Lessons Unlearned
"Check it out," Mercedes said, walking back into the living room where Sam was sitting on the couch. The couple was spending the afternoon together since he was off and didn't have to take care of Stacy and Stevie. Her parents were both at work so they had the house to themselves, unable to resist taking advantage of the rare opportunity. She held up the instrument proudly. "It's my uncle's old guitar. I told him I was learning how to play and he let me have it." It was covered in stickers and a random hundred dollar bill that had all been polished over with a clear coating. "He had to replace the strings, but it's basically good as new."
Sam cringed when she ran her fingers over the strings. "It needs some tuning. Lemme see it."
She handed him the guitar and sat down next to him as he tuned it for her. Mercedes watched him work, admiring how strong his hands looked as he handled the instrument with care. "You want another lesson today?" He asked, looking up at her, his hair falling into his eyes.
"Sure," she said with a shrug.
Sam scoffed. "I mean, at least try not to get too excited," he said, a small smile on his face.
"Yes! I want a lesson today!" Mercedes exclaimed, kicking up the enthusiasm way more than necessary, getting a chuckle out of Sam.
He had given her six guitar lessons since that first day in the park two weeks ago, but Mercedes had been slow on the uptake. Sam thought he was making it easy to grasp, but had to admit other factors may have made it difficult for the information to stick. Not that he was going to complain. He finished tuning the guitar and handed it to her. "Okay, let's start with the chords again."
Mercedes got through that part of the lesson easily, flashing an accomplished grin at Sam afterwards. "I want to learn a song."
"What song?" He asked.
"Teach me the one you sang in the park that day. The first day."
"The day I kissed you," he said, wiggling his eyebrows at her. Mercedes bit her lip to hide her smile, trying and failing to keep herself from blushing. "That was a good lesson."
"In kissing, maybe," Mercedes replied.
"You couldn't even hold a guitar properly before that!"
"Fiiiiiine. If you're going to cry about it," she teased and his jaw dropped comically.
"Cry?!" He repeated incredulously as she laughed.
"Come on, Sam, teach me, teach me," Mercedes said, tapping the guitar on her lap as she repeated the words.
He shook his head. "My feelings are hurt now," he pouted, but there was a playful glimmer in his eyes.
Mercedes lifted a finger, coaxing him to come toward her, but wasn't expecting what he did next.
The guitar slid onto the floor as Sam all but pounced on his girlfriend, attacking her with an Eskimo kiss before his lips found hers. Mercedes relaxed into it, touching his face and then pushing his hair back. Sam groaned approvingly at the feeling of her nails on his scalp. He slid his hands down her waist as their bodies went from sitting upright to laying down, her shirt sliding up a little in the back during the shift.
Mercedes jumped a little when Sam's cool fingers made contact with her skin. She made an effort to pull her shirt down, but he made a noise of discontent against her lips before one of his hands went completely underneath the hem and caressed her lower back. "You're always so warm...and soft..." he said between kisses. "Like a cookie."
Mercedes' face crumbled as her body shook with laughter. "You did not just say that!"
His face turned a light shade of red, but then he nuzzled her neck and kissed her there. "And you taste good, too," he murmured. She could tell he was smiling and couldn't suppress the soft moan that escaped her lips when he stopped merely peppering her skin with pecks, using his tongue to push things further. Mercedes wrapped her arms around him for a moment before he propped himself up to look at her, smirking. "Really, you taste good. Cookie."
"Boy, stop!" She exclaimed, feeling heat rising in her own cheeks. He pressed his body against hers again and kissed her lips, then her cheek, then her jaw, making his way back down to where he'd been. The warmth from her cheeks seem to spread throughout her entire body, thanks to Sam Evans.
"I'm not sure you should give me lessons anymore," Mercedes said, raising her eyes to the ceiling, clutching the sleeves of Sam's shirt as his tongue pressed against her neck again. She gasped when he raked his teeth rake over her skin then sucked at the spot, making a loud smack, and she laughed again.
"I'm not sure I want anyone else giving you lessons," he shot back, smiling into the crook of her neck. He kissed her again before pushing himself up so he was leaning over her, their legs still entwined.
Mercedes smiled up at him. "They always end like this."
"And that's a problem?" He asked, holding himself up with one hand and using the other one to tickle her. Mercedes writhed beneath him, pushing his hand away before sitting up.
"You know I'm not learning anything."
He winked at her. "Hey now, you are a pro at those chords."
"Maybe I should call Puck..." She joked and Sam gave her a look that couldn't be mistaken for anything other than "hell to the no."
"It's not my fault you're too hot for teacher," he said with a laugh.
She hit his chest. "Me?! Need I remind you that I was focused until you diverted from the lesson."
"We could start over."
"How about a break for lunch instead? Are you hungry?"
Sam nods, putting her guitar on the couch as he stood up to follow her out of the living room.
"I think we have leftovers, but I can make something, too. What do you feel like eating?" She asked.
"I don't know," Sam said, stretching as they walked into the kitchen, "I could go for some cookies right now."
"Sam!" She stopped suddenly and turned to face him, sending him a stern look that failed to be effective because she was smiling.
"Oh yeah, I already have one right here," he said, pinning her between his body and a counter, flashing a mischievous grin.
Mercedes pushed her hand against his abdomen, feeling the muscles beneath his shirt. "You better not start calling me 'Cookie'," she warned just before their lips met and another guitar lesson went out of the window.
