WAKING UP IN VEGAS

CHAPTER 04

Song Inspiration: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9d0dBjRwZ50]Gomez Little Pieces [/url] (Sorry the video quality is shit!)

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And he walked you back to the hotel? Cristina asked for the thousandth time.

Yes, mother, Meredith sighed, wedging the PDA between her neck and her ear. She opened the bottle of bright red nail polish and dipped the brush in the canister once, twice, three times before smoothing the color onto the first of her toenails. She sat on the king-sized bed in her suite, a fluffy white towel wrapped around her head as she prepared for her date with Derek Shepherd.

Hes a doctor? Are you sure hes not bullshitting you, Meredith? You never know those freaks out there in Vegas will do anything for a little action, Cristina said.

Hey, you told me to do something crazy. Im just following my gut, she smiled, glancing to the alarm clock. If youd like, I can have him fax you his credentials and a letter of recommendation from one of his friends thats here with him.

Dont be a sarcastic bitch, Cristina mumbled. Following your gut? Whats wrong with you, Mer?

Nothings wrong with me, Meredith sighed happily, glancing to the clock. Just following Dereks advice. I listened to my mother when it came to relationships before, and look where that got me, she added, her tone of voice shifting. She took a deep breath before continuing. I dont know Cristina, this guys real. Hes honest, and really sweet. He lost his wife a few months ago, and his babys just about

Whoa widower? With a kid? Cristina asked, and Meredith rolled her eyes, envisioning her best friends face, knowing that her eyes would be wide open with a mixed look of shock and worry running through her features. Meredith, she sighed, run! Run for the hills! This guy has some serious baggage, she added. Youre twenty-two. You dont need that shit!

For God sakes, Cristina! Meredith laughed, wiping a stray splash of nail polish off of her toe, switching the PDA to her other ear. Im going out with him, hanging out once. Its not like Im marrying him, or anything. Hes lonely here, Im alone here. Why should the two of us be miserable and alone when we could spend our time together?

You make me sick, she teased. Ok. But Im just warning you dont let this freak get too attached to you, she added. I dont want you to die or worse get married out there.

Im hanging up now, Meredith replied, recapping the bottle of nail polish before setting it down on the nightstand. Goodbye, Cristina, she said with a small laugh.

Bye, Mer just be careful. Dont do anything I wouldnt do, her friend replied before hanging up the phone. Meredith let the PDA fall to the bed as she rolled her eyes. Dont do anything Cristina wouldnt do? That just opened up a whole new realm of possibilities, she thought to herself.

She stood up slowly, dreading the fact that now she would have to choose what to wear. She wished Izzie or Lexie were with her, or even Cristina, for God sakes; but she was alone, and shed have to make this decision for herself.

Derek hadnt given Meredith any clues to what they would be doing; he told her to take it on faith. What the fuck? How was she supposed to dress for faith? She stared back and forth between the other three cocktail dresses her friends had packed for her; one red, one white, and one black. She held the red one up to her chest too desperate. She did the same with the white one too virginal. She decided on the black one it was, perhaps, really her color and it suited her mood.

Dark.

Mysterious.

Open for anything.

She slipped the dress over her head, zipping it as far as she could Derek would have to do the rest. Butterflies jumped in the pit of her stomach; it had been far too long since she had last been on a first date, at least three years. She wasnt sure what to expect, but as far as she could tell Derek wouldnt be anything like Mark. Really, that was what she was hoping for the anti-Mark. She stepped in to her black stilettos, taking a deep breath before heading to the bathroom to fix her hair and freshen up her make-up.