"Say cheeeeseee!"

I wake up with a gasp, realising that Blake's arm is around my waist and he's still sleeping. I wonder how the hell does this guy sleep like this without giving a care in the world. My eyes move to the voice that interrupted my beauty sleep and I see Myra standing by my bedside, grinning.

"What the hell?" I whisper at them.

They just continue to grin in response, flashing their phone in front of my face. I have to squint my eyes to see the screen and realise that it's a photograph of Blake and I. I'm about to snatch it away to delete it but Myra is quick enough to retract their hand in time.

"I knew things between the two of you weren't over, now I got proof." They smile, glancing at the screen before turning to me. "But you look so adorable, oh my god!"

"Myra!" I hiss, trying to sit up in the bed but Blake's tight grasp holds me down. "That photo is without consent!"

They immediately frown at me before I feel a little movement behind me. Blake takes his sweet time in opening his eyes before they land on me and a smile takes over his features.

"Morning."

His smile seems contagious because I smile back at him. "Morning, sleeping beauty. Do you realise we aren't alone?"

He frowns but then he looks at Myra. "Oh, hey! What are you doing here?"

"Does he not care or what?" Myra looks at me in confusion and I hold in my chuckle.

"We've been here before, give him a few minutes. His sleepy brain takes time to process things."

"What?" Blake scowls at us and I count back to ten in my head by the end of which his eyes widen. "Shit."

"There he is." I laugh, leaning over to kiss his cheek because of how adorable he is. "Did you forget to lock the door last night?"

He shakes his head. "I'm sure I locked it."

"It was open." Myra comments, catching our attention.

That's when I remember, it was me! I forgot to lock the door when I woke up in the middle of the night to go pee.

"Never mind, it was me." I roll my eyes before sitting up a little and Blake does the same, except he's shirtless.

"Don't tell Sara or Audran," Blake tells them, running a hand through his hair. "Where's Nick?"

"He's making breakfast. That's why I came to wake Emily but then..." They shrug, gesturing at the two of us. "I'll be outside, alright?"

We both nod at them. After they leave, I notice that Blake is yawning, his eyes still filled with lack of sleep. He looks at me with a small smile on his face.

"Is it bothersome they know?" He asks and I just shrug.

"As long as no one's gossiping, it's fine." I mumble. "Although I should tell Sam and Olivia. It doesn't sound fair to them, especially with the level of trust we share."

"I've never had an issue with it. It's just sex, seriously. People need to stop making a big deal out of it." He mutters under his breath before getting out of the bed but his words stay with me.

He isn't wrong but it still leaves an unsettling feeling in the pit of my stomach. Every day that I spend with Blake, I realise how different he is than the image I had of him. He's still the same flirt except I've realised he doesn't flirt with everyone. The last part has been assuring for some reason.

I follow behind him to the bathroom and pick up my toothbrush when I realise that he already has the spare one in his hand. I try not to overthink or stare at him as we brush our teeth together. After he's done, I clean up but he just smiles at my reflection in the mirror.

"What?" I ask, picking up the towel to dry my face.

"Nothing." He shakes his head before giving me one last look and stepping out of the bathroom.

I look at myself in the mirror and question how can Blake possibly attracted to this bird nest over my head, my dead eyes and pale skin?

"You have a really pale skin, Emily. You should do something about that."

Genesis's voice snarks in my head from a long time ago. I pull out my hair from the bun and shake it a little before realising that I'm letting her voice get to me. I glare at myself in the mirror before throwing my hair back up in a bun and moving out of the bathroom.

Myra and Nick are preparing eggs and bacon when I step out but I reach for my usual bowl of cereal. I give Nick a small smile before sitting on the barstool by Blake's side. He's chewing on the bacon while Myra pours themselves a glass of orange juice.

"What are your plans for today?" Nick asks and it takes me a moment to realise that he's talking to me.

"I've got a little office work to do and I have to buy a phone," I tell him.

"What happened to your phone?" Blake asks, picking it up from the counter to check it. I roll my eyes before snatching it back.

"Nothing. It's Caiden's birthday next week, so for him." I explain.

"I wish I had a sister like you who would spoil me." Myra pouts and I smile at them.

"Trust me, I don't spoil him."

Blake narrows his eyes at me. "Please. You spoil all of them. Everyone knows it."

I ignore his comment. I just like to make sure they are happy, that's all. Caiden and I have our fair share of arguments to this day but I think that's a part of being siblings. He has expressed it multiple times that he wants a new phone, he even tried to work part-time for it but he couldn't manage it alongside football. My parents would never get him a new one because they already don't like how he has a phone to begin with.

"Are you guys throwing a huge party or is that saved for twin's birthday?" Blake asks me.

"Twins." I mumble while eating the cereal. "Caiden's not a fan of our birthday parties, especially now that he's in senior year."

Blake snickers, nodding. "Imagine him coming home with his friends to a balloon themed party for his seventeenth."

I laugh as I imagine the look of horror on his face that would definitely be there. "He would literally kill us all."

"Then Diana would get emotional about how he's growing up." He shakes his head, a smile playing on his face.

"Followed by Ella. Oh god." I chuckle. "Now I want to suggest a balloon party just to see his face."

"Don't!" Nick points the spatula in my direction. "It will be hilarious but then it will make him hate his birthdays more."

"Fair point." Myra pipes in. "Do you both like birthdays?"

I shrug in return. "I'm not a fan of my own birthday but my mother and I share it, so it's a big day in our family."

"Yup. Big feast." Blake grins. "I'm indifferent to my own birthday but if someone else enjoys it, I'm not going to be a downer about it."

"Except he loves cakes. It doesn't matter whose birthday it is." I laugh remembering how once we had a fight for last piece of cake on the twins's fifth birthday.

I don't have a sweet tooth like him but my mother baked a pretty good cake that time and I just wanted to have all of it. He obviously played the 'younger' card in front of my mother which his adorable face back then.

Blake just nods in agreement with my words. "Yeah, that I definitely do."

"What are the three of you doing today?" I ask, finishing my breakfast as Nick and Myra settle down to start theirs.

"I have to get started on a paper that's due next week." Blake groans.

"I'm probably going to go grocery shopping," Nick tells me, "We're almost out of everything."

"Great, I'll come along. I need to get things for my place as well." Myra smiles at him.

"It's saturday night, you're both in college. Why aren't you partying?" I look between Blake and Nick.

"Hey, Sara did mention there's a party at Audran's frat," Nick speaks up, looking at Blake who just rolls his eyes.

"There's always a party at the frat. I don't want to go."

"What are you, fifty?" I tease him.

"Says the woman who spends her weekends in pyjamas." He retorts back, causing me to scowl at him.

"In my defence, I've lived through my college years way back." I shoot back. "You're nowhere close."

"Thanks, grandma. Will take your suggestion in consideration." He smirks, getting off the stool to do his dishes. I wonder how can someone be so damn annoying. He doesn't say a word before going down the hallway and I don't follow after him.

"You're both so damn weird." Nick shakes his head at me.

"What?" I scowl at him.

"It's just funny how you annoy each other." Myra explains and I roll my eyes.

"He is annoying." I grumble under my breath.

I tune out Myra and Nick because they are both being way too damn adorable couple for a weekend morning. Just as I'm about to get up to do my dishes, Blake steps out in the living area and walks up to us. He's fully dressed in his clothes from yesterday so I get the hint that he's headed out.

"Leaving so soon?" Nick looks at him.

"Yeah, I've got lots of work to do." He sighs before turning to me. "I'll see you soon?"

"When? You aren't coming to work from Monday." I bitterly remind us both.

"Don't pout." He laughs before stepping closer and kissing me. I immediately respond back before parts away and mumbles against my lips, "And don't miss me too much."

I swat at his arm and he steps back with that annoying grin on his face. He picks up his jacket from the dining table and waves at Myra and Nick before leaving.

When the door closes, I realise that both of them are staring at me with amused looks on their faces which makes me frown at them.

"What?" I get up to wash the dishes I just used.

"You know normal people who just sleep together aren't that affectionate, right?" Nick points out.

"Wait, you guys aren't dating?" Myra gapes at me.

"No! Whatever gave you that idea?" I scowl at them both.

"Could've fooled me." Myra scoffs sarcastically, winking at Nick who grins at them.

"Don't make it into something it's not," I tell them, a little frustrated with what they are implying.

Nick's eyes widen as he continues to stare at me. "You actually like him."

"What?" I end up saying that in a very surprised squeaky voice. "I don't."

"Shit." Nick curses under his breath, still staring at me in surprise but I ignore him.

I turn to Myra. "Give me your phone, I need to delete that photo."

"Here, only because I didn't have consent. But look baby, how adorable they look." They show their phone to Nick who nods at me.

"It's a cute photo. You should keep it."

I roll my eyes before snatching the phone from their hand and looking at it. Earlier I had just woken up so I didn't really pay attention to it but now that I see it, my heart does a little flip. Myra must have clicked it in their black and white filter but that's not what catches my eye.

It's how comfortably we are sleeping next to each other that makes my mind go a little fuzzy. Blake's face is nuzzled in my neck while my back is to him, but he has arms around me and my hand is covering his.

We were practically sleeping on one side of the bed. I look up to see that Myra and Nick are busy in a conversation of their own so I take the moment to send the photo to myself. I delete it from Myra's lhone and also delete the sent text before handing it over to them.

"Thanks." I smile at them before heading inside to go to my room.

I get back in my bed with the laptop but I can't seem to put the photo out of my head, or Nick's words. I pick up my phone to stare at the photograph again, my belly filling up with a weird strange feeling.

"Fuck, I'm gonna delete it," I mutter under my breath but then there's a knock on the door.

"We're going grocery shopping. You wanna come?" I hear Myra on the other end.

"No, tell Nick to get a jar of Nutella." I shout back.

"Got it!"

I don't pay attention to them after that. My attention goes back to my phone screen but I decide to keep the photo. However, I choose to keep my phone aside in order for it to stop messing with my head... or heart. I don't know which one is winning at this point.

Blake's presence puts such thoughts to silence but it's in his absence I wonder about how things are between us. I've never had an equation of 'friends with benefits' before. With Genesis, it was disappointment with benefits because we were never friends, and what Blake and I share is nowhere close to that.

We annoy and tease each other, he knows exactly where to touch me to get a reaction and we have mind blowing sex. But I can also talk to him, and he does the same. He makes me laugh and we sleep together even on occasions when we're not having sex. We both tend to get jealous when it comes to one another...

...and I understand why Myra said that we could've fooled her. I don't think fuck-buddies are supposed to be that way. He isn't supposed to kiss me when he's leaving for anywhere and I'm not supposed to encourage it. But how can I ever say no to the feeling that courses through me every time he's remotely near me?

It feels like someone has taken my fucked up life and is filtering me with positivity when I'm near him.

God, Emily. For once in your life, why can't you keep sex and emotions separated? This is exactly what my downfall with Genesis was, and I'm afraid that this is exactly what's going to screw things up with Blake.

I pick up my phone and text Sam and Olivia for a sleepover. I'm not sure if Nick is supposed to have his friends over, so we decide to meet at Olivia's place because she's the only one without a roommate.

After that, I keep my phone and thoughts of Blake far, far away while focusing on the minimal office work. At least I try. When I can't concentrate anymore, I take a shower and change into skinny jeans and a yellow blouse before heading out.

It takes me a while to get to Olivia's apartment but I don't mind because when Sam opens the door, I instantly give him a hug.

"I feel like I haven't seen the two of you in forever." I groan, still hugging him. "Where's Liv?"

"Right here." I hear her behind Sam and she wraps her arms around us. "Wow, we're getting all sappy on a Saturday night. Old age ain't pretty."

I roll my eyes before parting away. "What have you guys been upto?"

"We're trying to figure out whether we want to get drunk or not." Sam replies.

"Drunk." I nod at them both. "Definitely drunk. The real question is, what should we get drunk on?"

"I've got vodka and wine. Choose."

"Vodka." Sam and I say at the same time.

She grins before those two settle down on her living room carpet. Olivia puts music in the background and I grab shots glasses from the kitchen and cranberry juice from her refrigerator.

Sam already grabbed cups, like literally tea cups for us to drink out of so I grin before pouring vodka for all of us and mixing it with cranberry juice in order to ration out the buzz.

"Shots or a drink first?" I ask, looking at the two of them.

"Shots, drink, shots, drink. Cool?" Sam claps his hands together.

"Yes! I have to get drunk tonight." I mutter under my breath. I need to get Blake out of my head.

"Where's Myra?" Olivia asks.

"Nick and them went grocery shopping this morning and then he texted me not to wait up for him for dinner, so I don't really know." I roll my eyes filling our shots glasses.

"That's the most unexpected couple ever, seriously." Sam looks at us before narrowing his eyes at me. "After, of course, Blake and you hooking up."

"Okay, enough talking. Drinking now." I pick up the shot as both of them do the same.

We all clink the glasses together before I gulp it down in one go, the alcohol burning through my insides, making me squint my eyes close. As soon as I'm able to process the alcohol, I stare at my friends.

"I'm sleeping with Blake."

"Knew it!" Olivia yells before turning to Sam. "You owe me fifty!"

"What the fuck?" I look between the two of them.

"She called it." Sam shrugs. "I seriously thought it was just weekend getaway."

I shake my head. "It's not."

"Isn't it weird though?" He looks at me with curiosity. "I mean, he's younger and you've known him for your whole life."

I'm aware he isn't judging, or at least he's trying not to by asking these questions so he's trying to understand it. Olivia picks up the cups and starts to pour drinks for us.

"Blake's not that young. It's just four years, seriously. You make it sound like I'm dating a teenager." I narrow my eyes at him before turning to Olivia. "It isn't weird, right?"

"Not at all. I think it's adorable that you guys have known each other since you were kids, your families get along so well and the two of you are together now." She smiles at me, passing the drink.

"Hold on. I said sleeping, not dating."

Olivia rolls her eyes. "Same thing."

"So not!" I defend myself, looking at Sam to back me up while he sips on his drink. "It's just sex."

"It's never just sex, Emily." Sam points out and I scowl at my friends because they are really not helping my situation at all. I gulp down the rest of my drink because this is so not the conversation I want to have.

"Babe, honestly," Olivia starts, "Are you telling me that you, out of all the people that I know, can remain friends with benefits with someone without letting your emotions invade?"

"Wow, thanks, Liv." I sneer, filling up my shot glass with vodka before downing it again.

The only reason their words are getting so much to me is because every syllable of it is true. I've always let my emotions guide me but I can't ever feel anything for Blake, that would be crossing a boundary.

I can already feel the buzz of alcohol now that I've taken two shots and a drink in such a short period of time.

"Okay, if you think you can do this then I totes got your back." Olivia grins at me with confidence so it makes me sigh with relief. "Just be careful, both of you."

"Of course." I smile back, happy that she has faith in me while my own is dwindling.

My phone chimes so I pick it up to see that there's a text from Blake. I instantly swipe it open to see that he's sent me a cake. I smile at the screen before typing back a response.

"Save me the last slice?"

"Always. ;)"

His text reminds me of the memory I was recalling this morning. Despite playing the young card, he offered to share the last slice with me but I just glared at him before moving away. Blake and I have always had such a weird equation.

"Didn't you have a date last night?" I look at Sam who nods.

"Yup, went great."

"That means he got laid." Olivia grins. "Anyone we know?"

"Na, my roommate set me up on a blind date." He shrugs. "Okay, shots again!"

I grin before picking up the filled glass as all of us clink it together. Olivia tells us about how she downloaded a dating app and had a horrible experience.

"What's the deal with Genesis?" Sam asks me after a while when I'm enjoying the music and swaying my head along with it.

"She can go to hell. I don't care." I smile while speaking. "I cannot believe the amount of time I've wasted pining for that woman."

"Here's to Em!"

I grin as we sip on our drinks and my phone buzzes again. I try to focus on the words as I read the text.

"You aren't home. Where?"

I roll my eyes at his question. "Stop stalkinv me."

His reply is almost instant. "Are you drunk?"

One typo, that's all he needs to know about whether I'm drunk or not. Does Blake have a superpower to know me the way he does?

"Nopeeee."

"Emma, where are you? Are you okay?"

I don't like the concern that is evident even from his text but a small part of me, a very small part of me loves it. Fuck you, Blake!

"Geeez, dude. Xhill out. I'm with Sam and Liv."

"Okay, Please drink some water. Enjoy. I'll go xhill."

"Ha-ha. So funny. Fuck you."

I manage to type one text without typos so I mentally pat myself on the back. I realise that Olivia and Sam are involved in some discussion so I'm glad that they aren't minding that I'm using my phone.

"Oh, you will. See you tomorrow. ;)"

I can't help the chuckle that leaves me as I shake my head, trying to hide my evident blush from my friends.

He's an idiot. What a cocky sarcastic idiot.

•••

ok. so, i've only like fifteen more chapters written after this and my uni finals are starting in a week so i'm putting writing on a hold. therefore, sadly, no more double updates.

i went a little crazy with that. i should've waited lmao. i thought i'll be done writing the entire story by now (over-achiever).

my exams end exactly a month from now so i'll try to write (no promises) in between. bottomline: there might be a period of no updates, i'll tryyyy it doesn't come to that but fair advance warning.

if you're reading this, thank you. lots of love to you.