You Save Me

12

This was ridiculous.

That was all Meredith could think as she stood in the middle of her bedroom wrapped in a towel, her clothes spread on the bed before her. This was completely and totally ridiculous. She didn't date. She was thirty years old and had never been on a date in her life, and now she had no idea what she was doing. And Derek would be here in less than an hour, so she was completely and totally screwed.

"Mer?" Lexie knocked on the door and poked her head inside. "Do you need help?"

"Yes!" Meredith almost shouted, a surprised expression coming over Lexie's face. "You've dated, right?"

"Um...yeah," Lexie nodded as she stepped into the room, ignoring the clothes on the bed and moving to the closet. She rifled through the clothes there for a moment before she pulled a deep purple dress. "Wear this."

"That's not too slutty?" Meredith asked, taking in the plunging neckline.

"Definitely not," Lexie said. "It's knee length, so you're not giving too much away. And the cleavage will drive him crazy, but it's not too much."

"Okay," Meredith sighed, taking the dress and stepping into it.

"I'll straighten your hair," Lexie offered, reaching to run her fingers through Meredith's tangled hair. "And do your make up if you want."

"Thanks," Meredith said, suddenly relaxing. "He said he'll be here at seven thirty."

"That's perfect," Lexie assured her, disappearing for a moment before she returned to the room with her hair straightener and a bag of make up.

"Can I ask you a question?" Meredith asked after she'd settled on the floor, Lexie perched on the end of the bed as she ran the straightner over Meredith's long hair.

"Of course."

"Should I sleep with him?" Meredith asked.

"Oh," Lexie said, stilling for a moment before the straigtner returned to her hair. "Do you want to?"

"I think so," Meredith breathed. "I mean...he's Derek, and he's all perfect and dreamy, with the hair and the smirk. But...he's still married or kind of married. And it's the first date, so I'm not sure what the rule is."

"I don't think you should," Lexie said after a moment. "It's the first date, you should just enjoy being with him. In a non sex way."

"Okay," Meredith said softly. She wanted Derek Shepherd. They'd spent a lot of time watching movies and talking over the past couple days, cuddling on the couch, and as she'd been wrapped in his arms, there had been moments when she had wanted nothing more than to have his hard body crushing her into the soft mattress.

But he was still hurting. She knew that he wasn't in love with Addison anymore, but that didn't mean that he was okay. He'd spent eleven years with her, and it couldn't be easy to end it, especially in such an abrupt, unexpected way. He needed time, and that was okay. They would just date and maybe she could experience a normal relationship like a normal person.

Except normal people weren't head over heels with a man who was starting a divorce process.

"Done," Lexie announced, reaching for a brush to smooth out her hair. "You have such beautiful hair."

"Thanks," Meredith sighed, standing as she reached for the make up. Lexie lingered on the bed, watching as Meredith applied her own make up.

"Where are you going?" she asked after a long moment.

Meredith rolled her eyes as she applied her lip gloss. "He won't tell me," she said. "Probably dinner."

"I'm sure he has a perfect idea," Lexie smiled as Meredith turned to her for approval. "You look wonderful."