Lessons in the Park

"Whoever jumps highest wins!" Stevie called as his swing rushed past Stacy, Mercedes, and Sam.

"I don't think this is a good idea..." Stacy said, kicking her feet through the sand as she slowed her swing down.

"I'm with Stacy on this one," Mercedes agreed, stopping her swing completely.

"Stevie, you're on!" Sam exclaimed, hair flying wildly as he kicked his legs out to push his swing even higher.

"Boys," Stacy said in exasperation, stopping her swing next to Mercedes. They watched the brothers swing back and forth, getting higher by the second. By the time Stevie shouted that they were going to count to three then jump, he was well above the top of the swing set. "I don't think I want to watch," Stacy whined, getting up from her swing and hugging Mercedes, hiding her face in the older girl's shoulder. Mercedes laughed, rubbing her back.

Sam and Stevie started counting together.

"One!"

"Two!"

"Three!"

Mercedes and Stacy, who couldn't resist taking a peek, watched as the two boys jumped from their swings. At the sight of both striking superhero poses as they were free-falling, Mercedes shook her head, laughing. Sam hit the ground first, landing clumsily on his feet and stumbling forward a few steps. Stevie, however, landed in a perfect crouch.

"Okay, who was higher?" He asked, throwing a smug smile in Sam's direction.

Standing behind his little brother, Sam pointed at himself, nodding.

"Sorry, Sam," Mercedes said, smiling apologetically. "Stevie had that in the bag."

His jaw dropped. "What?! I am the swing jumping king."

"You were the swing jumping king," Stevie corrected him.

"You've been dethroned," Mercedes added.

"I still love you, Sam," Stacy said, walking to her brother and wrapping her arms around him. She looked up at him adoringly as he pushed her hair out of her face.

"I'm glad someone here does. Love you, too, Stace."

"Aw, we all love you, Sam!" Mercedes exclaimed, standing up from her swing. "But Stevie had you beat." She gave the younger Evans a high five. Sam stuck his tongue out at them.

"Okay, y'all go play. Mercedes and I will be right over there if you need us," he said, pointing to the tree under which they'd laid out a blanket and a backpack with some snacks. Sam's guitar was leaning against the tree.

"What if I want to play, too?" Mercedes asked and Sam raised his eyebrows at her. He had so many responses to that comment, none of which he could say in front of the children. None of which he felt he could even say to Mercedes without freaking her out. Mercedes realized how it sounded when she saw the look on his face and started laughing. "Come on, let's go. Behave, you two," she said to Stevie and Stacy. "And you behave, too," she added for Sam. He gave her an innocent smile.

"Thanks for hanging out today," Sam said, brushing his fingers over Mercedes' hand as they walked toward the tree. "I know it's not the ideal date-"

"Sam, it's fine. It's nice seeing your brother and sister again. They look so happy."

"I've been trying to get them out as much as possible now that we're out of school. They're starting summer camp at church soon, though, so that'll be good. I just hated seeing them dragging after being at school and then coming back to the motel."

"And what about you?" She asked. "How's today for Sam Evans?" She bumped into him lightly.

"Today's a good day. The weather's nice, no school, not stuck inside, and I get to spend the day with you."

Mercedes beamed at him. "Flatterer."

"I'm just tellin' it like it is," he said, returning the sat down on the blanket, leaning against the tree, and Sam pulled his guitar into his lap.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, watching Stacy and Stevie enjoy their childhood despite everything they'd been through. Sam began strumming a tune on his guitar and Mercedes smiled, keeping her eyes on the playground. The melody was familiar, but she couldn't place it right away and soon forgot to try, letting the music blend into the scene around them. It was calming. She felt relaxed and oddly hopeful.

He played for a few minutes, providing soothing background music for their outing before beginning to sing softly, "Even though we ain't got money, I'm so in love with you, honey. Everything will bring a chain of love. In the morning when I rise, you bring a tear of joy to my eyes, and tell me everything is gonna be all right." Sam's voice faded into nothing and the music ceased completely. It was then that Mercedes looked over at him.

"Why'd you stop?" She asked.

"I didn't know you were paying attention," Sam said, bashfully.

"Well, you are sitting right there." Mercedes tilted her head toward him and he chuckled.

"True." The tall blond pushed his hair out of his eyes, thinking for the hundredth time that he might just try his luck and cut his hair himself. "My dad used to sing that song all the time when I was little. Do you play anything?"

"A little piano. I don't play as much as I used to," she admitted, looking a little embarrassed.

"Why not?" Sam asked, mindlessly playing a few chords.

Mercedes shrugged, then her brow furrowed as realization hit her. "I don't know. I play sometimes when I sing, but I don't really just sit down and play anything just for fun anymore. That's a little sad...I'll have to change that..." She was mumbling to herself as her words trailed off.

"Ever tried guitar?" She shook her head and Sam smiled brightly. Standing up, he took Mercedes' hands to move her away from the tree. "Here," he said, handing Mercedes the instrument. He sat in front of her, showing her how to hold it properly and pointing out different parts of the guitar. She tried to remember as much as she could, but the words weren't going to mean anything until she put them to actual use.

Mercedes had to remind herself to breathe when Sam got up and knelt down behind her. His torso pushed against her back as he guided her fingers with his own over the strings, spouting out explanations to which she wasn't completely listening. She kept zoning out, focusing her attention on the way his hands were so much bigger than her own, the way they were a little rough, but still had a gentleness about them, the way she wanted them to be holding her instead of her and this guitar. Mercedes almost groaned when she realized that she probably looked stupid. Sam, however, thought she was adorable.

Mercedes became acutely aware of his nearness when he leaned over her shoulder, his hair lightly brushing her cheek. She looked at him, and at the sudden movement, Sam turned his head, locking their gazes. Any day before this, she would have turned away, but the way his eyes softened and the small smile that was slowly emerging made it difficult.

Sam thought he'd done something wrong when Mercedes suddenly jerked her head in his direction. But when he looked at her, she didn't look upset at all, just a little surprised. The little sunlight that had worked its way through the tree branches above made her eyes sparkle. He was caught in her stare, and he couldn't take her in fast enough. The teenager knew he probably had some dopey expression on his face, but it didn't matter. He'd been wanting to kiss this girl for weeks now and it became apparent to him that this was his chance.

"What is he doing?"Mercedes thought, but she knew. The way her heart started racing, beating so loudly she wondered if Sam could hear it, too, told her so. He was suddenly in front of her, taking the guitar and setting it on the grass behind him without breaking eye contact. Biting his bottom lip, Sam reached over and pushed some of Mercedes' hair behind her shoulder, resting his hand on her cheek as he began closing the distance between them.

A breath caught in her throat and she tensed, but she didn't shrink back. Her eyes fluttered and closed. Mercedes Jones was about to kiss Sam Evans. On a larger scale, Mercedes Jones was about to kiss a guy for the first time. Ever. Panic set in. "I hope all of your guitar lessons don't end like this," she blurted out nervously, her eyes still shut.

Sam laughed, gently tracing his thumb along her jawline. "This was my first lesson."

The next thing she felt were soft lips pressed against her own. Before she could stop herself, Mercedes let out a happy sigh as she relaxed, leaning toward Sam. It was better than anything she'd imagined. It was real and sweeter than anything she'd dreamt up. He smiled against her mouth then pulled away, opening his eyes just in time to see her sitting there, eyes still closed, a satisfied smile forming on her lips. She looked gorgeous. When her brown eyes opened a second later, the shy giggle that came out was music to his ears.

Mercedes covered her face with her hands, more embarrassed by the ultra-girly laugh than anything else. Strong fingers were soon prying her hands away and she came face-to-face with an ecstatic Sam Evans, who hugged her to his chest. "You have the best lips ever," he said, causing her to blush even more.

Her eyes were drawn back to the playground. "Stacy and Stevie are watching."

Sam turned his head. Sure enough, his siblings were making kissy faces at the two teenagers from the monkey bars. "For a second, I forgot they were out there," Sam groaned. He waved them away and they started giggling before scrambling to the jungle gym.

"First lesson, huh?" Mercedes asked, releasing herself from Sam's grip and eyeing him suspiciously.

"I promise it was! I teach the munchkins sometimes," he said, nodding toward the playground, "But they don't really count."

"Ah, I see. I thought it might have been part of your dating repertoire," she joked and Sam scoffed.

"I don't play games, Mercedes," he said, dropping his voice in a way that if she'd been standing, her knees would have gone weak. Sam jumped to his feet. "Now, if you don't mind," he said, taking her hands and pulling her up, "I'd really like to kiss you again."

"I don't know...what about the kids?"

"Nothing that they haven't seen before," he responded with a shrug and a wink. Mercedes rolled her eyes in faux annoyance. "But I was thinking..." Sam led her around the tree, out of Stacy and Stevie's immediate sight. Backing her against it, he continued, "We could try it this way instead."

"Any way is new to me," She replied, her heart beginning to race again.

Sam smirked. "Was I your first kiss?" He asked through his grin. She nodded shyly. "I guess guitar wasn't the only lesson I was giving today."

Laughing, Mercedes pushed him back, but his hands had found their way to her waist and he only backed up half a step. "All right, I'm ready for part two of my lesson," she flirted.

"Eager student," Sam said, pulling her closer and lowering his head.

"Eager teacher," Mercedes shot back playfully, going up slightly on her toes to meet him halfway. Sam pressed her back against the tree and this kiss was better than the first. Between the look in his eyes as he pulled back and the way he licked his lips afterward, getting a taste of her mango chapstick, Mercedes decided that she could really get used to this.