CHAPTER 3
Summary: Sam, Mercedes, and Finn discuss the obstacles in their relationship and their insecurities.
Rating: Mature
Warning: Strong Sexual Content. Strong Language.
Author's Note: Thank you all for reading and reviewing this story! Please note that this story is very AU so I'm taking all sorts of liberties.
Good Morning Love
Mercedes was the first to wake up. The air smelled like honeysuckle and the sun was rising over the horizon. Pale arms and legs were wrapped around her, Finn's mouth was open and he drooled onto the sleeping bag. She touched the bruise on his chin and the night before came rushing back - running through the park, bloody hands, yelling... Sam stirred next to her and he mumbled: "Oel ngati kameie".
"Sam?" she whispered. His eyes were closed, and she realized he was talking in his sleep - only Sam would speak Navi while he slept, she laughed to herself. As much as she wanted to stay encased in their arms forever, they had to go inside because the last thing she needed was for someone to find them all lying nude in her backyard. She tried to break out of their embrace, but it proved difficult. Finn wrapped his arms around her tighter and Sam's hold on her was equally as fierce. Mercedes smiled to herself - they were even protecting her in their sleep. Nevertheless, they had to go in the house.
She gently stroked their faces, admiring how handsome they were. The early morning light cast a soft glow on their skin. She then kissed each of them on the cheek, and whispered:
"Wake up, time to go inside."
After a few minutes of this gentle prodding, Sam and Finn opened their eyes, and greeted her with kisses.
"Hey, baby," Sam cooed, "Sleep, ok?"
She nodded. "Did you?"
"Yeah," he then yawned and stretched his muscular arms. Finn kissed her shoulder.
"How are you feeling?"
"The way you two made love to me last night, a little sore, but other than that, ok"
"Sweetheart, I'm sorry, were we too rough?" Finn asked. His voice filled with concern.
"No, not at all. Don't be sorry. Making love like that was beyond wonderful. I needed it."
"We all did," Sam said.
"After what happened last night, it felt good to be with you two like that," Finn said.
They untangled themselves and slowly stood up. Mercedes legs felt stiff from sleeping on the ground all night. She was about to put on her nightgown, but Sam stopped her.
"Don't put that on yet."
"Why?"
"I want to look at you," he said.
Mercedes stood there under his intense gaze. And now Finn was staring at her too. No matter how many times Sam and Finn said she was beautiful, a tiny part of her doubted it. Her eyes drifted over their bodies, they were both strong and muscular. Sam had chiseled abs and Finn had a lovely broad chest. Both of them were perfect. Her mother's critical voice came to mind: "Have you weighed yourself? Do you have to eat that?" But her mother wasn't there at the moment, and two beautiful guys that she proudly called her boyfriends, gazed at her like she was the most gorgeous girl in the world. Mercedes smiled and opened up her arms; she decided to let go of the image others had of her; she would let these boys love her anyway, let them admire her big thighs and love handles, let them give her everything and accept it without question. Sam sang to her softly as he wrapped his arms around her:
Good morning, Good morning love, It's my favorite love song, I waited all night long…
His full lips were slightly chapped from the night air, and his long, blonde hair tickled her nose. She accepted his kiss, moaning into his mouth. Her hands slid up and down his back, gliding along his smooth skin, feeling the muscles underneath, then she moved further down, and she gripped his firm ass. Sam gasped at her touch and the kiss went deeper, so deep that Mercedes drowned in it. His hold on her was tight. He broke the kiss for a moment.
"You're safe, Cedes," he said as she shook in his embrace, "You opened your arms to us and we got you." Then he pressed his lips against hers once again.
Suddenly she felt Finn's strong arms hugging her from behind, and she gently pulled herself away from Sam and kissed Finn, he was so gentle as his lips captured hers and he held her close to his heart, Finn swallowed her up with his size, so close he was – his hands were everywhere stroking, touching… and his lips burned against hers, when he slipped his tongue in her mouth, her heart skipped, and she almost lost her balance as he leaned into her, but Finn would never let her fall, of this she was certain. When she finally broke the kiss, his hazel eyes searched hers.
"Mercy?" he breathed.
"Yes?"
"We belong to you."
The three of them embraced and Sam and Finn exchanged a long kiss. Their lips crashed together, with Sam being the more aggressive of the two, and they still held onto Mercedes, even as they kissed. Mercedes loved watching them express their love for one another – it was simply beautiful.
They went inside to take a shower, and despite her soreness, Mercedes gave in to her arousal when their hard bodies pressed against hers underneath the shower spray. Mercedes clung to them and gasped:
"I want… I need…" her breath caught in her throat.
Sam grabbed her face, peering into her eyes.
"Baby, do you need us to love you?"
She nodded frantically then gave his cock a gentle tug. Sam moaned and they quickly got out of the shower, not even bothering to dry off. Finn scooped Mercedes up in his arms and they went straight to her bedroom, collapsing onto her king sized bed, their wet bodies twisting together on the crisp white sheets. After sharing long, heated kisses with each other, Sam spread her thick legs.
"I need you," he gasped as he slid into her, "Shit, baby, you feel so good on my cock."
She welcomed the pleasurable pain of Sam's urgent, deep thrusts. He gazed down at her, his green eyes lustful.
"Cedes, you know why I love your wide hips?" he grunted as he pumped into her.
She shook her head.
"Gives me something to hold onto, like I said before, I need a girl who won't break cause I love hard, and I've loved you the hardest, so take everything I got, cause it's yours, baby, he said as he pounded into her, then he added, "Your pussy is so hot, tight, and sweet. Damn, you're sexy girl, your skin is all wet and flushed, your tits are just-just…" his voice trailed off and he reached down and squeezed her breasts, sucking on her erect nipples, tugging them between his teeth. She loved the subtle pressure of his teeth, those tiny nips made her shiver.
Finn was beside her and she lovingly stroked his hard cock while he tugged on her damp, kinky Afro, his large fingers getting lost in the dense curls.
"I'm so glad you stopped wearing weaves," Finn said as Mercedes worked his cock with her small, soft hands. His breath was ragged.
"Why?"
"I could never grab your weave like this," he said as he sank his hands into her thick hair, "I love your real hair and I love every kinky curl you have, never hide it again, okay?" he then gasped as her ministrations became more earnest, "Fuck, Mercy, keep doing it just like that, your soft hands feel so good on my hard dick." Mercedes obliged and kept stroking him; she loved jerking him off.
Then she felt Sam's hot breath as he whispered in her ear: "We've got your pussy and your heart, don't think you're going anywhere, Cedes, this is forever," he then pounded into her frantically, his hips moving at a furious pace, hitting her G-spot repeatedly.
Mercedes cried out, jerking Finn's big cock even harder as he came with her, his warm, thick cum landing on her chest. Sam kept thrusting his hips until he came inside her with a low, guttural moan. Finn reached down and kissed her passionately, his tongue exploring her mouth, she let him take the lead and he delved deeper inside, holding her close to him, after a while she had to pull away in order to breathe. Finn's kisses always had that effect on her.
Sam scooped up some of Finn's cum on his finger and fed it to Mercedes. She sucked his finger clean and grinned; then she took some cum and spread it on his hard pink nipples, leaning forward she licked and sucked Finn's cum off each nipple very slowly. Sam threw back his head and closed his eyes.
"Fuck!" he yelled.
Mercedes laughed. "Like that, baby?" She knew he had sensitive nipples and it was one of his erogenous zones.
Finn raised his eyebrows and smiled mischievously.
"So does my cum taste better on Sam or Mercy? Only one way to find out - ladies first, of course." He leaned down and sucked on her breasts, "Mmmm, it tastes quite good on my sweet Mercy, now for the gentleman." He spread some more of his cum on Sam's nipples, his fingers tweaking each one gently. Sam whimpered at his touch. Finn smirked and slowly licked it off, his hands grazed Sam's abs.
"Shit, Finn," Sam gasped.
"Not bad but I think it tastes better on the lady," he said, giving one last lick; he pulled Sam toward him and the two exchanged a searing kiss, leaving Sam breathless when they finally broke apart. Then, much to Mercedes' delight, both of them licked and sucked on her tits, cleaning them thoroughly, lifting her heavy mounds and licking the creases as well. Their tongues glided across her ample cleavage, taking long, slow licks. Mercedes lay there, moaning in pleasure - their hands were everywhere at once, squeezing, caressing, touching… Then she noticed that Finn was hard again. He looked at Mercedes, an unspoken question in his hazel eyes.
"Mercy?"
She nodded and spread her legs once more, allowing him to mount her. Mercedes winced a little as he entered her; Finn was a tad larger than Sam.
"Are you ok, do you want to stop?" Finn asked.
"No, sweetie, I want you inside of me," she said.
Then Finn began to move and the pleasure took over; she closed her eyes and her back arched off the bed.
"Keep your eyes open," Sam ordered, "watch how Finn is working your sweet pussy."
"Mercy, baby..." Finn groaned as he thrust his hips, his face was red and his mouth hung open, he often made these funny sounds while making love, little gasps and moans that Mercedes loved - for some reason it turned her on. Finn could still be insecure at times so Mercedes decided to encourage him as he pumped inside her.
"You feel so good, baby, keep loving me just like that," Mercedes said looking directly into his eyes; Finn's cock felt awesome inside her.
He grinned down at her, his eyes shined. Mercedes knew her words meant a lot to him by the proud expression he wore on his adorable face. He leaned down and kissed her lips.
"So sweet," he murmured as he moved within her, "you feel like heaven, Mercy."
Then with a few more thrusts of his hips, Mercedes came with a high-pitched cry, her orgasm rocking through her body. Finn collapsed on top of her, giving her a kiss and nuzzling her neck.
"I love you, Mercy," he whispered.
"I love you too."
Sam sat beside her, tweaking her nipples and stroking her skin.
"Oh, we're not done yet. Finn, spread our baby's legs nice and wide."
Finn obliged and then Sam joined him between her legs. Together they licked Mercedes' cum filled pussy, their tongues vying for position at the center of her core. Mercedes thought one tongue on her pussy was wonderful but two felt amazing, gliding across her slit, never letting up. Their heads bobbed together at the juncture of her thighs, their tongues worked in tandem repeatedly bringing her over the edge. Just as one orgasm hit another was just around the corner, her heart raced, her legs shook as she gripped the sheets. After a while, she lost count as to how many times she came.
"Right there, right there, don't stop...," she babbled.
"Let it out, Mercy, don't hold it in," Finn said, before gently sucking her clit.
Her voice grew hoarse from screaming so much. When they were done, they each gave her a long kiss, and she tasted herself mixed with Finn and Sam's cum and she liked the combination. When her breathing returned to normal, she lay back on the bed, her body humming.
"What did you two do to me? I've never…" Mercedes couldn't get the words out.
"Just loving you good like you deserve," Sam said, kissing her forehead. Mercedes gave a weak smile and reached for their hands, grasping them tightly.
"I love you both so much."
"We love you too, sweetheart," Finn said.
Sam grabbed a hold of her belly and squeezed the abundant flesh.
"I love this part of you," he said.
"Why?" Mercedes was accepting her body more, but she always hated her stomach, it wasn't flat or tight and she felt like she needed a girdle.
He shrugged. "It's soft and lush. I see our babies growing there. Yours, mine and Finn's."
"I always picture our babies nursing," Finn said and he grabbed her breast, massaging it gently.
Mercedes wasn't sure what to say at first. Babies?
"I'm surprised you guys are thinking so far ahead."
"We love you and want babies with you," Sam said as he continued to squeeze her belly, "I told you this is forever and I meant it."
Finn's hands roamed over her torso and he said, "Yesterday, Sam and I were talking and we want to raise a family with you."
"Guys, we're only seventeen right now. How can you possibly see that far ahead?"
Sam sat up and stared at her.
"Are you saying you don't want a future with us?"
Mercedes sighed and shook her head.
"No, I do want a future with you and Finn. But we need to face facts. What's going to happen after graduation? I doubt we'll end up at the same college. I'm just saying that we need to make a lot of plans before we go creating a future that may or may not happen."
"What if you were pregnant right now?" Sam asked.
"What? Sam, that's crazy. You know I'm on the pill."
"Accidents happen."
"Ok, let's say I am pregnant. That would not be good. We haven't even finished high school yet. How could we support a baby?"
"If it did happen, you have our word that we would find a way to take care of you," Sam said, kissing her shoulder, and as for plans, I've been making them."
Mercedes wanted to know these plans, but she had something else more pressing on her mind.
"I have to ask you both something, and don't get mad," Mercedes said looking down at her hands.
"Uh oh," Finn said.
"Cedes, we won't get mad, now what is it."
"What if the baby is Finn's and not yours? And vice versa? Will you both be a father to the child?"
Finn lifted her head and he looked into her eyes.
"That won't matter to me. If the baby was Sam's that would still be my kid and I know he feels the same way if I were the father."
"He's right," Sam said, stroking her head, "That doesn't matter to us."
"Well, that's good to know. But it's easy to say that now because none of this has happened and I'm only thinking hypothetically, she bit her lip and continued, "I do love you both. But there are things I want to accomplish. If we were to have a family I want to do it right with marriage."
Sam took one of her hands and Finn held the other.
"We want that too. I know it's against the law to have more than one spouse, but we'll figure out something."
Mercedes was quiet for a moment then said:
"Look, let's just concentrate on getting through our senior year, applying to colleges, and taking it one day at a time, ok? I want this too, but I have to be realistic. And besides, not everybody knows about our relationship, she turned to Sam, "Your parents know that you and I are dating, but do they know about Finn?"
Sam looked down.
"No, not yet. I don't know how they are going to take it."
"Dude, I thought you were going to tell them," Finn said.
"I was, but you gotta understand, my parents are well… I don't know, kinda weird."
Finn was angry.
"So, you're ashamed of me?"
"No, Finn, how can you say that? I'm proud that you're my boyfriend. It's just that I don't know how my parents will take it. Do your parents know about me and Mercedes?"
"Yeah, they know," Finn said, "Kurt thought it was best that I tell them so I did. They don't exactly like it and think it's crazy, but they know Mercedes and although they've only met you a few times they feel you're a good guy."
"My parents aren't like that," Sam said, "I know shit will hit the fan, but I will tell them when the time is right." He then leaned over and pressed a soft kiss to Finn's lips. "I love you. I could never be ashamed of you, got it?"
Finn nodded and smiled. Then Mercedes said:
"I love you too, Finn. And just so you know, Sam's parents don't like me."
"That's not true."
Mercedes narrowed her eyes at him.
"They kept talking about Quinn like she was a freaking saint. Never mind that she got knocked up by Puck. Your father especially kept going on and on about her blonde hair and blue eyes. I'm the furthest thing from Quinn as you can get. I love how you praised and defended me in front of them, but I don't think they were listening," Mercedes said, trying to keep the pain out of her voice.
Sam put his arm around her.
"Baby, listen to me. My mom likes you; she's just not good at showing emotion. Stevie and Stacey adore you. Dad isn't always nice," Sam's tone changed and he got a far off look in his eyes. Mercedes touched his cheek.
"Are you ok?"
"I'm fine. Let's not talk about parents anymore. Mine are in Columbus so Stacey can see that specialist and Finn's are in the Grand Canyon, we should be making the most of this."
"You're right, Sam - enough about our parents, the future, and babies. Let's enjoy this time we have together," Mercedes said. She was grateful the subject of her parents didn't come up.
Finn and Sam rested their heads on Mercedes' chest, placing gentle kisses on her breasts as she absently ran her fingers through their hair, massaging the their scalps every so often. Sam began to sing softly:
Don't ask me
What you know is true
Don't have to tell you
I love your precious heart
He kissed Mercedes' heart, his plump lips felt soft and wet against her skin; he then continued singing:
I was standing
You were there
Two worlds collided
And they could never tear us apart...
Mercedes cried. Sam pressed another kiss to her heart, as she ran her fingers through his blonde hair. She looked at Finn and he grabbed her hand. Sam raised his head from her chest, studying her face, watching the tears fall. He reached out and wiped away the tears with his big, callused hands. Mercedes stared at him; his green eyes never left hers. Then the three of them embraced, whispering words of love to each other.
Sam Can Cook, Who Knew?
Later on that day after taking a nap and making love once more, they went downstairs to the kitchen to get something to eat. Finn peered into the stainless steel refrigerator. "I'm starving," he said, and pulled out an apple, taking a huge bite.
"Cedes, we'll make you lunch," Sam announced, leaning against the granite countertop.
"We will?" Finn asked.
"Yes, we will," Sam said, he then turned to Mercedes, "Now what do you want to eat?"
"As long as it includes pancakes, I'm fine," she said, then added, "There's some Bisquick in the cupboard."
Sam looked as though he had been slapped. Mercedes laughed.
"What's wrong with Bisquick?"
"No real cook uses Bisquick," he said as he ushered her out of the kitchen, "Now go and relax and be prepared to be amazed."
"Sam, are you sure you know what you're doing? Mercedes said over her shoulder, "I've never seen you cook anything."
"I don't know what I'm doing," Finn said as he munched on his apple.
"I got skills, woman, trust me," Sam winked.
"Ok, but if you burn down the house, I'll kill you," Mercedes said and against her better judgment she went into the living room to watch TV.
You Don't Have to Fight Alone
Sam measured the flour and sugar while Finn got the pots and pans out of the cupboard. He wanted this lunch to be especially good for Mercedes because he loved watching her enjoy food – the lovely smile of contentment that spread across her face when tasting something good, made his heart leap. He missed this with Quinn and Santana. Quinn was always dieting and Santana was too busy being a bitch to enjoy anything, let alone a good meal.
"Could you hand me the vanilla extract? It's right there next to the spice rack above the sink," Sam said as he began dumping ingredients into a big mixing bowl.
Finn handed it to him and then got the eggs out of the refrigerator.
Sam noticed that Finn was awfully quiet.
"You, ok, dude?"
"Yeah, just thinking about last night," Finn said leaning against the counter.
"I know what you mean. I never knew hate before or even felt it, but now that I have I wished that I hadn't. I wanted to kill him."
"Me too."
"Just so you know, you and Cedes mean everything to me, and if anyone even thinks of calling you names or disrespecting you – my first instinct is to fight."
Finn gave him a small smile, "So I've noticed. "But I want you to remember that I can fight too."
"What do you mean?"
"Sometimes I feel like you think you're the only one who's fighting for this relationship with us and that's not true. I've dealt with some shit too."
"Like what?"
"Do you remember when you, me, and Mercy had a picnic in the botanical gardens?"
Sam nodded. "Yeah, that was the day we made love to her near the lily pond, because the area was deserted. God, all of us were really horny that day. What about it?"
"Well, when you guys dropped me off, both of you kissed me good-bye and –"
Sam interrupted. "And the three of us made out for like ten minutes in the car because we didn't want to let you go. I think that's when we knew we loved you."
"Really?"
"Yeah because that was a hard good-bye. We shared so much that day."
They stared at each other for a moment and Finn said,
"An old friend of Burt's saw us kissing in the car. He told Burt he saw me kissing a nigger bitch and a fag, and he thought I was a good kid, and now I was fucked up."
Sam clenched his fists trying to keep his temper under control.
"What else did that asshole say?"
"You don't want to know. He and Burt got into a fight, and I had to break it up. After he left, Burt asked me if being with you and Mercy was worth it because I needed to prepare myself."
"What did you say?"
Finn sighed and sat down at the kitchen table.
"I told him it was worth it. That I've never felt anything like this before."
Sam walked over to him and put his arms around him, kissing his cheek.
"Trust me, it's worth it. I love you and Cedes so much. I'm sorry if I've been acting like I'm the only one fighting. Besides, if you recall, we both took on that pervert last night."
Finn chuckled and held onto Sam's hands.
"Yeah, we beat the shit out of him. But it was so scary."
"I know babe, but he had it coming."
Finn looked at him. "You called me babe. You've never done that before."
Sam blushed and quickly dropped his arms from around Finn's shoulders.
"Sorry, it just slipped out."
"It's cool. We don't have pet names for each other like we do with Mercy."
"So, you don't mind?"
"Nope."
Sam sat down next to him at the table.
"There's something that's been bothering me too."
"What is it? Are you mad about what I did earlier in the bedroom?"
"Oh, you mean the nipple thing?" Sam asked.
Finn nodded, looking away from him. Sam grabbed his face and looked into his eyes.
"No, but it surprised me," he paused then said, "Do you want to have sex with me?"
"No. I just love making you feel good by touching and kissing you. I get off on seeing you make love to Mercedes. Does that make sense?"
"Yes, because that's how I feel. But Finn, what is this? I mean I know what it is - yet I don't know what it is. You would think that we wanted to well, you know…"
"Ok, here is how I see it. I've given up on trying to figure it out. It turns me on that I can make you moan. I'm in love with a gorgeous girl and boy and that's it. Look, if either of us ever wants more in the bedroom, we'll try it and see what happens; I'm not afraid to explore things."
"You make it sound so simple."
"Because it is simple. Trying to figure shit out makes my head hurt. I'm not the brightest guy in the world, but I have sense enough to know that this relationship with you and Mercy is a good thing."
Sam smiled at him. He would be willing to explore too, and when they were ready they would.
"That nipple thing was hot. I liked it. Cedes liked it too. You know how happy it makes her that we love each other too?"
Finn picked up his hand and kissed the palm.
"I know. That's why I love Mercedes so fucking much. She's so giving. She wants all of us to be loved and thankfully we are."
"We have to be the luckiest guys in the world to get such an amazing girl. You know our main job is to keep her happy, right?"
Finn agreed. "I know. If our baby isn't happy, then nobody is."
Sam grew quiet for a moment, just staring into Finn's hazel eyes. He saw a future for the three of them, living and loving together, a gang of kids running around a big house in the country. Cedes thought it was foolish thinking, but Sam knew that whatever happened that they would all end up together.
"Thinking about the future?" Finn asked.
"How did you know?"
"I know you Sam, better than you think."
Sam smiled and leaned over, kissing Finn on the lips.
"We're going to be together – all three of us. I don't know how but I swear it's gonna happen."
"I believe you," Finn said.
"Good, now let's get back to making lunch, Cedes must be starving now, and we haven't even heated up the griddle."
Thankful
The smells coming from the kitchen were heavenly, and Mercedes' mouth watered. Sam and Finn had been preparing lunch for over an hour and she was beyond starving.
"Are you sure you guys don't need any help?" Mercedes called out. Even though everything smelled delicious, it made her nervous to think about what they were doing in the kitchen; her parents left a spotless house and she wanted to keep it that way.
"Stay where you are, we got it covered," Sam yelled.
Mercedes sighed and turned her attention back to the television. Suddenly a pair of arms hugged her from behind, and judging by their size she knew it was Finn.
"Come on, sweetheart, everything is ready in the dining room," he said, taking her by the hand.
Her parents had given many dinner parties in that dining room, with its crystal chandelier and cream colored walls, but they never ate in there as a family. Sam grinned when he saw the two of them enter, and he took Mercedes by the hand and pulled out her chair. Everything looked beautiful. A white tablecloth embroidered with roses and edged with ivory lace was spread on the long, mahogany table. They used the white and gold china that her parents got for their twentieth wedding anniversary and it gleamed in the afternoon sunshine. A glass vase filled with violets and daisies sat in the middle of the table. And then there was the food: golden pancakes stacked on a silver platter, a steaming bowl of grits, a bowl of fresh fruit salad, a pitcher of orange juice, a plate of crispy bacon, a basket of hot biscuits, and a golden jar of honey. Then she saw a jar of thick brown liquid; she pointed to it and was about to ask what it was but Sam beat her to the punch.
"You were out of syrup so I had to improvise. I made a batch of brown sugar syrup. I hope you like it."
Mercedes laughed.
"Don't worry, I already love it because you made it. I can't believe you guys did all this!" she said and gave them each a kiss on the cheek.
"Well, you know Sam did the cooking, but I got the stuff out of the cupboards for him," Finn said sheepishly.
Mercedes giggled - Finn's track record in the kitchen wasn't good, and his specialty was grilled cheese sandwiches.
"Sam, how did you learn to cook like this?"
"My grandparents owned a restaurant back in Tennessee. I used to hang out in the kitchen with my grandmother, and she taught me to cook. I learned a lot.
"I never knew that. You've been holding out on me, baby?" Mercedes said as she gave him a peck on the cheek
Sam blushed. "Well, I wasn't exactly holding out. Your gourmet kitchen is awesome, by the way."
"Feel free to use it any time. Nobody uses it much."
"You cook sometimes," Sam said as he scooped up some grits and put them on his plate.
"Yeah, but that's only if you guys are coming over, other than that, it's frozen dinners."
"Hey Mercy, who is that girl?" Finn said pointing to the painting that hung on the opposite wall. It was of a regal young black girl sitting in a rose garden. She had café au lait skin, and wore a simple white dress, her hair hung down her back in long, wavy, curls, her gray eyes stared off into the distance at nothing. Though her expression was wistful, there was a slight hint of a smile on her red lips. Mercedes grew up with that portrait and the perfection of the girl – it haunted her.
"That's a painting of my mother when she was sixteen years old."
"Wow," Finn said, clearly impressed, "She was hot."
Mercedes only smiled. Nobody knew how much she wanted to burn that painting. So she changed the subject.
"Everything smells so good, let's eat," she said
After they were seated, Sam asked if they could say grace.
"It's just something we always did when I was growing up, and well..." he blushed, looking down.
"I think it's nice to say grace," Finn said, placing his napkin in his lap.
"Me too," Mercedes said.
So the three of them held hands, bowed their heads, and Sam blessed the food. It was such a simple prayer, but something about it touched her heart. When they said amen, Mercedes squeezed his hand.
"That was really lovely," she whispered.
Sam looked surprised.
"Really?"
"Yes, my family never says grace because we never eat together."
"Well I grew up on saying grace and going to church three times a week," Sam said before taking a sip of orange juice.
"My mom says grace when she remembers to," Finn said, as he helped himself to some pancakes.
"Let's start a tradition, if we ever have a meal together, we'll say grace," Mercedes said.
"Even in the school cafeteria?" Sam joked.
Mercedes smiled. "We'll play it by ear. You went to church three times a week? That's a bit excessive."
"Yeah, it was a southern Baptist church. There was bible study on Wednesday, youth group on Thursday then regular church on Sunday."
"That's a lot of Jesus," Mercedes said while buttering her biscuit.
Sam nodded, "Church was a big deal for my family. I sang in the choir and played guitar. I could quote scriptures and everything."
"How come you never said anything about this before?"
Sam shrugged. "I don't know. They didn't go to church as much after I was sent to boarding school. Then my Dad got transferred and we moved here and the church folks aren't as warm, but they did help out when my family was in crisis. But the black church here in Lima is really cool."
Mercedes dropped her fork.
"When did you go to St. Matthews?"
"Mr. Schue said that St. Matthews had an awesome choir so I decided to check them out. They were wonderful."
"My parents are members of St. Matthews but we rarely go. Did you feel uncomfortable?" Mercedes asked.
"No, not at all, I liked it."
"When I was in elementary school, my mom dated this black guy she met while working at the hospital, and we went to St. Matthews a few times," Finn said.
"Your mom dated a black guy?" Mercedes was shocked.
"Yeah," Finn shrugged, "What's the big deal?"
"Nothing it's just, I don't know. Lima can be racist that's all."
"True, but that didn't stop her. Just like what happened last night isn't going to stop me from loving you and Sam," Finn said and reached for their hands.
"But it will stop us from showing our love in public," Sam said bitterly, staring down at his plate, then he added:
"I know we agreed to do that third wheel thing, and I'm not going back on my word, but it just feels wrong."
"We almost got arrested," Finn said.
"I get that. I just – " he stopped speaking and grabbed Finn's and Mercedes' hands, placing them on his heart.
"I don't care about who stares at us, or what people say, or right and wrong or any other bullshit that comes our way. This thing we have is happening. Whether people like it or not, y'all are mine." A touch of his Tennessee drawl came out in his voice.
Mercedes knew when Sam spoke like that – he meant it. When that boy decided if something was right, he laid down the law, it was just his way. Sam loved hard. Period. And when he let you into his heart that was pretty much it. Mercedes felt blessed to have his heart, but right now he needed a dose of reality.
"Baby, I get what you are saying, but there are just three of us, we can't fight the world everyday. We need to think about the consequences."
"The consequences are allowing a bunch of assholes tell us that we're wrong and dirty. That Finn and I are fags and you're a whore. It's like admitting they are right. I hate that people can't see that the three of us simply love each other," he paused and then said, "I've got two awesome people that I love dearly, who stand by me, why is it so wrong that I want to hold your hands and kiss you both? Nobody owns the right to affection."
Finn tried to reason with him.
"Sam, I love you and Mercy more than I have ever loved anyone in my life. But I don't want a repeat of what happened last night. I never want to put our girl in danger like that."
"Are you saying that I do?" Sam snapped.
"Well you're so concerned about PDA that you don't realize who gets hurt! You saw how scared Mercy was, those people yelling, all of us running from the cops. Hell, think about how much worse it could have been if we got caught?"
"How could you say that I don't' care who gets hurt? I would do anything to keep you both from harm. I told you guys I would follow your plan and I will. I don't go back on my word. The reason I hate doing it is because I'm scared."
"Scared of what?" Mercedes asked.
"When the three of us are together alone and loving each other it's awesome. I feel secure in the relationship, but then when we change the rules and only two of us can touch – things get shaky. And a third wheel is just that – someone not needed."
"Baby, are you saying that you're afraid that eventually we will cut you out completely?" Mercedes asked gently.
"Yes, I know it's stupid but yes. You'll somehow realize that it's just better with the two of you. Why bother with me? The touching reassures me that the three of us are together."
"Samuel Ethan Evans how could you think we would do something like that? We love you too much for that to happen," Mercedes said.
Finn got up from the table and hugged him.
"Babe, we love you. You are a part of us. Don't think that way. We're not going anywhere."
Sam hugged him back and tears slipped down his cheeks. Mercedes never thought that Sam would feel insecure in the relationship. He was always so strong and his love was fierce.
"You're our everything." Mercedes whispered as she hugged him.
"I feel like I've been through hell this past year, with losing our home and Stacy in the hospital, it was chaos, if it wasn't for you two, I don't know how I would have made it," Sam said, kissing their hands, I admit that I'm afraid of losing you."
"It's going to be hard to lose us Sammy, because we're here to stay," Mercedes said stroking his damp cheek.
"She's right, so be prepared to be stuck with us," Finn said and kissed the top of his head.
Mercedes gave each of them a soft kiss on the lips and they all resumed eating; she poured the brown sugar syrup over her pancakes, took a bite and let out a moan, "Sam, this is fantastic!"
Sam blushed at her praise. "I'm glad you're enjoying the meal."
"I definitely am," she said as she took another bite.
The three of them were quiet as they enjoyed the wonderful meal. Mercedes didn't know the last time she ate food that tasted so awesome. Sam's cooking skills put hers to shame.
"You know what?" Sam said suddenly.
"What?" Mercedes asked.
"I'm just thankful for everything. Even the bad stuff, cause it lead me to the two of you."
Nobody said anything. They all clasped hands smiling at each other. This is what I've been looking for, what I've needed all this time, Mercedes thought to herself as she gazed at Sam and Finn. She just wished that nagging feeling of uncertainty would go away. Because that's how life was for Mercedes Jones, every good thing somehow turned bad.
End Notes: The songs used in the chapter are "Good Morning Love" by John Legend and "Never Tear Us Apart by INXS.
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