DISCLAIMER: On first chapter.
This chapter was ridiculously long. 31 pages! Ahhhh! Happy Reading! :D
May 17, 2011 (Wednesday)
Lima Bean Café
Lima, Ohio
7:07AM
Mercedes watched Quinn sit down across from her—her hand wrapped around a cup full of green chai latte and the other holding her brown leather messenger bag.
The blonde looked happier, somehow.
She could tell that her soul-sister was still hurting something fierce, but it seemed that talking with Sam had granted her some relief. Mercedes sipped her warm drink and smiled at Quinn.
"You look hot today, girlie!" she told her, "Any particular reason?"
Quinn laughed as she dropped her bag's strap on the back of her chair. "I've got to look good on our dates!" she told Mercedes and the diva laughed. "I can't have anyone assuming that my girl is with someone else."
"Better be careful with that," she replied, "Sam might get jealous."
"Please," Quinn sassed with a snap of her fingers. "I have dibs on all of your fabulous."
Mercedes smiled. She loved being friends with Quinn again. She had missed their easy banter, their coffee dates before school—though Quinn had nothing but flavored teas while pregnant; she'd just missed Quinn.
She didn't have many girl friends—Tina was her only constant. It was something that she needed more of in her life. And Quinn did look stunning today.
She was wearing this navy blue cap sleeve dress that had splashes of white all across it. The dress fell about an inch or so above her knee and she matched it with a pair of white and cork wedge heels. She had her short hair down, but one side was braided back and she'd pinned a white bow there.
Mercedes sipped at her drink, before she decided that it was now or never.
"I'm going to tell my family about Sam and I tonight," she blurted. Quinn stopped mid-drink and gawked at her over the rim of her cup.
Mercedes watched in amusement as Quinn swallowed quickly before setting her cup down on the table.
"You are?" she asked—the blonde looked torn between happiness and shock. "I thought you were going to keep it a secret for awhile."
"Well, I am," Mercedes admitted, "Just not from my family. I'm not ready to tell anyone else in Glee about us."
"What brought this on?" Quinn questioned. "You seemed pretty adamant about not letting anyone in a few days ago."
Mercedes looked away. She had been thinking about this for awhile. "It's not something I decided lightly, Que," she told her. Mercedes was taken aback by the bright smile that spread over Quinn's face. "What?"
"It's just—you haven't called me Que in almost a year now," Quinn replied, "I didn't realize how much I'd missed it." Mercedes gave her soul-sister a soft look. She had missed it too. "Anyways, continue!"
"Oh," Mercedes stammered, "Uh, well—I've been thinking about it a lot. This whole thing with Sam; it's my first real relationship. I never thought I'd be here having to make a decision like this and I wanted to keep it close. So I knew that it was mine and no one could take it from me."
That fear still existed. Mercedes fiddled with her cup as she spoke, "But after talking to Sam on the phone and hearing how proud he was to be with me, it made me realize that I was acting like he was something shameful and that's the farthest thing from the truth. I'm just so nervous about how people will react—or if, uh—"
"Or if someone is going to come along and take him away from you," Quinn finished and Mercedes froze. Though tense, she nodded and Quinn let out a sad sigh.
"I will kick anyone's ass if they try to get between you and Sam, Mimi," Quinn told her and the rush of tears that came to Mercedes' eyes made her blink rapidly. "You and Sam—the two of you were friends before you got together and that's something that creates a good relationship. I think that you and Sam are going to blow us all out of the water."
"I'm so nervous about what they'll say, though." Mercedes said, "It's not like I've ever dated before and now I have to tell them that I'm dating a smokin' hot blond guy?"
Quinn laughed. "I think they'll be overprotective, but didn't you say that they liked Sam?"
"Well, yeah," Mercedes replied, "but that was before any cuddling, dates and kissing was involved in our relationship. I don't know what my dad is gonna do."
Quinn bit her lip in amusement as she sipped her latte. "I'm not too worried about Papa Jones," Quinn told her, "He knows how to get his point across without physical harm."
Mercedes shot her soul-sister a sarcastic look that was full of dismay and amusement. "Mama adores Sam. He'd won her over like ten minutes after they met. It doesn't help that he's great with kids."
"In my opinion," Quinn said, "the only ones you're going to have to worry about are your brothers."
The groan Mercedes let out had Quinn cracking up. "Ugh, Que! Why'd you bring them up?"
"Because you already know that they're going to be ridiculous!" she responded in amusement. Mercedes just pushed her coffee to the side and buried her face in her arms. "And once they find out where Blondie has had his lips—oh man, they're going to kill him."
"I'm so glad you're enjoying this!" Mercedes whined from the safety of her arms. Quinn laughed again as she placed a hand on her shoulder.
"I'm sure they won't be too bad about it," Quinn tried to reassure her, but the laughter she heard in her friend's tone just killed it.
"They are not allowed to kill Sam before we do—uh, things." Mercedes protested as she sat back up. Quinn gaped at her and Mercedes felt herself blush furiously.
"Mimi!" Quinn squeaked, "Are you thinking about doing the dirty with Sam, already?"
Though her face felt like it was on fire, Mercedes met Quinn's eyes with a sassy quirk to her lips.
"You've seen Blondie!" she said, "I don't know how you resisted thinking about it."
"Honey, I promise that I thought about fornication with Sam Evans many times," Quinn admitted—her face bright pink, "Not even I'm that strong."
"And how did you resist temptation?"
"There's a reason my hands are so strong, Mimi," Quinn cracked and Mercedes' jaw dropped. They both burst out laughing at the same time.
"Are you really considering having sex before you get married?" Quinn asked Mercedes—her tone was serious, the playfulness from earlier completely gone.
Mercedes didn't know the answer to that question. She had always thought that she would be the good Christian girl and wait until her man put a ring on it, before losing her virginity, but then again—she had never really thought that any man would want to be with her in that way.
"I don't know, Quinn," she replied, "I've always thought I would—but now—" She took a moment to pause and gather her thoughts.
Mercedes could clearly remember how her body had reacted to Sam's kisses and his hands on her skin. How could anyone resist something like that?
"Sam and I are just starting out," Mercedes said finally, "I think I'll wait a little bit longer before I seriously think about sex."
Quinn nodded. "If you ever need to talk—I'm here. And I wouldn't mind coming over tonight when you tell your parents about Sam."
"Thanks Que," she replied with a grateful smile, "Come over before dinner and you can sleep over—again."
Quinn laughed. Mercedes let the topic drift to the back of her mind as the two of them gathered their things and made for the door.
She had little to no experience in sexual ways—the idea of sex or topic of sex surely wouldn't be that important so close to the beginning of her and Sam's relationship. She told herself in three months or so—she'd revisit the thought.
May 17, 2011 (Wednesday)
McKinley High—Main Hallway
Lima, Ohio
7:25AM
Sam had just opened his locker door when someone called his name.
He glanced over his left shoulder and gave Finn a nod when he spotted the tall teen weaving his way through the crowded hallway in his direction. The brunet sidestepped a pair of girls who were giggling and he hustled over to Sam's side.
They greeted each other with a fist bump and a one-armed hug. "What's up, man?" Sam asked, turning most of his attention back to grabbing his books for class out of his locker.
"Not much, dude," Finn replied as he leaned his back against the lockers, "but I remember you saying something about being interested in cars."
"Yeah," Sam agreed as he shoved his English textbook into his backpack, "What about it?"
"Well, yesterday—some old guy dropped off this trashed car; and I mean trashed. Burt and Kurt are going to be working on rebuilding it as a fun thing and I thought you might want to see it."
Sam stared at Finn. "You really need to work on your delivery, man," Sam told him in amusement. Finn looked confused. "You sound like you just asked me out on a date, dude. And as handsome as you are—I'm not interested."
"Wha—shut up, man!" Finn protested when Sam started laughing. He shut his locker door.
"It's not my fault that you seem like you want to get your horizontal groove on with me," Sam said—his tone joking. Finn's face was bright pink when he swung at Sam. Sam ducked and moved down the hallway laughing.
"So you want me to come over and check out this car thing?" he asked and Finn nodded. The two of them fell into step as they dodged various students.
"Yeah," Finn replied, "it looks like it might be a big project and I know that Burt really wants to do it. But we don't have to just do that—we've got a nice set of hoops in the backyard and we can play some basketball if you get bored."
Sam shrugged. "Sounds like a good deal to me," he answered. Finn seemed a bit weird—like there was something he wanted to say but didn't know how to. Or maybe Sam was just overanalyzing everything because his mind was really on Mercedes and how he hadn't really seen her in the past couple of days.
With school, Glee, work, his sessions with Lynn, and studying for his exams—they hadn't been able to do more than talk on the phone for a little while and share a couple of kisses during their lunch in the auditorium. It didn't help that Stacey was practically begging him to rehearse with her for her recital.
He was happy that he would get to see her tomorrow night even though he'd be sharing her with his family. Maybe he'd be able to sneak in a kiss or two when no one was looking. Sam tore himself from his thoughts and said, "I can come over around five—"
Sam was interrupted by a hand falling on his shoulder. He and Finn both stopped. Sam glanced up and over at Coach Beiste, who had a stern expression on her face.
"Evans," she said, "You still haven't cleaned out your athletic locker yet."
Sam blinked. In the chaos of everything that had been going on this year, he had completely forgotten about it. "Crap," he said under his breath, "Sorry coach."
"It's fine, kid," Coach Beiste replied, "Just get your crap out of there soon. The locker room is smelly enough—I don't need the extra corn chip smell. It's putting me off my frito pies."
"You know what a frito pie is?" Sam asked in shock—most people had no idea what that was. It was a Southern dish.
"Of course I know what that is, Evans," she replied. Sam grinned at his coach.
"I'll clean it out afterschool today," he told her. She nodded and patted him on the shoulder, before moving down the hall. Sam turned back to Finn. "I can't believe she knows what a frito pie is!"
"I'll pretend like I know what that is so I don't feel left out," Finn replied and Sam laughed.
"I'll have to show you man," Sam said, "You would love them!" Their conversation ended when the bell rang and the two split to go to homeroom.
May 17, 2011 (Wednesday)
Lynn's House—Downstairs Study
Lima, Ohio
9:06AM
Jeffrey was tired before he even started. There were so many places that Elizabeth could be, but with the money she stole from them—she could've gone anywhere. What if she wasn't even in the country anymore?
He shook his head to rid himself of those thoughts. Being negative right now would get him absolutely nowhere and this—this needed to happen. He wasn't going to allow her to have any control over his kids.
Or any control over him.
Jeff dropped the four large files full of bank statements, overdue notices, and bills onto the desk with a loud sigh before he tipped it over and started sorting. It took him half an hour just to separate everything into different piles and then he started organizing by date.
Jeff sat his desk and called every company asking for information. He got yelled at, hung up on, and kindly asked to forget about receiving their services again. Apparently Elizabeth had been as rude as possible to all of them when she cancelled their shit—so another point to her for killing that route for him.
He'd worked for three hours and ended up with nothing except a raging headache and a pile of crumpled papers. When the last company offered him no information, Jeff slammed his phone down onto the desk and massaged his temples. He would have to file individual requests to get information from all of those companies now—which would take twice as long because they had to be cleared through the court first.
Frustrated wasn't even close to describing how he felt. It was this strange mix of resentment, anger, and irritation—and Jeff just wanted to hit something. He left the mess of papers on his desk and changed into some workout shorts before grabbing a v-neck white tee from the drawer.
A long run would be nice and he could take Marley with him.
He slammed his way out of his bedroom and made his way downstairs. Jeff tugged his white t-shirt over his head as he approached the back doors that led to the backyard. He opened the door after grabbing Marley's leash from the doggy basket in cabinet under the stairs.
"Marley!" Jeff called out. "Marls! Want to go for a run with me, girl?"
The sound of a dog barking made him smile as the golden retriever tore around the side of a tree. Her ears were flopping like mad and her tail was wagging so fast that she practically created a new trade wind.
Jeff had to chuckle as she bounded over—her brown eyes bright. Marley almost crashed into Jeff's legs causing him to laugh as she skid to a halt next to him and started barking and sniffing. He rubbed his hand across her head and scratched that spot behind her ears that he knew she liked.
Her tail wagged even faster.
Jeff clipped her leash onto her collar and then led the dog into the house. He bent over to grab a chew toy, some doggy treats, and a ball then made his way into the kitchen. He tossed a bottle of water from the fridge into a small backpack along with Marley's things—and almost grabbed a bag of chips from the snack cabinet, but he spotted a note taped onto the door from Lynn.
It read, "An apple a day keeps the old age away!"
Jeff smiled and shook his head, but he did grab a granny apple from the fruit basket on the counter instead. He looked down at Marley, who was following him around the kitchen, and grabbed another bottle of water. Jeff stuffed a small bowl into the bag as well.
It didn't take Jeff long to swing the bag over his shoulders, turn off all the lights, lead Marley out of the house and lock the doors. Before he knew it, he was jogging down the street at a steady pace—Marley trotted alongside him; her strides healthy and even. He let all the feelings from this morning drift away as he got lost in the rhythmic pounding of his shoes hitting the pavement.
Jeff didn't know how long or how far he ran—his mind was blissfully blank the whole way, but he found himself at a park that was about four or five miles from his home. He blinked in surprise as he slowed to a stop.
Marley circled him—nudging him with her nose as he stretched. Jeff walked them over to a big oak tree and plopped down in the grass. He pulled out his bottle of water and took a long drink as Marley trotted around the tree—sniffing at everything.
Jeff took out the other bottle and the bowl and poured her some water. "Marls, I've got some water for you, girl!" he called and she came over immediately. Jeff smiled at the dog, before capping the empty bottle and putting it down beside his bag.
With a heavy sigh, Jeff laid out in the grass. His thoughts were definitely clearer now that he'd run off all of his anger. It was just like his wife to aggravate him on his only day off from work. Jeff was interrupted by Marley pawing her way over his chest. He laughed when she started licking his face.
"You love me, huh?" he asked as he scratched behind her ears. She nosed his chin and let out a soft whine. "I'll take that as a yes."
He huffed out a breath when Marley literally climbed over him and then rolled on her back next to him. She flipped back over and then laid down close to Jeff's side, her head resting on her paws.
Jeff started talking. "My wife is a pain in the ass, Marley," he told the dog, "Not only is she ruining my life, but my children's."
He told Marley his completely uncensored thoughts about Elizabeth, and how his job screwed him over and how he was sure that this divorce was a long time coming. He even talked about how happy he was that Sam was dating a great girl like Mercedes and how proud he was of all of his kids. Jeff asked Marley what he should do about his burgeoning feelings for Lynn.
He laughed when Marley just covered her eyes with her paws in reply.
"Oh, yeah, thanks for all that great advice," he told her.
She just barked at him.
May 17, 2011 (Wednesday)
Clarity—Back Office
Lima, Ohio
12:09PM
Lynn sprawled out on the hardwood floor of her office and let out a loud groan of frustration. There was so much to be done! Furniture had to be ordered and shipping arrangements had to be made. She had to talk to the bank about the new set of pay-lines she wanted to set up. She had to figure out what the restaurant hours would be—and then she had to worry about hiring employees.
Lynn wanted to find some truly nice artwork, but she was torn between making part of the walls an art exhibit for the work of the students in the area or if she should go for professional work. The color of the curtains she'd ordered wasn't the correct one so she had to return those and re-order. She had to create the menu—and finding cooks was going to be another thing.
There was the opening night party to plan—she had to line up performances, make invitations, design the website, send out invitations, buy ad space in the papers—on and on the list went.
Lynn's to-do list was already ten pages—single spaced. And then there was the music shop to worry about—she had been getting complaints about the sudden closure and she couldn't decide if she should reopen, but when was she going to have time to run the shop and work on the restaurant?
Jeff had been ridiculously busy with all the remodeling—installing light fixtures, new doors, painting the outside of the shop, creating the sign, and working on the new piping and bathroom tiling. He was swamped in work—even with Sam's help.
She would have to talk to him about hiring some other people to come in and work with them. And she had to have a safety inspector come in. Jesus, the list just kept growing and that was just for Clarity.
She had stocks and bonds to maintain—and a meeting with her financial advisor coming up soon. The kids had lots of things they were doing—Stacey's upcoming recital and Stevie really wanted to do something with science this summer. She was already looking into dance camps for Stacey and swimming for Stevie—and she had found a bunch of cool books full of science experiments that he would love.
It would take a couple of weeks for them all to get here, but she figured he would enjoy it. And hopefully, she would be able to sign Stacey up for soccer and softball like she wanted. Lynn had even found these sports programs that Sam might even like, but she hadn't said anything to Jeff just yet.
There was the fourth of July party she threw every year to worry about, and the twins were turning eight in June. She really wanted to plan a birthday party for them—and she needed to plan it with Jeff.
She needed to talk to him about it before anything was decided. And her daily sessions with Sam were a drain on time, but she wouldn't give them up for anything. Taking care of them was difficult, but she loved every moment of it.
And lord, if her feelings for Jeffrey weren't getting stronger every day.
He had actually cut the grass yesterday—his shirt had come off half-way through—and Lynn had to tear herself away from the window. He was an incredibly attractive man.
There were so many things wrong with the situation. Yes, he was a man who had fallen out of love with his wife and they would be divorced soon enough, but he was still married. And what would he want with a practically virginal woman like her who wouldn't know how to be sexy if it slapped her across the face?
Jeff could have any woman he wanted, and she would definitely be on the bottom of that list. Feeling like she was depressing herself, Lynn let the notebook she was holding in her hand fall to the ground beside her.
She breathed deeply through her nose and just let her eyes close. She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't hear the sound of approaching footsteps, but she did hear the huff of laughter from the doorway.
"What on earth are you doing, Lynnette?" Lynn's eyes snapped open and she tilted her head back to glance at whoever was standing in the office. She smiled when she recognized Delia.
"Nothing," she sing-songed as she relaxed back into her position on the floor and closed her eyes again. Delia laughed and Lynn heard her walk over. She only opened her eyes when she felt someone lay down next to her on the floor.
"This is rather comfortable," Delia said and Lynn laughed.
"No it's not," she replied.
"Then why are you doing it?"
"Because it's more fun than working on that God-awful list over there," Lynn responded. Delia sat up and grabbed the aforementioned list that Lynn had printed off and carried with her everywhere for the past two weeks. There were plenty of things crossed out and added on, but it still seemed never-ending.
"Good Lord, girl," Delia exclaimed as she flipped through the list. "No wonder you're stretched out on the floor. I would've gone to bed crying if I had all of this to sort through."
"Please tell me why I thought this was a good idea?"Lynn bemoaned dramatically.
Delia laughed and said, "I have a feeling that this was just a thought until a certain green-eyed blond teenager walked into your life."
Lynn responded with a laugh, because it was pretty true. Sam had her wrapped around his finger as soon as she'd seen the desperate expression in his eyes. It didn't help that she was crushing pretty hardcore on his father.
"Alright," Delia said as she tossed the list onto the desk and stood up. Lynn watched her walk towards her with a wary expression. "Come on, girlie. Let's take a break from all this and go get some lunch."
"Dell!" Lynn replied, "I don't have time for that. You saw the list. I brought a sandwich—"
"Absolutely not!" Delia protested as she held out her hands to Lynn. "You've been working day and night and you deserve a good meal. I know you've been cooking five-star meals for the Evans family and you need to eat food that you didn't prepare."
"Delia," Lynn began, but her friend gave her a stern look and Lynn stopped fighting. When Delia got that steely look in her blue-gray eyes, there was no arguing. She stretched her hands out to her best friend and let herself be pulled off the floor.
"Let me go clean up a bit and then I'll be ready to go," Lynn told her friend and Delia nodded.
Delia looked stunning in tan sundress with a square neckline and a pair of magenta pumps. Her hair was down and in some intense curls. Lynn walked to the bathroom quickly and checked herself over in the mirror. She was wearing an ivory lace dress with three-quarter sleeves and an A-line skirt. Her hair was down and straight and she finished the outfit off with a thick brown belt and a pair of brown leather ankle boots.
After making sure she was presentable, Lynn walked out of the bathroom and moved through the space until she found Delia waiting for her by the front door—Lynn's purse in hand.
"Where should we go?" Lynn asked as she shut off the lights and followed Delia outside.
"I'm thinking Athena's," Delia replied, "I'm in the mood for some Greek food."
Greek fries did sound quite delicious. Their choice made—Lynn allowed Delia to drive her over to the restaurant. It only took them about ten minutes to be seated and have their drinks ordered.
They spent awhile discussing Delia's work and how busy her schedule was going to become next year with the expansion, before their food was brought over. Lynn got in about five bites of this delicious shrimp and pasta dish before Delia started asking questions.
"How are you, my love?" Delia asked, "You've been working so hard that I've barely seen you outside of church."
"Dell, I'm fine," Lynn told her friend honestly, "I'm happy even."
Lynn ate some more, but she could feel Delia's eyes on her.
"You are happier," she admitted finally, "but you're not happy, Lynn."
"Dell—"
"No," Delia said, "I know you. And I know how you are when there's something troubling you."
Lynn sighed heavily. "I love having them in my home, Delia," Lynn told her friend, "I adore seeing them in the morning—getting hugs, having them ask for my help, but I'm scared that I'll become too attached and when Jeff leaves my house next year—that I'll never see them again."
Lynn was terrified. She loved them all so much already—tucking them in at night, talking their problems out with them, cooking them dinner, driving them to school—it was something she had always wanted and those children were ridiculously adorable.
"And I might have some feelings for Jeffrey that aren't strictly platonic," Lynn confessed and Delia's jaw dropped.
Lynn told her everything that she was feeling—her fears about loving the kids too much and overstepping her bounds; how she found herself really attracted to Jeff and how she was petrified because romance could do both great and horrible things to their relationship. It was a long discussion and lunch stretched from forty-five minutes to three hours, but she felt so much better afterwards.
Delia listened intently and gave some good advice. "Lynn, you're both grown and you've both suffered in the love department, but you are not too damaged to fall in love with a wonderful man like Jeffrey and he's not an idiot who would reject you because you don't have as much sexual experience as he does." She sat back in her chair and wiped her mouth with her napkin. "I say that you stop putting yourself down for what my dumbass brother did and accept that you're a beautiful, intelligent woman."
"I don't know how to do this dating or wooing thing, Dell!"
"Honey, I don't think you need to," Delia replied, "Just relax and let things go at their own pace. If he likes you—he's going to like you the way you are. If something happens between you two, don't run away from it."
"I don't want to get my hopes up," Lynn admitted.
"Love is all about hoping, sweetheart," Delia told her, "If you don't plant the seed—it's never going to grow."
Lynn had no response.
"You don't have to decide anything right now, Lynn," Delia said, "Just give it time, honey. I have a feeling that everything will work out exactly the way it's supposed to."
Even though they spent several hours together, it was still sad when their lunch did come to an end. Lynn felt like her thoughts were more organized, but her heart was more conflicted than ever. She went back to work on her list as soon as she'd hugged Delia goodbye.
Love was all about hope, but what if she wasn't able to wish for something that seemed so farfetched?
May 17, 2011 (Wednesday)
McKinley High—Choir Room
Lima, Ohio
3:04PM
Mr. Schue hadn't come into the room yet, but every Glee club member was already inside and seated. Sam was sitting in between Mike and Finn on the other side of the classroom—she had given him a good look-over when he walked in the room. Artie was in front of them.
His snug blue Hanes t-shirt and dark jeans looked quite good on him—his letterman jacket was just the icing on the hottie-cake. Quinn's nudge to her side had stopped her from practically drooling, but it was her soul-sister's laughing eyes that had Mercedes looking at everyone but Sam.
Quinn was sitting on her right and Tina was sitting on her left. Kurt was next to Rachel who was by Finn. Santana and Brittany were as far away from Finn and Rachel as possible—Santana could be in the same room with them now, but she was still angry. Mercedes was positive that Brittany just had Santana pussy-whipped—literally.
Puck and Lauren were whispering in the back row. Mercedes decided that it was now or never.
She stood up abruptly—interrupting the conversation between Quinn and Tina. "Mercy, what's wrong?" Tina asked with a worried frown.
Mercedes shook her head as she stepped down the risers from her seat and stood in front of the group. She cleared her throat loudly and they all stared at her. Sam's eyebrows were raised and Quinn had her head cocked to the side in bewildered interest.
"I was wondering if everyone would like to spend the night at my house on Friday to celebrate the end of school?" she blurted. Sam gaped. Quinn's eyes almost bugged out of her head and Kurt's jaw dropped. Everyone else just blinked.
"Would there be enough room for all of us?" Artie asked. Quinn had to choke down a laugh and Sam bit his lip to stop himself from cracking up. Kurt just kept staring. Everyone else was confused by their reactions.
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure there's enough room," Mercedes replied with an amused smile.
"Is this okay with your parents, Mercedes?" Rachel asked primly, "I know that my fathers wouldn't have approved of our party this year at my home."
"Shut up, hobbit," Santana snarked, "Your party was only good because we got plastered. It probably would've been better if your parents were there and you weren't."
"Excuse me?" Rachel asked indignantly as she turned to face Santana.
Santana opened her mouth to say something else in reply, but Brittany grabbed Santana's arm. The Latina exhaled loudly and turned away from Rachel.
"Yes, Rachel," Mercedes replied, "I've cleared this with my parents. And no, there won't be any alcohol, Puck."
She had seen him lean forward to say something, and he sat back with pout after her response. She rolled her eyes in fond exasperation.
"I've got to clear it with my parents first, but if they say yes, I'm in," Mike told Mercedes. Finn and Kurt shared the same sentiments. Rachel grudgingly agreed after Santana and Brittany said they would both be there.
"I'm in," Sam said without hesitation and Mercedes had to bite back the sudden smile that threatened to cross her face. He was giving her a proud smile and Mercedes couldn't help but blush.
"You already know I'm there," Quinn responded with a knowing grin. Mercedes shook her head, but smiled when Tina and Artie said they would ask their parents, but would go if they were allowed.
"I'll give you my address right now," Mercedes told them, "Be there at eight o'clock Friday night. You can tell your parents that it will be supervised because both my mom and dad will be home. And you'll all be fed." She then rattled off her address and everyone scribbled it down with the notable exception of Quinn, Sam, and Kurt.
Mercedes finished just as Mr. Schue walked into the classroom.
She smiled at him, before she walked back to her chair and sat down. She felt Quinn entwine their fingers and she smiled when she felt the reassuring squeeze. Mercedes blushed after Quinn laid a kiss on her cheek.
"What was that for?" she whispered and Quinn flashed the screen of her phone to Mercedes. The diva read it quickly after she realized that it was a text from Sam to Quinn. He must have sent it when she wasn't paying attention.
Give my lady a kiss for me? So proud of her.
Mercedes glanced over her left shoulder and gave Sam a bright smile. He grinned right back at her. Mercedes faced forward to listen to Mr. Schue, but she squeezed Quinn's hand again. Her soul-sister leaned her head onto Mercedes' shoulder and Mercedes rested her head atop Quinn's.
Happy didn't even begin to describe her mood.
May 17, 2011 (Wednesday)
McKinley High—Boy's Locker Room
Lima, Ohio
4:26PM
Sam stared at the mess that was his athletic locker—dirty socks, cleats he hadn't used in months, random clothes, and a bunch of papers that he was pretty sure used to be his playbook. Disgusted with himself, Sam pulled out the clothes first—gagging when the sweaty stench filled his nostrils. He hurried over to the showers and dumped them on the floor before covering them in someone's abandoned Axe body wash.
He scrubbed them all separately and together until they weren't stiff or smelly anymore. It took him like ten minutes to complete that task. Sam took his time—making sure to rinse everything individually until all the soap suds were gone. Then he wrung all the clothes out until the majority of the water was gone. Once finished, he laid them across the tile wall to let them dry until he had to leave.
Sam washed and dried his hands quickly before moving back to his locker. He picked up the mess of papers and looked through it all—some were random drawings that he'd done and Sam wasn't sure if he wanted to keep those or not—so he put them aside. After he'd thrown away all the crap and reorganized his playbook, Sam shoved it into his backpack. He turned back to his locker and picked up the cleats.
Oh yeah, they were nasty. Dried mud and grass were in between all the spokes on the bottom and there was dirt caked everywhere along the sides. Angry at himself for not treating his stuff right, Sam picked up the old toothbrush he'd found on the bottom of his locker. Holding the cleats in one hand and the body wash and toothbrush in the other—Sam went over to the sinks and turned on the water. With a sigh, he started scrubbing.
One minute in—Sam realized that this would take a while, but he kept going. Fifteen minutes later, he had one shoe cleaned. He was so into his work that he didn't hear the locker room door opening or the sound of someone walking inside.
"Sam?"
His head swung towards the door when he heard his girlfriend's voice calling his name. Sam was sure that he was imagining it—there was no way that Cede would be in the boy's locker room, but he saw her walk through the doorway with a shifty look in her eyes as she tiptoed inside.
His amusement skyrocketed. She was trying to be sneaky while wearing a lavender dress with thick straps and a square neckline. Her dark purple and white striped cardigan wasn't helping.
"I'm the only one in here, Mercy," he said—and he laughed when she jumped at the sound of his voice. He glanced her over again—and the sight of her black chucks that went all the way up to her knees made him grin. Her hair was down in that curly/crimpy/wavy thing that she did—it was his favorite hair style on her.
Sam thought she looked gorgeous.
"Jesus, Sam!" she cried—her hand over her heart. "Some warning next time would be nice."
"Was I supposed to like bang on the wall or something?" he replied and she gave him the stink eye. Sam laughed again, before he asked, "What are you doing here?"
"I ran into Finn, who told me where you were after I said I needed to get something from you. I had been waiting by your locker so I could say goodbye, but you never showed up," she answered as she came closer to him. Sam felt a twinge of guilt for that—he had completely spaced on letting her know that he wouldn't be there, but Mercedes didn't seem angry or anything.
"Are you sure that no one else is here?" she asked—her eyes peering around warily as though she expected Coach Beiste to leap out of a corner and write her up.
"Why are you so paranoid, babe?" he teased as he absently scrubbed at his shoe.
"Umm, hello," Mercedes responded—her tone disbelieving, "Female in the boy's locker room. I could get written up or even worse, suspended for being here."
Sam laughed and said, "Mercedes Jones—an academic by day and rule breaker by afternoon."
"Don't make fun!" she said as she poked him on the shoulder.
"I'm positive that no one else is here but me," Sam told her—it was funny but she did seem really worried. He didn't want to upset her. Sam knew how important school was for her, and how much of a goody-two shoe she actually was. She wasn't willing to take shit from people, but she liked being the good girl most of the time.
He wouldn't lie. It was really hot that she would break the rules for him.
Mercedes eyed him for a moment, but she did relax after a few moments.
"Well, I didn't sneak in here for nothing," she said with a playful sparkle in her brown eyes, "Are you going to greet me properly or not?"
Sam's eyebrows rose and he almost grabbed her for a kiss—before he remembered that he was up to his elbows in muddy water and dirty soap suds.
He floundered for a minute—cursing his hands in his mind, before Mercedes' laugh registered.
He looked at her, before leaning towards her—his hands still in the sink. Mercedes laughed a bit but she rose up to meet his lips in a soft kiss.
It was only a soft peck and Sam wanted more, but he had promised he wouldn't push her—and he was a man of his word. He pulled back with a hum of content. He smiled down at her.
"Hello sweetheart," he said. Mercedes' face lit up and she grinned at him.
"Hi Sammy," she replied shyly and he did not expect that name to make him blush. His sister called him that. His brother called him that. His dad called him that same name, but Mercedes says it and it's completely different. Sam straightened up and leaned over the sink again.
"What are you doing?" she asked curiously and Sam lifted a dirty cleat out of the water.
"I didn't clean my locker out after football season so I have to do it now," he answered, "And I'd forgotten a ton of stuff in there. My cleats were filthy—which is why it's taking me so long to clean them up."
Sam started scrubbing vigorously—wanting to be done already.
Mercedes wrinkled her nose as she leaned against the wall. He worked in silence for a few minutes until he said something that had been kind of on his mind for a while now.
"Can I ask you something?" he inquired as Mercedes pulled the straps of her backpack off her shoulders and dropped it onto the ground.
"Anything, babe," she said absently as she opened the front pocket of her bag and stuffed her phone and keys inside.
"I was thinking that instead of just playing football next year," Sam started causing Mercedes to look up at him, "that I could play some other sports too." She straightened up and stepped closer to the sink—turning to put her back against the wall—but she stood far enough away that she wouldn't get splashed with any of the dirty water Sam's hands were in.
Mercedes looked faintly surprised. "Like what?" she asked—he didn't hear any disapproval in her voice, just curiosity. Sam scrubbed off a particularly stubborn piece of dried mud and grass before he answered.
"Basketball," he said slowly, "and baseball."
"Any particular reason?" she asked after a few moments of contemplative silence.
"I don't know," he said with an indifferent shrug. Mercedes gave him a look that had Sam feeling slightly defensive. "What? I don't."
"You do know," she replied matter-of-factly, "Otherwise you wouldn't have said anything."
Sam avoided looking at her. He'd had this discussion with Quinn last year—before everything financially went to crap, and she'd shut him down almost immediately. She'd told him that baseball players and football players didn't get along and when was he going to spend time with her if he did all that. Being shutdown once was quite enough—he didn't even want to present such an option to Mercedes.
When Mercedes just stared at him expectantly, Sam sighed.
"I played all three in middle school and at the beginning of high school, but when we moved out here—I just got too busy. I considered it last year, but we didn't have the money for the fees or the equipment."
Sam finally finished scrubbing his cleats clean. He turned off the faucet and shook as much water from both of them as possible. He placed them on a bench and then washed his hands again. Sam dried them on a towel hanging from the rack.
Picking up his cleats, Mercedes followed him as he walked back to his now empty locker.
"So, this is something that you really want to do?" Mercedes clarified and Sam nodded. "Then I say, go for it."
Sam paused in his perusal of his locker to stare at her. "Are you serious?"
"Of course!" she responded, "Did you expect me to not encourage you?"
"Well, no," Sam sputtered, "but—it's just with three sports, school, work, and Stacey and Stevie—you might not see me as much as you'd like to."
"Sam," Mercedes said, "I don't own you. I don't tell you what to do. We're together because we want to be—and it makes both of us happy. I'm going to support you when you do things that make you happy. Your life doesn't revolve around me and I don't expect or want it to."
Sam had never been told that before. Most of his girlfriends had been just the opposite. He stared at Mercedes for a long while before he beamed at her.
"You are the best girlfriend ever," he told her. She blushed in response.
"I am not," she protested as Sam grinned at her—finally shutting his locker door.
"No, you are," he replied, "You really, really are."
Without missing a beat, Sam leaned over and dropped a kiss on her lips. It was just as sweet and innocent as the first one, but when he pulled away—her brown eyes were glazed over and her cheeks were flushed. For Sam, that changed everything.
Sam brushed his lips against hers once again—and again and again until he was pressing them against hers in a full kiss. The little gasp Mercedes made when his tongue traced her bottom lip pushed all the right buttons. He gently pressed her against the lockers—his hands falling on her waist and squeezing softly as she opened up to him.
Her hand dropped onto his shoulder and he felt her other one cup the side of his face before somehow both of them ended up in his hair. Her unintentional tugging pulled a soft groan from him before he could prevent it.
His girlfriend was one hot lady.
Breathless, lips pushing and pulling and sucking, tongues entwining and twisting—it was the hottest thing Sam had ever done. He kissed his way down the side of her neck—feeling gratified when Mercedes' back arched and her head fell against the lockers. Sam nipped and licked his way down to her collarbone—being careful to not leave any hickeys.
He wasn't stupid—he knew her brothers would fucking kill him if he left a love bite on her. Making out with Mercedes was way better than he had ever imagined.
Lifting one hand from her waist, Sam gently pushed the thick strap of her dress out of the way—placing kisses all the way down from her next to her shoulder.
"Txe'lan," she practically moaned when Sam sucked gently on the area beneath the strap of her dress. She tugged on his hair when Sam used his tongue to lick across her shoulder and back up to the underside of her jaw. He felt her shudder gently under his attention and his hand slipped from her waist to her thigh.
He wasn't expecting to feel smooth skin coming into contact with his palm. Her dress must have ridden up sometime between that first kiss he'd laid on her and now. She let out another sweet, sensual sound and clenched her thigh.
And oh fuck, he was harder than a rock in less than a minute. Sam—stock full of arousal and hormones—tugged Mercedes' hips closer before he captured her lips in another kiss. Both of them were forceful this time and Sam couldn't help but think that for never having done this before—Mercedes was a natural.
He pulled back to catch his breath and he glimpsed Mercedes. She looked wanton and wrecked. Her lips kiss swollen, chest heaving and brown eyes glazed over with lust—Sam swooped back in and kissed her senseless.
He was taken aback when Mercedes' hips twitched and Sam groaned against her lips. The grind he gave in return was completely involuntary, but Mercedes' gasp of, "Sam" and the breathy sound she released almost broke him.
Sam came back to his senses when she bucked her hips against his almost painful erection. He literally had to fight through the haze of pleasure to realize that this was not right. Mercedes deserved more than to be dry-humped against the wall in the boy's locker room. He shuddered when Mercedes ground her hips against him again. He gasped, before he caught her hips in his hands.
"Mercy, we need to stop," he rasped.
Mercedes made this mewling noise of discontent that tested Sam's restraint. If they had been dating for longer than a week—he would be all over this. If Mercedes hadn't told him four days ago that making out scared the shit out of her—he would be okay with this, but that was what happened and he wasn't about to give his girl an orgasm and then have her scared shitless or avoiding him.
He would rock her world one day, but that day was not today.
His body did not agree with him, but his mind and heart were like hell-to-the-no. Mercedes deserved more than a quick romp, and when he did it—he would make her scream.
"Baby, please," he said, when Mercedes tugged on his hair. Sam finally forced himself to step away from her. "We can't do this here," he told her softly, "And I know this is not how you want things to go down, but I swear that if you pull me into another hot kiss like that—I'm not sure if I'll be able to stop myself."
Mercedes shook her head and Sam saw awareness drift back into her brown eyes. She immediately blushed. She looked a mess, but a sexy one. Her dress was askew and her sweater was hanging off her shoulders. Sam groaned and turned away from her—trying to calm himself down.
He heard her shift around behind him and when Sam could finally think straight—he looked back to see that she had fixed her clothes again and was standing there nervously. She looked mortified and she couldn't meet his eyes.
"Don't shut me out, Nala," he told her and Mercedes sucked in a deep breath.
"I'm so embarrassed," she replied, "I had no idea—wow." She let out a soft laugh.
"We're just going to have to work on controlling this," Sam said as he moved closer to her. "It's your fault for being so damn pretty."
Mercedes rolled her eyes in fond exasperation. "I'm sure it has nothing to do with the sexy blond guy kissing all up on a girl. How do you expect me to control myself?"
Sam grinned at her, before he grabbed her hand and tugged her along with him. They sat down on the bench together—Sam straddling the bench so he could face Mercedes completely. He opened his arms to her and Mercedes laughed.
"You are such a cuddle monster," she told him—even as she leaned against his chest. He shifted closer and then wrapped his arms around her waist. Sam heard her sigh as he lightly massaged her side.
"I don't hear you complaining," he responded.
"And you never will," Mercedes replied. He gave her an amused smile when she tilted her head back to glance up at him. "I'm telling my family about us tonight."
Sam wasn't quite able to stop the rush of terror he felt from appearing on his face. Mercedes burst out laughing.
"Sam, your face, oh god," she said with a snicker. He poked her in the side—causing her to squeak. She batted his hand away, but Sam stopped her with a kiss. Their lips moved together for a moment—and then two more—before he pulled away. She gave him a smile.
"Everything will be fine, Sam," she said.
"Says you," he replied, "I know how I'm going to react when Stacey starts dating and it's not cute. I expect much of the same from your brothers and your father."
"At least you won't see them until Thursday night." Mercedes cracked with a laugh and Sam had to grin. "I have to handle the interrogation on my own!"
"They're going to have extra time to think up questions for me," Sam protested, "So I can guarantee that I'm going to have it worse."
Mercedes opened her mouth to say something else, but Sam's cell-phone let out a shrill sound—telling him that he had a text message. He fished it out of the pocket of his jeans and winced when he saw that it was from Finn.
Dude, where r u?
Sam was confused for a split second, before his eyes spotted the time. "Damn, we've been in here for over an hour!" Mercedes blinked at him.
"What? That can't be right!" she protested. Sam showed her the phone and she let out a sigh of dismay.
"Ugh," Sam huffed as he dropped his head on top of Mercedes'. "I was supposed to meet up with him almost twenty minutes ago."
"What for?" she asked as she lifted her hand to cup the side of Sam's face. He pressed a kiss into her palm before she shifted so her hand sat on the back of his neck. Her fingers trailing along his nape had Sam relaxing even more into their embrace.
"Play some basketball," he replied, "We talked about it this morning."
"Have you guys worked everything out?"
"If you're asking whether or not we've cried over tubs of ice cream and shared secrets," Sam joked—Mercedes tugged on his hair, making him chuckle, "Then yes—we have."
"What?" she responded and Sam grinned.
"Finn asked Kurt how to make it up to me—and Kurt told Finn that pints of ice cream never failed. So he bought some and we ate it because we weren't going to let ice cream go to waste."
Mercedes laughed long and hard. Sam just watched her twitch around in amusement until she'd calmed down. It was a pretty hilarious situation to think about.
"I would love to stay and chat with you for longer," Sam said into her curls, "but I have to go. I'm already late."
Mercedes ran her fingers through his hair once more, before she straightened up and Sam let her go. He stood from his place on the bench as Mercedes walked over to the sink to grab her bag. When all of their things were gathered—Sam turned off the lights and stuck his head outside of the door to make sure the coast was clear.
Seeing that the hallway was empty, he ushered Mercedes out of the locker room, both of them giggling. Sam held her hand the whole way out of the school. He even walked her to her truck—the student parking lot almost completely empty.
"I guess we have to say our goodbyes here, huh?" Mercedes asked as she looked up at him.
"I'll call later tonight," he promised and she smiled.
"I'd like that," she replied when Sam stepped closer. Her brown eyes were sparkling and he could feel a grin forming on his face. Sam leaned down and kissed her.
He held her car door open for her after they'd separated and Sam waved as she drove away. His girlfriend was amazing. He felt his phone vibrate with another text, and he hustled over to his truck. He really needed to stop being late to things!
May 17, 2011 (Wednesday)
The Jones Estate
Lima, Ohio
7:21PM
Mercedes was a nervous wreck. She couldn't believe that she was about to announce to her whole family that she was dating Sam. It boggled her mind. Three months ago if someone had suggested that she'd even be dating—much less have a caring boyfriend—she would've directed them to the Lima County Psychiatric Ward, but now it was very real and her family was about to find out.
She sucked in a deep breath; letting the sound of her Whitney Houston CD flow through her room. Mercedes had been working up her courage since she got home. She'd been cycling through all the divas who inspired her—Aretha, Diana Ross, Jennifer Hudson, Beyonce, and now Whitney.
It was helping to keep her mind off of the quickly approaching dinner, but she would be grateful when Quinn got here. Mercedes' head snapped up when she heard the doorbell ring. With a quick grab of the remote control from the bed—Mercedes shut off her music and hustled out of her room.
She heard her little sister's loud squeal and then laughter before she'd made it downstairs. Mercedes had never been happier to see Quinn's blonde hair and bright smile before. She was standing next to a duffel bag and Annabelle was on her hip. Mercedes watched as the two traded kisses.
"Quinn!" she said—the relief had to be quite apparent in her tone because Quinn looked amused and Josh seemed confused.
"Hey Mercy," the blonde replied as she bounced Annabelle in her arms.
"Do you want to take your bag up to my room?" she asked and Quinn nodded. Mercedes watched as Quinn handed Annabelle off to Josh, before she picked up her bag from the ground and tossed it over her shoulder.
The two girls didn't say another word until they'd made it up to Mercedes' room. As soon as she shut the door behind them, Mercedes turned and said, "I am freaking out."
Quinn laughed as she tossed her duffel onto the floor. She kicked off her shoes and then took a running leap onto Mercedes' bed. Mercedes had to laugh when Quinn started jumping around on the bed, before she finally fell to her knees and bounced to a stop.
"I always wanted to do that when I was pregnant," Quinn told her and Mercedes rolled her eyes as she walked over to the bed. Quinn reached out and pulled her onto her bed as soon as she was close enough. "I can tell you're freaked out, Mercy. Downstairs, you looked at me like I was the second coming of Jesus."
That startled a giggle out of Mercedes. Quinn laughed. "Do you really think they'll be okay with it?" Mercedes asked a moment or so later.
"I think they'll be protective," she replied, "but they'll be happy for you."
Mercedes was still worried, but they didn't have any more time to discuss it—her mother's voice rang through the intercom on her wall. "Mercy, Quinn, it's time for dinner."
The panic Mercedes momentarily felt rushed through her body and she stared wide-eyed at the wall. Quinn snapped her out of it by waving her hand in front of her face. "Come on, Mimi," Quinn said, "We'll get through this."
Mercedes grabbed Quinn's hand and let the blonde practically drag her downstairs. Before they entered the dining room—Mercedes drew in a deep breath to calm her nerves. Quinn gave her a reassuring smile as they walked side-by-side through the door.
Josh, Kyler, Derek, and Jason were already seated at the table and they were having a loud debate with her dad about some baseball game that had been on television that day. Quinn greeted her mom with a big hug. Mercedes took the time to lift Jasper from the ground where he was playing with some toy blocks and place him in his high chair.
"Love you, Mi!" he told her with the cutest smile ever. Mercedes' heart practically melted and she couldn't resist giving her baby brother a kiss. She ruffled his hair, before moving around the table and sitting down across from Quinn, but next to Trey.
Her mother sat down to the right of her father and clapped her hands. "Hush boys," she ordered, "It's time for Jesus."
Everyone shut up immediately; even Jasper stopped playing with his toddler-safe utensils. They said grace before every meal and her mother had made it clear that Jesus time at the table was not to be trifled with. Mercedes found the routine comforting. It was something Quinn had grown to enjoy.
As her father recited the prayer for the evening, Mercedes felt a wave of peace wash over her. For that moment—everything was alright.
"Amen," was chorused around the table when the prayer was finished and the chatter picked up almost instantly. Food was passed around the table; her brothers resuming their bickering match about the baseball game. The good thing was that her mom had all of them schooled. Even while talking—no one was rude, they never spoke with their mouths full, and they all waited their turn to speak.
It was hilarious to realize that her mom—as short as she was—had all four of those boys on lock.
She just hoped that her mom liked Sam enough to use that power to stop them from killing her boyfriend. Mercedes ate her dinner in relative silence—her mind running a million miles an hour trying to figure out the best way to break the news. None of them ended well so far.
She had just visualized a particularly bad one when she realized that it was silent. The Jones' family dinners were never silent. She looked up from her plate and blanched when she realized that they were all staring at her.
"What?" she asked.
"I asked if you were alright," Kyler said with a frown, "You didn't answer me."
"Yeah, Mercury," Jason told her, "You were looking a bit ill."
Mercedes swung her eyes to Quinn, who gave her a tiny smile back and a nod. She didn't miss the sudden suspicious looks that were gazing between her and Quinn.
"Is there anything wrong, my love?" Her mother questioned and Mercedes could hear the worry in her tone. She knew she couldn't escape it now.
"No, Mama, I'm fine," Mercedes replied as she sat down her fork, "but there is something I want to tell you guys."
And despite her reassurance that she was fine, they were all looking concerned now. Man, she loved her family.
"Uh," she started, but she stopped when she felt her cheeks heat up. Kyler's eyebrows were high on his forehead and her dad was frowning slightly. Mercedes closed her eyes, told herself to suck it up and just say it. "I'm dating Sam."
Delia's eyes widened and there were five dropped jaws around the table. Quinn took a drink of water to hide a laugh.
"Sam? Sam Evans?" her mother questioned, "The blond teen who stayed over with his family a couple of weeks ago?"
Mercedes nodded and was taken aback when her mother practically bounced in her seat. "Oh, Mercy! He's a very handsome young man and so sweet t—"
"Ma! You're okay with this?" Josh protested and her mother shot him a look.
"And why wouldn't I be, Joshua?" she asked.
"Because he's a boy and he's going to have his hands all over my little sister!"
"Oh, hell naw!" Derek stated in outrage.
"I'll kill him," Kyler added.
"How long have you been together?" Jason demanded.
"Almost a week now—officially," Mercedes replied.
"Has he felt you up, yet?"
"Ky!"
"Quinn, you dated him—was he a man-whore?"
"Josh!"
"He's my first boyfriend—I'm not going to go toss off my clothes and do the dirty with him after a week of dating."
"You better not do any shit like that until you've been together for a thousand weeks."
"Preach!"
"Derek, language!"
"A thousand—try, never!" Jason looked on the verge of getting pissed.
"How are you going to talk Jason? Don't think I forgot about that skank you brought up in Mama's house," Josh said.
"Don't bring Candy into this—"
"Her name was Candy?" Kyler couldn't contain his laughter and Jason looked mortified.
"Damn, she sounds like a prostitute—"
"Was she a hooker?"
"What's all this talk about a hooker up in your mother's house?" Mercedes' father did not look amused.
"Airing a brother's dirty laundry at the dinner table, Josh—that just ain't right man." Derek stood up for his older brother. Jason just looked like he wanted to crawl under a rock and cry.
"How about I bring up Tequila?"
"Don't bring that into the conversation!"
"Alcohol, Josh? You—"
"No, ma, Tequila was a girl."
"She smelled like some cheap alcohol though."
"Don't you disrespect women in my house, Kyler!"
"Sorry, ma—"
"Anyways, has he kissed you yet?"
"Kissing? Hell naw, he better not have—they've been together for a week."
"If I remember correctly, you've done much more than kissing during the first week of all of your relationships!"
"Difference—I don't have a va-jay-jay."
"Are you guys dating or has he asked you to be his girlfriend yet?"
"Hold up—they were in New York together."
"When did all of this go down?"
"Stop!" Mercedes finally yelled—her patience shot and her temper through the roof. "Sam and I have been together for less than a week. We've been 'dating' since Prom. We kissed the day before Jean Sylvester's funeral and it was amazing. Yes, I am his official girlfriend. No, he hasn't felt me up, but I can hardly wait until he does. He calls me beautiful and sweetheart and he accepts me exactly the way I am. And tomorrow night, he's taking me as his date to Stacey's recital. Good enough for you? If it's not, then you can all kiss my perfect black ass, because I'm not leaving him."
There was a moment of poignant silence, before rapturous applause broke out at the table. Mercedes gaped. Her expression of shock only grew more intense when Kyler dropped his hand on the table and said, "All y'all owe me ten bucks!"
"Excuse me?" Mercedes demanded—she was beyond indignant.
"Did you really think we hadn't seen that love connection waiting to happen?" Derek replied as he grudgingly slapped a ten dollar bill in Kyler's outstretched hand.
"We knew that Sam was falling for you almost two minutes after we met him in person," Jason said as he followed Derek's action and handed over a ten. He took the liberty of smacking Kyler across the back of the head though. "Oh, Cede—I can't believe you told them about my Avatar obsession. And then you were both giggling and blushing and all flirty-like." His tone was teasing.
"It was sickening," Josh said as he threw his money at his twin.
"Hallelujah!" Kyler agreed as he gleefully waved his wad of cash in Mercedes' direction.
"You guys bet on this?" Mercedes asked in disbelief. Her eyes nearly popped out of her head when she saw her father hand Kyler a ten.
"Of course, baby girl," he rumbled, "The moment I saw the two of you interact it was obvious."
Quinn was too busy dying of laughter to respond when Mercedes stared in her direction. When her mother reluctantly handed over a ten dollar bill, Quinn actually fell on the floor—guffawing.
"Mama!" Mercedes cried—she was completely mortified. She had been worrying herself sick about this revelation and her family had already figured it out.
"What?" Delia responded, "Your fat-headed brother only won because he was right about you spilling the beans today. I had bet on tomorrow."
"Ma!" Kyler exclaimed when he heard her speak. Derek, Josh, and Jason were all hooting with laugher. Mercedes saw her dad try to hide an amused smile, but it didn't work too well.
Mercedes sat back in her chair with a huff as Quinn righted herself in her chair. The blonde's eyes were watering from laughing so hard.
"I love this family," Quinn said as she wiped her eyes, "So much."
"You all suck," Mercedes told them—her expression pouty.
"We could've been angry, you know," Josh said.
"No one said anything about the boyfriend getting off easy!" Kyler protested. "I still plan on putting the fear of God into him."
"You couldn't put the fear of God into a limp noodle," Josh retorted.
"And there we go with the hate!" Kyler replied. "First my older brother, then my ma, and now my twin. You need to stop ragging on a brother because he won the bet. I could take you down and to China town any day of the week."
"That's racist!" Jason threw in, "Why do you have to take him to China town?"
"It rhymed!"
"You're going to put down the entire Chinese culture for a rhyme?" Jason cracked, "Dishonor on you! Dishonor on your cow—"
"You would be the dude to quote Mulan at the table."
"That was legitimately one of the best Disney movies ever," Jason replied.
"Mulan was crap," Derek retorted, "A Bug's Life is where it's at."
"Get outta here with that declaration! Nobody even knows what that movie is."
"You know not of what you speak!" Josh commented in all his nerd-wisdom, "We all know that Monsters Inc is the shit."
"Joshua!"
"Sorry ma—"
"False!" Quinn objected, "Lion King is the best Disney movie ever. All arguments are invalid."
"Damn Que," Josh said, "Just throwing out the trump card like that."
"Yeah," Kyler agreed, "You didn't even fight for the victory. You're just like boomshakala—ain't nobody about to own this but me."
"Why fight when I could just stop the conflict at the beginning?" Quinn responded—her eyes were shining with amusement.
"I would like to offer up Toy Story as a counterpoint," Mercedes said, "because that movie is legendary."
"Preach!" Derek said causing laughter to circle around the table. "She's got you there Quinn. Toy Story was legit."
"Woody does not defeat Mufasa!" Quinn protested.
The debate picked up from there—even her parents got involved—and dinner passed by in loud exclamations and laughter. When the meal ended, everyone took their plates into the kitchen and Mercedes stopped her mom.
"Are you sure that you're okay with me dating Sam?" Mercedes asked and her mother wrapped her in her arms.
"Sam is a wonderful young man," Delia said, "And what I saw between the two of you could be magical. I will be okay with Sam Evans until the day you tell me that he's not good for you."
"I love you, Mama," Mercedes said.
"I love you too, sweetheart."
Mercedes walked back into her dining room with her mother and was immediately hugged by Quinn. "I told you it would be fine," she said.
Mercedes opened her mouth to respond, but she was distracted by her phone ringing. She glanced down at it and smiled brightly when she saw Sam's name flashing across the screen.
Josh walked by and immediately groaned. "Uh-oh, I know that look," he said, "The boyfriend is calling!"
Mercedes blushed furiously, but she answered the phone after glaring at her brother. "Hey Sam," she said—and her words caused a chorus of cat calls and teasing to start up.
Her face feeling like it was on fire because of the embarrassment. It just got worse when Sam started laughing. Mercedes left the room to talk with her boyfriend—no amount of humiliation would stop her from that.
May 17, 2011 (Wednesday)
Lynn's House
Lima, Ohio
11:07PM
"Jeff, what do you think of this pattern?" Lynn called as she walked down the stairs—binder of fabric textiles in hand. She looked up when she didn't hear an answer.
Her brow furrowed when she realized that Jeff wasn't in his usual places this late at night. She put down her binder and walked around the bottom floor in an attempt to locate him. It was only when she stepped out into the backyard that she finally found him.
He was sitting underneath the big oak tree. Lynn made her way over to him.
"Hi darlin'," Lynn said and Jeff glanced over at her. "Mind if I join you?"
"Not at all," he replied. Lynn sat down next to him and crossed her legs beneath her.
"Are you alright, Jeff?" she asked and Jeff let out a chuckle.
"That's something I've been asking myself all day," he confessed and Lynn couldn't stop herself from placing a hand on his arm.
"What do you mean?"
"It's a long story," Jeff replied and Lynn scooted closer to him.
"We live together, Jeffrey," Lynn said in amusement, "I've got nowhere else to be."
He shot her a smile and Lynn had never been happier that her levity went over well. He seemed to have needed the lightness of the moment. Lynn listened as Jeff explained all that he had been doing today. Her heart ached for the frustration she could hear in his voice. She didn't know how long he'd been talking, but he asked about her day and she couldn't stop herself from spilling.
They ended up laughing when Lynn admitted to falling on the floor because she was so overwhelmed. Lynn didn't know how it happened, but she ended up under Jeff's arm with her head on his chest. They were cuddling together and it was the most amazing thing Lynn had ever experienced.
When Jeff's fingers started running through her hair—Lynn couldn't resist burrowing into his side even more. His embrace was warm and loving and everything she thought it would be. He was leaning back against the tree and she was pressed against his side—their legs tangling together.
This was so wrong, but it had never felt more right.
"You are certainly more fun to talk to than your dog," Jeff told her in amusement and Lynn laughed into his chest.
"What does that mean?" she asked as she tilted her head back to look up at him.
"Marley and I had a heart to heart in the park," Jeff admitted and Lynn had to bite her lip to stop from laughing.
"I've found that my dog gives very good advice," Lynn teased, "Her barks give you a lot of insight."
Jeff laughed. "I was fonder of the doggy facepalm."
Lynn smiled and said, "She did the paws over the face?"
"Many times," Jeff said.
"That's one of her signature moves," Lynn told him, "Just wait until you say something and she plays dead. That's a real emotional booster, there."
They both shared a smile. Their gazes lingered together and Lynn felt her heartbeat speed up. She tore her eyes away before she could do something embarrassing like try to kiss him. Lynn and Jeff lost track of time as they laid there—just talking and joking about anything that came to mind.
It was one of the best nights of Lynn's life. She hoped that Jeffrey felt the same way.
I'd love to hear your thoughts! Until next time!:D
