The Man Next Door

Chapter 2

It was 6pm on her second night in Los Angeles and Meredith was exhausted. The moving truck had arrived with some of the furniture from her old house and she, with the drivers, spent the entire day moving furniture into different rooms. She was hot, tired, her arms were shaking from carrying items that were too heavy and all she wanted to do was sit down with a nice meal and relax. The only problem was, they had run out of food. The little they had left over from their travels had been eaten for breakfast and Meredith was in no mood to travel to the shops. She just had to wait until her boyfriend Finn got home, who had spent the day at his new job. He was a music producer and his new company was eager to get him started as soon as possible. Meredith couldn't help but be somewhat jealous of her boyfriend, he got to sit around talking to people and she was stuck dragging furniture from room to room. She looked towards the pile of mail which had been re-directed from her home in Miami, flicking through until she came to the pilot scripts for upcoming television shows. Sighing she opened the first one and began to read. "Compilations" it was called. About a surgical intern Ellen Pompeo who slept with her boss Patrick Dempsey the night before she began her new job. She began to really enjoy this script. It captivated her and she liked the idea of having a multicultural cast…'Ding Dong' her door bell chimed, interrupting her thoughts. Confused, Meredith looked up from her script. She didn't know anyone in the neighborhood and Finn wouldn't ring the doorbell to his own house. Heading towards the entrance, she could see perfectly styled black hair through the small window at the top of the door. 'great, he's probably come to check out the neighborhood weirdo that couldn't handle a little noise' she thought to herself. Upon opening the door she was greeted with the most breathtaking smile. His eyes just as blue and welcoming as before, she again fell into a small trance at the sight of him.

"Hi, Meredith was it? My wife and I throughout we'd welcome you to the neighborhood with a home cooked meal." He said with a smile.

Wife. That one word for some reason brought Meredith's world crushing down. Of course someone that handsome would be taken! 'Wait, what are you thinking Meredith?' you have a boyfriend' she thought. Yet, despite her best efforts, she still couldn't seem to shake the feeling of disappointment that he was married.

"Oh! Thank you so much, that's so kind of you! We actually just ran out of food this morning and…wait, where's the food?" she asked, confused as he was standing on her front porch, empty-handed.

"Oh, my wife's just taking it out of the oven now. I thought I would just come a little earlier to apologize for the other morning with the noise. I did realize it was early but I wanted to get the mowing done before it got too hot you know?"

"Oh no, you don't have to do that. I was the one that was out of line, I mean, it's just a bit of noise right? I just have a short temper in the mornings…I'm still working on that, so don't listen to me next time if it's early!" she responded, trying to laugh it off.

"Oh, you weren't the only one who complained it's all good. My daughter was apparently trying to get my attention to stop for a while so don't worry" he added

At the sound of the word daughter Meredith lost the little hope she didn't even know she was holding onto. This was ridiculous, she had a loving boyfriend and yet, she couldn't get over this man she had met twice.

"Good, because I was worried I was looking like an old woman who couldn't deal with a little bit of noise!"

"Trust me, you don't look a day over 25. And don't worry, I never pegged you for that type."

"Oh, and what type did you peg me for Mr…?"

"Shepherd"

"Right, yes, Shepherd"

"Well, judging from your appearance you look like you take after yourself. Maybe a late afternoon jogger? Or yoga? Ummm, from your accent I'm going to assume you're from up north somewhere, maybe Boston which is refreshing because I miss the Boston accent…And due to what is clearly a lack of make up I'm gonna assume you value natural beauty. Which, might I add, you are, a natural beauty" he finished with a wink and a smile.

Meredith could feel her cheeks heat up like someone had just turned on central heating in her body. He was flirting. He called her beautiful. He had a wife, yet he was flirting. Before Meredith could respond she saw a tall, beautiful blonde lady walking up the pathway towards her house holding a large tray.

"Ah, here comes Rose now." Derek stated. She had a cake face of make up and she was wearing what looked like designer clothing with perfectly styled hair, in comparison to Meredith's casual clothing and natural curls made slightly messy from moving furniture all day.

"Hi, I'm Rose. Welcome to the neighborhood." She said smiling to her and then her husband. Meredith could sense something off about her smile. She looked at Derek a way Meredith knew all too well. It was her 'can we make this quick so we can go soon?' look she would give to her husband all the time. However, Derek didn't seen to notice as he took the tray from her arms and handed it to Meredith.

"I hope you like lasagna. This is my wife's recipe, which isn't as good as mine though she doesn't seem to think so," he chuckled.

"I love lasagna, I'm half Italian so my Nonna would probably be rolling around in her grave if I didn't. You cook?" Meredith asked impressed. Finn couldn't even make toast and would always complain about how a woman's place was in the kitchen, which annoyed her to no end.

"Yes, I know how to cook a dish or two"

"Oh what are you talking about Derek? You try and take over cooking all the time!" Rose intervened. "He's always trying to make my day easier" she added to Meredith.

Her heart skipped a beat. This man was perfect. "Wow, well I'd like to see that some time. My boyfriend won't step into a kitchen!"

"That's terrible!" Derek responded, a little shocked. "Well maybe tomorrow you can come over to our place for dinner, if you don't mind macaroni and cheese as of my daughters request I might add" Derek offered, just as Rose subtly yet strongly elbowed him in the arm "hey!" he complained.

"Dear, you're forgetting we have that thing tomorrow" she said through clenched teeth.

"We don't have a thing," he dismissed her, "so how about it Meredith?" he asked. She almost sensed a hopeful tone in his voice, as if he really wanted her to come and would be disappointed if she didn't. But she did. Her heat rate involuntarily increased at the chance of seeing him again, and to have him offer to cook for her. No man had ever done that.

"I'll have to check with my boyfriend but that sounds perfect! I could NEVER say no to…"

"What can't you say no to my love?" Meredith jumped out of her skin as she heard her boyfriends voice coming from behind Derek. She had been focusing so much on him that she didn't even hear him walking up the steps.

"Oh, um Derek, Rose this is my boyfriend Finn," he smiled to them and she turned to him continuing, "Finn, Derek was just asking us if we wanted to come over to their place for dinner tomorrow, and they brought us some lasagna for tonight" Meredith said with a smile directed at Derek.

"That sounds great. I could never say no to a free home cooked meal. Come on babe, I want to tell you all about my day" he said quickly, pushing past Derek to get inside. He grabbed the plate from her hands and with a quick grunt of thanks he headed into the kitchen.

"He's a little tired." Meredith apologized for him, "But I guess I will see you guys tomorrow. It was so nice to meet you." she smiled reaching out to shake Rose's hand.

"oh!" she gasped as she shook Derek's hand. A jolt of electricity radiated from the touch all through her body. It was as if, at that moment, the universe was trying to tell them something.