Meredith, along with some of the other reporters, decided to go clubbing to take their minds off of work for a night. As the summer progressed, she'd grown comfortable with most everyone. She'd even made friends with a few. Sosie remained aloof, but she guessed that couldn't be helped.

Meredith had agonized over what to wear, finally deciding upon a violet minidress and nude heels. At first she'd worried it was overly revealing, but it covered more than the blue dress she'd been wearing at the masquerade party, so she decided to just go with it.

When they reached the club, Meredith felt completely at ease for the first time since she'd started this assignment. 

For a moment, it was easy to pretend like this was just another night in the city and she was partying with Lily.

She dragged Ava over to the bar. After a few shots of vodka, Meredith was feeling good and more than ready to dance. When a stranger pressed up against her from behind, she went with the flow, grinding seductively on him. 

She spun around, wanting to see who she was dancing with, and she felt like someone had thrown a glass of water in her face when she saw none other than Mason.

She pulled him away from the dance floor, back toward the bar. Mason was the last person she'd expected to see.

“Meredith, relax,” Mason said as they found some seats. She frowned.

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

Mason watched her intently.

“What would you do if I said I followed you here?” he asked, deadly serious.

“Wha– I don’t– Why–“ she mumbled, unable to compose a proper sentence.

Mason laughed, and she blushed furiously. She should have known he wasn't serious.

“I’m just kidding. I was here a couple of days ago for a business meeting. And well… here I am,” he said mischievously, studying her figure, his eyes full of admiration – and lust.

“Fine,” she answered back, rolling her eyes when she felt his gaze landing on her cleavage. “My colleagues are waiting for me,” she added.

“They’ll be fine,” Mason said, gripping her wrist when she rose from her seat. It wasn’t tight, but it was enough to stop her.

She shot him a dirty look, but he was undeterred. Scowling, she jerked out of his grasp and settled back into her seat. She suspected he was up to something, but she wasn't sure what.

“What are you really doing here? Spill it, Mason,” she commanded.

He smiled faintly.

“Fine. I surrender. You win,” he said.

Instead of saying anything, Meredith merely crossed her arms over her chest and eyed him warily.

“I've decided. We're going to get married. And so I'm here to make sure you're the person I want to spend the rest of my life with,” he stated confidently.

He'd decided? As if her own feelings weren't a factor at all? She didn't know whether to laugh or feel insulted.

“Are you drunk?” she asked in disbelief.

“Of course not!” he snapped. But despite the dim lighting, she could tell he was blushing.

Meredith giggled, realizing he was serious.

“I know I don’t sound like the Mason McGuire you know, okay? But I’m serious. I’ve dated a lot of girls–“ 

“Fucked,” she interrupted, correcting his choice of word.

“Whatever,” he answered, rolling his eyes. “But that’s not the point. We’re talking about marriage here, Mer. I don’t want to get married with someone just for business.”

“Oh, we actually agree on something for once,” she said sarcastically.

“I just… you know,” he grumbled.

“What?”

“I want to fall in love, too.”

That simple confession was enough to make her burst into laughter. She wasn't sure why it was so hilarious. Maybe because it was Mason who said it. She'd never expected to have this kind of conversation with him.

“Stop laughing,” he said, evidently annoyed.

“Did you come all the way here just to tell me that?” she asked, eyes wide as the thought occurred to her. “I'm sorry for laughing, but you have to admit it's hilarious. You, talking about falling in love?”

“I came here to tell you that I don’t have any plans to marry you,” he stated angrily.

Meredith smiled. That was the best news she'd heard in a long time.

With that settled, they spent some time catching up in between doing shots. Sure, there was zero romantic attraction between them, but they'd known each other since they were teenagers, and they had plenty in common otherwise. Mason confessed that he was still unsure of his path in life beyond inheriting his family's company, which made her feel better about her own situation. At least she was striving toward the life she really wanted.

“Come on, let's have some fun!” Mason said, leading her back out onto the dance floor. 

It was almost midnight.

Meredith danced like there was no tomorrow. But she wished Elijah were keeping her company instead.

Who am I kidding? He’s not going to show up. He doesn’t have time to have a little fun, she thought.

Her heart sank a little. 

Even now, Elijah was the only person she wanted to dance with. 

But it looked as though it would merely remain just one of her fantasies.