Dinner
They got to Deck 5 and stood to take in the sea air, it was a beautiful night, they could hear the music, and see the people having a good time at the meet and greet party going on below them. "Hi" they heard swinging round to see Stevie, Kate and Gail stood smiling.
"Hi" Mercy smiled going forward for Gail's hug "No trouble tonight please" she whispered in her ear.
"I'm not here for trouble sweetheart" Gail smiled at her.
Catch Up
Sam & Gail
Sam and Mercy had slowed down for three years while they grew into the new additions to their family, but after that they'd both dived back into work, if for nothing else for their sanity. They'd waited just over a year after Asher and Darius, before attempting to contact his Mom again, that had only happened because Stevie had told him about her drinking and keeping the house in disrepair. Stevie was in China at the time, on business, and couldn't get there, so it had fell on them to investigate. Mercy couldn't make the trip with all the children, the girls were at school and the boys were teething so, they got a nanny in to help her and Sam went alone to salvage what was left of his, now their, investment.
"Mom" he moved fast across the living room towards his Mom's lifeless body slumped across the couch, her hand hitting the floor and her head bent all the way back "Mom" he knocked her arm, shocked at the scene.
"What?" she moaned, flicking his hand off her.
"What the hell is going on?" he looked around the messy room, food cartons and boxes, clothes, bottles all over the floor.
"Leave me alone" she slapped him away from her.
"Get up" he pulled at her arm "What are you doing with the house?"
"Is that what you came for, the house?" she looked up at him "Never mind how are you Mom, are you lonely, a kiss, a hug, nothing, just what the hell is going on with your damn house?" she sat up looking at him angry.
"Seriously?" Sam looked at her "You expect any of that?"
"We could start with a hello" she hissed at him.
"Let's skip all the false pleasantries, and get to my business, what the hell is happening with my house?"
"Nothing's happening with your damn house" she flung herself back on the couch.
"I know Stevie and I sort of left it unsaid that you could stay here until whenever, but I don't think you're coping, you need somewhere smaller, I've made a decision" he looked at her "I'm selling the house".
"So where am I supposed to sleep, on the streets?"
"I wish" he chuckled sarcastically "We'll get you a smaller place" he looked around "Mercy and I will never use this place, it's silly to keep hold of it".
"That bitch is still keeping you away from me" she hissed.
"She's not keeping you away, I am".
"Don't talk shit, it was because of her you didn't want me around" she spat at him.
"Not that it's any of your damn business, but it was because of our babies I didn't want you around, she was pregnant" he shouted back "I don't even know what the fuck I'm doing here" he dragged his hands through his hair frustrated "Look, we're selling the house, we'll find somewhere smaller for you because Mercy won't see you on the damn streets, but you are leaving this place" he turned to leave.
"Sam" she called after him "Please baby, can we just talk for a second?" her voice begging, he didn't say anything he just turned to look at her "I feel like I keep making all this effort and you keep throwing it all back in my face, what do I need to do to get your forgiveness on everything I've done, I need to make things better between us".
"I hear you, and as I said before, when my family is in a space for that to happen, we're all happy to do that, we're kind of just coming through the worst of things, it's been really tough for all of us".
"So mending things is still something you two want to do?"
"Yes" he looked around the room "But this stuff isn't helping, I'm still selling the house, you're not coping, we'll never live in it, we think it's good business sense. We're going to spend what we need to for this to be right again and then sell it, but we'll make sure you're settled into something nice first".
"Something nice?" she smiled "So I have a say?"
"I don't think Mercy would have it any other way" he smiled.
The trip had been more eventful than he'd expected, it ended with his Mom sending love to Mercy and the children. Over the next few years, they visited her often in the smaller house, had her over for a holiday and they were all in a good place right now, by year seven they had spent their first Christmas together as a family, she'd pulled all the stops out on presents that first year, stockings over the fake fireplace everything.
They were still having a hard time getting the Boothe's and the Evans' together their mothers were like elephants on the bad history that had gone on between them, and the brawl in Jamaica hadn't helped. Trevor just rolled his eyes every time Mercy or Sam brought up even the possibility of things changing between the two women. They'd had some rough years, but they were at a good place right now, and cross everything, that had been the norm for the past three years.
This gig of Leon's had come along on the wrong weekend for them, Sam had set up this extravagant anniversary present for Mercy, it was all set to happen at the historic Adamson House museum, a haunted weekend murder mystery, who done it, kind of thing, but he'd had to cancel, and was finding it hard to book anything on this cruise, so against everything in him, he'd reluctantly left it with Michael to set something special up at his end.
End of Catch Up
"Mom" Sam hugged her, before hugging and kissing Kate, sharing a look with Stevie before they made their way into the restaurant, happy to see Anthea and Trevor already sat waiting "We've been outside, if we'd have known you guys were here already" he hugged Anthea and then Trevor, Mercy fit to bursting for seeing her Mom.
"Are you two alright?" Andrea whispered in her ear, Mercy nodded her head, telling her they were.
Flashback
Trevor & Andrea
Mercy's parents had already spent four weeks in Jamaica, they visited regularly, at least every year, but this time Trevor had been eager to see his brother James and his family again. Cynthia had called to say James hadn't been doing too well over the past year, at their eyes meeting they both knew this was the last visit they were going to see each other alive. Their wives were hell bent on making the visit a happy one, so they'd spent a fun filled week visiting all the tourist sites you take for granted when you live on the island, it was so easy to walk down those stone steps into the house in the rock and forget about the rest of the world, and that was exactly what they did nearly every night.
Two days before the end of the visit, they all went off to Dunn's River for the afternoon, James sat at the bottom of the falls in his wheelchair watching everyone getting wet while walking up the slippery stones to get the top "Trevor" a voice squealed from nowhere "Trevor Boothe, is that you?" the woman giggled.
"Yes" he smiled, not recognising who this person was.
"It's Coolie" she stretched her arms out to greet him "Coolie from Town, you must remember me" she looked at him.
"Yes" he smiled, how could he forget they nearly had a child together, this was someone he'd never mentioned to his wife "Coolie" he hugged her back "What are you doing in these parts?" the two of them breaking off into some deep almost coded conversation, while Andrea stood next to James watching. "You remember James don't you?" his attention turned to his brother and the face on his wife stood there.
"James, yes" she turned to look at him "What happened?" she asked of James, looking to Andrea for the answer.
"Oh, this is Andrea my wife, Cynthia; James wife, and their grandchildren MJ, Petal, and David".
"Hi everyone, I'm Kathrine but everyone calls me Coolie, Trevor and I go back to school days, used to be sweethearts" she smiled at him.
"Way back when" Trevor added quickly.
"If life had been different, you could have been meeting your up with your eldest son or daughter right now" Coolie announced.
"What?" Andrea gasped, looking at Trevor with her eyes wider than usual.
The woman carried on for a while, but Andrea didn't show herself up, she kept it all in until they got back to James' house and let it all out in one gigantic blow out that ended in them not speaking for an evening. By the morning she was over it, and life, as they loved it, was back to normal, with one exception, in that his wife now knew a little bit more about his hidden past than he'd ever meant for her to know.
Friday morning they'd reluctantly flew over to Florida to pick up the cruise, sad for leaving James, but, impressed and excited for seeing their son's performance and bumping into artists whose music they were familiar with.
End of Flashback
They found seats, while Stevie and Kate caught up with Mercy's parents "Where's Grace?" Sam asked, looking around the room, concerned she was attached to her parents like she usually was.
"She's infatuated with some guy, Spencer or something, he seems like a nice enough fella" Trevor told him.
"You alright with that?" Sam asked shocked at the response.
"She's a twenty three years old, professional, a lot more mature than Leon was at her age, I think she can make life choices for herself" Trevor smiled.
"Where the hell has my Dad gone, go find him and send him back, imposter" Sam snapped at him laughing, happy that was one more thing he didn't have to tell Mercy. They were trying to make the night as normal as they could, everyone choosing to ignore the iron nod the Mom's had given each other, it seemed their private party was just starting.
Leon turned up with someone called Briani, who even Sam had to admit was very polite and although he tried he couldn't find a damn fault they seemed perfect for each other. Grace turned up with that Spencer guy again, and Sam's mind was unable to get past the countless times, this guy had looked at his wife with what seemed like lust in his eyes.
"You guys should visit the lounge on deck five later, it's relaxed" Spencer told them "No labels but I think the VIP party might not be your cup of tea after dark".
"We heard Matumbi were in the garden house later, we were going to take a listen to them" Trevor told them excitedly, he could tell Sam and Gail had no clue who or even what he was talking about "It's our era".
"Okay" Sam nodded still in the dark "An early night is good for us" he told Spencer, glad for having an excuse to have this man stop ogling his wife.
"But we might go and check it out" Kate quickly added.
Garden House
They finished dinner and went off to go find out what was going on, depositing Trevor and Andrea at the garden house, where the show was already in full swing, people sat in couches rocking away to these men they assumed were Matumbi singing. The party felt as if it had started hours ago, everyone was singing along, swaying to the infectious beat, they were intrigued at all these middle aged people in a vibe just enjoying themselves the song finished and everyone clapped, the men introduced their next song. The crowd went wild at them singing something called 'Man In Me' by Matumbi, of course they had to stand and listen to this, Andrea and Trevor had long gone into the crowd to find seats, they were set for the night. Kate and Mercy were dancing and singing too, they remembered the chorus and managed to join in for it along with the entire lounge, it was a gas.
Sam and Stevie stood listening to this love song, nodding to the familiar tune, Sam had heard Trevor playing it before, while Stevie was well versed on the genre, and for sure, true to it's genre name couples were rocking away to the lovers rock song "We're supposed to be at the VIP" Sam reminded Mercy and Kate, just as the song came to an end.
"We'll catch you guys up later" Leon tapped Sam's arm telling him.
"I thought you were going to the VIP".
"Yeah, but it's Peter Tosh hour, I've got to check that out first".
"I thought that was tomorrow night" Sam looked at him.
"It's the all-white party tomorrow" Leon told him "Grace is safe with us".
"We'll take a look in on that" Sam told him, grabbing Mercy's hand to follow her brother.
"Are they sure about this?" Kate asked Mercy as they followed, knowing Sam or Stevie hadn't been exposed to the hard core Reggae that was going to be delivered in there.
"I guess we're about to find out" Mercy laughed.
Peter Tosh Hour
They could hear the hype as they came out of the escalator on deck 3, the big screen was being used to let those outside the venue see what was going on, people were sitting around on the tables around the sides of the ship, smoking, drinking, and talking. Suddenly there was a blast of horns, shouting and cheering followed by the thump of a new beat filling the air, people outside started banging tables, blowing horns, and cheering as they moved almost like a wave to the rhythm, Sam smiled, nodding his head to the beat, looking at Stevie who was already rocking.
"Let's go in for a minute" Stevie suggested.
"What about Mom?" Sam looked at him shocked for the suggestion.
"Baptism by fire" Stevie laughed, grabbing Kate and his Mom's hand to find a way in, Kate and Mercy looking at each other unsure who was actually going to baptised tonight.
They waled in to see walls decorated with people, the entire hall packed to the rafters, horns blowing, sound systems on stage and a man talking to the crowd, everyone had quietened down to listen to Tony Matterhorn, who bellowed in the thickest Jamaican accent "If you don't like it, go suck your mother bumbo klaat".
Sam looked at Stevie shocked as the crowd started, cheering, banging, and moving when 'Oh Bumbo Klaat' by Peter Tosh blasting at them "I think this is…" he looked at Leon.
"We'll catch you guys later" Leon grabbed Briani's hand nodded at Spencer who grabbed Grace, all four going deeper into the crowd, leaving Sam, Mercy, Stevie, Kate, and Gail standing, listening to profanities of the song.
"If you three want to go see something else, we're alright here for a minute" Kate looked at Mercy for support, she knew she was trying her luck, that was confirmed by Stevie's frowning face telling her a definite no
"We need to get to the VIP lounge" Sam grabbed Mercy's hand, not giving her the chance to argue the point, this record had set a tone for them already, this wasn't their scene.
"We're definitely coming to the all-white party tomorrow" Mercy reminded him.
"It's our anniversary, of course we are" he kissed her forehead, walking down the deck towards the elevator.
"I'll see you guys, tomorrow" Stevie got in another elevator to go down to ground level to get off the ship and join the street party, they'd got the vibe when they arrived and it was still in full swing, seven hours later.
Welcome Party
"Don't stray too far" Stevie told his Mom watching her dancing into the crowd.
"I'm sure I can find my way back to the ship" she laughed, looking back as the larger than life cruise ship.
Drink had been a demon of hers and that had calmed right down over the past two years, but that was mainly because she wasn't really exposed to it where she lived now. Sam had sold the house as he'd said and moved her into a gated community with a maid, that was really a nurse, to look after her and keep an eye on all that behaviour. She'd left the big house and gone straight into rehab for twelve weeks, there had been good and bad days, as you'd expect but in the main for the past two years she'd been clean, Stevie stood watching her walk off wondering if he'd thought this through properly.
"She's a grown woman" Kate laughed at him "Come on, fun remember?"
"Fun" he gripped her hand tighter and went in search of the bar, a guy sat at the bar obviously drowning his sorrows. Stevie called his order to the barman and stood watching this guy wondering why someone would pay so much money to come on a cruise to be sad, suddenly the man looked up at him.
"Dude" the guy smiled at him "Evans right?"
"Yeah" Stevie looked at him, trying to place his face.
"Matt, Matt Rutherford, Sam's friend from school, I was at the twins christening"
"Sure" Stevie's mind doing double time trying to remember why he hated this guy "You're married to that Brittany Girl, Finn's Dad?"
"Yeah" Matt smiled at him "Well nearly divorced" he shrugged his shoulder.
"Sorry to hear that" Stevie looked at Kate for help.
"Where is Sam, I've been looking out for him since I got on the ship, it's freaking big" he looked up at it.
"We haven't found them yet" Kate butted in "But we'll let you know when we do, what deck are you guys on?"
"Deck two, 2392".
"If we see them we'll let them know" Kate told him, watching Stevie get their drinks "We're going to mingle, see you later" she grabbed her drink off Stevie, turned and walked away, Stevie in tow "I hate men like him" she hissed, Stevie left that there, that wasn't his story to tag onto. They walked into the crowd, Kate making a bid deal of dancing along to smooth old school soul beats playing on the sound system, they spent the night socialising, dancing, and drinking until the DJ called time.
The VIP Party
Sam and Mercy walked into the sparse room "Maybe we're a bit early" Sam searched the room for the bar and went towards it.
"Find yourselves a booth and we'll bring everything over to you Sir" a waitress intercepted them, her hand guiding them through another door. They followed her through the door into the well populated room, the music wasn't too loud, but people were nodding along to it, everyone seated the small dancefloor empty.
"This is more like it" Sam laughed rubbing his hands together, they weren't strangers to a good party.
"Just don't go leaving me alone to talk music" they stopped at the table the waitress showed them "Thank you" Mercy smiled at her, sitting in the booth while Sam ordered their drinks.
"There's live music later Sir, Madam" the waitress looked at them before wondering off to get their drinks, returning a short while later with their order.
"Just keep them coming" Sam smiled at her, holding the drink up.
They were in a good spot they could see the dancefloor, all the other booths except the one's either side of them, the door, and the sound system. Bob Marley seemed to be the theme of the night, and that was fine by everyone in the room catching vibes with every song, the man had made music some 45 years ago, but ironically it was still resonating today. They met a few artists that were performing over the weekend, but most of them were just there for the occasion, unable to mix with the crowds and still wanting to have a good time.
At around 10:00 the mood shifted, the music got louder, people started to get on the dance floor and Bob Marley was exchanged for a visit down Reggae history as they played classic tunes from the likes of Toots and the Maytals, Rhythms by Sly Dunbar, and other artists of that time, if you weren't familiar with the songs there was definitely appreciation for the music of that time.
Eventually the mood changed again as Skip Marley and H.E.R. took the stage to start their party moving with their rendition of 'Slow Down' by Skip Marley & H.E.R. They were on stage for half an hour entertaining before the DJ took the night back. They'd had more than enough to drink by this time, they were in the mood to get up and have a dance, smiling as a familiar song blasted at them "One of Dad's songs" Sam jumped up grabbing her hand, 'Mellow Mood' by Bob Marley playing, it didn't sound like much on his old stereo, but hearing it blast out of a set of thousand watt speakers gave it a vibe, they swayed and talked about erotic things to come. The cocktails, and their thoughts leaving them in the mood for bed, they left their unfinished cocktails behind to find their cabin, it had been a long day.
Saturday
The morning found them in bed, naked, legs wrapped up in each other, in a state of total relax, the nyabinghi drums tapping out their morning song, "Then there's us" he pulled her into him, ready to take the morning for themselves, they were shaken by the knock on the door "Shit" he hissed "I miss being at home" he rolled his eyes and sat up in the bed.
"It's Amazing, she's come for that chat" Mercy mumbled "I'll get it, we'll go for a coffee, stay in bed" she kissed him "I'll be back" she grabbed her joggers, a top and went to open the door "Let's go get a coffee, Sam's still sleeping" she told her sister. They walked to the coffee shop halfway up the deck, found a seat and waited for service "Two Latte's please" she smiled at the waitress, they sat talking about their night until the drinks arrived,
"That welcome party was a bit naff, it finished at two for us to set sail" Grace told her.
"The VIP was alright, a bit Bob Marley but alright" Mercy informed her, thinking ore about the after party than the actual party.
"Yeah we headed up there afterwards, it was alright, but there were bitches laying around the place, we left".
Seriously?" Mercy asked shocked "That wasn't the vibe when we left".
"Because Spencer told you to leave early" Grace giggled.
"So" Mercy took a sip of her drink before giving Amazing her full attention "Yucky love stuff?"
"Yeah" Grace giggled "Spencer".
"He doesn't look like a Spencer, what's his real name" Mercy laughed.
"It's Garfield, but don't tell him I told you that" she laughed "We've been seeing each other for about six months now, he's cute, kind, romantic, seems genuine and I'm totally into him" she looked at her sister for signed of caution, seeing none she carried on "I think I want things to happen for us, he's alright with a long distance relationship, he's financially secure so he could come to America any time he wants, we just think it would work and…"
"So, I'm guessing you really like him?" Mercy slowed her down.
"You guess right" she giggled "And we're only having this conversation because I said I would, this isn't about getting any sort of permission or anything, you're my big sis and I just wanted you to be the first to know this about me".
"It was never about permission for me either, I have two short words of wisdom" she laughed. "So" she counted her fingers as she spoke "If you love him and he makes you feel like the only girl in the world for him, I'm okay with that" she tapped another finger "I love that you've found that in another person and, I hope you guys are as happy as Sam and I are" she hugged her "Now drink your coffee, I left my man in bed for this" she pointed at Grace's cup.
"That was it?" Grace picked her cup up happy this wasn't an interrogation.
"That was it, but, any problems, I'm there" she waved her finger at the girl "Where is he?"
"Playing one of the drums you can hear".
"I guess he drinks coconut milk, swims, and has roast breadfruit for breakfast every morning too?" Mercy laughed.
"All that, and from today just a bit more" Grace giggled "I'll see you later, maybe not for breakfast" Grace laughed, "Happy Anniversary" she kissed her cheek, leaving the hot drink near full to go find her man.
Mercy sat watching her sister walk across the deck towards the escalators, smiling, she was a grown woman now about to take on the next level of her serious relationship and all she could think about was the first time six year old Grace had set eyes on Sam, she was instantly in love with the man.
Flashback
She'd been with Sam for just over two years, minus the breakup, they were planning on getting married because she felt they needed more commitment and of course the first thing she thought about was him meeting her parents. They had words about her meeting his parent, which he was dead set against, so she was basically proving a point when she insisted they drive down to Carson City for the weekend.
The drive down was noisy but got quieter with every mile they got nearer to her family home, finally he asked the question she knew was on the tip of his tongue since she'd mentioned her parents "Do they know I'm white?"
"Babe, do you know you're white?" Mercy looked at him smiling.
"Of course, I do" he laughed "That wasn't the question".
"But it was the answer; if you see that, they will" she smiled rubbing his hand "And if they ask, we'll let them know you are indeed white" she grabbed his hand "Whatever happens, we're walking out of there together, and we're getting married" watching him kiss the back of her hand.
The family knew they were coming, she'd talked about him forever; so, they were all on hot bricks, as the ride got closer to home she sat asking herself the same question Sam had asked and for the life of her she couldn't remember ever talking about his colour. Finally, they were on her street, all the houses looked the same, people out going about their business, cars on the drives, push bikes on the lawns, a dog tied to a pole barking from across the street, there was nothing fancy about the scene, it was homely.
"This is it" Mercy smiled at him "Pull onto the drive" he followed orders, she sat watching him fluffing his hair, flattening it, and rubbing his sweaty hands down his trousers "Ready?" she asked.
"As I'll ever be" he jumped out the car, walked around the car to grab her hand, the shiver vibrating enough for her to feel it.
"Hey" she looked into his eyes "Then there's you" she squeezed his hand, smiling.
"And you" he smiled, making their way to the door, she felt him relax on her hand, and knocked the door, truth be told, she had her hand on her heart at that moment, stood hoping no, praying her family didn't fuck up.
"Baby girl" her Dad came to the door his arms open; she knew why, it had been nearly two years since they'd seen her in the flesh, she fell into his familiar arms, knowing it wasn't because of him why she'd always felt like the odd child.
"Daddy" she pulled out of his arms aware Sam was waiting "This is…"
"Sam, yes" her Dad hugged him too "I hear she's making an honest man out of you, welcome to the family" he pulled him inside leaving Mercy standing at the door, he was right, if she was actually waiting for an invite to walk into her own house, that was going to be a cold day in hell. "Andrea" he called through the house, bringing a smile to Mercy's face when her Mom appeared.
"Sweetheart" Andrea dived towards her daughter and they seemed to hug for the longest time.
"And this is Sam" her Dad stood next to him announcing her fiancé as if he'd known him forever.
"Sam" Andrea hugged him "Welcome to our family".
"Thank you Mr and Mrs…"
"Hush" Andrea stopped him from being so formal "We're practically family, it's Mom and Dad" she hugged him again.
They'd got there quite late that night, and after a long welcome, went to bed, they were embarrassed the next morning when her Mom heard them having their way in her bedroom, but they braved it out anyway.
"Where's Lee and Amazing?" Mercy asked looking around for her siblings.
"Leon's finishing some game, he's actually got me roped into, and I don't think Grace is your friend right now, she say's you've found someone you love more than her, she can't understand why you're not marrying her" Andrea laughed.
By early evening Grace still hadn't made an appearance and Mercy was getting worried, Sam was overwhelmed with the family of it all and went to sit out on the patio, taking some time to reflect on the love.
"Hey" he smiled at the little face that popped around the door, glaring at him "You must be Amazing?"
"How do you know my name?" she asked stepping outside
"Because Mercy told me she had this amazing sister, who I was going to get to be a part of my family, and when I met her I'd know because she's amazing" he smiled "And I think you're amazing".
"So" she walked up to him trying not to smile for the compliment, but it was clear she had a question "So she got you to marry all of us?"
"Of course, she said it wasn't happening unless I married all of you, that's why I'm here, to get to know you all".
"So, you're going to be my boyfriend too" Grace stepped closer to him, Mercy stood in the bedroom listening to the two of them, smiling, they were going to get on, and maybe Grace would come out for dinner. She was about ten years old when she finally got the whole married to only Mercy thing, but by then she was too in love with Sam to care, and he made sure she was the centre of his attention when she needed to be.
She remembered Sam came out of that house feeling like he'd conquered the world, he was super hyped about actually having a family again, driving Mercy almost to the point of jealousy, but she soon realised how important their acceptance was for him, he knew they'd never get it fully from a significant person on his side of family.
End of Flashback
"Sam" she jumped up to go attend to her husband on their day, sneaking back into the room, aware he'd gone back to sleep. She pulled her clothes back off and climbed into bed. "I thought you were sleeping" she turned to look at him, feeling him hard against her back.
"No way" he pulled her into him "Just laying here daydreaming about being inside you" his kissed her neck while his hand wondered down her body, grabbing her breast "Many presents today, Mrs Evans" he pulled her to sit on him, her back to his chest, entering her without asking, his rhythm forcing her to move with him.
"It surprises me the power you have when you want sex" she giggled at him bouncing her off him and pulled her back in at the same time harder each time.
"Happy I still surprise you" his hand drew a line down her back before grabbing hold of her hip again, the room full of their noise for a while as they moved in unison "Wait for me" he hissed feeling her closing around him "Babe" he gasped as she clenched like a vice around him, her shuddering body allowing him to let everything go.
"That's a good start" she turned smiling at him.
"I plan on making this the perfect day" he laughed slapping her naked butt "Breakfast".
"I thought we could stay here".
"We are staying here" he sat up and kissed her neck "I ordered a special breakfast" he smiled "I know, I think of everything".
"You are everything".
"How corny" he laughed "Come on, it's going to be here in a bit, let's get cleaned up" he lifted her off him and got up before pulling her with him "Let me surprise you some more" he laughed "I think that's my word now, surprise". Half an hour later they were sat in robes waiting for their breakfast to arrive, there was no one in the world accept them as they ate through the many favourites he'd had served up.
"You wanted to talk to me about something?" Mercy lay on the bed after receiving her fourth present for the day.
"I seriously chose the wrong day for this, but you know us" he rolled his eyes and swung his legs off the bed.
"Looks serious" she sat up, wrapping her legs and arms around him "Nothing could spoil today".
"This shit is going to have a damn good try", he turned to look at her, "Let me see your face" he grabbed her arm as she moved to sit next to him.
"Feels serious" she moved as he'd requested "Did you do something that I'm going to be mad about?"
"No, at least I don't think so, but I'd just feel better with you knowing this" he looked into her eyes.
"So" she looked back at him, half expecting to hear what she already knew but unsure, that ache in her tummy had settled a bit, but anything could happen.
"As you know last night I went out with Matt and Mike, I honestly didn't know that Matt was like this", he held his hand up.
"He made a pass at you?" she played with him, he looked hell of a nervous.
"No" he huffed "Listen" he grabbed her hand and held her eyes again "He's a swinger, they both are, Brittany and him, apparently their marriage is on the rocks, and last night" he paused "We smoked a sheet".
"Sam" she moaned disappointed, she wasn't against him smoking when he wanted to, but they both knew what the tabloids could do with that shit if they snapped it, he held his hand up before she could carry on.
"Yeah I know, but we were having a lads night, and we were in VIP, or so I thought, till Mike and I conked out, I really don't know how long we were out for, but when we woke up to these bitches were all over us, but nothing happened, we were in the club".
"Nothing?"
"Absolutely nothing, I mean as soon as we found out what was happening, we got the fuck out of there".
"I thought Matt was your friend?"
"He's supposed to be, but people change I guess" he smiled "And that's part of the reason I really don't want to see Matt this trip" he looked at her "I thought you'd think it odd with him being around".
"Not seeing him is fine with me" she smiled
"He's not the guy I thought he was, we really don't need to be associated with him".
"Fair enough" she leaned in and kissed him, he really hadn't told her anything she didn't already know except the swinger thing, and she really wasn't surprised.
"We need to get dressed for Leon's first show in a couple of hours".
"I know" she smiled.
"And you need to get some more white clothes for tonight".
"You remembered" she grinned.
"Don't ever accuse me of not listening" he laughed.
"You not listen?" she giggled,
"One more surprise" he kissed her giggling as they fell back onto the bed, rushing forty five minutes later to get to the Star Lounge.
"Don't forget to bring your gold card, I've got some surprises for you too" she jumped at him slapping her butt on the way out, they did their shopping before heading off to the show.