty.

"I think we lost him," Derek says, breathless and amused.

I laugh, stopping walking while I sort through our pile of clothes. "I always knew you'd get me into trouble."

He smirks, teasingly winking. "I am trouble."

Derek uses his body to cover me from view of the street when he pulls his shirt over my head to cover my half naked body before anyone sees and I smile at the action.

Once we're dressed, we start the short walk back to the hotel. We don't talk much, both trying to process what just happened.

Derek's staying on a different floor than me, but he still gets off the elevator and walks me to my room.

"Layla?" Derek says and his apprehensive eyes meet mine while he gnaws on his bottom lip in thought. "That kiss.. that was stupid, right?"

The butterflies I felt earlier get stomped away with that one sentence. Although his words shock me, I try to remain composed. "Yeah," I nod, managing a fake laugh. "So stupid."

"Good," Derek laughs, shoulder sagging in relief. He turns to leave, pausing while I slide the key card into the slot. His eyes meet mine. "I'll see you in the morning?"

I swallow, giving him a nod. "Goodnight."

When my hotel room door closes behind me, I rest my back against it when I let my eyes fall closed. Just the word you want someone to say after kissing you. Stupid.

I gently knock my head against the door while that one word echos in my brain.

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

-

I smile when JJ passes me a cup of coffee and slides into the seat next to me.

We're all in the police station, waiting for the chief to get here before we start to debrief the case for the day.

I have half my coffee gone by the time he finally walks through the door. "Sorry," He says, pulling out a chair and sitting down. "I just had to report to a break in at the local pool last night."

Derek and I's eyes meet from across the desk and both our lips fold into a thin line to keep from laughing.

Hotch's eyebrows crease. "Could it be related to the case?"

"Nah," The officer says, waving him off. "I don't think so. Apparently it was just two people making out in the water like a bunch of teenagers."

I want to laugh so bad but I clear my throat and cover my mouth with my hand and I look over to find Derek doing the exact same thing.

"Alright," Hotch nods. "Let's get started with the case."

I spent all morning trying not to think about what happened last night, but when everyone starts talking theories and motives of the case, their voices fade into the background while I get in my own head.

Maybe Derek was right about that kiss being stupid because if we keep letting things like that happen, it more than likely won't end well.

It starts with a kiss, a slip up here and there and while it's great in the moment, I really don't want to mess up the friendship Derek and I have.

So in this moment, I think I've decided that Derek and I both need to forget about this stupid game that we're playing. No one's going to win. I'll probably end up hurt. And it could very well end our friendship, one I actually quite like.

I need to be strong on this one and not give in to him again.

Derek said it himself.

It was stupid.

-

A/N: umm.. yeah, let's see how long that lasts Layla🫡

I hope you're ready for a little angst and a little jealously from our beloved Derek in the next chapter👀👀