A/N: Thanks for the reviews. You all made my day!! xxoo So, short chapter here, I know...really short. But Mer's thoughts needed a chapter to themselves. Happy reading!

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Meredith gazed at herself in the mirror, trying to install enough courage in herself to open the door and talk to her best friend. So far, it wasn't going so well. Every time she thought she was almost ready, her mind flashed back to his lips gliding over hers, his hard thighs pressing her to the bed. Which made it hard to focus, to concentrate, to achieve the zen-like state she needed to leave the room. So, she was still staring into the mirror, silently commanding herself to move her ass. It felt like it had been hours since she had entered the bathroom, when in reality she knew it had only been a few minutes at the most. But Derek...oh, this was not good timing. It was really, freaking bad timing. And so inconvenient. Why would things have to be awkward now? Now, when she was trying to pull the biggest con of her existence. That is if it was a con...who really knew...she was so confused. And she was Meredith confused, which was twice the confused state of normal people. She had a tendency to blow things out of proportion...but this was already a huge thing...how out of proportion could she blow it? Blow it...Meredith groaned, her thoughts definitely not leading her down the zen-like path.

Meredith reached into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone, scrolling through her contacts till she found the name she wanted. She dialed and waited for her call to be answered.

"Hello?" A surly voice barked into the phone, panting ever so slightly.

"Cris?" Meredith whispered, holding the phone close to her mouth.

"No, Santa Claus." Cristina said sarcastically. "Of course it's me, who did you expect to get when you rung my number?"

"Wow...did someone piss you off by any chance?" Meredith asked, raising an eyebrow at her friends tone.

"I was sleeping." Cristina said briskly. "Or do timezones mean nothing to you."

"Crap. I'm sorry. I completely forgot." Meredith groaned, her voice apologetic. "So, it's...what, 10 pm there? Cris...why are you sleeping at 10 o'clock? You're never asleep by then..."

"So, maybe I wasn't exactly sleeping." Cristina stressed.

"Oh god. That was too much information." Meredith moaned. "Now I have mental pictures. That's great. Thanks so much."

"Hey, you asked."

Meredith could just see Cristina shrugging, the fact that her friend knew she had interrupted sex not phasing her in the slightest.

"What's up, Mer?" Cristina asked, her tone now bordering slightly on concern.

"What makes you think something's up?" Meredith asked, breezily. Granted, it was a faked breezily, which seemed to be a theme in her life right now, but breezily all the same.

"You interrupted orgasm-producing foreplay. Something better be up." Cristina threatened.

"I...it's just...I...we..." Meredith couldn't seem to get the words out, they were stuck in her throat, effectively muting her.

"You what?" Cristina asked.

I kissed Derek. And it wasn't your average kiss. It's not like I kiss my best friend every day. How I wish I could, though. God, how I wish I could.

"I..."

He literally kissed the breath out of me. And I was more than willing for it.

Meredith found she couldn't do it. Telling Cristina felt...wrong. Not because Cristina was a little annoyed. No, it felt wrong, like it would tarnish their moment if someone else knew exactly what had happened to her. Which was crazy because it hadn't been 'their moment' at all. They had faked it. Or at least, it had started that way. But by the time his lips touched hers...she hadn't been faking it.

"Nevermind." Meredith said, sighing.

"Mer...your dad...he didn't say something ass-ish, right?" Cristina asked carefully.

"What? No. No, not...no." Meredith replied unsteadily.

"Because I can...Brian, stop it! Can't you see I'm busy!" Cristina voice rang out, before her tone changed again. "As I was saying, I can come...Brian, no! If you have any regard for your testicles, you'll stop that now...I mean it...Mer, I can come there and kick his ass, if you want."

"No, it's under control. Cris, leave that poor guys testicles alone."

"Hey, he doesn't want me to leave them alone. Sometimes..."

"Stop!" Meredith interrupted, pulling a face. "I get the picture. I wish I didn't, but I do."

"Then butt out of my sex life. Unless you want tips. It's been a while for you, I'm guessing." Cristina stated.

"Hey, I don't need tips! And not from someone who threatens to remove the guys testicles." Meredith protested. "I'm not into mutilation."

No, I'm into Derek. Damn it. Where did that thought come from? Stop it, Meredith! It was a kiss. One kiss. Granted, one perfect kiss from the perfect man, but one kiss all the same. Just. A. Kiss. From your friend, Derek.

"Neither am I." Cristina was saying. "So, what was with the phone call."

"Nothing. Just wanted to tell you I got here safely." Meredith lied, leaning back against the bathroom vanity.

"Right. You could have just text me for that." Cristina said dryly.

"Yeah, well, turns out I'm not too smart." Meredith answered.

Completely true. I started this whole thing. It's my fault I had to find out that his kisses blow my socks off. Not that I'm wearing socks. But if I was, well...by now I wouldn't be. Holes...yep, I'd have holey socks. Nope, definitely not smart.

"Fine. Whatever. Don't tell me. Ring me later if you want." Cristina offered. "But try not to ruin another orgasm. Makes me cranky."

Meredith laughed, "Sure, I'll schedule my calls around your pleasure."

As she ended the call and slipped the phone in her pocket, Meredith groaned. She had come to a realisation. She had a thing for Derek. Nope, she definitely wasn't smart. Falling for a friend...stupid. Falling for your best friend...even more stupid. Falling for anyone...worst mistake ever. Period.