Bust the Windows?
To avoid it, all you have to do is be honest, be faithful.
"My turn" Quinn giggled, the three women sat in the hot tub on Mercy's patio taking in the evening air.
They'd finally afforded the girls night they'd been promising themselves for over two years, they didn't see each other often, but when they did they tended to cram everything into the time they got together, and always by the end of the visit they were lifelong friends again
Quinn had been married to Puck for four years, they living in England, he was in construction and doing quite well having just managed to bag himself a £22m contract with a large borough just outside London, the contract was going to take the best part of five years to complete which meant for now they were financially stable. Quinn had been modelling for six years and was well sort after, but of late it wasn't rocking her boat, she was unhappy in her job for a while before finally having the conversation with Puck, smiling when he agreed they were ready to start their family. She didn't need much more encouragement she walked into work the morning she'd vomited in the bathroom and announced her intentions to stop for a while and walked out without a care in the world. Puck had been all hearts and kisses at the news of their pending new addition to their family, three weeks in he was still celebrating, she'd announced she needed to go see her friends, he hadn't been too sure about her making the trip, but she felt if she waited any longer she'd have to postpone for another two years, so she got her way.
"No" Rachel snapped "It's my turn to be first"
"It's been like three years since we've sat in the same room, how can you even remember who's turn it is?" Mercy rolled her eyes
"Silly question" Quinn smirked
Rachel was engaged to Brody their relationship had been a tumultuous one, there'd been infidelity on both sides from the start and that had caused no end of problems for them but somehow they kept falling back into things, whatever they were doing was working for them. Rachel was doing a show six nights a week on Broadway, there was never a time when she wasn't working, she had the knack of jumping just when the show was a raging success and therefore keeping herself in demand. Brody was an actor, he hadn't had as much success as her, and for that with every argument she reminded him of the fact, he'd started sleeping around to in response to her outlandish behaviour, she was so public about her life everyone knew from the first date they were together, so he'd tried to shame her into submission. Unfortunately for him that hadn't worked, he was mortified when she upped game and got better at it than he was, that had gone on for a while.
Nevertheless, after all that upheaval Rachel and Brody had finally set the date for their wedding, it had already been a five year relationship hampered by performances, relationship breakdowns and of course infidelities, but they were as tight as a drum now and had been for the past year. He'd finally decided to throw in the towel on his promiscuous life and commit, she was over the moon, because he was truly the love of her life, and now he was ready, she was up for making plans. The first thing she'd done was called and asked Mercedes and Quinn to be her bridesmaids and of course that was happening, this was the first chance they'd had to meet up since then so there was much to tell.
"Absolutely silly question" Mercy laughed "You never change do you?" she looked at Rachel
"If it works and all that" she flicked her hair back with a pose before laughing at herself
"You're such a child Berry" Quinn laughed
"That's why my girls love me" she snapped
Mercedes was in a two year relationship with Shane, he was the nicest guy you'd ever want to know Mercedes had been with some real stinkers in the past and learned the hard way that beauty wasn't always about just what was on the outside of anyone. Shane was mediocre in the looks department, but his street cred was way past credible, he was in the music business and at first the attraction was that she'd always wanted to sing, that fact that he was impressed when he walked into to find her singing in his studio, was encouraging. At first glance one could have said he was a rough type, gangster like even, but once you got to know him, he was gentle, kind, loving and she loved the way he demanded respect for her from everyone when she was in their presence, and that made her feel important to him. To put the cream on top of that cake of hers, his tongue could send her to heaven, and as we know, good sex is eighty percent of any relationship
The couple had made plans to go to Miami for the weekend, that had happened a week ago, they'd had the best of times, Shane was promoting someone called Polo G who he'd invested heavily in, Mercedes loved the life Shane gave her. The late night parties, booty calls in the most unexpected places, making it all the more exciting, just being around all the artists and getting the opportunity to be a part of creating hits was all she'd ever dreamed of. Her night life was in total contrast to her day life, she was a blue collar worker, sat in the office setting up viewings, taking clients to view properties and closing sales for commission, it was paying the bills and keeping her family happy
It had been a while since the three women had got together, amidst Mercy's full time job and her part time singing career, Rachels very full theatre life and Quinn's demanding modelling career and quest to become a mother, the opportunity had never presented itself until now. They'd finally met up tonight, and instead of hitting the town like they'd planned on doing, they were having a damn good try at one upping each other on the relationship front, things never changed.
"Fire your question" Mercy ordered
Rachel didn't hesitate she looked from one to the other, her head finally stopping at Quinn "Quinn, when are you two going to just stop fucking and try for a baby?".
"There's no need to try anymore" Quinn looked from one to the other smiling.
"Q" Mercedes gasped holding her arms open "Congratulations".
"It's about time" Rachel laughed "I noticed you haven't been drinking all evening".
"I'm not drinking because I don't drink, not because I'm pregnant".
"When did that happen?" Mercy asked, they were renowned for binge drinking on occasion
"A while ago, Puck and I thought it was getting a bit out of hand for us, so we stopped, no big deal"
"I'm glad you recognised that problem" Mercy frowned "And I'm happy you finally got your baby bump" she touched her none-existent bump
"Me too actually" Rachel hugged her friends "Godparents of course?"
"Course" Quinn laughed before she looked at Rachel again "How did you feel when Brody fucked out on you?" she asked her friend
"Which time?" Mercedes asked for clarification.
"Ouch" Quinn giggled "Fierce".
"Well, she asked a sex question" Mercedes reminded them.
"Okay" she looked up at the night sky thinking "Sounds all wrong but I guess my actual jealous came out when he did it that first time with that Vicky girl, I walked in on them remember" she looked at her friends "And, I'm not going to lie it hurt, felt like the end for us".
"So, what pulled you back?" Quinn asked, "I'm not sure Puck and I could come back from some shit like that".
"Maybe because he wasn't the first one to actually get caught in such a compromising position" she giggled.
"Seriously?" Mercedes gasped "You've been caught doing the nasty?"
"Girl do you still have issues?" Rachel looked at her.
"Who were you fucking?" Mercedes snapped.
"Finally, an adult conversation with my girl" Rachel laughed.
"Fuck you Berry" she giggled.
"So, my sin" Rachel took a sip of her wine "Remember when I was doing that Annie play in Brooklyn?"
"That was years ago" Quinn Gasped
"Well I was infatuated with this guy on set" she giggled at the memory "His eyes drew me in, we were fatally attracted, and I think to this day, I would have done myself an injustice if I hadn't taken that chance, regardless of the consequences".
"That good?" Quinn wiggled her eyebrows impressed.
"That good" Rachel confirmed "I mean have you ever had that rip your clothes off and give it away feeling you see on TV?"
"A few times" Mercedes giggled "But it never quite plays out" disappointment in her tone.
"Not bragging or anything" Quinn covered her eyes "But, it's been played out for me, especially since we've been trying for a family".
"We know that's all going to go flat in a month or so, don't we?" Mercedes told her.
"Enjoying that bubble bursting?" Quinn enquired.
"Absolutely" Mercedes giggled.
"So anyway, long story short, Brody surprised me before the show, walked right in on us and well, the games began" Rachel concluded "We've done some terrible things to each other"
"And still here you are sitting with your two bridesmaids in a freaking hot tub" Mercy snapped laughed "Cheers" she held her glass in the middle of them
"So, your question" Quinn looked at Mercedes with a smirk on her face "This one is going to hurt"
"Bring it on" Mercedes took another sip of her wine and sat waiting.
"Let me" Rachel butted in "I know we said we wouldn't and yes this might have the timing all wrong but…" she looked at Quinn "Earlier when we arrived you'd been crying hadn't you?" she looked at Quinn for confirmation of delivery "I know you said it was nothing, but I know you, what was that about, has something happened?"
"Mercedes" Quinn gasped "You know what this circle is?"
"I really don't want to talk about it" Mercedes took another quick sip of her drink, reaching for the bottle to refill.
"Girl we're here for you, we've come all this way because this right here is important, to all of us, if you can't tell us" Quinn looked at Rachel "I'm… offended".
"It's not that I don't want to tell you, it's just too raw to talk about right now".
"We'll be gone tomorrow" Rachel reminded her.
"This is your last chance for… we don't even know how long" they sat watching Mercedes contemplate.
"Okay" she rubbed her hands together, pressed her hair down and settled in to tell her story "Shane and I well you know how I feel about Shane" she rolled her eyes "Well, he agreed to finally put one of my songs on a track he's working on, it's taken nearly two years and it's what I really want, I mean we all know real estate isn't it or me" she looked at her nodding friends.
"That's great news isn't it?" Rachel asked.
"Finally, you're getting what you always wanted and your scared, that's understandable" Quinn squeezed her hand.
"Yeah, it was all so romantic, I thought he was going to propose that evening, but I think I actually felt happier for getting the deal" she giggled nervously "So I was a work all day thinking about you guys coming over sharing the news and maybe spending tomorrow morning sound testing to get your input, you know that's important to me".
"We know" Rachel grabbed her other hand "Did he cancel?"
"No" Mercedes frowned "But I think I'm going to".
"You can't, it's your dream" Quinn reminded her.
"With your dream man" Rachel giggled.
"It was" Mercedes looked from one to the other "I was super excited for the recording, my last viewing of the day cancelled, so I decided to throw caution to the wind and make my own way across town to the studio instead of waiting for Shane to collect me" she wiped a straying tear struggling to admit the next sentence was really her life.
"Diva, it's fine" Quinn rubbed her hand.
"I got to the studio about to push the door open and for some reason I looked through the glass, he was sitting there stretched across the couch with some bitch sucking in his fucking dick, like her life depended on it" she sobbed "I don't know how many times that bastard has done that behind my damn back or even who knows, I feel like he's been using me all this time".
"So, what did he say when he saw you?" Quinn asked
"I don't think he did" she sniffed.
"What are you going to do?" Quinn's voice feeling the pain for her friend
"He's probably been calling all day, my phones off, and I'm still thinking about what to actually do about it, I mean this could mean me losing my record deal".
"Dilemma" Rachel laughed "Back in the day you'd say something like, him do that to me, hell no" she waved her hand in the air clicking her fingers.
"Back in the day I wouldn't have been contemplating revenge" Mercedes laughed "But he needs to know not to fuck with me".
"With us" Quinn told her.
"With us" Mercedes corrected herself.
"I want to go over there now" Rachel stood up telling her.
"It's not fair I'm pregnant" Quinn stood up protesting.
"Make the call" Rachel instructed Mercedes "We'll deal with this tonight" getting out of the hot tub.
"How?" Mercedes enquired, standing up too.
"Girl you're talking to a woman who's had to tame more than one man in her lifetime, I have ways" Rachel snapped "Just get one of those I love you, but I hate you, songs you're really good at delivering, ready".
"I'll think of something" Mercedes jumped out of the tub, helped Quinn out conscious of her bump, before grabbing her phone to finally make the call to Shane.
"Where have you been girl?" his voice as happy as it usually was.
"I wasn't feeling well" she lied "I want to come down now if that's alright, I can make my own way I'm with friends" she stood watching them drying off.
"Friends?" he asked.
"Yes, I've spoken about Rachel and Quinn before" she looked at her friends now stood listening to the conversation "Maybe they could do some backing on my song".
"If they're really as good as you say maybe they could" he laughed "How long till you get here?"
"An hour tops" she told him "See you then" she clipped the phone off before he could ask her to say something she didn't mean.
They quickly washed up and got dressed ready for this dish they were sure was better served cold, on their way there Rachel outlined the plan of action, tweaked by Quinn, who could always be depended on to be the level headed one of the trio, and fifty minutes later they were sat outside the studio, boosting themselves up for a performance this Shane guy was never going to forget
The Studio
"Hi" Mercedes walked in smiling at everyone knowing full well they were all in on Shane's fucked up behaviour.
"Babe" he jumped up, seeming genuinely with his actions.
"We're just going to jump in and start, the girls are on a clock" Mercedes took his hug and made for the booth she really didn't have time to stretch this damn game of his out
"Hi, I'm Rachel" the woman smiled hugging the man to the surprise of Mercedes, that wasn't in the script they'd agreed
"And I'm Quinn" Quinn jumped in before Shane could catch his breath from Rachel's greeting
"Pleased to meet you both" he looked from one to the other before looking back at Mercedes "The booth's ready" he pointed to the empty space, watching Mercedes lead them in. They were all familiar with that type of environment and found their way around things easily
"Ready" Mercedes called over the mic, some five minutes later, waving at Shane to start recording "We thought we'd do a practice run first" she smiled at him before she started belting out an acapella of 'Somebody Else's Guy' by Jocelyn Brown
Mercedes (with Rachel & Quinn):
I can't get off my high horse, and I can't let you go, you are the one who, you are the one who makes me feel, so real, yeah, yeah, yeah
Oh, what am I supposed to do, oh, what am I supposed to do, baby, when I'm so hooked up on you
Then I realize, oh, I realize, that you are somebody else's guy, oh yeah, why you want to do this to me boy
(Oh, oh, somebody else's guy)
"Woo" Shane laughed bringing in the music on demand
Mercedes stood with her friends either side of her, singing this song that was saying everything she was feeling right now, as much as she tried her eyes wouldn't leave his, she was raging inside.
Can you remember the times we've spent together, sharing the days in the sun
But then I found out that you were somebody else's love, after all our plans we've made, now they're shattered
But still I (oh) can't get off my high horse(oh), I can't let go,(oh) you are the one (oh) who makes me feel so real (oh)
Ooh, what am I supposed to do (oh) when I'm so hooked on you, and then I realized that you're (somebody else's guy)… That..
Shane was dancing away at the old school song being jazzed up a bit until her noticed the look on his girl's face, something else was going on here she was angry, he could see tears forming in her eyes, this wasn't even a sad song "Hey" he yelled, looking around the room while stopping the music "What's going on?" he looked into Mercedes watery eyes "What's happened?"
"You happened Shane" she hissed at him.
"Everyone out" he told the people stood around listening, whatever was happening for her right now wasn't for an audience. He stood watching everyone disappear "You two" he looked at Rachel and Quinn "Out" he ordered, they got the okay from Mercedes before leaving. "Babe" he walked towards her "What's the matter?"
"I came here earlier today Shane" she snapped moving her hands out of his reach.
"When?"
"When you had some bitch sitting in front of you on that damn couch sucking at your dick" she looked into his eyes, hissing her last few words.
"Babe" his nervous smile appeared "That was nothing, I wouldn't fuck her, you know me, I'm all yours".
"Is that a fucking joke?" she huffed at him "You're all mine until some bitch wants a piece of you?"
"Honestly, babe, she was nobody, I don't feel anything for her, it's you I lo" his words stopped at her slapping him hard across his face.
"Shane" she held her hands up at him, unsure whether she was saying sorry or stop "Please, don't get me fucking mad".
"I'm sorry if you didn't understand the boundaries of this relationship, but…"
"What?" she gasped stepping back, he was a giant compared to her, but she could see herself doing some serious fucking damage to this guy. She stood trying to remember when they'd had that conversation, and if they had what the fuck was she doing still sat around waiting for the damn man. He was still talking, she was all up in her drama her head was about to flip that lid she didn't like to let go of, this man was making all this mess her fault "Plan B" she waved her hand at him.
"Plan B?" he stepped back wondering what she was on about.
"Plan fucking B" she stepped off towards the exit "I don't want this, I don't agree to your damn terms, I'm out".
"Babe" he followed her out "Can't we talk about this?"
"We talked, I didn't like what I heard, we're done".
"Mercedes" he grabbed her arm, they both stood looking at his grip for a second before he let her go "I'll give you some time to calm down, I'll call you in a few days" he suggested.
"Don't call Shane" she turned and walked out.
"What did he say?" Quinn was quick to ask, rushing towards her, looking up at Shane following her out
"Babe" he stood looking at her walking away "I'll call"
"He's still fucking walking" Rachel gasped in surprise "What did you just kiss and make up?"
"No" Mercedes snapped at her still upset
"So, what did he say?" Quinn asked again
"The usual, it didn't mean anything, he'll call me when I've calmed down blur, blur, blur" she rolled her eyes, and wiped her wet face.
"You know what I'm thinking?" Rachel looked at the car parked in the private spot "Is that his?" she jerked her chin in its direction
"Yeah" Mercedes smiled "It is" her eyes widened at the thought "He loves his car" her eyes widened more.
"Just say the word" Quinn picked a brick up teasingly.
"I…" Mercedes picked two bricks up and gave Rachel one "Word" she screamed to the three bricks flying at the car.
"Babe" Shane went running towards her, understanding her intentions, but it was too late, it happened so fast all he could do was stand and listen to the sound of his alarm blasting out into the night "Babe, what are you doing?" his voice full of upset.
"Honestly babe, it didn't mean anything, I felt nothing for it, it's me I love, bye … babe" she smiled, grabbing the end of her pony to fling it off her chest, before turning with attitude to link her girls arms and walk away.
"Girl" Quinn high fived her
"I'm in the mood, where's he's apartment?" Rachel asked laughing
"Look what you made me do" Mercedes turned to look at the damaged car
"He can afford it" Quinn looked back at the guy rubbing his bold head