AN: Here we go! Thanks to all my reviews! I love y'all to pieces!

Chapter 7

"Our last day of freedom," Mercedes sighed, plopping into her beach chair dramatically.

"It flew by, didn't it?"

"Yeah. This time tomorrow, I'll be back in LA, and you'll be...wherever Lauren is."

Finn rested his hands behind his head, studiously avoiding Mercedes' gaze as he looked out over the water. "I'll be moving into my new house just outside of LA."

"So, when can we see-wait, what?" Mercedes sat bolt upright in her chair.

"I bought a house. In Glendale," Finn said casually.

"For WHAT?"

"To settle down. What, too soon?" He grunted as Mercedes pulled him into a long kiss.

"This is perfect! We can actually see each other more than once a month now!" She paused. "What about Lauren?"

"I can manage her career just as easily from LA as I could from anywhere else."

Mercedes was beaming. "That's great! So, what are you gonna do about furniture?"

"Ask my amazing girlfriend to help me pick some out? Or hire an interior decorator."

"Where are you staying since you have no furniture?"

"I already had my stuff from my old apartment moved there. But since it's an actual house, I thought you'd help me decorate the entire place?"

Mercedes leaned over and gave him another kiss. "I'd love to." She squeaked as Finn pulled her into his lap and gave her a deeper kiss. He nipped at her full lips playfully, making her giggle. He rested his forehead against hers, smiling in pure contentment.

"I want more moments like this," he said softly. "Just me and you."

"We can have them now." Mercedes cupped Finn's cheek. "We can be an actual couple now. Go on dates more than once a month, spend time together..."

"You can spend the night at my place sometimes, or I could spend the night at yours..." Finn said softly. "The best part of this vacation was holding you and waking up to you in my arms. The first time, I had to make sure I wasn't dreaming."

Mercedes blinked rapidly as she felt tears come to her eyes. "That's really sweet."

Finn gave her the crooked grin she so adored. "You bring it out of me."

"Come on, let's go back inside. It's almost time for dinner anyway."

After dinner, Victoire washed dishes, and wished them both a good night and safe trip before she and Etienne took their leave. Finn and Mercedes ended up in his room, curled up together in a comfortable silence. Mercedes tilted her head to look up at him. "It's our last night here."

Finn nodded. "Yeah. But just think, we'll be able to do this much more often."

Mercedes snuggled into his chest. "Good."

"You know, Kurt threatened to replace all my suits with sequined riding pants and flamenco shirts if we didn't have sex," Finn said.

"Andre feels the same way."

"Eh, they can wait a few more weeks. I'm in no rush," Finn said, waving his hand. "I figure we can christen my new house."

"What do you mean christen?"

Finn smiled wickedly. "I take you on every available surface in the house."

"Sounds time consuming."

Finn nuzzled his cheek against her hair. "Oh, it'll take at least a weekend."

"I'm up for the challenge." Mercedes sat up slightly. "So, are you catching a flight to LAX with me?"

"Yeah. Andre offered me a ride."

"You guys talk?"

"No, he talks to Kurt, who talks to me."

Mercedes shook her head. "Figures. Where's your seat?"

"Probably next to yours, if Andre and Kurt had their way."

"Remind me to send them gift cards or something," Mercedes mumbled in contentment, settling back down against Finn.

"Definitely."

The next morning flew by as Finn and Mercedes prepared themselves for the airport. Etienne dropped them off and shook their hands before wishing them a safe journey.

Finn and Mercedes did indeed have seats in first class next to each other, and they used the opportunity to talk quietly about Finn's new house. Andre was waiting for them when they got off the plane and he swept Mercedes into a huge hug. "Your schedule is clear for tonight, and I want it!"

"You got it babe," Mercedes said, giggling.

Andre gave Finn a handshake. "Well, let's get you guys to where you need to go."

A few hours later found Andre and Mercedes curled up in her bed watching TV. "So, no sex...technically."

Andre raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean, technically?"

"He can really work his tongue."

Andre actually squealed in excitement. "Oh my God, girl! So, tell me more!"

Mercedes gave him the rundown on her week, Andre asking questions when necessary, and squealing when not necessary. Once she had finished, Andre gave her a Look. "So, what happens now?"

"He asked me to help him decorate his new house. I mean, now we can be a couple, an actual couple. Go on dates, spend more time together..."

"Get hounded by the paparazzi," Andre pointed out. "Have you warned him?"

"I think he has a basic idea."

Andre shook his head. "Baby girl, he's gonna need a better idea than that. You do realize that you and him are in People magazine, right?"

Mercedes sat bolt upright in bed. "WHAT?"

Andre hopped out of the bed and was back shortly with said magazine. "They called you and your mystery man a cute couple, and very obviously into each other."

Mercedes gawked at the picture. It was when they were in the airport at St. Bart's, greeting each other. Mercedes was beaming, and Finn looked extremely happy. "Well, at least I know the beach was private."

"But still, good thing y'all kept it in your pants. That would have made the paparazzi piss themselves."

"Good point. Has anyone we know seen it?"

"Not really. Your brother saw it, but he's not too worried about it. He says it came at a good time, it'll be good for your new album."

"That sounds like something he would say."

Andre gave me a grin. "And I know for a fact that a couple of leading men are a little upset that they can't make you their leading lady..." he sing-songed.

"Tough luck for them," Mercedes said, shrugging. "So what else did I miss?"

Andre and Mercedes' gossip session lasted well into the night.

Her first week back passed in a blur. She was in the studio from morning til night, with appearances to promote the upcoming album in between. She didn't get to see Finn until almost two weeks after their trip. He called her and asked if she would meet him at a furniture store near his house. Mercedes went incognito for the trip, tying her hair back with a scarf, and forgoing makeup and jewelry. Finn smiled as she approached. "You look beautiful," he said, greeting her with a thorough kiss.

"Thanks," she replied, albeit a bit breathlessly. "So, do you know what you want?"

Finn shrugged, and held the door open for her. "No clue. I don't want it to be all girly. It's got to look like a man lives there."

Mercedes arched an eyebrow, but she managed to find things for his living room and dining room that fit in with his requests. "Are you gonna redo your bedroom?"

"Yeah, I think I'll move my old stuff into one of the spare bedrooms and make that a guest room."

"Okay." Mercedes perused the bedroom section of the store for a long while, until finally deciding on a set. Their salesperson all but cried as Finn paid for everything upfront.

"Okay sir, everything will be delivered and set up for you in two days, on the sixteenth. Is that reasonable?"

"It's fine."

"Well thank you for shopping at Johnson's Furniture. Have a nice day, and please come back if you need anything else."

Finn wrapped a long arm around Mercedes' shoulders as they left. "That was painless. Time-consuming, but painless." His stomach growled and he blushed.

"My thoughts exactly. Let's get something to eat."

After lunch, Finn invited Mercedes to his place so she could see what she would be working with once the furniture arrived. Mercedes looked everything over with a critical eye, deciding what would go where. When she was finally satisfied, she plopped down on Finn's old couch with a long, satisfied sigh. Finn sat down next to her, pulling her into his side. "You're amazing."

"For what? Helping you pick out furniture?"

"Not only that, you're just all around amazing. Best girlfriend ever."

Mercedes giggled lightly. "Well that's sweet." She accepted the light kiss Finn gave her, and curled into his side. They remained in that position for almost the rest of the day, Mercedes reluctantly leaving when evening fell. The toe-curling kiss Finn gave her more than made up for it.

"Call me whenever you're free."

Mercedes blinked the lust from her eyes. "I will."

The next day, her brother met her for lunch. They perused their menus in silence, then ordered. Finally, James decided to speak up. "So, you and your new boyfriend are the hot topic in the entertainment world right now."

"I thought it was only that one picture?" Mercedes said warily.

James nodded. "It was, and now I'm getting almost constant phone calls for interviews and more pictures. I'll leave the decision up to you and Finn, but it might be a good idea to be seen in public with him. Gets your name out there."

"His too. But really, I don't know if I want him to have to see this side of my fame."

"It's gonna come up eventually, you may as well get it out the way now," James pointed out logically. "I'm assuming you'll want him by your side at the Grammys."

"Well, yeah. Of course."

"So he's gonna have to get used to the red carpet, and being put on the spot. WWE and the music industry are two entirely different things. You need to make sure he knows exactly what he's getting into. Wouldn't be fair to him otherwise."

Mercedes smiled at their waiter as he brought their food before looking at her brother and shaking her head. "When did you get so smart?"

"Being the manager of a world famous diva has its perks," James said, before digging into his burger. Mercedes picked at her salad, deep in thought. James waited for her to say whatever was on her mind.

"There's been no backlash over the race thing?"

"Not that anyone will admit to me. I don't get what the big deal could be. He's white, you're black, so what?"

"If only everyone thought the same way."

James shrugged. "I've said it before, and I'll say it again: fuck the haters. If they don't like what you're doing, screw them. You're on top of the world right now, and you're finally really happy. It makes me and everyone else happy to see you finally truly happy."

Mercedes blinked back tears at the sudden and rare show of emotional support. "Thanks James."

He shrugged again and turned back to his burger. "Mom and Dad want to meet him."

"They already know him! He's Kurt's stepbrother."

"Yeah, but they don't know him as your boyfriend. He was just 'that nice boy that looked after you and that darling Kurt Hummel in school'," he said, affecting his mother's manner of speaking.

Mercedes giggled. "Oh God, did she really say that?"

"Yup, right along with wondering what ever happened to that 'Jewish hoodlum that got sweet little Quinnie pregnant'."

Mercedes had to take a deep sip of her water to hold off bursting into laughter in the middle of the restaurant. As it was, tears stood out in her eyes, and she had to dab at them with her napkin. "Not funny," she managed to choke out.

"I'm serious." James had to bite his lip to hold off on bursting into laughter as well. Eventually the siblings calmed themselves.

"Well, I wanted to go home for either Thanksgiving or Christmas, so I guess I could see if he wanted to go."

"Hey, if it's cool with Mom, you could invite his family too. Mom really liked Kurt. He was the one who hooked up her wardrobe that one time, remember?"

Mercedes finally gave in to her giggles. "Oh God, you're right!" She took several deep breaths. "I'll call her tonight and see what she and Daddy think. Will you be going home?"

"Of course. The kids want to see their Madea and Pop-pop."

"How are they? Y'all should come over for dinner or something sometime soon."

"They're good. Jared is making straight A's, and we finally have Jerome potty trained. Whenever you're free, we can swing by. Jasmine's been asking about you."

Mercedes shook her head fondly. "The J names are throwing me off man."

"It was all Jasmine's idea. And you know how hard it is to change her mind when she's made it up." James looked at his ever-present Blackberry. "And I meant to remind you, you're gonna need to make an appearance at that new club Lil Wayne just opened."

Mercedes wrinkled her nose. "Are you serious? I don't even like Lil Wayne."

James smiled. "I know, I know, but this is Hollywood. You've gotta at least pretend to like him. Just show up, smile, wave and then leave. Andre and Antoinette are going with you."

"Anything else?"

"No...outside from that, you've got the weekend free. Use it wisely, because it might be the only one you have until the holidays."

Mercedes thought back on the idea Finn had suggested and smiled. "I definitely will. What day is this club appearance?"

"Thursday. After that, you're free til Monday." James gave her a stern look. "Protect your voice. I have no idea how I would explain your mysterious 'laryngitis' if you show up in the studio on Monday sounding like a frog. Make sure Finn knows that."

Mercedes pursed her lips to hide her embarrassment. "Really James? Really?"

James rolled his eyes. "I'm married with two kids. You think I don't know? Come on now."

Mercedes made a face. "Just because you have kids doesn't mean I want to think about the sex that was required to make them."

James cracked up. He settled the bill and walked Mercedes to her car before kissing her cheek. "Don't forget, Thursday night."

Thus it was that Mercedes found herself handing the keys to her flashy 'celebrity car' to a valet and heading into Lil Wayne's new club. She was decidedly not happy, Andre having squeezed her into the most hoochie outfit she'd allow, a plum dress that clung in all the right places and showed a lot of leg. The only part of the outfit she liked were the five inch black and silver pumps. Her hair was bone straight, with blunt bangs, make up perfect, fake smile firmly in place. She made her way to VIP, spoke briefly with Lil Wayne and his entourage, and booked it out of there. Once in the car, Antoinette giggled. She was a supermodel, and good friend of Andre's. Mercedes liked her because unlike most other models, she ate like a real woman and was really down to earth.

"Girl, you lit out of there like the place was on fire!" Antoinette teased, jade green eyes sparkling with humor.

"That's cuz Miss Jones over here is getting herself some this weekend! If I was her, I would have said hi, bye and deuces!" Andre said, cackling. He and Antoinette exchanged hi-fives.

"Don't make me drop you guys off on the street," Mercedes warned. She smiled as Antoinette's deep ebony hand landed on her shoulder.

"You know we're just teasing! I'm happy for you. You deserve a man that's going to make you feel as wonderful as we know you are."

"Thanks Toni," Mercedes murmured. She dropped them off at their respective homes, and made her way to her house to change. She slipped into some of the lingerie she was supposed to wear in St. Bart's, a dark green corset and matching thong before putting on a deceptively simple pair of jeans and ivory off-the-shoulders shirt. She slipped her feet into a pair of forest green pumps and grabbed the keys to her Prius, along with a bag packed with essentials.

Finn had just settled down to watch a movie when his doorbell rang. He answered it cautiously, not knowing just who would drop by unannounced on a Thursday night. A smile spread across his face. "Angel? What are you doing here?"

"I've got the weekend free. I thought we could get started christening the furniture," Mercedes said innocently, the wicked gleam in her eyes belying her innocent tone.

AN: Warning y'all right now, next chapter will be pretty much all sex. Lots of sex is going to happen, and I do mean lots. Ten years is a long time to build up tension. So, if you are uncomfortable with the idea of lots of sex, consider this your warning!