A/N: I'm so sorry for the lack of updates. I've actually got no excuse now that I've finished school, It's all just down to me having serious writers block! I really do enjoy writing this when it comes down to it though, and I'm honestly blown away by the response it's gotten. I never believed it'd interest or appeal to so many of you, so thankyou all so much for all your lovely reviews and comments, and mostly for still reading!

I'd just like to say a massive thank you to pejo1girl for the PM you sent. I only just read it before beginning to write this, and it motivated me massively. I'll of course reply to it via PM once I've updated, but I'm so flattered by what you writ to me. I'm so glad that this fic has appealed to you and I'm so grateful that you took your time to write me such a lovely message. Your Idea was also magnificent so I wanted to write it on here (as true confirmation) that I'll definitely be using it later on in the fic, so thankyou so much for that!

Anyway, I hope you all enjoy the latest instalment. This is actually an update that was suggested by madaboutcarla ( alikingsarmy) so thankyou Leah, I hope it doesn't disappoint!

'Here you go' Michelle smiled, entering the office and placing the coffee down in front of Carla

'Oh, Thankyou! I can't explain how much I need this right now' Carla replied, taking a sip of the hot drink and relaxing back into her chair

'Don't thank me, It were Peter who payed for it' Michelle said smirking a little

'What's that face for?' Carla questioned, noticing the smile plastered across Michelle's face

'Well..I come back to find you're living with the man, and even before I went you's were pretty close'

'I'm not living with him, I'm staying with him because someone wasn't here when I was looking for a place to stay'

'Well, I'm back now.. So you can come and stay with me' Michelle grinned, she knew Carla wouldn't accept the offer which would just back her point up even more

'Yeah, I did notice. I'm alright now though, Peter's said he likes having me around.. as a mate and I enjoy staying with him and Si'

'And mates is all it is, is it? No little moments or owt like that..' Michelle goaded, noticing the little smirk forming on Carla's face as she fiddled with the cup in her hand 'I knew it! Go on then, spill' She sat up, bringing herself forwards more

'I wouldn't call it a 'moment', It were just a little meaningless kiss' Carla explained, the uncontrollable smile not leaving her face

'Carla! I'd class that as a moment'

'Alright then, it were a moment. A moment of flamin' madness. It wasn't a kiss between two people who were attracted to eachother though, it were just a kiss between friends' Carla replied, she knew that what she was saying wouldn't make sense to anyone other than her and Peter

'Well, I don't go snogging the faces off my friends' Michelle quipped

'It'd happened after I'd be cleaning him up from a run-in with Nick. Honestly, you wouldn't understand it unless you were us, we just have this banter and it was just a harmless kiss. We spoke about it after and we both agree, we don't feel anything stronger than friendship towards the other. We're both just flirtatious people'

'So, you're telling me you would say no to say, sleeping with him?'

Carla chuckled at Michelle's question 'Well, there's no denying he's an attractive guy, but just because I'd not say no to sleeping with him it doesn't mean I want to be with him'

'You may as well just say you're friends with benefits!' Michelle laughed, she still didn't believe what Carla was saying but she knew Carla was far too stubborn to try and argue with

'If you want to think that, then think that. But there's not going to be anymore 'benefits' happening. He's like my gay bestfriend'

'Accept he's not gay and you want to sleep with him'

'No I don't!' Carla laughed, shaking her head 'I just wouldn't say no.. Like any other woman on this street'

'Every other woman on this street hasn't got the opportunity to, you have. Besides, I'd say no'

'Michelle Connor, you've been there and done that so don't even bother lying' Carla smirked, referring back to the small relationship Michelle had shared with Peter years back

'Yeah, well I wouldn't now. Only 'cause he's yours though and you're me best mate. Can't go forgetting the girl code'

'He's not mine, and if you carry on the way you are, you being my bestfriend could become debatable' Carla laughed, pulling herself back towards the desk and continuing with her paperwork

'What, so you're not even going to ask me what he's like in bed then? Or do you already know the answer to that one?..' Michelle continued on as Carla just smirked and shook her head, choosing to ignore her bestfriends comments

Carla entered the flat, slinging her bag and coat down on the chair before placing her keys on the table 'You alright?' Peter asked from the kitchen where he was drying the dishes, noticing that Carla didn't seem too happy

'Fine. Just a bad day at work' Carla sighed, running her hands through her hair as she dropped down onto the sofa

'Do you want to talk about it?' Peter placed the tea towel and mug down on the side, walking over to where Carla was sat, taking a seat next to her

'Not really. Just lost an order with one of me biggest clients that's all to say really'

'Well, you run a popular little business over there, I'm sure you'll have tons of other orders coming through soon'

'He were me main client and he's took his business elsewhere, I don't care about orders that'll come through soon, I care about orders that I've lost now. Eugh Peter, I don't expect you to understand' Carla shot back, annoyance in her tone

'Well maybe I don't but I'm trying to..' Peter replied softly, he knew Carla had just had a stressful day so he wasn't bothered by her tone

'Oh Peter, I'm sorry. I don't want to take this out on you, I think I'm just going to book meself into a hotel for the night'

'No you are not missus. We're not going to talk anymore about it, I promise' Peter smiled

'Yeah but I don't want to be snapping at you all evening, it's not fair' She sighed, the last thing she wanted was to end up treating Peter like rubbish

'Well, we'll just have a relaxing evening. We don't even have to utter a word If you don't want, but either way I'd much rather have you snapping at me than you sitting alone in a hotel room'

'I'm so lucky to have you' Carla managed to smile properly for the first time that day

'I could say the same. Now, I'm going to get us a bottle of wine and an Indian, my treat'

'Here you are' He smiled, placing the plate down on her lap at her place on the sofa

'Are we not eating at the table?' Carla questioned

'I told you, we're having a relaxing evening' She grinned at Peter's efforts, he'd managed to make her feel better already 'And here is your glass of wine'

'I could do with that being bucket sized to be honest with ya'

'I'm not that rich unfortunately' he laughed, sitting down next to her with his meal

'I thought you'd be well loaded Gordon' She smirked

'Ahh Gordon's having a rest for the night, hence the takeaway'

'Ohh shame. Well, I'm sure I can make put with Barlow for one night' she sighed, making Peter laugh

'Didn't take you long to start offending me, did it' he said, nudging her with his elbow causing her to let out another smile

'What one did you get?' She asked, looking down at his curry

'Oh, I don't remember the name of it. It's quite hot though, want to try a bit?'

'Go for it' she replied as he fed her a forkful of his meal, laughing as her mouth dropped open

'My god that's hot' she exclaimed, taking a gulp from her glass of wine in order to try and cool her mouth down

'Not the only thing' he winked as Carla narrowed her eyes towards him with a smile on her face

'Do you not want to try some of mine?' She asked pouting slightly

'I've already tried that one before'

'Yeah, I know. But I want to feed you some' she laughed, bringing the fork up to his mouth and feeding him

'Peter, before you get in the bath, have we..' Carla stopped mid sentence as she walked into the bathroom, looking down at the bath full of bubbles, candles littered across the room and Lana Del Rey playing quietly from the radio placed on the toilet seat 'I knew you had a feminine side' she laughed slightly, aware that he'd done it for her

'Think we established that when I allowed you to put lipstick on me' he chuckled, turning the hot tap off and testing the water to see if it was the right temperature 'It's all yours' he smiled, walking towards her

'Peter, it looks amazing. Thankyou' she grinned, grabbing his face and placing a kiss on his cheek

'Good. Enjoy it' he replied, turning to leave

'Oh, not going to join me?' she teased as he stopped in the doorway

'Nah, much to small in there for that. Let me know if you want your back washed though' he grinned cheekily, leaving her to it

'That was the best bath I've ever had' she let out a sigh of content as she entered the living room in Peter's grey dressing gown that he'd given to her a while back

'I'm glad you enjoyed it, now take a seat because pudding is served' he said, placing a plate with a slice of cheesecake on it on the coffee table

'You got my favourite one' she smiled, sinking down into the sofa

'Yeah, I popped into Fresco's on the way back'

'All these little things that you've done have really cheered me up tonight Peter. I don't deserve you'

'You more than deserve me. Trust me, it doesn't take much to buy some ready made food and run a bath' he chuckled, tucking in

'Your problem is that you don't know how amazing you are'

'Looks like we have something else in common then.. Anyway, when you care about someone a lot, you do your best to try and make them happy. You do it for me n'all'

'I do?' She questioned, surprised at his comment. After all the little gestures and efforts he'd made for her, she couldn't remember doing anything of the sort for him

'Yeah. You helped me so much when all the stuff happened with Leanne, And you helped Simon as well. You stayed when I asked you to instead of going to Michelle's too. You were just there for me at one of my lowest points and I'll never stop being grateful for that. In comparison to what you've done for me, this is nothing' He replied honestly, after getting to know her over the past few weeks he'd managed to realise just how special Carla was

'Did Michelle have a good time at her parents?' Peter asked, they'd finished their desserts and were now sat cuddled up on the sofa watching TV

'You can never have a good time when you go to visit her parents' she laughed, remembering her many trips to Ireland

'Are they really that bad?'

'Not to their kids, no. Only to the outsiders that don't live up the their standards who dare to date their children'

'I struggle to understand how you couldn't live up to anyone's standards..' he said bemusedly 'You're top of the league in my eyes, and my family's' He honestly didn't see how someone as perfect as Carla, could be deemed as 'not good enough'

'That's very lovely of you to say Peter, But in their eyes, anyone who lived on a council estate was classed as bottom of the league' Carla wasn't ashamed of where she was from. Admittedly, she didn't like the estate she'd grown up on, nor did she enjoy her upbringing. However, she was proud to say she'd lived on an estate. Though she was even more proud to prove those judgemental types wrong, all the people who used to say to her 'everyone who grew up on a council estate would grow up to be a druggie or a prostitute' or just anything associated with the criminal world. And here she was today, running her own successful business, doing better than the majority of them

'Anyone who judges others like that, should be considered bottom of the league' Peter shook his head, amazed that Carla was looked down upon because of where she was from 'Their son slept with prostitutes so their hardly ones to judge... Sorry' Peter quickly apologised, realising that probably wasn't the best thing to have said even if he did think it true

'No, please don't apologise. You're completely right, thank you' she looked up at him, giving him a smile before burying her head into his neck

'Put your head on me lap, I'll give you a head massage' he chuckled, sitting up.

'This is much better than any 5* hotel I'd have booked' she laughed as she did as he instructed and led across the sofa, her head relaxing into his lap as he began to slowly massage her head, running his fingers through her hair gently. He smiled down at her relaxed form, her eyes closed as he continued to pleasure her with his motions. Eventually after five minutes of massaging her, he looked down again to see that she'd fallen asleep. He slowly manoeuvred himself up, placing her head flat down on the sofa. 'Carla' he said, giving her a gentle shake 'Carla, let me take you into bed' he spoke as she opened her eyes slightly, sitting herself up and taking his hand. 'There you go' he smiled, leading her into the double bed, and placing the covers over her.

She grabbed his arm as he went to walk away 'Peter, stay with me?'

'I am love, I'm just going to be over there' he gestured his head towards the camp bed set up by the window

'No, I mean get in the bed. Just hold me please?'

'Are you sure?' he asked, as she gave him a gentle nod and pulled the covers over, allowing him to get in. Once he'd got comfortable, he pulled her in towards him, putting both his arms around her waist as she rested her head on his shoulder.

'Peter?'

'Yeah?'

'Do you want to go to Blackpool for the day? With Simon as well, obviously' she asked. She wanted to be the one to treat him instead, to show her appreciation for all the things he'd done for her and although Blackpool wasn't a luxurious place, she knew it'd be somewhere in which the three of them would all have a good time

'You don't even have to ask' he smiled, placing a kiss on the top of her head 'Night Carla'

A/N: It's genuinely awful but I've been up for hours writing it and I'm far too tried to start trying to change it now because I'm going to sleep haha. Again, a big thanks to alikingsarmy for the idea. I can only apologise and hope that my writing improves in my next updates. After all the lovely comments I've had recently, I promise to try and get that update up ASAP. As always, thankyou so much for reading :-)