Everyone Has Secrets

Chapter 44

A ringing in Derek's ears woke him up, his body jolting upwards from where he lay on the couch. He looked around, trying to make sense of the noise. It wasn't his phone, and he was pretty sure he wasn't imagining it. And then a knock also sounded on the door. The doorbell.

He glanced at the clock on the wall. One in the morning was far too early for someone to be at his front door. If the noise didn't stop soon, Maddie would wake up, and getting her back to sleep in the middle of the night had never been an easy feat.

He got up with a groan, dragging himself over to the door and opening it, ready to be angry with whoever was on the other side for the late hour. Except, when he opened it, he found Meredith standing there, grinning wide as she saw him, her eyes lightening up. Derek was about ninety-nine percent sure she was drunk.

"Derek!" She exclaimed, moving to walk through the door, her arms raised.

"Shh." He stayed quiet, his hands going to her waist to hold her steady as she stood in the threshold, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Maddie's asleep."

"Oh, crap. Shit." Her voice dropped to a whisper, albeit quite dramatically as she pulled back to look at him, her eyes a little wider. "Hi."

"Hello." His eyebrow quirked as a short laugh escaped him. He gently pulled her inside, closing the door, and keeping her steady at the waist. "What are you doing here?"

She sighed as her bottom lip jutted out in a pout, her fingers running through his hair. "I missed you."

He lifted one hand to her cheek, brushing over her flushed skin. He tucked a loose strand behind her ear. "I missed you too, but... You've been drinking."

"That's true." She nodded.

Taking him by surprise, she spun them so that his back was against the closed door, pressing her lips to his. Her body pressed flush against his, slightly pushed up on to her tiptoes. He returned her kiss, tracing her jawline with his fingertips and tightening his arm around her waist. They shared desperate kisses, and he could taste the tequila on her tongue. He felt her fingers tickling the bare skin of his waste as she tried to lift his pyjama top, but he knew he had to stop her.

His hands covered hers with a gentle grip, stopping her from pushing his top up even further. "Meredith, no."

"What?" She pulled her head back to look at him.

"We can't, not here."

Her brow furrowed, her bottom lip caught between her teeth as she paused for a moment before speaking again, a look of understanding on her face. "Bedroom?"

He shook his head with a sigh, releasing her hands to cup her face. "No, because you're drunk, Meredith."

She groaned, rolling her eyes, but he didn't miss the tears starting to build up in her eyes. "I only had a few drinks."

He pressed a kiss to her forehead, and to the tip of her nose as she continued to pout. "I'm not taking advantage of you when you're drunk, and I'm sure you didn't come over here just to have sex with me."

Her arms moved round his middle as she buried her face into his shoulder. He moved his arms around her, holding her close, running his fingers through her hair as she mumbled. "I missed you, I want you."

"I missed you too, but we didn't exactly part on the best terms earlier today." He pressed a kiss against the top of her head.

Her hands started to creep up the back of his shirt, her lips ghosting the skin of his throat. "Tequila makes me want sex, and you give the best sex."