You guys have spoken, and here is another chapter. I will be trying to finish my other ones, some more than others, since my partners are no longer around. Well, Undey is almost ready for an update. But the others that I was working on with a partner, I no longer have that partner, so it makes it difficult to finish. But no worries, I will be writing more. Stay safe and blessed! And enjoy!

Mercedes stepped off the plane, hands nervously shaking, this was a lot, and she had no idea if it was even going to work, but they were in the thick of it now, and all bets were off. As she walked towards baggage claim, she felt Sam before she saw him. Turning to face the green-eyed dark blonde-haired man, she ran and hugged him tightly. The last time she saw him, he had dropped everything to help her recover after they found a fatty tissue tumor in her calf. Her ex was supposed to do it, but after he dumped her, Sam ran to the rescue as always.

Pulling away from him, she smiled. Gone was the clean-shaven guy she had known and loved all her life and now stood before her a full-on facial-haired man. It was odd seeing Sam like that and really hot. She paused, shaking off that thought. No way, she just called Sam Evans hot.

"Alright, Paul Bunyan, where is my best friend?"

Sam laughed. "Oh, you don't like the beard? Join the club Q swears if I don't shave before her wedding, she is gonna kill me."

"I love the beard. It's just so not you, but it's a good chance. I am sure all the ladies love it."

"Not all of them but most."

She laughed, going to grab her bag, but Sam stopped her taking her garment bag and suitcase in his arms and leading her to his truck. Mercedes froze seeing the brand new F150. "Excuse me, baller? When did we get this?"

"This old thing? Let's just say I found my calling being a voice actor and can do it from the comfort of my home or wherever I am when I get a new script. I mean, I love coaching PeeWee football, but this pays better."

Mercedes shook her head. "Well, color me impressed and shocked. More shocked than anything, but you know."

Sam nodded as they entered his car, and she placed her seatbelt on. "So where too first?"

Sam smiled devilishly. "Well, we have a stop to make before dinner with the family...and my family, I mean yours and mines, because you know how our moms are."

"Have you told them the news?"

"And take away the joy of us telling them together?"

Mercedes scoffed. "You are such a coward! You did this to me a senior year when you didn't want to tell our parents alone that you decided we were taking a year off from college."

"It benefited both of us; how could I let you miss that?"

"You are a wimp."

Sam shrugged. "I never said I wasn't. We both know who wears the pants in this friendship, and I am secure enough in my manhood to admit that."

They shared a laugh as Sam pulled into one of their old haunts, the Lima Bean. Mercedes followed him inside and was immediately drawn into a bear hug by her ex Shane.

"Mercedes, I knew that was you the moment I saw you get out of the truck with Evans! How are you beautiful?"

Mercedes hugged him back and smiled, pulling away; the two dated for a bit in high school but broke up when they realized their dreams were just too different. "I am great. How are you?"

"Can't complain. Evans, are you ready to get destroyed this Next Weekend?"

Sam rolled his eyes. "There is no way your Eagles can be my Panthers. My kids train harder and want it more."

"Yeah, well, we will see who the better coach is, won't we. And Mercedes, we definitely should catch up and go out while you are here relive some of our glory days."

The challenge in Shane's voice causes a look in Sam's eyes that Mercedes hadn't ever seen before. "As long as those glory days aren't ones you had in high school, I don't think my Fiancee would cheat on me like that."

Shane's eyes widened, and Mercedes elbowed Sam. Shane went from Sam to Mercedes. "So you and Evans finally got together? I can't say I am shocked, but damn, sorry I missed out once again."

"Shane, I-" She was cut off by Sam pulling her in close. "Snooze, you lose; I am sure you know how amazing Merce is; I would be a fool to let her go."

"I know I was," Shane said, taking his leave. The moment he was gone, Mercedes shoved him. "I can not believe you did that!"

"Look, Shane's Team is my biggest competition, and they wiped the floor with us last year. Why not kill two birds with one stone? Trust me, Shane is in the middle of a messy divorce. I just saved you."

"You sound pretty jealous, Evans."

"Please, you know that's one thing I am not."

Sam led her to a booth, and she smiled, seeing who was sitting across from them. "Artie! Wow, look at you!"

She hugged him before retaking her seat, "I haven't seen you in years. How are you?"

"Been better."

Sam nodded. "Artie here has graciously decided to help us with the ring situation...and before you ask, we can't say we are engaged and not be engaged."

Artie pulled out an assortment of Diamond rings. "Remember, this is a loan. Once your little ruse is over, I want it back. You know unless you two end up falling for each other."

Mercedes and Sam laughed simultaneously, with both saying "Never and Not" gonna happen. Are raised an eyebrow and shrugged. "If you say so, but I don't believe it."

Mercedes glanced through the rings. "Where did you get these anyway?"

"I may own the one and only successful Pawn/Jewelry shop in town. So pick one already."

Mercedes searched the rings and stopped on a 2-carat purple princess cut diamond ring that looked straight out of a romance novel. "This is beautiful."

"And so you?" Sam completed picking it up. "You would prefer something personal and different, so a purple diamond is perfect. We will take it."

Artie nodded. "I can get it sized-" he stopped as Sam put the ring on Mercedes's finger, and it was a perfect fit.

"Wow, that looks perfect on your finger Merce," Sam said, staring at the ring and then Mercedes. She just nodded silently. This felt too much like something she wanted. Maybe it was just the feeling of actually being close to the alter, even if it was fake and nothing to do with the man who put the ring there.

Artie closed his case and smiled. "Well, I should get going, Sam. Don't forget the gig on Friday night."

Mercedes smiled excitedly. "Gig? Your band is playing while I am here? And wait, isn't Friday the rehearsal dinner?"

"Please don't tell Q I really don't want to hear her mouth."

Mercedes shrugged, "As long as I am invited to watch you guys play, I am here for all of it, and I won't say a word."

As they all stood to leave, Artie smiled. "We should catch up sometime, Mercedes, while you are here."

"Maybe with the wedding and everything, I might not have time, but we will find a way."

She hugged him and followed Sam out to the car. "So to your parent's house?"

Sam shook his head, "Nope. We need to change. Cant show up looking like this; you know our parents will have a fit."

Mercedes knew he was right. They didn't ask for much, just no jeans at dinner, and that request was simple enough.

Once they arrived at Sam's one-bedroom apartment, he carried her bags in and smiled. As Mercedes took in the bachelor pad, a lot had changed since the last time she came to visit over a year ago. Sam's apartment was tidier than she was used to, and it felt homier than anything else. She turned to him and smiled. "Okay, I need a shower and a place to change, and where should I leave my bag?"

"You can put your bag in my room; lucky for you, my favorite people get the bed, and I take the couch."

"Sam, I can't let you do that; this is your place."

"You aren't letting me do anything; I expect the same special treatment when I come to New York."

Mercedes smiled at him. "I'm can not believe how different things are around here. Last time I came in, this looked more like a frat house than a bachelor pad."

Sam grabbed a bag of cool ranch Doritos and sat down. "Well, maybe I have grown up."

"Or maybe you cleaned before I got here."

Sam smirked, munching on his chips. "The world may never know."

Mercedes laughed, grabbing his bag of chips and running behind the counter. "You are going to ruin your dinner."

Sam jumped up, standing in front of her reaching across the counter and nearly missing the chips. "Mercedes Jones, you know better than to come between a man and his chips, especially if those chips are cool ranch Doritos."

"Oh, poor Sammy wants his chips?" she teased, moving around the counter as he followed her movements. "Well, whatcha gonna do for them?"

He reached again to no avail. "Come on, Mercedes, you are playing a dangerous game here. I will go all Princess Bride. You killed my father on you if you mess with my chips."

She raised an eyebrow. "Oh? So should I "prepare to die?" she asked in a ridiculous accent that didn't even sound like the movie.

Sam lunged, and she ran towards the room screaming with Sam on her heels; before she could reach the bed, Sam grabbed her and whirled her around to face him; struggling to get out of reach, they ended up on the bed, Sam hovering on top of her as she tried to break his hold. It was a position they had been in many times before, except this time the look Sam gave her when he stared down at her wasn't one she was familiar with. His eyes darted from hers to her lips, taking in her curves, and she allowed herself to give in, taking in the way his shirt clung to his abs and biceps. Sam cleared his throat, letting her go, and smiled, standing. "Go take your shower, and it's going to take you much longer to get ready than it will me. I have somebody wash in there if you need it."

She sat up on the bed and nodded. "Uh yeah, okay." She grabbed her carry-on and moved into the bathroom. "But don't worry, I bought my own body wash and everything." She teased him before disappearing into the nice size bathroom. She glanced at herself in the mirror, looking as flushed as she felt. What was that with her and Sam? And why did she want it to happen again? Why was she tempted to kiss him, touch him and have him do that to her? Never in their 11 years of friendship had that thought crossed her mind, and yet right now, all she wanted was for Sam to open that door and take her in his arms. She shook off that feeling; it had been over six months since she had touched or kissed anyone, which is why she was feeling the way she was feeling; it had nothing to do with the fact that she had feelings for her best friend. Sam was and would always be her person, and that was it. These feelings would leave, and then things would go back to normal. She hoped.