Song — The Ocean by Mae.

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Pain Takes My Heart's Place

Chapter Four

Meredith checked her outfit in the mirror yet again and readjusted the top she wore. She lifted her arms up and moved stray pieces of her dirty blonde back into place. Her outfit looked perfect and so did her hair, but for some reason, she really wanted to look nice. The first night out on the town, with Captivating Guy, and also the first night she went out with a guy who knew nothing of Mark. Who knew nothing about her either.

Call it starting fresh, call it re-living her pre-Mark days, call it a simple night out—bottom line, she wanted to look nice, and she did. She mentally scratched that off of her 'list' and gave herself a half-hearted smirk in the mirror before she stepped away from it. Meredith grabbed her purse, BlackBerry, and a light jacket on her way out.

The cab she called parked almost directly out front of the main doors of her hotel. She smiled as she slid into the back seat and politely told the driver where to go.

You still coming?

She smiled as her fingers typed a response.

Yep. On my way.

Okay. I'm here.

Meredith typed a smiley face once, and proceeded to delete it before sending the text message. She couldn't figure out if sending a smiley face would have been too childish or not, so she decided against it. She wasn't feeling smiley anyway.

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"Well, look at you," Meredith stated as she stepped out of the cab. Of course, after she paid the set price.

"More like look at you," Derek mumbled while taking in her outfit and her overall natural womanly curves. He continued to glance over her until he met her eyes and became transfixed by them. Derek couldn't bite back the grin that curved his lips as he took a step or two closer to her, almost cautiously.

"So," she spoke softly as her soft gaze remained locked with his. "What'd you plan for us?"

"Just a little something," he replied with a shrug. He nodded his head in one direction and began walking alongside Meredith down the sidewalk.

Once they arrived in front a well lit building, Derek held the door open for Meredith and they headed over to the bar. She easily slid onto one of the bar stools and situated herself on it while Derek claimed the bar stool directly next to her.

He ordered a simple beer, and Meredith allowed a tiny glimpse of her infectious giggle to fall from her lips at his drink choice as she ordered a shot of tequila.

"Tequila?" Derek asked in surprise. His eye brows rose slightly.

"What, a girl can't drink?"

"No… Well, yeah, but I didn't mean… Hey, can we get another?" Derek motioned toward the tequila shot sitting in front of Meredith.

Am I alone in this?
Never a night where I can sleep myself till day.
We must try to figure it out, figure it out.

Meredith smirked over at him as she hooked a couple of her fingers around the shot glass. She waited patiently as the bartender brought Derek a shot, and Meredith gave him a simple glance over as she took the shot as if it tasted like water. Meredith savored the burning sensation the tequila caused as it trailed down her esophagus and finding home in her stomach.

"Another?" Derek asked with a raised brow, flipping his glass upside down to resemble Meredith's as he placed it next to hers. It looked like the beginning of an empty shot-glass pile, and Derek found the whole situation a bit of a turn on.

"Yup," she nodded.

After a few shots, Meredith decided that the need to stay at the bar no longer existed—not that it did exist before. But she wanted to move around and… dance. She felt a smirk curve her lips as she slipped off of the bar stool, and wound up directly in front of Derek, in between his legs. Meredith placed one of her tiny hands on his chest and gently dragged it across to one of the buttons on his shirt.

She smiled up at him, "Let's dance."

"Dance," he responded.

"Yes."

It won't be that easy,
We lost it somehow.

Meredith's hand made a slow trail down to his hand as she gently grasped it. She began to walk toward the dance floor, and dodged individuals who already made their way to where she headed toward. Derek simply followed behind her and let her fully take charge. After a few more steps, Meredith turned smoothly and let her hand fall free of Derek's.

She began to dance as though no one was watching her. Swaying her hips evenly, matching the rhythm of the song. She simply let loose, and let the music control her moves. She let go of her inhibitions and her obvious boyfriend/fiancé/daddy/guy-issues and just allowed herself to feel… liberated.

What she didn't know: Derek wanted nothing more than to get to know her, and get to dance with her. She seemed to rapture his senses and interests in every aspect and he couldn't deny that he wanted to know her. More of her, not just the glimpse he received when she let a crack in her wall appear. She sealed it up just as quickly as it fell.

He grinned at how free-spirited she appeared in the moment and stepped in behind her, not yet placing his hands anywhere on her body. Meredith giggled slightly and lifted her arm up, so her hand could reach up and run through his dark, wavy locks. She pressed her back into him and continued to move her hips with the music, letting her hair fall freely. It looked like the most natural thing for her, and she was enjoying herself, and the same went for Derek.

Derek stepped in closer and closer to her as time wore on. His hands slid down her sides and one of them planted itself on her hip, while the other cautiously roamed her body. He began to feel more and more comfortable and the two of them seemed to find a perfect rhythm with one another. Each look Derek caught of Meredith brought a grin onto his face. Derek let out a low chuckle over her ear, and Meredith tried her best to ignore the shivers that went up her spine.

Meredith turned around in his arms, being sure to stay close to him and keep her body moving. Their hips fit perfectly together. She felt safe, protected, and yet she felt free and able to have fun. Derek's eyes met hers and they didn't break the connection as their bodies began to grind against each other. One of Derek's hands fell to the small of Meredith's back and he gently pressed her into him, as their eye contact remained strong. Meredith pulled herself closer to him and Derek's leg wound up between Meredith's legs, his dark blue eyes staring directly into her light green eyes.

She took in a sharp breath as his thigh rubbed up against her, and a sly expression took over both of their faces. Their bodies moved to the music, but their grinding became more obvious as time wore on. The dance changed—it seemed like much more than that; like they expressed their desires in their actions.

You come over unannounced,
Silence broken by your voice in the dark.
I need you here tonight
Just like the ocean needs the waves.

"Let's get out of here," Meredith stated.

Derek nodded and followed exceedingly close behind Meredith as they made their way through the crowd once again.

Once outside, Meredith glanced up at Derek with a smile on her face. She laughed softly for no apparent reason and stepped in close to Derek, and became a little surprised to feel Derek's arm wrap around her waist.

"Cab?" Derek asked.

"To… Where?"

"Doesn't matter, you decide."

Meredith visibly pondered this for a moment, her eyebrows knitting together, and she opened her mouth to respond, but her cell phone beat her to the punch. She felt her heart strain as though she already knew who was calling, and a newly shaking hand reached into her bag to grab her phone.

It took a couple of short seconds for her eyes to tear up. Mark's name flashed on the screen and she stared at it for a single moment, before she glanced up at Derek with an apologetic expression—accompanied with tears.

"I'm sorry... I— It's… I'm sorry," she spoke before turning on her heel and walking away from Derek, head low.

She couldn't continue with Derek. She just couldn't. Despite all the feelings and how betrayed she felt with Mark, she couldn't throw away what their past.

Oh, the night becomes the space
That's somewhere in between
What I feel and what I'm told.

Meredith pressed the 'Answer' button on her cell phone and pulled it up to her ear, not saying anything, and definitely not turning around to face Derek (she couldn't stomach that as well).

"Mere?" He questioned.

"Hmm?"

"Meredith," he said again, only this time more relieved than anything. "I need to see you—talk to you… Please, Meredith. I need a chance to explain."

She was silent for a few painfully long seconds. "Where are you?" She asked. Mark could hear the sadness in her voice. Meredith tired her best to conceal it, but despite her best efforts, Mark knew her.

"Seattle, at a little café," he trailed off, before mentioning the name of the little café. His fingers played with the outside of his decaffeinated coffee while he debated in proceeding with his words or waiting on her to say something. Anything.

"I'm going to my hotel," Meredith garbled, ready to hang up the phone at any second. Anger rose from her depths unexpectedly and she couldn't believe how Mark could have betrayed her. She gripped her phone a little tighter as her anger rose and tears fell. Her legs felt weak and she felt the need to just crawl into bed and start a new day. Erase the past, move on… Something.

Betrayal. It's just not part of the engagement deal.

"Wait—," Mark stated as he sensed she wanted to end their call. "What's the name of the hotel?"

"—"

"Please," he whispered.

Seconds seemed like an eternity as Mark waited for her to answer—to say anything—on the other end of the line. Meredith audibly inhaled as another lone tear blazed a trail down her soft cheek. With immense hesitation, she muttered the hotel name before hanging up the phone.

Fall around me now
Like stars that shine and brighten the way.
I need you here tonight
Just like this night it needs the rain.