Meredith stared at the TV as she shoved a spoonful of strawberry ice cream into her mouth. A week ago, she had been expecting to be out tonight with Derek, and now she was sitting on the couch dressed in her pajamas as she held a pint of ice cream in her hands as she watched stupid cheesy movies about stupid love with Lexie and Izzie.
"Are you sure you don't even want to talk to him? Izzie asked. "He's called every day this week."
"And maybe he should call his stupid girlfriend," Meredith snapped. "I don't care what he wants from me. It's not going to happen."
The doorbell cut through their conversation, and Lexie sighed as she pushed herself off of the couch. "I'll get it," she said.
Meredith shoved another bite of ice cream into her mouth as she watched the stupid happy couple on the TV kiss, the bride's white dress billowing in the wind. Stupid. She wasn't even sure what the hell she was watching, but she knew it was stupid.
"Um...Mer?" Lexie said from the doorway to the living room. "There's someone here to see you."
"Tell them I'm not here," she said, her mouth full of ice cream.
"That hasn't worked on the phone all week, I'm not about to start falling for it now," Derek's voice said as he stepped into the living room beside Lexie.
"What the hell are you doing here?" she asked, sitting up quickly and setting her ice cream on the table.
"It's Friday," he shrugged. "And since you haven't been answering any of my phone calls, I thought I'd come over to ask you out for dinner in person."
"Well, you wasted your time," Meredith said.
Derek frowned as he looked at her for a moment, glancing at Lexie and Izzie who were staring at the two of them without even trying to disguise their interest. "Um...can we go somewhere more private?" he asked quietly.
"Definitely not," Meredith shook her head. "Look, I'm not going to go out with you. If you want to go out to dinner tonight, maybe you should ask your girlfriend."
"My...what?" Derek breathed, suddenly realizing what was going on.
"You know, I actually thought that I was seeing the real you at the coffee shop the other day," Meredith said. "But your niece, you know the talkative one? She just happened to mention her Uncle Derek's girlfriend in school. So I guess I was right about you to begin with. All the stupid sexual innuendos were all just you trying to get me to sleep with you. And I'm not that girl so just....go home."
"Meredith," Derek sighed, running a hand through his hair as he moved closer to her. "I didn't...I'm sorry. I did have a girlfriend. And the second you left the coffee shop the other day, I went to break up with her. Because I met this cute, charming blonde that loves children, has a passion for life that I've never seen before and has this amazing giggle that I can't get out of my head."
"Oh," Lexie breathed, turning to Meredith. "Mer, you should listen to him. He's... wow."
Meredith rolled her eyes as she stood. "Come on," she said, grabbing Derek's arm as she pulled him towards the door, stepping onto the front porch as she tried to ignore the chilly night air. She moved to sit on the porch swing and looked at him as he stood in front of her. "Sit," she commanded.
Derek smiled softly as he sat down beside her. "You're bossy," he commented.
"I'm a teacher," she replied. "Bossy comes with the job."
"I guess," Derek smiled, turning to face her. "I'm really sorry if I led you on, Meredith. I was with Rose, but I wasn't happy. If you hadn't come along, I would have broken up with her very soon anyways."
"Well, you could have said something," Meredith said. "I had to find out from your niece, Derek. Your niece who told me she didn't like roses anymore because her uncle's crazy girlfriend is named Rose."
Derek sighed. "I'm sorry," he said again. "I really am, Meredith. And I honestly didn't even mean to ask you out to coffee last week. You were just there and I wanted to know you, and I asked you out. And when I realized how badly I wanted to be with you, to date you, I went right to break up with her. Because I knew that I was falling for you."
Meredith looked at him for a moment, trying to determine how serious he was. "You're falling for me?" she asked. "You barely know me."
"I know enough," Derek smiled. "I know that I can't wait to find out every little detail about you."
"Every detail?" she asked, a smile playing over her lips.
"Little things," Derek said. "Like...your favorite desert. And which side of the bed you like to sleep on. Your favorite movie. How you like your coffee. Little things that only the people who are closest to you know."
Meredith smiled softly as she leaned towards him. "I want to know those things about you too," she said.
Derek smiled as he hesitantly reached out to take her hand. "Are you okay?" he asked.
"I...I think so," she said. "I'm still mad though."
"I shouldn't have asked you out before I broke up with her," Derek sighed. "But I do want to date you, Mer. Only you."
Meredith sighed as she nodded. "Fine," she said.
"So romantic," Derek laughed.
"Sorry," she giggled. "I wasn't exactly expecting this."
Derek smiled as he looked down at her. "Are you cold?" he frowned, taking in her bare feet and tank top. "We should go inside."
"No," Meredith shook her head, looking at him for a long moment before she hesitantly moved to rest her head on his shoulder. "Lexie and Izzie...they'll drill me for information."
Derek laughed as he shrugged out of his coat and draped it around her shoulders before wrapping an arm around her to bring her head back to his shoulder. "And they are?" he asked, wanting to get to know everything about the girl in his arms.
"Izzie was my roommate in college," Meredith said. "And when I decided to come out to Seattle after we graduated, she wanted to come too. She owns her own preschool."
"Nice," Derek said, smiling slightly. "And Lexie?"
"She's...my sister," Meredith sighed. "I guess."
"You guess?" Derek asked, raising an eyebrow.
"She's my father's daughter," Meredith said. "But I didn't know about her until a couple years ago."
"Oh," Derek said, nodding slowly.
"It's a long story," Meredith shook her head. "I don't want to think about that now."
"That's fine," Derek nodded. "You know, it's not too late to go on that date."
Meredith sighed as she shook her head. "It's eight o clock," she said. "And I'm in pajamas. There's no way we can get to a decent restaurant tonight."
Derek laughed as he stood, offering his hand to her. "We don't need a restaurant," he said. "I've got it under control."
"Okay," Meredith said softly, looking at him with a frown. "What do you mean?"
"Growing up with four sisters led me to take part in lots of cooking lessons from my mother," Derek said as he led her back into the house. "I would be honored to make you dinner."
"Oh," Meredith breathed. "Um...okay."
Derek laughed as he opened the door and led her inside. "Now tell me...what's your favorite?"
"Hmmm...lasagna," Meredith said. "And pizza. And spaghetti. And...well, anything besides Chinese food."
Derek laughed. "Alright," he said. "We'll keep it simple tonight. In the mood for spaghetti?"
"Always," Meredith giggled.
Derek smiled as they stepped into the kitchen. "Prepare to be amazed," he laughed as he moved towards the stove.
"I'm not going to hold my breath," she giggled as she hopped onto the counter beside him.
"I think I'm insulted," Derek frowned.
Meredith giggled. "So you have four sisters?" she asked.
"I do," Derek nodded.
"Are you the youngest?"
"Smack dab in the middle," Derek sighed. "And as much as I hated it growing up, I believe that growing up surrounded by annoying girls has given me a better understanding of how the female mind works."
"Oh really?" Meredith asked. "If that's true...what am I thinking right now?"
"You're thinking how lucky you are to have me making dinner for you," Derek nodded. "And you're wishing that you could go on a date with me."
"Hmmm," Meredith nodded. "Not exactly."
"Enlighten me, then," Derek said.
"I'm thinking...that you're the lucky one," Meredith said. "Because I'm letting you cook me dinner even though you lied."
Derek nodded as he leaned against the counter, looking closely at her. "I think you're right."
Meredith smiled as she looked at him, knowing that in reality, they were both completely lucky.
XXXXX
"Dinner was...amazing," Meredith breathed as she stood in front of the door with Derek a couple hours later. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," Derek smiled. "And Meredith...I really am sorry about everything. The whole chasing and coffee thing..."
"It's...well, it's not okay," Meredith said. "But...I get it."
"Good," Derek nodded, looking down at her with heavy eyes. "So..."
"So..." Meredith repeated, suddenly feeling like a teenager on her first date.
"Look, if you're not busy tomorrow, I'd really like to take you out," Derek said.
"That would be nice," Meredith nodded.
"Good," Derek nodded. "Is afternoon okay?"
"Afternoon?" Meredith repeated.
"I want to show you something," Derek replied. "I'll come by around one?"
"One's perfect," she nodded.
"Good," Derek said. "And...don't eat lunch."
Meredith giggled. "Well, I'm not going to say no to you feeding me again," she giggled.
Derek smiled down at her, his eyes glazing over before he gently reached up to cup her face in his hand. She stared up at him, her heart beating firmly in her chest as he leaned his face down to hers. When their lips met, Meredith felt a sharp spark of electricity run through her entire body. This man really was perfect.
He pulled back too soon and smiled down at her. "I'll see you tomorrow," he said softly, squeezing her hand tightly as he opened the door and stepped outside, smiling at her over his shoulder as he did so.
Meredith sighed as she leaned against the door, not trusting her shaky legs to support her weight. "Wow," she whispered, her fingers pressing against her lips and thinking about how amazing that kiss had been.
She smiled softly as she turned to look into the living room, rolling her eyes when she saw Izzie and Lexie staring at her in fascination. "You two really need to get your own lives," she said as she walked into the living room and collapsed onto the couch.
"Meredith...he just came over and made you dinner," Izzie stated. "Because you wouldn't go out with him."
"I know," Meredith nodded.
"He kissed you," Lexie said excitedly. "Was it a good kiss?"
"Yes," Meredith said, unable to stop the smile from spreading across her lips. "And that's all you're getting from me."
Izzie frowned. "But you're supposed to tell us everything," she said.
"There's really nothing to tell," Meredith shrugged. "We're going out again tomorrow. But...we just talked and got to know each other more."
"You're so lucky," Lexie breathed.
Meredith rolled her eyes. "Okay, we can stop talking about me now," she said. "What are we watching?"
"The Notebook," Izzie replied, tears in her eyes. "It's just so...perfect."
Meredith smiled as she reached for the bowl of popcorn sitting on the table. Suddenly, cheesy romantic movies didn't sound as stupid as they had earlier that evening.
XXXXX
"Dude, where have you been?" Mark asked as Derek entered their apartment later that night. "You've been sitting around all week wallowing in the fact that the teacher chick wouldn't answer your phone calls, and I come home and you're not here. You better not have finally taken my advice about the strippers without me."
Derek rolled his eyes. "Of course not," he said. "I went to see her."
"You went to see her?" Mark raised his eyebrows. "The girl who's been hanging up on you for a week for no apparent reason."
"Well, there was a reason," Derek sighed as he collapsed onto the couch. "A very good reason."
"And that would be..."
"Meg said something to her about Rose," Derek sighed.
"Ouch," Mark winced. "Man, you've got to get better at this dating thing. Like...when you want to go out with a girl, make sure you aren't committed to anyone else first."
"Thank you, idiot," Derek rolled her eyes. "Anyways, I explained it to her and it's all okay now."
"And?" Mark prompted.
"And...I'm taking her out again tomorrow," Derek nodded. "I think this could really be something."
"Does Kathleen know that you're going out with her daughter's teacher?" Mark asked.
"No," Derek shook his head. "But...it's not like Mer's going to treat Meg any differently because of me."
Mark shrugged. "It's not like I know anything about teaching rugrats how to read and write," he said. "I just figured it might be weird for Meg if her teacher suddenly becomes her aunt."
"I'm not going to marry her," Derek rolled his eyes. "At least not in the next year."
"Okay," Mark shrugged, yawning as he stood from his chair. "I'm going to crash early. I've got to finish that project for that damn physiology class tomorrow. I'll see you later."
"Night Mark," Derek sighed as he walked into his own bedroom, stripping down to his boxers and settling under the covers. He closed his eyes and felt a wide smile spread over his face as the image of Meredith's face flashed through his mind. The evening had been completely perfect, and he couldn't wait until tomorrow. He couldn't wait for her to see what he wanted to show her, and he couldn't stop thinking of the feeling of her lips against his.
She was perfect.