Chapter 26: Feelings Exposed

Meredith got up early the next day and quickly dressed and made coffee. The antique dealer was right on time at 8AM. She showed the elderly man into the house along with two young men. She had taken digital pictures of her mother's bedroom furniture along with some other pieces she didn't care for. He had offered to buy them from her for a good price if their condition appeared to be what was in the pictures. He wrote her a check after finding everything to his liking. She offered him coffee while the two young men started moving the furniture into their truck.

The sweat dripped off his body as he relentlessly pounded into her. He felt her climax coming as she bit her lower lip and started to shake. She felt so fucking good! Her legs tightened around him and he watched mesmerized as her face and chest flushed and she screamed out his name…Derek!

He woke up startled, hand around his hard cock. Jesus! He had been dreaming about her again. Now, he was throbbing!

Groaning he got up and finished the job in the bathroom. He went downstairs to get coffee. He saw the activity across the street. He knew Meredith was having some stuff delivered from Boston. But these guys were hauling stuff out of her house. What the hell? He quickly dressed and made his way over. The front door was open, and he stepped inside and said, "Meredith?"

She came out of the kitchen with no make-up and her hair tied back in a loose ponytail. She had on shorts and a form fitting tee. She was beautiful, sexy, and Derek saw the young guys coming down the stairs with a dresser ogling her.

Derek scowled at them. Serve them right if they dropped the dresser on their feet!

"Hi Derek."

"Hey Meredith. What's going on? I thought you were having stuff delivered."

"That's tomorrow. This is stuff that I'm getting rid of."

The elderly man walked out of the kitchen and said, "Thank you Ms. Grey. It was a pleasure doing business with you. If you decide you want to sell anything else, please call me." He handed her his business card and a check.

"You're welcome."

"We'll be out of your way in a few minutes. Thanks again."

"Thank you."

Derek and Meredith watched as they loaded the last piece into their truck and she shut the front door.

She asked him, "Do you want coffee?"

"Sure. I'd love some. What made you decide to get rid of those pieces?"

Meredith said, "I never cared for it. Some of the other pieces from the other rooms, I didn't like either. I needed to make room for my stuff."

She poured him coffee and he asked, "Your mom doesn't have a problem with that?"

Meredith laughed and said, "No. Told me to do whatever I wanted with the house and its contents."

"So, she doesn't plan on ever coming back?"

Meredith said sadly, "No. She's not ever coming back."

"Are you okay with that?"

Meredith shrugged and said, "It's out of my hands. I don't have a choice. This place is like a museum. I need to have some of my things around."

Derek sensed she didn't want to talk about her mother anymore and he asked, "So, what are you going to do today?"

"I'm going to paint my bedroom. All the furniture is out and it's a perfect time before my stuff comes tomorrow."

Derek nodded and asked, "All by yourself?"

"Don't look so shocked. I don't cook but, I can paint. I've been on my own for a while now."

He cocked his head at her and smiled. "You know what? I love to paint. Would you like some help?"

"You're off today?"

"I go in at five PM for a twenty-four-hour shift."

Meredith sighed and said, "I don't want to take advantage Derek. You've already done so much for me. I don't want to be the high maintenance neighbor. I know you must have better things to do than help me paint."

"There's nothing I would enjoy more."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously. But I need breakfast before we get started. I'm starving."

"Crap. I'm sorry. All I have is cold pizza. Old cold pizza."

Derek grimaced and said, "Let's go back over to my house. I have breakfast food."

"You're going to make me breakfast and help me paint? What am I doing for you?"

He said suggestively, "I get the pleasure of your company." He could think of lots of things she could do for him. Like suck…

She giggled and said, "I'll have to remember that. You work cheap."

They made their way across the street and Derek made a big breakfast. It seemed so natural to them both to be eating in his kitchen again. Then they spent the rest of the day painting. They found out that they were a good team and worked efficiently while finding out more about each other's lives.

Derek stepped off the ladder and Meredith stood up from finishing removing the painter's tape on the baseboards.

Derek said, "It looks really good Meredith. I wasn't sure about the color when it was going on, but after drying it turned out great. What color is it again?"

"It's called string of pearls. It looks beige at first but dries a faint blush. I had it in Boston."

"You have great taste." He brushed a smidge of paint off her nose and put a loose strand of hair behind her ear. He had almost fallen off the ladder a few times staring at her cute ass when she bent over. He didn't realize until he saw her in the shorts how long and shapely her legs where. They went on forever. She may be tiny but she was about five foot six and a lot of that was legs.

Meredith blushed and said shyly, "Thanks." It was getting warm in the room. They had already opened all the windows. Derek had on a tight tee shirt and tight jeans that she'd spent the better part of the day admiring.

Derek laughed and said, "I think your complexion matches the paint a little."

Meredith giggled and said, "Shut up now." She blushed more.

Derek said, "Let's get these brushes cleaned up."

"Really Derek. I can do that. You've done so much already. It went so much faster with you helping me. I'd probably have to ask Cristina to help me finish it tonight. I can't thank you enough. I owe you a dinner at least."

Derek raised an eyebrow and she said, "Dinner out or take home. Not me cooking. You did me a favor. I won't return it by poisoning you."

He laughed and said sincerely, "I'll hold you to it. I had fun Meredith. I like spending time with you."

"Even if I put you to work?"

"Even that. I wish I could collect on that dinner tonight."

Meredith sighed and said, "I wish you could too." She chewed on her lower lip and he looked at her questionably.

She said softy, "I saw you the other night. At Joe's. With Dr. Montgomery. Are you guys back together?"

Derek replied horrified, "No! I wasn't with her. She sat down with Mark and me. I left ten minutes after she got there Meredith as soon as I finished my drink. I didn't see you there."

She said nervously, "I was in the back. You two look good together."

Derek frowned and grabbed her hand and led her to the top of the stairs and pulled her down so that they were both sitting on the top step.

"Meredith. We've been over for months. And I have no interest in getting back together with her. The wedding is off and the engagement, as is the relationship. Completely over."

"You just broke up a month ago, right?"

Derek raked his hand through his hair. "Officially, yes it's been over a month. We've been on the rocks for the last six and she kept putting me off about breaking the engagement. As it got closer to the wedding, I realized she was just hoping I'd change my mind."

Meredith nodded and asked, "You both must still have feelings for each other, right? I mean you must have loved her at one point. Do you still love her? I mean it's none of my business and you don't have to say… She looked away from his penetrating stare.

He gently turned her chin to face him again. "I did love her. However, I realized not in the way you are supposed to love your future wife. I started thinking of her as… a good friend with benefits. I know that's wrong and that's why I broke it off. I fell out of love with her the longer I got to know her. Besides the medicine, we have very little in common."

"She still wants you."

Derek admitted, "Yeah. I guess so. At this point, I don't even think she loves me anymore. She just has her life planned out to the smallest detail. Get married by age thirty-four, be an attending by age thirty-five, have a boy and a girl by age forty, be the chief by age fifty. Go to galas and chair charity events and have the huge professionally decorated house. Have a man to escort her to everything. It didn't have to be me necessarily.

"Did you guys live together?"

"No! Sleepovers. But no, we never lived together."

Meredith nodded and asked, "Have you dated anyone since?"

He said simply, "No."

Meredith stared into his eyes and smiled a little.

He reached down and placed his large hand on her silky bare thigh. "I haven't been interested in anyone, until you came to town."

She could barely think straight with his hand resting on her thigh. She gulped and said, "Me?"

He said seductively, "You've been making me crazy Meredith."

She asked breathlessly, "I have?"

He laughed lowly, "I think you know you have. You always were a smart girl."

She replied a little breathlessly, "I don't know about that."

Derek lightly rubbed her thigh and said, "So this dinner that you owe me. When can we go? What's your schedule like this week? I can't wait!"

Meredith gulped and said, "Derek. I don't… I don't want to be the rebound girl. I think…I think you should date other people first."

So, their feelings are mostly out there... or at least Derek's are. However, we all know how they both feel! What do y'all think?