I want to thank you guys for still being here with me even now all these years later. And with understanding about my stories. Guys writing is my outlet for so many things and your reviews they give me life. They make what I do worthwhile. Stay blessed, stay safe and keep on reading!

It didn't take Mercedes long to shower and take care of things in the bathroom. Stepping out in her towel, she moved to his room, letting Sam know the shower was free. Opting to go in wearing something simple, Mercedes grabbed her lavender sundress and paired it with a pair of heeled sandals. Letting her curls fall over her shoulders, she applied her make-up and glanced at herself in Sam's full-length mirror. As she opened the door to Sam's bedroom, she came face to face with a shirtless Sam. As she drunk in his topless body, his eyes roamed over her curves. There was something primal, something hungry in the way he looked at her.

She swallowed hard and smiled softly. "I was just grabbing my purse."

Sam nodded. "Forgot my shirt in here."

Mercedes moved to the side and let Sam in as she went to grab her purse. Shaking off her feelings, she returned to find him buttoning up his shirt. "You look nice."

"Nice?" He smirked. "Okay, thanks for that."

"Come on, you know you look good; you don't need me to stroke your ego."

"True, it's big enough already, but thanks, and you look, well beautiful, but you knew that already."

Mercedes blushed, looking away from him. "So we should probably get our story straight."

Sma turned towards her. "Story?"

"You do know they are gonna ask all the wedding questions. When did you propose, where did you propose, how did you propose, when will we have the wedding? And then some."

"Yeah, we should probably talk about that. So when did I propose."

"What if we said you did it today, at the airport?"

Sam nodded. "It's a believable story. I mean, we can say that after I came to visit you, we started talking more, realizing that we wanted more, and I just asked."

"Yeah, after Tank and Rachel, we realized we were perfect for each other."

Sam smiled. "So did I get down on one knee?"

"Oh, you totally did. It was sweet."

"Cant it have been something more manly? Like I rode up on a horse in central park and declared my love for you?"

"Sam, this is not deliver us from Eva, and no, we will no be doing anything with horses."

"You still scared of them?"

Samuel Dwight Evans, I was viciously attacked by a horse!"

Sam laughed. "Mercedes, he didn't viciously attack you; he tugged at your hair."

"Sam, he tried to pull out my weave! You know how I feel about my hair; animals should respect that! And he wouldn't have done it if you didn't toss sugar cubes at me! For three stuck right in my curls."

Sam snorted. "Never heard someone scream so loud in my life. Scared the literal shit out of that horse. He was never the same again."

"Neither was I."

As they exited the house, Sam sighed. "You know they are gonna want us to kiss, right? All of our families are very affectionate; our parents made out during Prom traumatized us both. if we show up awkward and afraid to touch, this won't be believable."

"I didn't even think about that."

Mercedes bit her bottom lip as the car became quiet. The short trip to Sam's place wasn't enough time for her to get her mind right about this whole thing; could she kiss him? And how would it feel?

As Sam helped her out of his truck, she licked her lips, looking at him. "Kiss me."

"What?!"

"Sam, I can't have you kissing me for the first time in front of our family. They will sense the awkwardness. We have to get the first kiss out of the way so we will be more comfortable with each other."

As Sam nodded, she held her breath when he reached up and cupped her cheeks. Their eyes met, and in it, she noticed a desire that matched her own, that she wasn't sure what she should do with it. As their lips touched, her eyes closed, and she melted into him. He pulled her closer and ran his tongue along the slit of her lips, and she opened her mouth, willingly letting her arms pull him closer. He hungrily attacked her tongue, pushing her up against the truck as he did. A soft moan left Mercedes lips as they slowly pulled away from each other. Her eyes never leaving his. "That was, wow."

"Yeah, I think we can handle doing that for the cause."

Mercedes nodded, unable to form any other words. She let Sam take her hand and lead her to his home. His parent's house, like her own, was beautifully built—three stories, built on 10 acres of land. And right near the front door, bodies moved away, and she knew they had been caught. As the door flew open, she reached up to wipe her gloss from his lips.

Both her mother and Sam's pulled her in for the tightest hug. And she smiled, hugging them both back. "His mom's."

Mary Evans beamed at Mercedes. "Mercedes, you are absolutely glowing."

Yvette Jones nodded. "You are; I am so glad you made it to the wedding I was sure you would miss it."

Mercedes shook her head. "I wouldn't miss it for the world."

Quinn ran down the stairs and rushed to Mercedes. "Merce!"

Mercedes laughed, hugging Quinn and Sam cleared his throat. "You women do see me here, right?"

Mary hugged Sam and Quinn froze. "Mercedes Amelia Jones, what is on your finger?"

The women freeze as Quinn lifts Mercedes's hand and sees the ring. Yvette's eyes widened. "Mercedes, are you?"

Mercedes looked back at Sam, who nodded to her, and she bit her bottom lip. It was showtime. "Well, yes, I have some news. I was hoping to wait until after the wedding, but we are engaged."

Mary looked at Sam. "We?"

Sam pulled Mercedes to him and smiled. "Yes, we are engaged."

The woman squealed, taking Mercedes to her and leading her into the living room. Mary shooed Sam away. "Go help your dad and Stevie."

Sam nodded, walking away, and Mercedes heard another squeal as Stacey ran up to her and hugged her.

Yvette sat down, pulling Mercedes to her. "Tell us everything."

Mercedes smiled. "There isn't much to tell. Sam and I have been through everything together; he's my person and has been my person since the day we met. We just figured it out later than others."

Mary smiled. "I knew it. I always knew there was something more than just friendship between you guys."

Stacey beamed. "So when did it happen?"

"Well, Sam picked me up from the airport and told me that he loved me, couldn't imagine life without me, and asked me to be his wife. It was beautiful."

Yvette smirked. "Your father is going to owe me 20 bucks."

"Dwight owes me too."

Mercedes raised an eyebrow and frowned. "You guys bet on us?"

"Of course we did! What else were we going to do without time?" Mary laughed.

Mercedes shook her head. "I can't believe you guys did that."

Yvette smiled. "Come on, baby girl. You and Sam have been in love for years. Why else would he drop everything to come to New York to take care of you?"

Mercedes knew the answer that Sam wasn't in love with her. He just really cared about her. But they didn't need to know that.

As the night progressed, everyone seemed happy with the engagement, and dinner was going well until Rachel walked into the backyard. She stopped seeing Sam and took him in; Mercedes didn't know why but the look in Rachel's eyes didn't sit well with her. She watched as Rachel moved to Sam and leaned in, trying to kiss him. Mercedes stood up and walked over to them. "Rachel, how are you?"

"Mercedes didn't know you were back in town."

"I wasn't going to miss Quinn's wedding."

"Well, Sam and I are in the middle of a conversation."

Mercedes reached her hand up, linking it with Sam's, and watched as Rachel noticed the ring on her finger.

"Is that an engagement ring?"

Mercedes nodded, and Sam stood tall. "Yes, it is. I asked Mercedes to marry me, and she said yes."

"You asked her? When did you guys start dating? We only broke up 6 months ago."

Mercedes smiled. "It's been a whirlwind, that's for sure. But we are happy about it."

Rachel glared angrily at them for a moment, then Sam's dad called him away. "I will be right back," Sam said, giving her a kiss then walking away.

Rachel shook her head. "I can't believe I was right."

Mercedes raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"I knew you guys were more than friends. He was in love with you, and that is why I broke up with him."

"Rachel, nothing was going on with us while you were together."

"Really? Then why did he ditch my dad's anniversary party to come to take care of you?!"

"He did what?"

"He knew how important that party was to me, and he just up and left for you. So yes, I always knew he was in love with you."

Mercedes shook her head, "I don't know what that was about but trust me, there wasn't anything going on. We never had sex."

Rachel rolled her eyes. "I don't know how you could live with yourself." She turned on her heels and walked away. Mercedes closed her eyes, counting to ten. She hated that Rachel thought poorly about Sam, but they should have known that this would happen.

It took a little longer than expected, but Sam and Mercedes left and headed home. As they stepped into Sam's place, Mercedes sighed heavily. "This night was just, interesting to say the least. Did you know that our parents bet on us?"

"Bet what?"

"Our moms bet our dads that we would end up together. Once this is over, I guarantee they will want their money back."

Sam laughed as he watched Mercedes run her hands through her hair. She glanced at him and froze as she noticed his eyes smoldering as he looked at her. She blushed, looking away. "So I guess we should get ready for bed. We have a lot to do tomorrow for the wedding."

Sam nodded. "Yeah...hey, I am sorry about Rachel showing up; she wasn't supposed to be there."

Mercedes nodded. "She thinks we were together while you were with her."

Sam laughed. "Yeah, that's nothing new."

Mercedes sighed. "Why didn't you go to her parent's anniversary?"

Sam looked at her. "You know why, you needed me."

"So did she, and she was your girl. You thought about marrying her before she dumped you."

Sam moved closer to her. "Mercedes, you are my person. You are always going to be my person. And I don't care what I have to deal with; I don't care what comes up. You will always be first."

Mercedes shook her head. "Sam, you can't just put me in front of your future."

"What future do I have without you in it!"

Sam lifted Mercedes's chin and smiled down at her. "We have been together through everything. And when you called me, I dropped everything because you needed me, and whoever I end up with is going to have to realize that." He sighed. "Are you saying it's not the same for you?"

"Sam, you know it's the same; Tank, and I broke up because he couldn't handle you being my best friend. But are we doing this wrong?"

"Doing what wrong?"

Mercedes looked up to him beneath her lashes. "You and me, we knew we couldn't be this close forever."

Sam's finger caressed her cheek, and she closed her eyes. This was getting too dangerous, and she needed to get her wits about her. "Sam, I umm." She stepped back, clearing her throat. "We should prepare for tomorrow. How do you think we should go about things at the rehearsal?"

Sam nodded, dropping his hand. "Quinn said she and Rachel spoke after the fact; while they believe we are engaged, she is trying to plant doubt that it's just because we are both getting older and don't want to be alone. And Quinn noticed we weren't really all that lovey-dovey. I mean, we had that one kiss."

"But one kiss isn't enough, I know. So what do we do?"

Sam moved closer to her, and she stepped back. "Sam, what are you-"

Before she could continue, his lips were on hers.