I didn't put as much effort in this chapter as I should have. I just really wanted to finish this story and to continue others such as Sail. Before you read the mediocre chapter ahead of you, I want to thank you for being there and reading my chapters. Overall, thank you for supporting me. I am more than happy to have written this for you guys. Check out my other stuff, if you want. Always a pleasure to hear from you!
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LET IT GO FOR TONIGHT
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"Please tell me you have your phone with you." She whispered.
"No, it's in your car. Why?" Sam nudged her aside to try the door.
"We locked ourselves out of the car." And the walk to her house was a long one.
"Well, shit."
- SMSMSMSMS -
"Why are you picking up that stick?" Sam watched Mercedes with curiosity as she picked up a stick and held it tightly in her little hand.
"In case," was her curt reply.
"In case what? In case a vampire attacks?" He laughed at her expression and gave her a light tap on the ass. "You're crazy."
"I'm careful." Mercedes corrected. "We should have just walked to my place."
They'd been walking for a long time. How long precisely, she did not know but her feet hurt and she was starving. Sam, in all his intelligence, chose to cut through the woods. She didn't know why she had listened to him. Everyone with a brain knew that 1) taking shortcuts through the woods was asking for trouble, 2) murderers won't answer if you ask if anyone is in the room and 3) black people die first in horror movies. Seeing as she was a black girl who'd taken a shortcut through the woods, Mercedes was quite certain she would not live to see the next day.
"If we die, it's your fault." She said gravely. "I'll die a virgin. Do you know how sad-"
"You're not a virgin." Sam pointed out, laughing at her.
"Maybe I'm a born again virgin, because she," Mercedes pointed to her crotch area, "hasn't gotten action in a while. I'm pretty sure there are cobwebs down there. "
With a wink, Sam took her hand. "Well, I can always clean those out for you if you want."
"We're getting off topic. The point is, I'm going to die in these woods. My body won't be found for months. I'll be gross and decaying. I suppose I'll finally be famous." She added as an afterthought.
"You'll be famous all right. The girl who died in a forest." Sam agreed mockingly. "But you won't get to enjoy the fame because, as you put it, you'll be gross and decaying."
Mercedes scowled and pulled her hand out of his grasp. "This attitude of yours is annoying. All you do is laugh at me. I'm getting tired of it."
Sighing furiously, Sam raked a hand through his hair. "Whatever I say, I always manage to piss you off."
"That's because you're being an asshole." She stated. "When we started dating, you were the sweetest, funniest sweetheart. Now you're... not."
This was a subject Sam could appreciate. He'd realized this about himself too. Sometime during their summer romance, he'd grown up. He wasn't the same guy, but he found that he liked who he was now. He liked his confidence, his determination. He liked his fearlessness.
"I'm not trying to be an asshole."
"So it just comes naturally then." She rolled her eyes.
That was it, the drop of water that made the glass overflow. "You're not so perfect, you know. You're annoying, stubborn, you over think every little detail so much that you create problems that aren't even there to begin with. You drive me completely insane. I get so angry with you sometimes. Nobody can get under my skin like you do!" He'd been on a roll, words tumbling out of him mouth. One after the other. But then he slowed and sighed. "That's why I love you. We challenge each other. You're a pain in the ass, and I wouldn't change a thing about you."
Mercedes stopped walking and stared at him. "You really think I'm a pain in the ass?"
"Yes!" Sam exclaimed.
Then she surprised him by smiling. "I love you too."
He saw then, that it was what she had wanted to hear. Not the rehearsed I-love-you-we-belong-together-you-are-oh-so-perfect speech, but the raw emotion filled rant of a man who knew who stood in front of him and loved her anyway.
It wasn't long before they reached a road and, much to their surprise, what looked like a bar and a motel. Both buildings were shabby and not particularly interesting, but the bar seemed busy. There were easily over fifteen cars parked outside along with a few motorcycles.
Sam was instantly giddy at the prospect of finally using a phone. "Perfect!"
"I'm not going in there, Sam."
"That's fine, just wait for me here."
"I can't let you go in there alone and I'm not going in there, Sam. We aren't twenty-one!" Mercedes stood her ground and crossed her arms. A bar in the middle of nowhere was suspicious. What if it catered to serial killers? She shuddered. If the BAU in Criminal Minds had taught her one thing it was that you weren't safe anywhere but you were even less safe in places like these.
"Never took you for a chicken." He said nonchalantly.
Her eyes narrowed. "I am not a chicken."
Sam began making an obscene clucking noise while waving his arms around in a half-assed caricature of a chicken. It was sad, funny and ridiculous but Mercedes forced her lips not to twitch. The club's door opened and a short blue haired girl stepped out, grimacing at the sight of Sam. She was taller than Mercedes, but not by much. With her pointed features, she resembled a pixie – mischievous and innocence all in one.
"Are you retarded?" She asked Sam, lighting a cigarette. "I had a friend once and her brother was retarded. He did stuff like that all the time. Once he dressed up as a monkey and spent the day terrorizing the clients at some Target."
The couple glanced at each other. The young woman seemed harmless enough. Humouring her, Mercedes offered a smile. "Who doesn't like dressing up as a monkey, huh?"
"I guess." The girl took a long drag from her cigarette and considered Mercedes. "If you're into that type of thing and you clearly are." She gestured in Sam's direction and chuckled to herself.
"Oh, Sam's not mentally deficient." Mercedes was quick to correct her.
"What?"
"Sam's not…" Mercedes grimaced. The word felt bitter on her tongue. "Retarded. He was just teasing me."
"Yeah, because she was being a chicken." When all he received was an arched brow, Sam laughed nervously. "It's a long story."
"I'm sure." She said lazily, squashing the cigarette with her boot. "So Sam and…"
"Mercy." Sam put a possessive hand on Mercedes' shoulder and squeezed.
"Really?" Humour lit the girl's eyes when they nodded and she gave Mercedes a once over, pausing to ogle her breasts before meeting Mercedes' eyes. "Which is fitting because I bet she has you screaming for mercy when she has her way with you. I'm Layla, by the way. Come on in then. Unless you want to freeze out here."
With no other option but to follow Layla inside, Mercedes scowled at Sam's smug expression and entered the club. It wasn't as serial-killer-ish as she expected it to be. In fact, she was certain she had seen this place before.
A black woman was on the stage singing with a heavily accented voice. Even she was familiar. "Who is the singer?" she asked Layla.
"Raina, have you heard of her?" Layla smiled. "She's amazing."
"Yeah, she's great." She said slowly as they reached the bar. "God, this place is so familiar."
Layla's laughed and patted her arm. "It's Lima's very own version of The Bronze." She turned her attention to the bartender and ordered for two.
"I knew it!" Sam exclaimed joyously. "Look at this place. It's an exact replica of The Bronze. I half expect to see Willow, Xander and Buffy."
"And Spike," added Mercedes wistfully earning a scowl.
"I can't offer you the Scoobies, but I can offer you a drink." Layla handed Mercedes a beer, her hand brushing on the darker girl's arm. She barely spared Sam a glance. "This place can suck sometimes. Like tonight. I was going to leave initially, but then I saw you and your assets. Couldn't miss a chance at that now could I?"
Uncomfortable now, Sam thanked their new friend quickly and ushered Mercedes to the dance floor.
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"What was that, Sam?" asked Mercedes when Layla was out of earshot.
"She likes you! She was all touchy feely and smiling longer than she should be. The comments... I don't like it."
Mercedes arched a brow and smiled slowly. "You think I'd leave you?" she whispered against his ear. "You think I'd leave you for a girl?" Gently, deliberately she began trailing kisses along the side of his throat pleased when his only reaction was to still. "Even after everything we've been through?"
"You never know," his voice low, he began tracing circles onto her hips. "Some people discover they've got a liking for both. And you know, cheers for them. I mean, when you're straight you only have half of the population to be interested in but if you're a bisexual or whatever then you have the whole world and that's pretty-"
"Shut up, Sam." She raised to the tip of her toes and kissed him.
Sometime during their conversation, the singer had left the stage letting a DJ take over. Mercedes didn't recognize the song, nor did she care at the moment. Sam's hands had taken a firm grip onto her hips guiding her dancing to match his beat. But Sam had never been the best dancer and she – despite what Mr. Schue thought – always had been.
So she turned, surprising him, and pressed against him, swaying her hips. It didn't take long for him to get the pattern. She cocked her head to the side,. Within seconds his mouth was on her neck and his hands were roaming.
They'd been dating officially for only a few hours, but it felt longer than that. It felt like They'd never been apart at all, like the last few months hadn't existed. They picked up right where they left off but somehow it was better.
The room was getting hot. Mercedes couldn't take it anymore. When had the room gotten so small? So, sweaty? So deafening? His closeness and the feel of his his breath against her skin... She'd forgotten what he did to her. She'd forgotten how much she needed and wanted when it came him.
Suddenly, Sam laughed.
"What?" Mercedes faced him, her full lips pouting.
"Listen." He pulled her against him, lips trailing their way to her ear. "Got you shackled in my embrace. I'm latching onto you." He kissed her mouth now. Slowly, deliberately. "I feel we're close enough. I want to lock in your love." He sang along, smiling to himself. Somehow, despite everything, they were perfect. There would always be a song to describe them, a smell to remind them, a date to celebrate... They would always just be.
"Bathroom, now!" Mercedes yelled over the music.
"Here?!"
She nodded and took his hand, dragging him towards the restrooms when she felt a hand grab her arm.
"Blondie," Layla had found them again, disturbing their little moment. "I'm going to dance with your friend."
"Actually, my girlfriend and I-"
Her brow raised and she turned her attention to Mercedes, not bothering to hear what he had to say. In fact, Sam felt that his presence was just an annoyance. At least, he thought, she had the decency not to insult him outright.
Sensing Sam's helplessness, Mercedes smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry, Layla. We're actually expected somewhere but we left our keys in our car and also our phones... So really, we're only here because we need to use a phone. We've already stayed longer than we should have."
Layla pondered the couple for a moment before sighing. "I suppose I could give you a hand."
"That would be great, we just have to make a call- " started Sam but the girl gave him a look that rivalled those of Santana Lopez.
"I know a guy who knows a guy who like knows another guy that steals cars." Her eyes widened during that statement, hinting that the couple needed to read between the lines. "He taught me a few tricks."
Mercedes nodded slowly, unsure if she understood exactly what was being offered.
"So I can like totally unlock your car for you." Impatient, Layla rolled her eyes.
- SMSMSMSMS -
It turned out that Layla hadn't been lying. She had the car unlocked and ready to go in a matter of seconds. All she'd wanted in return was Mercedes' number, because – as she put it – 'kids outgrow goldfish and the smart ones go for pussy... cats.'. Throughout the whole exchange, Sam had been silent and uncomfortable.
Now in the warmth of Mercedes' car, he glanced at her and cleared his throat. "You didn't really give her your number did you?"
Throwing him a sideways glance, she chuckled. "I promise you, I am not interested. I gave her the number for the garage where Kurt's dad works. I figured it would be less trouble to just give her a number and leave before she realized she got played."
Happy with her answer, he settled back into his seat. "I love you."
She smiled. The drive home continued in a comfortable silence. She was, for the first time in months, happy. Quinn had been right. In the moment, Izzy's presence had been mortifying but now she was grateful for it. Sam was, up to date, the only love that mattered. To think she had nearly let that pass was discouraging.
Sam pulled into her driveway and looked at the radio. 10:30 p.m. He hadn't realized how long they'd been at the bar. They were more than late. The Jones would be panicking, he was sure of it. Mercedes didn't seem bothered by it though.
In fact she was smiling widely. "If Layla had stayed away just a little longer, we could have crossed off Number 3."
Number 3... Number 3 on their couple's Bucket List.
Have sex in a public place.
Sam's lips curved. They were going to be okay.
Not the best chapter I've ever written, but I needed to finish this fic so I could eventually start another one of focus on another one without feeling guilty.
BTW, The song Sam was singing is called Latch by Disclosure.
Sara xxxxxxxxxxxx
