Souled [Editing]

Chapter 3

Meredith woke up to the sun shining brightly in her face and Lily curled in a ball next to her head, sleeping. She smiled to herself.

The night before had gone better than she imagined it would. When she originally asked him to come in she wasn't sure about anything. But then he accepted the offer and they had gotten along just fine. Better than fine. They talked about almost everything and Nate ended up leaving her house near three in the morning.

They made plans for an afternoon lunch at one. She reluctantly rolled over, perfectly happy and comfortable in her spot, and looked at the time. It was twelve. She uttered a curse word and hopped out of bed.

Lily's head popped up when Meredith's movements shook the bed. She meowed at Meredith's retreating figure before laying her head back down.

Blood rushed to her head as she walked to the bathroom. She barely glanced at the mirror and noticed that her hair was less individual strands than it was one giant mess of a knot. Somehow they were still holding the curl that Ella had put into it the night before. She groaned at her reflection. She needed to shower and be ready to meet Nate in an hour.

While taking her clothes off in an awkward, haphazard manner she turned the shower on. Steam filled the bathroom and she hopped in.

Ten minutes later, she came out with a towel wrapped tightly around her. She quickly changed into a flowered halter top dress and grabbed a cardigan to go over.

Meredith walked back to the bathroom, trying to balance the towel wrapped around her hair. Lily noticed her leaving the room again so she pranced off the bed and made herself comfortable on the counter next to the sink.

"Well good morning Miss Lily. Did you enjoy yourself last night? I think Nate took a liking to you." She reached over and scratched the cats head.

Lily purred a yes.

Meredith grabbed her hairbrush and started working the knots out. "I'm going to see him again today."

Lily stared at her, not knowing anything that Meredith had said. Instead she rolled over and started pawing at the toothpaste tube.

"I'll miss you, too." She sat the hairbrush down and grabbed her makeup bag.

She was running low on time so her makeup would have to be minimal. She applied the basics and a hint of lipstick. Once she was done, she ducked under the counter and grabbed the hair dryer. Blow drying her hair was one of her least favorite things to do but she had no other options at the moment.

At a quarter to one, her hair was straight, makeup was done, and she was looking presentable enough for lunch.

Meredith had almost made it inside the car when she remembered that she didn't fill Lily's bowl. She bolted back inside, fed her, and headed to the restaurant that Nate had texted her to meet at.

Nate already had a table when she arrived. A hostess led her to a table by one of the windows. He had chosen the restaurant A Bite to Eat, the locally owned sandwich shop. It was a lavish place for a sandwich shop. She hardly ate there since the prices were a tad higher than she would like to spend on a sandwich but their food was delectable.

"Good afternoon," Nate greeted as she sat down.

"Hi. Sorry I'm late." She caught her breath as she settled into the booth. She fought some traffic driving through downtown which she knew better to avoid.