Summary: Sam moves to L.A. three years after The Wedding episode where he and Mercedes reconnects and find their happily ever after. This two-shot is my version of how Samcedes will reunite in season 6. There will be cameos by Brittana, the elusive Tank and Rachel. Rated M for language and smut.
Hey guys! Here's a two-shot for Samcedes endgaming this season. We all know that RIB ain't about shit when it comes to Samcedes, so I'm not holding my breath for a good reunion. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this and please excuse the mistakes that you might see. I'm but a human after all.
Thanks to Lana for reading this through for me. Sorry girl, the ending of this chapter is not what I promised or you expected. I CSU'd and will have to do that other part in the upcoming one. Lol.
Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or its characters.
Sam looked around his empty apartment one more time before closing and locking the door behind him. This was truly goodbye for him. He was leaving Lima and heading to Los Angeles. His contract with William McKinley High School had expired and he had been offered a coaching job in the city of Angels. He had spent three years in Lima after leaving New York. It had been fun, but it was time to move on. Deciding on what to do after his contract was up was tough, ultimately he determined that a change in his life was in order, so he applied for coaching jobs all around the country. A week later, he got a call back from Central High School—they wanted to interview him the following week. He flew to LA for the interview and now another two weeks later, he was moving to LA with a brand new job and life waiting for him over there. There were so many memories he was leaving behind, but this was for the best and he was more than ready for the change.
He never felt like he truly belonged in Lima. Sure, he had friends from the small city, but they were all now scattered all over the country. Why should he be the one staying put when everyone had clearly moved on? This was his new start, he was moving on and moving up and there was nothing here to stop him. After dropping off his keys at the manager's office, he climbed into his truck which was attached to a U-Haul trailer and started for the road. On the way out of town, he stopped by the Lima Bean to grab a cup of Mocha Latte—a drink he had learned to love thanks to Mercedes—and waved at the 'You Are Leaving Lima' sign with a smile on his face. In two days' time, he would be starting a new life in LA, and he couldn't be more excited about the prospect.
"So, I heard that Sam will be in town tomorrow. How do you feel about that?" Santana asked nosily as she rubbed her seven months pregnant belly.
She and Brit had invited Mercedes over for dinner and they were all seated around the dining table, enjoying an extra-large pepperoni pizza.
"You know about that?" Mercedes questioned after taking a swig of soda.
"Of course I do. Sam still keeps in contact with me and Brit-Brit." Santana answered, looking fondly at her wife.
"Sam was my Best Man, you can't expect me never to talk to him again after bestowing him with that honor..." Brittany added nonchalantly as she picked up her Tabby cat and proceeded to kiss the feline. "Lord Tubbington says that you and Sam are getting back together. You two are endgame. Always was and always will be."
Mercedes rolled her eyes at the word 'endgame'. She knew that she wasn't supposed to be bitter about it because it didn't even matter anymore, but knowing that Sam had told Rachel that they were endgame three years ago, hurt her more than she expected. She wished that Kurt had never told her this. She tried to keep from feeling anything at the time, especially seeing that she had pushed him to pursue Rachel, but it didn't mean that it had worked. She was serious when she told him that it was going to burn her to see him with other girls and her words couldn't be truer when she had to witness the two acting all chummy together. It hurt like a bitch, even despite knowing that she was happily dating Tank at the time.
Rachel and Sam's relationship didn't last. The minute Rachel got wind that she had been accepted back to NYADA, they had gone their separate ways. Mercedes never talked to Sam about his relationship with Rachel. It wasn't her place and frankly, she really didn't want to know all the gory details. Luckily, any lingering feelings that she might have for Sam were now gone. It had been three long years since she had to spend an extended amount of time with the blond and she was definitely over him now. Sam was her first love and yes, she was going to always have a soft spot in her heart for him, but it was better that she left him in her past. That was her plan and nothing was going to make her change her mind.
Going back to the present conversation, she shook her head at Brittany and said, "I'm afraid that Lord Tubbington is wrong this time. Sam and I are over, and I don't plan on revisiting that chapter of my life ever again."
"You do realize that you said the same thing the last two times you guys got back together, right?" Santana put in with an arch of her brow, her free hand still stroking her belly. "Admit it, Mercedes, when it comes to Sam, things are never going to be over. You guys are destined to be together. It's like me and Brit-Brit here." She smiled sweetly at her wife and reached out for her hand, "We were meant to be and no matter what life threw at us, we were always going to find our way back to each other. I don't know when you're going to stop playing this little game and just give it up already… You and Sam have the eternal kind of love. It's inevitable that you two get back together, especially now that he's going to be living here."
"She's right you know…" Brittany reiterated Santana's words, "You guys are perfect for each other."
"It's a high school relationship, guys. I'm over it…" Mercedes tried to say.
"Oh really? Then why would you guys promise the future to each other? Correct me if I'm wrong here, but did you not make plans to get married, have children and buy a home with a white picket fence? Hell, you even promised to get a dog for him!" Santana waved her right hand around in frustration.
Noticing that her wife was getting agitated, Brittany stood up and went to massage Santana's shoulders, "Calm down, Tana. Remember, you're carrying our very precious baby boy. You shouldn't be getting angry or stressed out right now."
"Yeah, what she said." Mercedes joined in, trying her best to change the subject.
Unfortunately, it didn't help to calm the Latina down. Instead, Santana turned to her and scowled.
"You're lucky I'm pregnant or-"
"Babe, stop." Brittany pleaded giving her wife the puppy dog eyes. "Please… For me…"
Santana let out a defeated sigh. "Fine… I'm calm. But you agree with me, right? Mercedes is being an idiot. I mean we had this conversation three years ago when she handed Sam over to Rachel on a silver platter." She made a sour face and cringed before looking at Mercedes. "I can't believe you did that. That bitch was selfish and will always be selfish. How could you taint your future husband like that? If he end up contracting Herpes it will be on you. I mean, I hate Sam for dating Brittany a few years back, but even I'm not that evil to tell him to date Rachel Berry. You do know that she was spreading her legs for that whore Brody, right?"
"I had no right to stop him, Tana. I was dating Tank at the time, and Sam is not my future husband." Mercedes explained, "Besides, they were really into each other. What was I supposed to do? Tell him to wait for me when I have obviously moved on? That wouldn't be fair of me."
"Why must you lie like that? We all know that you are going to be Mrs. Trouty Mouth one day." Santana rolled her eyes. "Oh really? You've moved on. That's why you broke up with Tank a month later, right? And that's why you haven't gone on a real date in the three years that followed? Mhmm… I believe you…NOT!" She stated folding her arms.
Santana knew it was wrong, but right now, she was itching for an argument. It had been too damn long since she had gotten into one. Ever since they found out that she was pregnant, Brit had put her on a strictly no bitching diet—amongst her other no-no's listed. It was hell not to be able to yell at people like she used to and right now, she wanted Mercedes to come up with another lie just so she could chew her ass out.
"That's not true. I've dated. It just never lasted because of my tour and hectic schedule. You know how busy I am…" Mercedes deflected, suddenly finding her glass of soda very interesting.
She wanted this conversation to end and she couldn't be happier to hear the beep coming from her cell phone notifying her that she had received a text message. A smile formed on her face when she read that the text was from Sam.
Sam: I'm in LA! :)
Mercedes: That's great. We should meet tomorrow so I could properly welcome you into town.
Sam: Sounds like a splendid idea. What time and where?
Mercedes: You can meet me at the studio. I'll send you the address later, I'm having dinner with Brit and Tana right now.
Sam: Great. Tell Brit and Tana hi for me. I better get going. I don't want Tana to bite your head off for texting during dinner.
Mercedes: I will. Alright, I'll see you tomorrow, Sam, and welcome to LA!
Sam: Thanks, Mercedes. I'll see you tomorrow. :)
When she looked back up at her friends, Santana was side eying her, while Brittany remained oblivious as she played with Lord Tubbington.
"And who was that you were texting with?" Santana asked, making Brittany look up at the both of them.
"Yeah, who was that? You were smiling like it was Christmas morning." Brittany smiled and put her ears by Lord Tubbington's mouth when the feline began to purr. It looked as if she was listening to what the cat was saying before she finally came back to the conversation. "He said you were talking to Sam, and making plans to meet up with him tomorrow at that studio."
Mercedes' mouth dropped open. "How did he-" she pointed to the cat, blinking her eyes rapidly, before realizing how preposterous the notion was and looking back at Brittany, "-I mean you, know that?"
"Lord Tubbington is psychic. He knows a lot of things that even I don't know…" The blonde answered with a shrug of her shoulders.
"So, she's right. That was Sam…" Santana interrupted before Mercedes could question Brittany further. "You know what I don't get? If you are truly over Sam then why were you smiling as if you had just won the California Lottery?"
"Will you drop it, Tana? Sam is a friend. Can't I be happy that my friend made it here safely? There is no motive behind my smile. I wasn't joking around when I told you that I was over him."
Mercedes was starting to get irritated by Santana's questions. She knew that her friend meant well, but why couldn't she understand that she had moved on and was no longer interested in the man?
"Whatever, Cedes... I'm warning you now; your denial is going to get you nowhere. If you keep pushing your feelings aside and Sam away, one of these days he's really going to move on and then you're really going to end up alone, possibly for the rest of your life." Santana said in a biting tone.
"Tana…" Brittany chided her wife with a frown.
Santana regretted what she said as soon as the words left her mouth. She realized then that she had been a little too harsh on her friend. Even if she was right, she never wanted to hurt Mercedes... Letting out a sigh, she gave Brittany an apologetic look before she calmly tried to reason with her friend, "You have done so much for me and Brittany, Mercedes. I could never thank you enough for your kindness. I think you deserve to be happy and I don't want you to miss out on a being with Sam again. Whatever his past sins might have been, if you love him, you should let it go. Besides, it was you who told him to heal Rachel's heart. I still can't believe that you told him to do that…"
Mercedes truly was the kindest person Santana had ever met and right now, all she wanted was for the woman she regarded as her sister, to be just as happy as she was. And if it meant that she had to be a little pushy to get things done, so be it.
Tears prickled behind Mercedes' eyes as she listened to Santana. She didn't know what to say or how she could explain herself. Was Santana right? Was she always coming up with excuses to push Sam away? "I don't know, Tana… I guess you're right, there will always be a part of me that will always be in love with Sam, but we've both grown up. We are not the same people that we were back in high school…"
"I know, babe. But you have to ask yourself this question, do you honestly think that Sam would have kept in contact with you after all this time, if deep down, he didn't really still have feelings for you?"
"You really think he still has feelings for me?" Mercedes didn't mean to ask that question, it slipped out before she could even think about it…honest!
"I do." Santana nodded before rolling her eyes, "I hate that I'm actually doing this… I mean, the guy dated Rachel Berry for fuck's sakes. Lord knows what kind of diseases he might have-"
"Tana! Language! I don't want our baby to hear that filth coming out of his mom's mouth." Brittany scowled at her wife, stopping Santana from going on with her rant.
"Sorry… I got carried away." Santana apologized and returned to the topic at hand, "Anyway, I think you guys really do belong to each other and you should get back together for good this time." Not wanting Brit to hear this next part, she leaned close to her friend and whispered, "But if you are planning on getting busy with Sam; make sure he pays a visit to the doctor. He needs a prescription of some really strong antibiotics. Better yet, make him dowse his dick with some bleach; that should do the trick. I'm gagging just thinking about those two getting it on. Eww…" She cringed and pulled a stank face.
Mercedes had never felt like she had true friends until she moved away from Lima and settled back in LA. Every one of her friends had somehow become besties with Rachel and although she wasn't resentful of the fact, she was glad that she now had two real friends who would always have her back. Brittany and Santana had become a huge part of her extended family here. They loved, supported and most importantly, they were always there to look out for her best interest—even if their views might be deluded at times. She might not always like the way they did things, but at the end of the day, they were there for her and she knew that they meant well.
"I love you, Tana." Mercedes smiled fondly at the Latina before looking at Brittany, "And you too, Britt. You girls are the best you know that? I will take your words into consideration and if things were to get serious with Sam again, I promise that I won't push him away." Standing up, she went up to Santana and hid her next words from Brittany with a big old hug, "And I will make sure that his dick is in proper working order if I do decide to get sexual with him." She giggled.
"That's my girl." Santana hugged and kissed Mercedes on the cheek, feeling proud that she was at least going to give Sam another chance. Now, if only she could get Sam in with the program…
The next day...
As soon as Sam laid his head down on the pillow the previous night, he fell right off to sleep. After over thirty five hours of being on the road, he was beyond exhausted. When he got to his new apartment he had pushed through his tiredness to unload his truck and shoot Mercedes a text, but the moment he put his cell phone down on his nightstand, he was out like light.
He had a huge smile on his face when he got up that morning and even if he tried, he couldn't wipe the grin off his face. The reason he was so ecstatic? One word—or rather a name: Mercedes... They had planned to meet up at the recording studio later on in the day, and he was over the moon happy that he was going to be seeing her again. Most people would probably call him the dumbest guy in the universe, and maybe he was, but for the life of him, he couldn't help the way he was feeling. He still believed that they were meant to be together. He knew a day would come when they'd have their 'happily ever after' and for right now, he was biding his time. Sam was willing to wait for Mercedes, even if it was going to kill him to see her with Tank. What kind of a name is Tank anyway? He would often wonder. Was he forever doomed to compete with heavy machineries? First, it was Shane the Bulldozer, and now a Tank. Why couldn't she date a guy named Jimmy or Ernest? At least they don't sound intimidating. Tank sounded terrifying. Like he was someone who could break a man in half if you pissed him off enough…
To this day, he still had no clue what the guy's given name was. Not that he would care to ask… He didn't want to know the sordid details of their dating history. Yes, they were friends, but they were not cool like that. Despite having a boyfriend, Mercedes had always been gracious. Never once did she brag about her romantic rendezvous. Instead, she chose to keep their phone, email and the even rarer, face to face conversations at the safe, friendly zone. They talked as if they had never been apart. Laughing, joking, and sharing tales of their daily lives. He knew almost everything about her and he made sure to share almost everything about himself too.
In all honesty, he truly regretted letting her break up with him all those years ago. He should have fought for their relationship. Sex was not important and hadn't been a priority ever since he chose to wait for her. He wasn't going to lie and say that he never got horny. He was only human after all, and temptation was always nearby, but he was not a cheater, and could never see himself cheating on Mercedes. How could he? She was the woman of his dreams. True, it was hard to sleep in the same bed and make out with her and not go all the way, but he had two perfectly healthy hands and they had done a great job with taking care of his needs in the past. Why she thought that he couldn't wait longer was a great mystery to him. She reasoned that he would end up resenting her, yet here he was still single, still celibate and still in love with her, he had never resented her, not even for a second. Maybe this was all his fault. He was the one who told her about the incident with the photographer, if he had only kept his mouth shut maybe they would still be together today. Stop this. Stop blaming yourself over something you can't change. Think of the future and concentrate on that. Think of a way to win Mercedes back. Living in regret will get you nowhere.
Not wanting to dwell in the 'what if's' of it all, he promised that he was going to get Mercedes back. He had a feeling that she was going to be his wife one day and even despite of all the crappy things that had been thrown their way, his faith in them never wavered. They were destined for each other, which was why their paths kept crossing. First in New York and now in LA. He could have gotten a job anywhere in the country, yet he landed in LA, right where his soul mate resided. Coincidence? Hell no! Yes, he was crazy for thinking this way, but he didn't care. Mercedes Jones was going to be Mercedes Evans and this time around he was not going to fuck it up. He had to woo her. It was going to be hard with Tank in the way, but he was a patient man. They had been friends until now, maybe being around him would make her realize that she should be with him and not with Tank. Once she had her feelings figured out, he was going to get down on his knees and propose. They had wasted enough time already and they were not getting any younger. Marriage, babies, and a house with a white picket fence were in their cards and he was going to do everything in his power to make sure that it became a reality.
But first, he needed to get ready for their first meeting. After having a light breakfast, he got his gear together and went out for a run around his neighborhood. The first thing that he noticed was how different it was over here. People weren't as friendly as they were in Lima, but it was to be expected, LA was a big city after all. He took twenty minutes to run and explore his neighborhood before running back to his apartment. When he got home, he did some push ups and sit ups and once he had cooled down, he went to take a shower. He took his time to groom that day, making sure that his five o'clock shadow was trimmed to perfection. It took fifteen minutes to get just the right effect—much longer than he would normally spend for grooming, but he attributed the fact to wanting to impress Mercedes because when it came to her, only perfection would do. He didn't want to seem too desperate, so he wore a navy blue Henley with faded relaxed cut jeans and chocolate colored Timberlands. He looked good, like himself and not at all like he was trying too hard.
At a quarter to one, he left his apartment and drove to the recording studio. His stomach was filled with butterflies, heart pounding a mile a minute the closer he got to the studio. The situation reminded him a lot of the first date he went on with Mercedes. He was homeless at the time and had nothing to offer her, yet he still wanted to impress her and tried to bring her to Breadstixx for dinner. When she heard of his plan, she rejected it right away and told him that they should have a picnic instead. She did all the cooking and it was then that he knew that she was someone special. To this day, her kindness never ceased to amaze him. She was truly a gem and he wanted her all to himself. A smile was etched on his face, thinking about Mercedes, but he was still nervous. To calm his nerves, he turned on the radio and cranked up the volume. By the time he got to the studio, he was somewhat calmer and ready to face Mercedes.
"That was perfect guys. We are done for today." The audio engineer, Alex, spoke to them through the microphone as he gave them his thumbs up.
Mercedes took off the headphones she had on and smiled up at Tank. "You sounded really good, Tank."
"Me? I sound like I have Laryngitis next to you." Tank said with a laugh.
It was true. Although he knew he could hold a tune, he could never be as good as Mercedes. He truly believed that God blessed this earth the day Mercedes Jones was born and his opinion hadn't wavered. Despite their break up three years ago, they had managed to stay friends. It stung whenever he would think about their breakup, but at the end of the day, he knew that it was for the best. They were better off as friends anyway, because he knew that he could never hold a torch against Mercedes' ex-boyfriend, Sam Evans.
~X~X~X~X~
Flashback: 3 years prior
Tank couldn't be more excited to see Mercedes. She had been gone for about a month and today she was finally back in LA. He wanted to pick her up from the airport, but because of a prior gig, he wasn't able to do that, so they made plans to have dinner instead. That night, he arrived at Mercedes' apartment at 7pm sharp with a bouquet in his hands. He was wearing a huge smile on his face when she opened the door, but it wasn't reciprocated. In fact, she wasn't even dressed. He knew then that something was wrong. She looked as if she had been hit by a bus.
"Hey, what's going on?" Tank asked as he entered her apartment. He tried to give her a kiss, but she had moved away.
Mercedes couldn't look him in the eyes as she ushered him inside and that worried him even more. In the short four months he had known her, he had never seen her in this state before.
"Sit down, Tank. We need to talk…" She simply told him as she wringed her hands together.
He sat down and put the bouquet on the coffee table. Then he questioned her again. "What's wrong, Mercedes? You look like death. Did something happen?"
Mercedes chewed on her bottom lip, as if unsure of what to tell him and it only made his stomach turn even more. "I can't do this, Tank. I can't continue to date you knowing that I'm lying to myself."
Her answer broke his heart. He always knew that this was too good to be true. Although he had always been into her, he never felt like she returned his feelings. She was still in love with her high school sweetheart, Sam Evans, and she had made it clear that would always love him.
"It's Sam isn't it?"
Mercedes' lips quivered before she nodded at him sadly. "Yes and no."
"What do you mean?" He asked, not understanding her meaning.
"I mean that I'm still in love with Sam, but he's also moved on." She explained as she wiped her tears away. "He's dating Rachel Berry now and it's all my doing."
"Wait, he's dating Rachel? The horrible girl you went back to Lima to help? What the hell?"
"Yeah, he's dating Rachel and she's not a horrible person. She's just…Rachel." She corrected him with a sad sigh.
Tank rolled his eyes. He couldn't believe that she was trying to defend that woman. From what he'd heard, Rachel had been a bully since day one. She took everything that she wanted and that included some of Mercedes' best friends, and now she was sinking her paws into her ex-boyfriend too. What kind of a friend would do that? The woman sounded infuriating and he had never even met her. Thank God for that. Lord knew he would have to give her a piece of his mind if he ever met her.
"She is a horrible person, Mercedes. She's taken everything away from you and now she's doing the same with your ex-boyfriend. When are you going to wake up and smell the roses? If she was truly your friend, she wouldn't dare to over step that boundary." He shook his head.
"I told her to date Sam, okay?!" Mercedes shouted, shocking the hell out of him. "I told her to date Sam and now I'm regretting it…" She reiterated that statement with a sigh that simply broke his heart.
"You still love him, don't you?" He asked even though he already knew the answer.
"I do, and I will always love him." She said finally meeting his eyes. "Which is why I can't date you, Tank. Not right now anyway. You're a great guy, but I don't want to string you along. You deserve better than that. I know I'm stupid and I'm setting myself up for disappointment, but right now, I can't change anything about how I'm feeling. I'm sorry, Tank."
"No, don't feel sorry for telling the truth. I'm not going to lie and say that it doesn't hurt, but I can't blame you for telling me how you feel."
She didn't say a word after that and so they kept their silence until he broke it a few beats later.
"So are you going to tell Sam that you still love him?"
"I already did when I first got back to Lima, but I also told him that he needed to date Rachel so he could heal her heart." She was staring at her hands a little too intently, giving him no room to question her sanity. "I don't even know what I was thinking. I thought that it would be easy for me seeing as I'm dating a great guy, but seeing them at the wedding broke something in me and I knew I had to go home. I couldn't pretend anymore and instead of being vindictive and lashing out, I decided to leave. I'm crazy, I know…"
"You're not going to hear an argument from me…" He stated with a laugh, trying his best to lighten the mood, "I mean, you were the one who told him to move on with Rachel."
"Thanks, you've made me feel a lot better…" Mercedes sniffled as she tried and failed to stifle a laugh, "But you're right, I'm a big old mess right now. I'm surprised you haven't ran out of here yet. I know if I were in your shoes, I would have bailed the minute I got dumped."
"That's where you're wrong, Mercedes Jones, I would never push you away just because we are no longer dating. I would like to think that I'm better than that." He reached for her right hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.
"I'm glad that you are because right now, I need a friend to talk to." She said squeezing it back. "Santana and Brittany are on their honeymoon, so I guess you are my only option."
"That's right. I'm your best option actually. Think about it, I'm the most impartial person here. If you were to tell Santana, you know she's going to bitch you out, and Brittany is not going to be able to stop her, so feel really lucky that you got me." He laughed.
"I know. You're the best, Tank…"
"That, I am…" He announced proudly with a smirk, "You know what you need?" He asked as he stood up. "You need ice-cream and I'm going to get you some."
"Ice-cream sounds great. I just got some this afternoon. Get me the cookies and cream kind!" He heard her shout out to his retreating back.
"Cookies and cream coming right up!" He shouted back and went to get her the ice-cream. That night, they talked about Sam and everything that happened in Lima.
End of flash back
~X~X~X~X~
Things changed between them after that night. They were no longer dating and had become really close friends. He had long since moved on and was now happily dating again. His only wish had always been that Mercedes could be as happy as he was. She had done so much good for other people, it was time she got something good in return.
"Stop it." Mercedes slapped him on the chest, breaking him out of his little trance. "You sounded great, and you must know by now that I don't sing with people who can't hold a tune."
"We all know that's a lie…" Tank laughed, "You sang with Rachel Berry."
"I can't believe you would say that." Mercedes gasped and hit him on the chest again, "Just so you know, most of my duets with her happened because we were competing. It's not like I was begging to sing with her. Besides, Rachel can sing. It's just that our genre differs."
"Okay, I'll take your word for it… Not that I will ever meet this Rachel Berry anyway…Thank God." Tank laughed.
"You are rude, sir…" Mercedes chuckled as she hung the headphones that she was wearing.
"I am not. I only tell the truth." He corrected her, mimicking her actions. "So when is Sam coming to town again? Sometime this week, right?" He asked, changing the subject.
Tank had been curious about Sam from the get go. So far, he had only heard stories about him. He wanted to meet the guy and know what it was about the man that had Mercedes hooked. He had to have a great heart at least, right? His friend wouldn't still be in love with him if he wasn't a great guy.
"Sam's already in town. He's meeting me here…" She looked down at her wrist watch and smiled up at Tank. She didn't want to let her excitement show, but who was she kidding, she couldn't hide her emotions even if her life depended on it. "He's probably already here."
"Great, can I meet him? I promise that I'll be on my best behavior." Tank flashed her his most innocent smile and drew a cross by his chest for good measure.
Mercedes scrunched her brows and thought about her choices. Tank had never given her any indication that he might harbor ill feelings towards Sam and for that reason, she had decided to let the two men meet. "Okay, you can meet him, but please don't say anything that might make me look bad or worse, desperate. I don't want him to think that I'm still pining for him or something."
"I would never do that. You know you're my best girl-friend. I would never want to hurt you." Tank vowed and put his arm around her shoulders, kissing her on her chubby cheek. "And who are you kidding? We all know that you've been pining over him." He laughed.
"Shut up! I am not!" Mercedes felt her face flaming and hit him on the chest again.
"Mercedes, you have a guest." Alex announced over the microphone again, "A Sam Evans…? He's waiting for you at the lobby."
Butterflies fluttered in her stomach and once again, she felt like the 17 year old girl who Sam had just asked to dance. It was amazing that even after all these years, and all her successes, Sam was the only man who could give her butterflies.
"I guess, it's time for you to meet Sam…" Mercedes said, trying hard as she could not to freak out. "Are you ready?"
"Am I ready?" Tank arched a brow, "It looks a lot like you're the one who's not ready for this. Are you sure you're going to be okay with this?"
"Yeah, I'm fine…" She waved off his comment and started walking towards the door before she lost her nerves. "Let's do this."
"Let's go then…" Tank laughed and followed her out.
"Trouty, is that you?" Santana walked over to the man who was sitting in the reception area and flipping through a magazine. She knew that Sam was meeting Mercedes here, so she figured that it was him. When the man looked up at her, she smiled, "It is you…"
"Santana." Sam stood up and gave his heavily pregnant friend a hug, "You look great. Pregnancy suits you." He said pulling away and looking down at her rounded belly.
"Thanks, Trouty." Santana beamed, "So you're here to see, Mercedes, right? "
Sam nodded and before he could even answer her, she said, "She's back at the studio with Tank. They have a recording session together."
Hearing Tank's name deflated his enthusiasm a little. Why must everyone keep bringing up his name? "Oh, is she? I didn't know that…" He commented, trying to sound as unaffected as possible.
Santana noticed the change in Sam's demeanor and decided to play his insecurities to her advantage. In order for her plan to work, Sam and Mercedes needed a little nudging because with their history, they sure as hell were going to need it. She was going to do everything in her power to make sure that they ended up together, even if she had to play dirty.
"Yeah, they are doing a collaboration. It's going to be great for Mercedes. She's never done a romantic duet before, so this one's going to be really special."
Sam had to stop himself from rolling his eyes. Today was going to suck ass! His alone time with Mercedes was going to be ruined because of the Tank and there was nothing he could do about it.
"I'm sure it will be great." He answered dryly.
"Mr. Evans, Mercedes is done recording now. She'll be out in a few minutes…" The receptionist walked over to inform him before going back to her seat.
"Thank you." He smiled at the woman and brought his attention back to Santana. "Are you here alone? Where's Brittany?"
"She had to run a few errands. I'll see her at home later…"
Time stood still when the woman of his dreams walked into the room. The first thing he noticed was her sweet scent wafting through the air and when she smiled directly at him, he felt like his heart stopped. She was so gorgeous, words could not express how beautiful she was.
"You're drooling, Trouty. Keep that mouth under control." Santana whispered, laughing at Sam's reaction. The man looked like he just saw an angel and it was amusing to watch.
"Shut up, Tana." Sam hissed and immediately closed his mouth.
"Sam, welcome to LA." Mercedes greeted him and opened her arms for a hug, hoping like hell that she didn't appear nervous.
"Thank you, Mercedes." Sam pulled her into a tight hug, his eyes closing as he whiffed in her scent. He reluctantly let go a few seconds later—knowing that it was inappropriate to hug a woman who was dating someone for too long—and looked down at her. "You look really good."
Mercedes didn't want to let Sam go. His hard body pressed against her soft one made her feel as though she was home, and she didn't want to lose that feeling. "You do too."
"Ehem…" Tank cleared his throat, feeling a little uncomfortable that the two former lovers were making goo goo eyes at each other, while he and Santana stood there like idiots.
Mercedes snapped out of the trance that she was in and sheepishly rubbed her hands on her jeans. "Oh, I forgot to introduce you. Sam, this is Tank…" She smiled at the blond and then turned to Tank, "Tank, this is Sam Evans."
"Nice to finally meet you, Tank." Sam offered his hand, a pang of jealousy hit him as he took in the other man's appearance.
He was tall and all muscles. It was no wonder Mercedes moved on to him. Sam also took notice that Tank was definitely someone he didn't want to mess with. He was surprised however to see that Tank was a white man. A tall, blond, white man to be exact. He always imagined Tank being black, and built much like Shane the Bulldozer was. Boy was he wrong… It was like she upgraded to a muscular version of him.
"It's Thomas, but people call me Tank." Tank corrected as he shook Sam's hand.
He took in the other blond's appearance and found that other than being 'pretty' to look at, he had nothing else going for him. But maybe he had to look beyond the surface. There had to be something special about this guy for Mercedes to be hung up on him even after all these years...
Sam almost cackled at the name. His name is Thomas, as in Thomas The Tank Engine. Great nickname there, pal… Thomas The Tank Engine. Ha! Composing himself, he smirked at the other man and said, "Well, Thomas The Tank…Engine." He left out the engine part, "It is really nice to finally meet you."
"Same here, man. I've heard a lot about you from Mercedes."
Mercedes kicked Tank on the shin and sent him a death glare. Why would he tell Sam that? Now he was going to think that she was obsessing about him. Which she was…a little, but she didn't want him knowing that!
"Ow… What was that for?" Tank grimaced in pain, looking at Mercedes as if she was crazy.
"Oh sorry, I have restless leg syndrome. Sam knows…" She let out a giggle at the memory from three and a half years ago. She had used the same excuse when they were caught playing footsie at the dinner table, and she knew that she would always remember that night.
"Restless leg syndrome huh…" Sam shook his head at her lame attempt at lying. It was obvious that she didn't want to talk about certain things, so he played along. "I didn't know that you still suffer from that."
"Yeah, it's still a problem every now and then, but not as bad as it used to be."
"Hold up, am I missing something?" Santana held up a hand and questioned, feeling lost by the exchange. "Since when do you have restless leg syndrome?"
"Umm… I started experiencing it when I moved to New York, but it's gotten a lot better now." Mercedes lied.
Santana knew that this was a lie straight from the pits of hell. She had been working with Mercedes for over three years and the diva had never once complained about her legs. This must be an inside joke between her and Sam, and that made her smile a little.
"Liar…" Tank coughed out and wrapped an arm around Mercedes' shoulder. He wanted to see how Sam would react to this. If he still felt something for Mercedes, surely he would have a reaction.
Sam gritted his teeth. He hated seeing another man be all up on Mercedes. That was his job, no one should be doing that but him. This is going to be harder than I think. "So are you guys going to be joining us for lunch?" He asked, acting as friendly as possible.
Tank thought about the question and a part of him really wanted to go, just to make Sam squirm, but then he changed his mind. At the end of the day, what he really wanted was for Mercedes to be happy and giving them privacy so that they could reconnect would be the best solution.
"No, I can't. I have some things I have to do. You guys go and enjoy your lunch." He purposely planted a kiss on her forehead before letting her go.
Mercedes winced when Tank kissed her forehead. What the hell was he trying to do? Cock block her or something? I should have kicked him harder…
"That's too bad. Maybe next time?" Sam did an internal fist pump and pretended not to see the kiss. Then he looked at Santana who was fiddling with her phone, "How about you, Tana? You free for lunch?"
"I can't." Santana said, looking up from her phone. "I'm meeting up with Brit-Brit, but we can catch up later for dinner if you're free…"
"Dinner sounds perfect." Sam smiled and offered his arm to Mercedes, "Shall we go now?"
"Yeah, let's go." She took Sam's arm and looked back at Tank and Santana, "I'll see you guys later. Thanks for today, Tank…"
How quickly Sam tried to snatch Mercedes away didn't go unnoticed. Tank was actually impressed by this. It had to mean that the man still had feelings for Mercedes. Hopefully they could suss things out and work on rebuilding their relationship.
Santana was laughing on the inside. Her plan was working and she felt like Tank was onboard as well. Things were good and it could only get better. "Get out of here, you two. I'll call you about dinner."
"It's not a problem, Mercedes." He smiled at his friend and nodded at Sam, "Nice to meet you, man. I hope our paths cross again."
"Same here, man. See you around." They waved at Santana and Tank, and left the building.
Santana and Tank watched as the two walked out. Both of them held the same hope; that they would eventually get back together.
"Do you think, they'll get it right this time around?" Tank spoke up first.
"We can only hope, Tank, we can only hope…"
For lunch Mercedes brought Sam to her favorite Chinese restaurant, Dynasty Palace. The owner, Mr. Tan, was there to greet them and directed them both to her special table which was located at the back where she would have more privacy. The restaurant was located about ten minutes away from the studio and was one of Mercedes' lunch haunts.
She could tell that they were both feeling out of sorts when they were left alone, so for the first few minutes no one spoke. All they did was stare at the menu before them.
Sam was the first to break the silence…thankfully, "Tank's a nice guy… How long have you guys been dating again? 4 years? I'm surprised he hasn't asked you to marry him yet."
He had no idea why he just asked her about Tank, the question seemed to slip out of his mouth without notice. How odd…? Not really. The truth was, he was curious about the other man. After all, he had to get to know his competition, right?
Mercedes let go of the menu she was holding and looked at Sam as if he had grown another head. Why was he asking her about Tank? They had never talked about him before and she really didn't want to start now. She hesitated in her answer at first, but then she was reminded of the fact that she and Sam never lied to each other and came clean. "Umm… Tank and I are no longer dating. I thought I told you that."
"You're not? You never told me." Sam wanted to jump up and do a happy dance. This just made his job ten times easier. There was no competition, and all he had to do was woo her back! "I just thought that you guys have been dating all this time. I mean, you never did bring up the fact that you two broke up, so I figured that you never talked about him because you didn't want to rub your relationship in my face."
"No, I broke up with Tank right after Brit and Santana got married. I guess you're right about some things. I didn't want to rub my relationship in your face. It's rude and you know I don't do rude. Besides, you were happily dating Rachel at the time and I didn't want to burden you with my problems." She smiled, although it didn't reach her eyes. Rachel was a sore subject and she tried her best not to bring her up in any of their conversations.
It didn't escape Sam's attention that Mercedes and Tank had broken up for over three years and the knowledge baffled him more than anything. How could he not have noticed that she had been single for all this time? And why did she keep this a secret from him?
"You would have never burdened me, Mercedes." He told her with a sigh, "Yes, I was dating Rachel, but you do know that it was never serious, right? I found out later that my feelings for her were not genuine and that's why we stopped seeing each other."
Mercedes could only concentrate on the part where he told her that his feeling for Rachel weren't genuine.
She was confused and she needed more answers, so she decided to question him further, "What do you mean your feelings weren't genuine?"
This was going to be hard to explain and he didn't know if she would believe him if he told her, but he knew that he had to try. "Sue hypnotized me. I didn't know that she did that until she came clean weeks later, and by that time you had already gone back to LA. I was never in love with Rachel, Mercedes. Those feelings were forced upon me. Half the time, I didn't even remember the conversations that went on between us."
Mercedes' head was spinning. What could she say to that? Could Sam possibly be lying? Who would even hypnotize someone? But knowing Sue, she had a feeling that he was telling the truth. The woman was beyond crazy and would do anything to make person's life miserable.
"So when you told Rachel that you were endgame, you didn't mean it?"
"No." Sam replied quickly. "I was out of my mind when I told her that I was in love with her too. I don't remember any of it."
"Oh…"
Her lack of reaction worried Sam. He expected her to be angry or maybe even happy, but it looked like she was in a daze more than anything.
"Mercedes, are you okay?" He asked. His brows were knitted tightly together as he tried hard not to freak out.
"Yeah."
Mercedes blinked a few times and studied Sam's face. This felt like it was too good to be true. He was here, sitting with her and telling her that everything that happened with Rachel was a sham. He never had real feelings for the other woman and when the realization finally hit her she let out a loud snort. Sam's face was priceless. He was looking at her with the loss expression that she knew and loved all too well.
"You should see your face right now. It's priceless." She guffawed as she pointed at his face.
Sam went from worrying to not understanding why Mercedes was laughing. He was sure that she wasn't insulting him. She would never do that, she had not one malicious bone in her body. It wasn't like her to laugh at people, but what was so funny?
He didn't pursue his curiosity and instead went with the most important question. "So you're not mad at me for dating Rachel?"
"No, Sam…" She stopped laughing and let out a breath before she continued, "Was I jealous? Yes, I was, but you already know that. I am disappointed however at the fact that you told Rachel that you guys were endgame and that you were going to marry her someday. I know I don't have the right to be hurt. I mean I did tell you to date her, but I guess, I was hoping that one day when our stars aligned, we would make our way back to each other again. I never gave up hope, but when I heard that you had said that to Rachel, I saw that as you giving up on us."
Her admission threw him for a loop. He was happy that she had wanted to be with him, but he needed her to understand his state of mind at the time, so he reached for her hands and enclosed it around his. "Mercedes, I swear to you that I don't remember ever telling Rachel that we were endgame. I guess, I should have known that something was off with me when she told me that I had kissed her, but at the time, I didn't and that was my fault. I would never disrespect you and like you already knew, I didn't even try to date her until after you told me that I should do it. You saw me…I was still hung up on you. In fact, I'm still hung up on you. I love you, Mercedes, it was always you that I wanted and pined for, not Rachel..."
Sam hadn't expected to bombard Mercedes with everything that he was feeling for her, but now that it was out there, he felt relieved. He no longer had to worry about keeping his feelings inside. If she was going to reject him, then so be it, but he was not ashamed to admit that he was still in love with her.
Mercedes took in all that he was saying and felt a tugging sensation in her chest. She didn't understand it at first, but as she looked into Sam's eyes, everything became clear. She was free, it was as if the ice that had been barricading her heart had finally thawed out and she was free to love again.
"I believe you, Sam, and I love you too." She told him without hesitation and could see him smiling widely. "I'm sorry for thinking ill of you. Maybe it was my way of protecting my heart…I don't know…" She shrugged, "But I'm glad that we talked."
Sam probably looked like a demented clown as he smiled on like an idiot, but he didn't care. Mercedes just told him that she loved him too, and nothing could break his spirit now.
"I'm so glad that we talked too." He raised her hand up to his lips and gave the back of it a kiss, "We'll do it right this time, and don't even think about breaking up with me again because I will never let you go. If you're worried about my sexual needs, you don't have to. I haven't had sex since graduating High School, and I will wait to have sex until you're ready. I love you more than anything else in the world and I'm willing to wait for you…for as long as you need to."
"Wait, you haven't had sex since High School? But you were with Rachel…?" Mercedes' heart was racing like a race horse. Could it be possible that he and Rachel never had sex?
"I was with Rachel, but we didn't have sex. We only shared a few kisses. I didn't feel like it was right to have sex with her. We were dating, yes, but I also knew that it wasn't serious. She was going to go back to New York and I was not going to go with her. Plus, there was also the small factor that I still see her as Finn's girlfriend. It just didn't feel proper to go all the way with her."
"I know this is very bad of me, but I'm actually really happy that you guys never had sex. It's bad enough that you've had sex with Brit, I don't want to have to think about you and Rachel too." She admitted with a laugh, her heart feeling freer than it had ever been before.
"It's a little bad, but I get it. I wouldn't want anyone having sex with the woman I know I'm going to marry, so I completely understand."
Mercedes leaned back a little, her right brow arching up as she looked at Sam, "Look at you being all cocky. You haven't even asked me out on a date yet and you're already talking about marriage."
Sam leaned close to the point where their noses almost touched, before cockily stating, "You know that I go from zero to a hundred in five seconds flat. Don't be acting brand new on me now…"
A gasp left her lips and she narrowed her gaze at him, "I'm not brand new, I'm stating facts. You need to ask me out first before you start planning our future." She withdrew her hands away and folded her arms, "I might love you, Sam Evans, but I deserve some romance in my life, and you are going to give it to me."
For a moment, Sam didn't blink, his eyes were trained on Mercedes', stubbornly standing his ground to see if she would give up before he did, but she never did. When he was forced to blink, he smirked at her and said, "Okay, I relent. You win this round, but don't you dare try to weasel your way out of our date. I know where you live, Mercedes, and I will stalk you."
"I can't believe that you would think that. I've never tried to get out of any of our dates. Now, ask me properly so we can get the show on the road." She once again leaned back and began to tap her foot. "I'm waiting…"
"Okay, bossy… You're lucky I love you or I would be high tailing it out of here." Sam grumbled and took her free hand into his. Their gazes met and without delaying any further, he asked, "Mercedes Jones, would you do me the honor of having dinner with me tomorrow night?"
Ignoring his complaints, she listened to his question and melted. He was a total gentleman when he asked her out to dinner and she loved that about him, "I would love to have dinner with you, Sam." She answered him softly.
"Great!" Sam cheered and unceremoniously planted a kiss on her lips. "It's a date."
"You stole a kiss from me. That's cheating. You're supposed to wait until after our first date"
"Yeah, I did." Sam laughed, "When it comes to you I never play fair and technically, this won't be our first date. We had that back in High School. Now, let's order, I'm starving…"
All Mercedes could do was shake her head. Sam had changed so much throughout these past four years, and yet his ain't shitness remained intact...thankfully. Although she would never admit it to him out loud, a part of her had always loved that side of him and she hoped that he would never lose his swagger.
A month later…
Mercedes couldn't be happier with the progression of her relationship with Sam. He was the perfect boyfriend. The three years they had been apart had matured him. He was no longer the horny nineteen year old boy who was constantly trying to grope her whenever they would kiss. He was patient with her and when things would start to get out of hand, he was always the first one to pull back. It was getting harder for her to abstain now, every kiss reminded her of how much she wanted him, but still he never let them go too far. She found it funny that the roles were reversed now. Once upon a time, she was the one pushing him away. Oh how things have changed…
Now that everything was back on track, they were practically inseparable. If not after work then they were meeting at their respective work place and spending as much quality time together. Not wanting to keep their relationship a secret from anyone, they had told Santana and Brittany on the very same night Sam asked her out. Her best friends were ecstatic to hear the news. Santana had threatened Sam with violence if he broke her heart and he had taken the Latina's abuse with a smile on his face and promised that he was never going to hurt her. Her appreciation for Sam was much stronger now than it was when they were in New York. It probably had a lot to do with how much they had grown as individuals or it could be a million other reasons. Whatever it might be, she hoped that they could keep going on the right path until they tied the knot. She had no doubts now that this was where she belonged, with Sam as her life partner.
"Hey, beautiful… Been waiting long?" Sam wrapped his arms around Mercedes and softly planted a kiss on her luscious lips.
"Baby." Mercedes replied smiling brightly at her boyfriend and returning his kiss. Holding him tightly, she said, "I've missed you today."
"I've missed you too…" He confessed.
They held each other for a few more seconds—each had a love sick smile on their faces—before letting go.
"So are you ready to have dinner with Brit and Santana? It's Mexican night and I'm dying for a taco." Mercedes rubbed her hands together happily as she thought about the tacos that were waiting for them. Santana rarely cooked now that she was pregnant, but when she did, her food would always make her stomach growl. Tonight's dinner would be no different.
"Yup, I'm ready and hungry, so let's do this before I pass out from hunger." He laughed and led her out of the recording studio. "Night, Alex!" He called out to the audio manager.
"Night, Sam! Night, Mercedes!" The other man waved at them as they left.
With the amount of time he had been spending with Mercedes, the people working at the studio all knew him by name now. They were really nice and always welcomed him with a smile. It was the same thing with the staff at Central High School. They all loved Mercedes and were beyond ecstatic when they found out that one of their staff members were dating a Best Selling R&B artist. Their relationship had been progressing and it was safe to say that they were heading in the right direction. Having self-control while they made out was becoming an issue again, but not because he was trying to go too far. It was the opposite this time. Mercedes was the one who was testing the boundaries of his resistance. Even so, he knew the limits and would make them stop before they go too far. He was serious about not fucking up this time. He wanted to marry her and show her that sex wasn't everything to him, she was his everything and that title would remain intact for the rest of his life.
"I wonder if Tank and Jade are going to be there…" Mercedes said as they walked towards their parked cars.
"They probably will be. You know Tank loves to eat. Plus, it's free food and no one ever turns down free food." Sam laughed.
"You're bad." Mercedes slapped her boyfriend on the chest and giggled, "But so true. He does like to eat. I mean have you seen his size."
"What…? You know it's true." He playfully rolled his eyes and let out a sigh, "I know he's huge. They nicknamed him Tank for a reason. He makes me feel tiny and I'm not even close to being tiny."
Mercedes stopped walking and turned so that she was standing in front of Sam, "You don't have to be intimidated by him, you know." Reaching up, she began stroking his cheeks with her thumbs, "He might be bigger, but that doesn't mean anything to me. You are the one in my heart, so that makes you bigger than him."
Sam closed his eyes for a moment and smiled as Mercedes stroke his cheeks. Sometimes he felt like he was in a dream. He was with Mercedes and she loved him just as much as he loved her. It felt too good to be true, yet it wasn't, and he couldn't be happier that this was his reality. "I was joking around, babe, relax…I'm not that insecure. Although if you are going to treat me like this every time we talk about Tank, then maybe I should keep up my acting." He laughed and leaned down to kiss her lips.
"You are the worse, Sam Evans." She shook her head, moved away from him and they started walking again.
"I know I am, but you know you love me." Sam said before putting an arm around her shoulder, pulling her close to him as they walked towards their cars.
"That I do."
Sam didn't even bother to hide his dorkiness. With his free hand, he punched the air and shouted, "Yes! I knew it!"
Mercedes couldn't stop the giggles from slipping out, "You're a fool." They arrived at her car and stopped on the driver side. Standing on her tiptoes, she gave him a chaste kiss and said, "I'll see you in a few. Drive safely, baby."
"Not even ashamed of the fact." Sam retorted smugly and smiled into the kiss. "You too, babe. I'll lead the way, you can just follow me."
He left her side and led the way to Brittany and Santana's home.
As expected, Tank and Jade were there for dinner, and not surprisingly, Mexican night was turning out to be a success. Everyone was busily chatting and eating when they heard the doorbell ringing.
"Did you invite someone else to dinner, Brit-Brit?" Santana put down the taco she was holding and asked her wife.
"No…" Brittany frowned and got up, "I'll go see who it is." She kissed Santana on the cheek and went to check to see who was at the door.
Brittany's jaw dropped when she opened it. Rachel Berry was standing before her with an all too fake smile on her face.
"Rachel… What are you doing here?" She asked, feeling lost by the other woman's sudden reappearance.
"Oh, I'm here on a vacation. I thought I'd stop by to say hello to you all. Where's Santana?"
"Santana's inside." Brittany said as she pointed to her back, "We are having Mexican night. Everyone is here." She didn't know if she should invite Rachel in or not, so she stood there and just looked at the brunette.
Rachel stepped inside without being invited in and looked around the home. It was a decent home, but nothing like the penthouse that she lived in. Don't be silly, Rachel, of course it's not going to be all that nice. They are backup singers to Mercedes Jones. They wouldn't be able to afford a nice penthouse. "Nice place you got here, Brit." She said rather blandly.
"Thanks." Brittany replied with half a smile. "Since you are already inside-" she spat that part out with an eye roll as she turned her back to close the door, "-why don't you join us for dinner? The dining room is back here."
"Thanks, Brit, don't mind if I do."
Brittany led the way into the dining room and looked apologetically at Santana. "Look who decided to join us for dinner, guys?"
"Hi everyone!" Rachel waved at the group. Santana looked like she was about ready to pop at any second, her stomach was huge! Two random people that she had never met were staring at her as if star struck. "Oh hey, new people…" She greeted them in a cheer, "You might have seen me before, I'm Rachel Berry. I've been in a few famous Broadway musicals."
Tank sat silent when Rachel Berry walked in. After hearing about her from Mercedes, Santana and Brittany, he had always been curious about the woman—wondering if she really was as annoying as she sounded—and when she opened her mouth, he knew that his instincts were right. He wished now more than ever that he had skipped dinner altogether. The woman was obnoxious. How Mercedes could stay friends with her was a mystery to him.
"Sorry, not a fan of Broadway." He retorted bluntly.
Rachel rolled her eyes, "Oh well, not everyone can appreciate Broadway."
Jade let out a giggle and quickly covered it behind a cough.
"Are you okay, babe?" He asked, rubbing her back.
"Yeah…" Jade answered her boyfriend with a napkin covering her mouth as she tried her best not to laugh.
Rachel ignored the two and scanned the room. When her vision landed on Sam, she smiled brightly. Her mission for this trip had been clear; get Sam back at any cost. He was good to her when they were dating and she was a fool to have let him go. She didn't even care when she found out that Sue had hypnotized Sam, he had treated her right and that was all that mattered. When he broke up with her, she thought that it was for the best, she was going to New York and she knew that he was never going to leave Lima. He was like Finn, a small town boy and at the time, she knew that being with him was not an option. But now, after dating a few men in New York, she was done with all of it, and she was ready to get back with Sam. He was great eye candy—a trait that was going to be great for her image—and would do well in New York. Plus, he looked like he would be great in bed. I should have made him have sex with me that night at the party… Once he's had a taste of me, I know he would have never let me go. Now all she had to do was convince him to come with her.
Walking over to the empty seat directly in front of Sam, she sat down and greeted him, batting her lashes seductively at him, "Hey Sam, it's nice to see you again. You look handsome as always. I love the facial hair."
Sam couldn't believe that Rachel was here and it sounded a lot like she had gone back to her old ways. When she left Lima, he thought that she had changed for the better, but it looked like he was wrong. She was still attention hungry and condescending, which made him happy that he had broken up with her.
"Hi, Rachel…" He smiled at her before turning to look at Mercedes and kissing the back of her hand.
Rachel hadn't even noticed that Mercedes was there until Sam kissed her hand. She knew instantly that the two were back together. Eww… Why does he have to go back to her? Can't he choose someone else? Now I have to compete with their history. This sucks! Whatever, I'm Rachel Berry. I can get everything that I want and I'll have Sam back in no time!
"Oh hey, Mercedes, I didn't see you there." Rachel flashed her a fake smile, "How's life here? Your music doing any better?"
Mercedes actually rolled her eyes. Same old Rachel Berry. Give her a little bit of fame and it immediately get to her head.
"I've been here all this time, how can you not see me?" She asked through gritted teeth, "My music is fine. I'm a Platinum selling artist, but I guess you wouldn't know that seeing as you only pay attention to Showtunes and Broadway."
Rachel glowered at Mercedes. How dare she talk to me like that. Doesn't she know who I am? I am Rachel Berry! She wanted to retort, but before she could, she heard Santana's question.
"What are you doing here, Berry?" Santana's appetite suddenly disappeared. Rachel being here could not be a good thing and she'd be damned if she'd let the woman ruin her Friday night dinner.
"I'm here on a vacation and I thought I'd come here to see you guys." Rachel answered the Latina before looking directly at Sam, "There's also some unfinished business I need to take care of."
"Oh hell to the no!" Mercedes stood up and glared at Rachel. "I know you didn't just say that to my boyfriend! That's right, Sam's my boyfriend. We got back together as soon as he moved here. We love each other and I plan to marry him someday, so I'm warning you, Rachel, if you try anything with my man, I will kill you!"
Rachel let out a shrill laugh. Mercedes was crazy and she was going to make her look even crazier to make sure Sam would leave her tonight.
"Wow, I always knew that you were insecure, but I didn't think that you would still be insecure even after all these years. You can relax, Mercedes, I'm not here to take Sam away." Yes, I am! "You don't have to worry about competing with me and if this was a competition, I would surely win."
"Okay, get out!" Santana shouted before Mercedes could. "I am not going to let you come in here and insult my best friend!"
"Rachel, you better leave." Sam warned the brunette. "You are angering Santana and you know how bad things can get when she's pissed."
Brittany didn't like seeing her wife angry and it made her angrier seeing how Rachel was talking to Mercedes. "Get the fuck out, Rachel!" She got up and grabbed an umbrella, "You've never seen me go ape shit, and if you never want to see me that way you better leave, or I swear I will shove this umbrella so far up your ass-"
"You know what, no. I need to have a word with Rachel before she leaves…" Mercedes jumped up and blocked Brittany from hurting Rachel. Then she turned to look at Brittany and said kindly to her friend, "Go sit down with Santana, Brit. She needs you."
Brittany was ready to strike, but she did what Mercedes told her to do and went to sit down. Once she had taken her seat, she took her wife's hand and asked, "Are you okay, Tana?"
"Yeah, I'm okay." Santana replied before leaning forward to give Brittany a chaste kiss, "But I'm thinking that Rachel is not going to be by the time she leaves tonight."
Rachel stood—or in this case, sat—her ground. She was not going to leave and they were not going to intimidate her into leaving either. Didn't they know who she was? She was Rachel Berry! And she always got what she wanted.
With her arms folded, she looked at Mercedes as if she was a bug to be squashed and said. "What did you want to talk to me about? I already told you that I'm not here to steal your man, but now that I think about it, maybe I should." She licked her lips and winked at Sam, "He looks too sexy for me not to be tempted."
Sam cringed at Rachel and was about to say something, but Mercedes had put a hand up, stopping him from saying anything.
"No, Sam, this is between me and her. I'm done with dealing with her bullshit. This stops today." Mercedes said to Sam and then looked Rachel square in the eyes, "You are a pathetic human being, Rachel Berry. I have tried and tried to be nice to you, but the endgame is always the same, you end up the same way. You're selfish and you will never change. When I came back to Lima 3 years ago, I genuinely wanted to help you because I saw you as my friend. I gave you an opportunity to get back to Broadway. Hell, I even told Sam to date you thinking that you two truly had feelings for each other. If I had known that he was hypnotized by Sue, I would have never let him date you."
"You know that's not true. Sam has always had feelings for me. Why he chose to be with you after the number of times you have dumped him is beyond me..." Rachel retorted.
"Is that so? Then answer me this, why is it that he waited until after I told him to date you, to ask you out? Face it, Rachel, not everything revolves around you and not everyone is in love with you. We broke up because timing has always been a problem for us. I'm not going to string him along knowing that I couldn't stay with him, that would be unfair, so I let him go, because that is what being mature is all about, sometimes you have to be selfless and let go of the ones you love for their benefit. And I'm not being paranoid, I know how you are. There has to be a reason why you are back here and by the way you are looking at Sam, I'm guessing that you are here for him."
"Fine, I'm here to get Sam back." Rachel admitted and once again ignored Mercedes in favor of Sam. "Sam, come on… You can't possibly want to stay with Mercedes. She's not suitable for you. You guys keep dating and breaking up, there has to be a reason why that is happening. You are not meant to be with her. You should be with me. We were great together. Remember the time I helped you to get ready for your test shots? We had so much chemistry there. I knew you wanted me when I rubbed baby oil on your chest. You can't deny that fact. And remember the time we went to prom together? We had so much fun that night."
Sam stared at Rachel with wide eyes. Is she off her rocker? This has got to stop. I can't keep listening to her talk as if we have some deep connection and history. "Rachel, I'm not going to deny that I was attracted to you when I visited New York during senior year, but it wasn't serious. Just because you rubbed baby oil on my chest, it doesn't mean that I'm in love with you and want to marry you. Mercedes was right, if I hadn't been hypnotized, I would have never wanted to date you. I like you, Rachel, I just don't like you in that way… That's why I told you that I couldn't be with you after we found out about what Sue did. And another thing; stop trying to create history between us. You know that you and I never went to prom. We were supposed to go on a three way date, but then you invited Jesse and Mercedes became my date. You need to stop acting like what we shared held deep meaning. I cared about you and I wanted the best for you, but I didn't love you in the way that I love Mercedes and that will never change."
"But you said that we were endgame and that we were going to get married!" Rachel shouted. "You can't expect me to believe that you didn't mean what you say!"
"I was hypnotized!" Sam shouted back. He was beyond exasperated now. Rachel was crazy! "I wouldn't have said those things if I was in my right mind. When I told you that I loved you right before Mercedes came back, I was confused and didn't know where my feelings were coming from. But have you noticed how I never said anymore I love you's to you after that? It's because I don't love you, at least not in the way that you think I do."
"But what about sex? Are you sure you're going to be able to go without sex until she is ready to get married?
"You still don't get it, do you? I love Mercedes, and I will love her until my dying breath. Sex is not a factor. I haven't had sex for over four years now, but am I dead? No. Sex is not a deal breaker for me anymore. I will wait for as long as I have to, because I love Mercedes and I support her decision to remain a virgin until marriage."
Sam could hear the collective gasps coming from everyone in the room. He hadn't planned on revealing that secret to his friends, but he felt like he had been given no choice. Half expecting for Santana to make a crude remark, he looked at her, but instead of making fun of him, she smiled.
"And why do you want to be with me anyway? We know that I would never be the man that you want me to be. I'm not Finn Hudson and I'm not going to try to fill his shoes. I love Mercedes and she loves me. We have made a lot of mistakes in the past, but we're both committed this time around. I want to marry her someday and like she told you, she wants that too, so I'm begging you, just forget about your crazy plan and go back to New York. I'm not the man for you."
"I can't believe that you would bring Finn into this. This is not about him." Rachel felt her lips quivering at the thought of her ex. Everything that Sam just said was lost to her when Finn's name was brought up. She missed him and to this day, she still looked for him in all the men that she dated. Was Sam right? Was she trying to replace Finn with him?
"I didn't want to bring him up, Rachel, I'm sorry about that, but you have to understand that we can never be together. You need to move on with your life. You've always had things handed to you. Don't you think it's time that you take accountability for your life, love life included?"
Mercedes felt love, pride and adoration swell up within her. At that moment, she knew that she had made the right decision. This was not the boy that she had a summer fling with during her junior year, this was a man who loved her beyond reason and was willing to fight to be with her. Sam Evans was her man.
Rachel felt like the biggest fool. Sam was right, she had been lucky in life and had been handed everything, yet she was still ungrateful and had acted like the biggest snob in the world. Shaking her head, she looked apologetically at Mercedes and said, "I'm sorry, Mercedes. I am such an idiot. I don't even know what I'm thinking nowadays... I guess, all that fame got to my head."
Mercedes could tell that Rachel was being sincere and she wasn't the kind of person to hold grudges, so she reached for the other woman's hand and gave it a squeeze, "I forgive you, but you have to work at making yourself better. Fame and money don't mean a thing if you don't take the time to appreciate life and the important people around you, Rachel."
"Thank you, Mercedes. You're right, I need to work on myself and I will do that." Rachel smiled at her friend—squeezing her hand back—and looked apologetically at the rest. "I'm sorry for making a scene, guys. I hope you're still not trying to shove that umbrella up my keister, Brittany."
Brittany had been holding Lord Tubbington and patting the feline's fur to help calm her down. Fortunately, it had worked and she was smiling by the time Rachel addressed her. "No, I'm not going to. Lord Tubbington told me that you really are regretful. We're okay again…" She smiled.
"I'm used to your kind of crazy, chica. It's nothing new to me." Santana said with a wave of a hand, "Also, how could you not notice that your co-star, Jesse St. James, is still pining for you?"
"Yeah, how did you miss that? I honestly thought that you guys would be married by now." Mercedes put in as she released Rachel's hand.
"Jesse?" Rachel asked quizzically. "I don't think you guys got that right at all, we are just co-stars. I don't think that Jesse has any romantic feelings towards me."
"They're right, Rach. Why would he come back to Lima to offer you a role in his musical if he didn't still hold a torch for you? Speaking from a man's perspective, no man would ever do that for a girl that they don't have feelings for." Sam stated.
"You think so?" Rachel asked again, still not believing what they were saying, "But why wouldn't he have said something to me?"
"Maybe he's scared that you might reject him." Santana answered with a shrug, "I mean, you did choose Finn over him in the past... Maybe he's a little gun shy."
Rachel bit her bottom lip and contemplated this new revelation. She had never thought about getting back together with Jesse because she had always thought that their time had passed, so she kept her feelings for him inside and treated him like a friend, but maybe they were right, maybe he was waiting for her to make her first move…
"Thanks guys, you've given me a lot of things to really think about." She told her friends, then looked at duo that she had rudely ignored throughout dinner. "I'm so sorry for making this really awkward for you guys. I'm so rude. I never even got your names." This time when she reintroduced herself, she stood up and offered her hand to the pretty red head woman, "I have to do it right this time…" She cleared her throat and said, "Hi, I'm Rachel Berry and you are?"
"I'm Jade Weston." Jade shook Rachel's hand before introducing her boyfriend. "This is Tank, my boyfriend."
"You're Tank? The Christian rocker Tank?" Rachel asked, she in awe that Mercedes was still able to retain a friendship with her ex.
"The one and only…" Tank returned the handshake and smiled at Rachel.
"Wow… It's great to finally meet you, Tank. Mercedes has said so many good things about you."
The conversation at Mexican night flowed smoothly after that. It was half past ten when Jade and Tank took their leave, which gave Mercedes, Sam, Santana, Brittany and Rachel time to say chat before finally saying goodnight. By the time they parted ways, the five were all on good terms again.
"Why don't you come in, Sam? Let's have a chat." Mercedes tugged at Sam's hand and pulled him into her house.
It was getting late, but after tonight's dinner, she felt like she needed to have a talk with him. There was so much that she wanted him to know and she couldn't go silent for a day longer.
"Have a seat." She told him as she placed her purse on the coffee table and joined him on the sofa.
"What did you want to talk about?" Sam asked with a smile.
Normally, when Mercedes wanted to talk, he would get nervous and think that she wanted to break up with him, but lately, he felt more at ease. They were at a good place and in the past month, talking had proved to be positive for their relationship, so he knew that he had nothing to worry about.
"I just wanted to tell you that I love you." Mercedes stated before leaning in for a soft kiss, "And I also wanted to thank you for believing in our love. I know I have made you suffer in the past and I have broken your heart more than I could count, but I want you to know that this time, I'm in this for the long haul. I want to be your wife, have your kids and grow old with you. And I promise that I will not let you down again."
"You have never let me down, Mercedes. I might not have understood half of our past breakups, but I do now. You were being selfless and thinking about me first, and that is the one trait in you that I truly love. I also love that you don't hold grudges. I mean look at how you've forgiven me and Rachel... It comes naturally to you and I just want to be an extension of you. I want people to know that Sam Evans belongs to Mercedes Jones, because without you, I would be nothing." Sam said before pulling her into his arms and kissing her passionately.
Mercedes felt herself getting aroused and she knew that Sam was going to make them stop, but she really didn't want to this time because she knew that they were meant to be together. She was going to marry him and waiting to have sex would have been pointless and she didn't want to make them wait any longer.
"Make love to me, Sam." She requested as her lips left his.
Every fiber of his being was telling him to take the offer, but he didn't want to rush things and he didn't want her to feel as if she had to have sex with him just to show him that she loved him, "Baby, you know that's not an option. I love you and I want to have sex with you, but not until you are absolutely sure and ready, and that won't happen until we are man and wife."
Mercedes had a feeling that Sam was going to be resistant. She expected it, but she was not going to let that deter her. Things were different this time. She was no longer unsure of the longevity of their relationship. She knew that this was right and she wanted to show him how much she loved him by making love to him.
"I love you, Sam, and I'm ready. I don't want to have sex with you…" She caressed his cheeks with the pads of her thumbs, "I want to make love to you. I told you that I was saving myself for the man that I will be spending the rest of my life with and I am more than certain that you are that man."
Mercedes was confident in her words because she had never felt more connected with a man before. Sam was hers because it was him that she kept coming back to. He was the one that she always thought of and cared about and now that she understood just how deep their love for each other were, she wanted to share herself with him.
Sam wanted to stand his ground, but after hearing those beautiful words coming out of his girlfriend's lips, he couldn't deny her. "I love you, Mercedes Jones and I will make love to you…"
Standing up, he picked her up bridal style and without a word, he carried her into her bedroom where he planned to show her just how wonderful lovemaking could be.
I can already hear the boos coming from a mile away. Lol. But I really can't write smut when I'm rushed, guys, and that's how I feel if I try to write it right now. I promise that their lovemaking will be awesome sauce and romantic in the next chapter.
Anyway, what did you think about the chapter? I know a lot happened here, but I would still like to hear what you guys think. So send me a review and tell me what you think!
My life's a bit hectic right now, so I won't be making any promises on when I would be posting the ending, but I will try my best to have it done by the finale episode.
Until next time,
xoxoxo,
lovessamcedes
