NEVER LEAVING YOUR HEART ALONE

Chapter 03

She fell. She allowed herself to let go. She threw all rationale out of the window. She went on another date with Chase. And then another, and another. She knew she shouldn't have. She had been listening to the radio, some self-help woman started talking about love. Talking about how you should never give up. It was better to try and enjoy life. She thought about it. She went to the coffee shop, and low and behold, there he was. Thus, the dating began. They had been dating three weeks. It was moving fast, really fast. But it felt right. He stayed over at her house most of the time.

"Wow." Chase said and he rolled over panting.

"That was good." She looked over at him. He smiled at her.

"Yeah, to say the least." He replied, as he rolled over, kissing her on the chest. "You are just full of secrets, aren't you?"

"You haven't seen anything yet!" She rolls over on top of him, kissing his lips deeply.

Chase liked to go on dates. He liked going out out. Meredith liked to hang out at home, but she couldn't really cook too well. Chase never had time to cook, so they spent a lot of time eating at restaurants. They had been to nearly every restaurant in Seattle, and yet she hadn't seen anyone from her past. It was like they had been sucked off the face of the earth. Chase and Meredith were in the middle of dinner when he got paged. The life of a doctor. She knew how it went. Soon enough, she would be doing the same thing. He quickly excused himself, and came back to table, letting her her know that he had to go. It was fine, she told him. She finished her meal, feeling somewhat self-conscious, eating alone. She looked across the street. The Emerald City Bar. She could use a shot of tequila. She made her way across the street and walked in, the bell on the door dinging. The bar looked friendly. People were playing darts, talking. There will still no one she knew. She made her way to the bar, sitting down. The bartender walked up.

"What will it be?" He asked.

"Tequila." She stated.

"You will regret it in the morning." Joe warned, looking at her tiny frame, thinking she wouldn't be able to handle her alcohol.

"I always do." Meredith chuckled.

"I'm Joe." He smiled.

"Meredith." She answered.

"Here ya go." He sat the shot in front of her. She poured the liquid in her mouth, feeling it burn as it slid down her throat.

"Keep them coming." She told him. A man sits down next to her, keeping her in his peripheral vision.

"Double scotch, single malt, Joe" He asked. Finally her turns to her. "I've never seen you in here before."

"It's my first time." She said, slamming her shot.

"I'm Derek Shepherd." He said, with a smile.

"Hmm." She turned forward, staring at the various bottles of liquor.

"You're ignoring me." She said boldly.

"I'm trying to." She said plainly, glancing sideways at Derek. Damn, Seattle was one good looking city. The man-candy was endless.

"You shouldn't." He answered. Looking into her eyes, which drew him in like a magnet.

"No?"

"No." He told her, not taking his eyes off of her. "So tequila, a little hardcore. So, are you trying to drown something out?"

"I am hardcore." She said boldly. "And no. I just had a date. A good one, but he had to leave in the middle, so I'm here. Otherwise, I would be laying on my back, staring at the ceiling right about...now." She said, hoping to turn him off.