Standard Disclaimer: None of this story belongs to me especially this impromptu ending. I will try my best to develop a good epilogue when I am finally free for an extended break. My body and mind are still not ready for post pandemic living and working from home last Spring and Summer spoilt me rotten. Every day is a battle to return to the grind. Hopefully this break has not spoiled me. But I am grateful to be healthy and have a career. So, I will try not complaining. You who read what I write or rewrite are AMAZING. I am so thankful for the Samcedes fanfiction family and community that I have gotten to be a part of for over a decade.

Chapter Seven

One Week Later…

I stood nervously on the steps of the apartment building. This was a nice area in a quiet, expensive neighborhood.

Nice and quiet. Those were words I would have associated with Mercedes, and our vacation, until I really got to know her. There were two sides to her.

Nice and quiet was only one side.

Compassionate and sexy, that was the other.

I am sure she was even more sexier than I could dream of knowing and I probably would have known just how sexy she was if Tina hadn't pulled the brakes on us. She wanted to preserve her best friend from going too far too fast in a situation that wasn't going anywhere.

I was fully behind her in that aspect, because I didn't see anything happening with us.

Until that last day when we were on the plane and I couldn't imagine not seeing her again.

Katherine's cheating and secret lifestyle crushed me. I thought I loved that girl enough to marry her and be the mother of my future children. But the truth is, you can't lose anything that was never yours. One week with Mercedes, and I realized, Katherine was never mine to begin with. She was able to be secretive and manipulative and deceitful because I never truly cared to know all about her. I never went to see her just because I missed her. I was delighted when she moved to NYC. I was never begging her to visit me, and she was never begging me to visit her. Hindsight allowed me to see what was in front of my face the whole time. We were not into each other. We just played the roles that we thought we were supposed to play. What had hurt me the most was that I couldn't see what was in my face that I couldn't trust my instincts. I realized that I had been in denial and only wanted to please everybody without realizing how I was hurting Katherine and even myself in allowing the charade of our relationship to continue. Post pandemic I knew me more than I knew myself before. I know that I wasn't that type of person any more. I know how important it is to take care of your total self, and I loved me too much now to ever be taken advantage of in that way again.

And just like that, my heart was set completely free.

I am not being conceited when I say that there are other women who would have loved to have taken that vacation with me. Women who like I in the past are blinded by things that don't matter in the long term. This vacation would have been good if I had went with any of them but not life changing because none of them would have given this trip the impact Mercedes had.

She had the same interests that I had, the wit, the charm, the sex appeal, and the wanton purity I never knew I needed, until she walked into my life and taught me how to truly know someone.

Beauty was skin deep on looks alone. But the connection we made at several points during the vacation indicated timeless beauty was soul-deep.

I thought that she would be angry with me on our last morning in Cancun. But even though she was hung over, she thanked me and told me something unexpected.

"We owe it to ourselves to not tarnish the beauty of a great friendship that happened while we were on vacation. Let's just still enjoy every second until we return back to the grind, Sam."

The flight home was just as fun, and I thought it would have been awkward but because we had talked things over the morning after as I tended for Mercedes who was quite hungover. Mercedes and I were satisfied, tired, and completely in sync with taking sleep pills to avoid our anxiety (and Tina's glares). When we parted ways at the airport, I kissed her at the Lyft driver's car and thanked her for such a wonderful time.

It was an incredible vacation. She was incredible.

So incredible that I couldn't leave her - or our potential - behind in Cancun. We were meant for more than just those deliciously sentimental memories.

So here I was on the front steps of her place, knocking loudly on a Friday morning, praying she was up to answer.

Someone peeked through the door before it opened.

There she stood, barefoot in that gorgeous purple polish, eyes wide with shock as she registered my presence.

"Sam? Hi, what are you doing here?"

My eyes trailed down the plain tank and yoga pants she wore. Her hair was up in a ponytail, and her beautiful brown skin was glowing. Her eyes and her essence captured me and it took a while before I could even speak.

"I came because in the words of Toni Braxton, it's been seven whole days, and not a word from you. But unlike the song, I am here because I can't take not seeing your face, hearing your voice, and just I know this might sound stalkerish, smelling your smell…" I paused, pushing the flowers and box of candy toward her. "I wanted to give you this."

"Oh Sam, thank you; these are thoughtful and beautiful!" She inhaled them, her eyes rolling from the freshness in the fragrance and then opening up the box to reveal her favorite hazelnut, almond, and pistachio chocolate covered candies.

I didn't want her to thank me. I didn't want her gratitude. I just needed her to hear me out to give me a chance of deepening our relationship in the so called real world.

"Mercedes, I came because those days we shared weren't enough for me. From the moment we connected at the airport, it was explosive mentally, physically, intellectually, and spiritually. And I want more… I need to know if you want more, too."

Mercedes's brown eyes were almost unreadable, save for the small sparkle in them. We were on the same page, but she wasn't sure. "But Sam, you've only been single a few weeks. Are you even ready for more than a vacation… fling?"

She said the word with a small flinch, as if it hurt to downgrade the experience.

"I know real love, passion, and happiness when I feel it." I stepped closer, closing my eyes to inhale her sweet skin. "I know it when I smell it, hear it, see… and taste it, too."

"Oh, Sam, do you really mean it. Are you ready for a relationship based on friendship, trust, love, and respect?"

"I am more than ready. I am willing to do whatever it takes to win your heart and make and keep you happy." She launched herself in my arms and began kissing me so hard and passionately. I couldn't help but feel overjoyed.

This was my lady. This would be my woman. One day if the good Lord was willing, she would be my wife.

But for now I was content with us deepening our friendship and dating to see if we were as compatible with each other on our vacation as we would have to be in our day to day lives. An ER residency wouldn't be easy and Mercedes teaching while attending graduate school wouldn't be easy either, but if you wanted someone enough, then you would find a way to be each other. It was not the quantity of the time but the quality of it.

I was so grateful that Mercedes was going to give us a chance to see if we could be a couple who were willing to fight for a chance at happiness.

The Temporary End