The Man Next Door

Chapter 1

Birds were chirping outside and she could feel the slight warmth of the sun on her face through her window. This was her favorite part of the day, where just for a moment, she forgot everything. She forgot who she was, forgot all her worries, her boyfriend issues and her unemployment dramas, and now her new living arrangements. As she began to drift into consciousness she remembered her old life in Miami, bar tending and cocktail waitressing. It was definitely more stable than the career she was leading now. At least she knew her job could last a few years. Instead, now, she was constantly looking for work. Once one project was done she would have to move onto another, never knowing whether or not she would get the role.

BRRRRRR! the loud sound of a lawn mower snapped her away from her thoughts. 'Urrgggg' she thought, turning to look at her watch, 7:00am. She welcomed the rare days she could sleep in and the loud sound was making it difficult. Annoyed, she got out of bed throwing on her dressing gown and kissing her boyfriend on the cheek before heading to the front lawn.

Her boyfriend could sleep through anything. If there was an earthquake or tornado she was sure he would miss out on the entire thing. She liked him, a lot, he was always a good friend to her. Everything was simple and easy with him but she always felt like she was missing something. They had been together for five years and he still couldn't understand her, or comprehend the subtle messages she'd send to him in public when she was uncomfortable or wanted to leave. Instead, he would do the exact opposite stating later that, "Oh but honey, you looked like you were having a great time?" She was an actress! Of course she could look like she was having a great time! But she stayed with him because he did treat her right. He always did the right thing and listened to what she wanted him to do. He would never push her, he would just do the 'bare minimum'. But she was fine with it, at least she had someone.

Opening the door to her new, still unfurnished home, she treaded through the grass to the fence separating her house from her neighbors. She hadn't met anyone in the neighborhood yet. Their plane had landed in Los Angeles at night the day before and they were both so tired, they went straight to sleep.

"Excuse me!" she screamed, trying to get her neighbors attention. He was average height with perfect raven locks that gleamed in the sunlight. He was wearing a tight grey, V-neck singlet that highlighted his strong, muscularly arms and flat, hard stomach. She was stunned for a moment, trying to register his good looks. The motor stopping brought her back to reality as he turned to look at her.

"Hi, sorry, were you talking to me?" he asked as he ran his fingers through his hair and wiped sweat from his brow.

"umm, yes, ummm" She was awe struck. He was just so, so….she couldn't even think of how to describe him. His eyes were a beautiful pool of welcoming warm blue and his smile went straight to them, drawing her in.

"haha, let me guess, my lawn mowing was annoying you?" he laughed, pulling her out of her trance.

With a small shake of her head to clear it she stated, "oh, yes. Yes, I just moved in and didn't get much sleep last night and was going to ask if you could wait until later to do that because it's really loud and really early and I'm sure everyone else would also appreciate it if you waited until a more reasonable hour."

With that she began to turn away, cursing at herself because of how much she probably came across as a fussy, woman. Which she wasn't, she was just a woman who tended to not make the greatest decisions in the morning and valued her sleep in days.

"Sorry, I'll wait until later!" he shouted out to her as she hurried back towards her house. "I'm Derek Shepherd by the way!"

"Meredith Grey! And thanks!" she yelled back before closing the front door and sliding down it to her knees. It only took that one minute, sort of conversation for Meredith to know…she had a crush on her neighbor.