Notes: Hello everyone! Here's part one of MerDer in Block Island. I've been quite busy these past few days, so sorry if I've made you wait too long.
I want to thank all those who reviewed. You guys are the best.
Now, on with the story. Hope you'll enjoy.
The whole week had gone by much faster than Meredith wanted since she agreed to Derek's idea of them spending the weekend at Block Island. There had been no upheavals with Derek since then. He had been nice and friendly toward her the whole week, engaging into casual conversations with her from time to time. They'd ride together to and from work. He'd walk her to her office in the morning and he'd come to get her when it was time to go home. At home, they slept in the same bed but he'd only touch her for a good night or a good morning kiss on the cheek. Meredith appreciated all this but she also didn't know what to make of it.
And now, as the ferry left the bay for the Atlantic Ocean heading for the pork chop-shaped island off shore, Meredith couldn't help feeling a bit uneasy and tense. She stared sightlessly at the Brenton Reef Light Tower. She and Derek had barely exchanged five words with each other since leaving the office and the silence was growing thicker. Meredith wasn't sure if she could take much more, she felt like jumping off the ferry and swim back to shore.
Derek looked at his wife, her stance frigid and her hands gripped the railings so tight that her knuckles turned white. He laughed inwardly as he approached her. He placed a hand on her shoulder, "Meredith, relax. This is a big ferry and the water is calm. There's very little chance that you'll get seasick." She just gave him a smile before he left her alone with her thoughts. Apparently, she wasn't the only one who was unsure of what to do with the situation.
After a few moments of staring out into the Atlantic, Meredith sighed and glanced at Derek standing a few yards away talking to another passenger. Their attention was on the dull grey clouds that suddenly hung low overhead. There was nothing threatening about them but they certainly added to the gloom Meredith felt. The two were obviously talking about the weather because she overheard the man saying, "I hope you're right that it's going to be sunny and clear at the island. I don't know anything about currents and how they affect the weather. All I know is that I want to get a weekend of fishing with my boys."
Derek's prediction of good weather on Block Island was true. They could fairly see their destination when the clouds began to thin. When the ferry docked, there were only patches of clouds in the sky. But the silence between Meredith and Derek didn't break. But despite that, she felt her spirits lift as they drove off the ferry on to the island. Its atmosphere was refreshing and Meredith understood why it had been a popular get away place for many people.
She became absorbed in the scenery as Derek drove across the island to a pleasant resort village stretched along the banks of the Great Salt Pond. It had been an inland lake once, but a man-made channel now linked it to the ocean, providing a spacious haven for pleasure craft and commercial fishing boats.
Much of the previous tension returned when Derek parked in front of a hotel. It seemed different somehow to share a hotel room. Meredith couldn't say why though, since they had been sharing a bedroom almost ever since Derek had returned. She felt self-conscious walking beside him in the lobby. As he walked to the front desk to register, she hovered near a rack of postcards. She felt a curling sensation in her stomach when she saw the porter take their bags. She immediately picked a card from the rack, pretending to study is more closely, when she saw Derek walking towards her.
"Were you planning to send a postcard to someone?" The cynically amused question didn't help her fluttering stomach.
"No." She quickly returned it to the rack. "I was just looking at the picture."
"Tomorrow we'll take a look at the real thing."
Meredith had to look back at the postcard. She had been so conscious of Derek she hadn't noticed what the subject of the card was. Now she saw it was a lighthouse.
"It looks interesting," she offered, just to be saying something.
"Yes," Derek agreed. "Shall we go to our rooms?"
"Rooms?" In plural, her eyes questioned.
"Yes, two,' he answered with a gentle, almost tender expression of patience on his face. "We have adjoining bedrooms. I intend to give this weekend every chance of proving whatever it is that you feel needs proving, Meredith."
She couldn't make any response but a quiet 'thank you' when he handed her keycard to her room.
"When a man is desperate, he'll try anything," Derek returned cryptically, but there was a glint of humor in his eyes.
They walked to their rooms in silence, but it was no longer as strained as it had been. Derek hesitated outside his door, catching her eye for a second before he slipped the keycard in and walked inside his room.
Meredith saw her suitcase lying on the luggage rack as she entered her room. She walked over to it, intending to unpack but instead, she paused as the interior door that connected the two bedrooms. Derek was on the other side of it. Unconsciously, she reached for the doorknob. It was locked. Regret clashed with relief as she walked back to her suitcase and unpacked.
An hour later, she had showered and was dressed in a white baby doll blouse and dark brown pants. Derek didn't mention whether he would meet her at the restaurant for dinner or go down with her. She debated whether she should wait in the room or go to the restaurant, then deciding to wait, she sat down on the bed. And instantly, a smile curved her lips. The mattress was blissfully soft, sinking beneath her weight. It was going to be a wonderful change from Derek's rock-hard mattress at home.
Then there was a knock at her door and Meredith rose to answer it, the smile still lingering on her lips. Derek stood outside, his eyes warming to a dark blue at her expression.
"You look happy about something," he commented with a slight smile.
"My bed," Meredith explained, smiling further. "It's soft."
He chuckled softly, understanding. His eyes danced in amusement. Her heart skipped a beat, then refused to return to an even tempo.
"So, dinner?" Derek held out his hand, cocking his head to the side. Self-consciously, she let her fingers be engulfed in his hand, but he remained at the door, blocking the way and preventing her from stepping out. His hold on her hand shifted, raising the inside of her wrist to his mouth.
"Have I told you how beautiful you are?" he murmured.
"Derek, please," Meredith protested, her lashes fluttering down at the stimulating touch of his warm lips against the sensitive area of her wrist.
"It's simply a compliment," he interrupted innocently as he brought her hand away. "All you have to do is say 'thank you.'"
"Thank you," she repeated in a tight little voice, more disturbed by the effect he had on her.
"That's better," Derek smiled and moved aside, leading her out of the room and reaching behind her to close the door.
Fresh seafood was the sensible choice to make from the menu. Once the decision had been made, Meredith sat in the chair opposite from Derek, a bundle of twisted nerves inside of her, but she forced herself to be still. Without the steady chatter of Caroline Shepherd to lead the table conversation, she couldn't think of anything to say. Her tongue was tied into knots.
"I'm going to have to make a trip to the bookstore soon," Derek commented with seeming idleness. "I have a lot of reading to catch up on."
"Yes, I suppose you do." Meredith wanted to cry at how stiff her response had been.
But Derek either didn't notice it or deliberately ignored it, it was probably the latter. "It sounds a little crazy, but reading was one of the things I really missed. I never thought it was something important before."
"I doubt if I have either," she admitted, forgetting her self-consciousness at his insightful comment.
"Any new titles you'd like to recommend?"
Meredith hesitated, then suggested, "The Four Leafed Clover."
Before she realized what was going on, she found herself becoming engrossed in a discussion of new books that had been published in Derek's absence and titles they had both read in the past. Then from reading, their conversation drifted to movies and TV shows. And then it seemed natural to tell him about the things she had dome while he was gone, decisions she had been forced to make, such as subletting their apartment and sorting their furnishings.
When Derek later signaled the waiter for the check, Meredith was surprised to learn that it was after ten o'clock and there hadn't been one awkward moment between them, not a single remark that had been argumentative in a way. She wondered if Derek had notice it too, but she was afraid to ask. She didn't want to risk breaking whatever kind atmosphere they have created.
They both seemed to be in a fine reflective mood as the made their way to their rooms. Meredith was conscious of his hand lightly resting on the back of her waist, a faintly possessive air to his guiding touch, but she didn't have the slightest objection to it.
"Do you know what this reminds me of?" Derek asked when they paused in front of her door.
"What?" Meredith looked up, curios and thoughtful.
"All those times I used to walk you to the door of your dormitory house and kiss you goodnight in a dark corner of the building." He glanced around the hallway. "Of course, here, there aren't any dark corners." His gaze returned to her face, a playful gleam in his eyes. "But I am going to kiss you goodnight."
His head bent and Meredith lifted hers to meet him halfway. The kiss was intensely light and questioning, both looking for answers to unknown questions. Each seemed to realize that it would take only the slightest movement to deepen the embrace to one of passion. Yet neither made it, merely testing the temperature of the water without fully going in.
With obvious reluctance, they both withdrew from the embrace, silently gazing at each other. Derek took a step back, clearing his throat, a closed look stealing over his face.
"Do you have your keycard?" he asked.
"Yes," Meredith took it out from her purse.
He hesitated a fraction of a second. "Goodnight, Meredith." He moved towards his own door.
"Goodnight, Derek," she murmured, and entered her room alone.
I know, it's very short, and I'm sorry. I'm working on the second part and I'll have it posted before Thursday, promise.
Oh, and I just invented the title of the book – 'The Four Leafed Clover.' I don't know if there's really such a book.
In the meantime, I would like to hear your thoughts for this chapter. Review, review, review! Thanks!