I'm not sure if everyone is tired of all the flashbacks, but they will end soon (last ones are in chapter 15).

I do not own Glee or its characters.

Sunday September 13th

The next morning, I am back at her door. Her car is in the driveway, so I hope that means she is here. "Mercy, please talk to me. I am not going to just go away, what we have is worth fighting for. Don't you agree with me?" I put my ear to the door and listen for movement on the other side. "Please baby." After a few moments, I move away from the door and lean my forehead against it. "I'm going to go now, but I will be back. I am going to fix what ever has happened that caused you to pull away from me, I promise baby. Just…baby, please talk to me." I lift my forehead off the door and place my hand against it. "I miss you." I turn and walk to my car, defeated once again. I didn't hear any movement from the other side of the door, so I have a feeling she's not even here.

I start my car and then pull away from the curb. I arrive at the end of her subdivision and a delivery truck catches my eye, instantly giving me an idea. As I am driving back to my apartment, I think back to that day during our time in Florida, when I found out her favorite flower.

**********FLASHBACK Thursday June 11th Continued**********

"Have you eaten already?"

"Yes, I ate before I came back down here. Have you eaten?"

"Yes, I ordered room service while I was waiting for you to come back."

"Well, what do you want to do for the rest of the day?

"I-" A knock sounds on the door interrupting me. "Expecting someone?"

"No. It's probably my ex."

She goes to answer the door as I sit up on the edge of the bed. "Hey Merce. We're going back down to the pool. Wanna join us?"

"Maybe. Come in for a minute." I stand and adjust my clothing. "Spencer, this is Sam. Sam this is my ex-husband Spencer."

The first thing I notice is his eyes. Crystal blue. He stands almost as tall as I am, and his upper body makes me feel like I need to cancel all plans and immediately hit the gym. He is already dressed in his knee length swim trunks and a black tank that shows off the tribal band tattoo circling his left arm. His head is bald, and he has a diamond stud earring in his right ear. I extend my hand to shake his. "Good to meet you."

He takes my hand, smiles and shakes it. "Likewise." Firm handshake, good grasp and then he pats me on the back. My dad always said you can tell a lot about a man by the way he shakes your hand.

She turns her attention to me. "They're going down to the pool again. Do you want to join them?"

I nod. "Sure, if that's what you want to do."

Then she turns her attention to him. "OK Spence, we will get changed into our suits and be down there in a few."

"Sounds like a plan. See you two down there." He kisses her cheek, turns and exits the room. My eyes follow as he exits and then I return my gaze to her.

"So, that's Spencer."

"He seems nice enough." I nod. Other than wanting to punch his face in, I'm anxious to hear more about their relationship and how he came to be married to a man after divorcing her, but I'll wait for her to share that piece of information. As for the punch, I'll have to sit on my hands if he does that shit in my presence again.

"He's a great guy, but enough about him." She pulls me close and softly kisses my lips. "So, are you going to swim with me this time?"

"Wild horses couldn't stop me." I slowly back her up against the nearest wall. "But first, we need some more make up kisses."

Changed into our suits about ten minutes later, we travel down to the pool. They are already there waiting for us. She guides me right over to them and introduces me to the husband, as Spencer looks on from inside the pool, wadding there at the edge. "Alistair, this is Sam. Sam, this is Spencer's husband, Alistair."

I give him a quick once-over. His build doesn't un-nerve me as much as Spencer's did. He is lanky. He has shoulder length red hair and his eyes are unusual. Gray maybe. His skin is paler in comparison to Spencer's. I offer him a hand shake as well. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too." His hands are small, and his grasp is very loose. Almost untrusting. I nod and then move next to her to remove my shirt and slide out of my sandals. Alistair takes a seat in one of the lounge chairs, while the three of us swim around the pool. I can't help but notice how the two of them interact with each other. His hands like to roam a lot, too much for my liking. They are playful and each spend a good amount of time trying to pull the other underwater, before turning their combined attention on me.

After spending a couple of hours at the pool, we start packing up our things to leave. Once we have all of our belongings, we enter the hotel and turn toward the elevators. I notice as her head turns and her eyes are drawn to the front desk, so I look in that direction as well, and see a delivery man with a vase full of red roses.

"Ooh, somebody's getting some beautiful flowers delivered." I quickly look back at her and she smiles.

Alistair softly nudges her side. "You want Spencer to go take them for you?" Hello, am I not standing right here?

"Nah, Merce doesn't like roses. She likes calla lilies." Spencer faces me. "So, Sam if you ever get on the lady's bad side, you'll know, calla lilies are the way to go." I nod at him in genuine thanks for the helpful piece of advice and then grin as I eye her.

She shrugs. "Hey, I like what I like."

We step into the elevator and make the journey back up to our rooms. "You guys have dinner plans tonight?" Spencer throws an arm over her shoulder.

"Maybe. Why, what did you have in mind?"

"Sushi."

She quickly glances at me. Truth is we hadn't made any plans for the night. "I'll let you know Spence. It's still early, we may want to stay in tonight and just get room service." The elevator arrives at our floor.

"Alright angel face. Don't do anything I wouldn't." Spencer playfully pinches her cheek and then lightly taps her ass as she tries to swat his hand away. Alistair blows her a kiss as she grabs my hand and we exit.

I turn back, eye Spencer, but then nod at the two of them. Yeah, she and I are definitely going to have to have a conversation about Mr. Can't-Keep-My-Hands-Or-Lips-To-Myself. "I guess I'll see you guys later. Good to meet you again."

"Same here." Spencer nods as Alistair smiles.

**********END OF FLASHBACK**********

"Good morning Reba's Floral Creations, this is Maggie. How may I help you today?"

"Hello Maggie. I would like to order two dozen calla lilies for delivery today, if possible."

"That shouldn't be a problem, sir. Any specific color or would you like us to provide an assortment?"

"Purple if you have them, otherwise an assortment please."

"Sure. What would you like on the card?"

"Put 'Mercy, any and everything for you. Missing you, Sam.' Did you get that? Can you read it back to me please?"

"Mercy, any and everything for you. Missing you, Sam. Is that correct?"

"Yes."

"Excellent. I'll need the delivery name and address."

An hour or so after ordering the flowers, I decide to give my parents a call. Right now, I need my mom's comforting voice and reassurances. Although they haven't visited to meet her in person yet, we have Skyped a few times when her and Ally have been here at the apartment. As soon as I unlock my phone to call them, the screen flickers and I see I am receiving another 'Unknown' call. I connect the call and listen. "March 31st." The call disconnects and I go through the usual song and dance. The date again means nothing to me, and I am tiring of this foolishness. Whoever it is just needs to get to the end and tell me who they are, why they are bothering me and what needs to happen in order for them to leave me the fuck alone. I sit down and grab a notebook to jot down the dates that I have received so far, thinking that writing them down will help me make a connection. First there was November 27, then there was September 5, then December 18, and today, it's March 31. I remember the first date was given to me by robo-call on Wednesday before my lunch date with Mercy. September 5 was sent to me by text Friday night. December 18 was sent in an envelope to the mansion yesterday. And then today, March 31 was given to me by another robo-call. Wait a minute. I didn't get a date on Thursday. I wonder if I have missed getting one. I slide on my sandals and walk outside to check the mailbox. Inside there are a few pieces of junk mail and an informational booklet from Wallingsford High School. I go back into my apartment and place the mail absentmindedly on the coffee table. I begin to wonder if Thursday's date was delivered to my office. I pick up the notebook and glance down to where I have written the dates. This is crazy. These dates mean nothing to me. Why am I spinning my wheels about this? I slam the notebook on the table and go back to what I was about to do before I got side-tracked.

I click the contact named listed as 'Mom & Dad' and wait for the call to connect.

"Well it's about time you called. How are you doing son?" Her voice is soft and comforting but dripping in concern.

I take a deep breath. "Hi Mom." I didn't mean for it to come out as broken and as timid as it did.

"Well that answers my question. Sam, what happened?"

She knows. Of course she knows. Katherine Marie Evans knows everything. She's astute. Her mind is always thinking several steps ahead of everyone else. The whole world thinks that my dad, Jack Austin Evans, was the mastermind behind transforming E&E from a multi-million-dollar company to a multi-billion-dollar one, but no. It was Mom. "What are you talking about?"

"Stop it. We know. Zack is so upset with you right now. What happened Sam?"

"Ma, I don't know. She just cut herself out of my life."

"Do you think she found out who you are? Or maybe someone she knows saw the one article in Reuter's with your picture that named you as the new CEO of E&E and tipped her off?"

"I'm starting to because nothing else explains it. I just wish she would tell me what happened and let me explain whatever it is. I know Zack is a complete mess. I'm in the same boat. And Ally, I'm so beside myself about not being able to make sure she is alright and knows I'm still here and not giving up without a fight."

"I'm sure Zack has let her know that. He talks to her every day."

"He blames me. I haven't heard from him since he decided to go stay with his mother. That hurts like hell too, but I'm not going to push him. He's been telling me for weeks now to tell Mercedes everything, but I didn't listen."

"Why not?"

"At this point mom, I really don't have a good explanation. In the beginning, I was being cautious and trying to protect myself from getting hurt. However, as the weeks have passed, my reasons for not telling her have morphed from not wanting to be taken advantage of, to a fear that she will leave me for keeping her in the dark for so long. But if I'm being completely honest Ma, I've known since I met her that she wasn't out to get anything from me. She was adamant about paying for the first meal we had and then wanting to go dutch every time after that. Even to this day, she always wants to make sure to pay her fair share. We've planned to take the kids to Metropolis in October. I rented a condo for the weekend and the first thing she asked was what she owed me. When I told her no, she put up a fight and only backed down when I agreed to let her pay for all of our meals while we are there."

"Well son, I have to say, from the conversations we've had with her and the way you and Zack talk about her, breaking off things without talking about it first just doesn't seem to me to be how she would react. I figured she would be upset when she found out but would hear you out so that you could explain why you did it in the first place."

"I thought that too."

"I think something else happened."

"But what?"

"I don't know. That's the million-dollar question. Do you think she is seeing someone else?"

"No. We were on the same page mom. We were working toward a long-term relationship."

"And you know that for certain?"

"Yes, I do. Which makes all of this that much harder to believe."

"I know me telling you to be patient means nothing, but son just try to give her some time."

"Aside from letting her know that I'm not giving up, that's all I can do."

"And how are you doing that?"

"Voice and text messages. I'm also having flowers delivered to her today."

"Just don't go overboard. It may overwhelm her and push her further away."

"Thanks mom."

"Sure honey. Hang in there. Love you. And Happy Anniversary in case I don't talk to you on the 17th. Your father and I both know this isn't the career you wanted, but we are grateful that you stepped up and took the reins to allow your father to retire. You and Jonathan are far exceeding our expectations. You should be proud of yourselves."

"Thanks mom. We are. Love you too. Give dad my love as well."

"I will. Talk later."

"Bye."

"Bye."

I disconnect the call and think about how my life has changed over the last two years. I was working as a graphics designer and making a comfortable living. Dad had just suffered his second stroke in 3 years and Mom called me, Stevie and Stacie to their home here in Atlanta for an emergency family meeting. Mom was adamant that Dad had to retire. When I arrived, there were a number of people there. Some were family, but most were not. I thought the meeting was to talk about which one of us would take over as CEO. Mom ushered the three of us into the kitchen. I looked over at Stevie and he stared at me. Then I looked over at Stacie and she was staring at me as well. I looked between the two of them again and then up at Mom, who was smiling at me. I was speechless. And then she said 'Congratulations' and I lost it. I couldn't believe it. It always seemed to me that Stevie was the one they had in mind to take over when the time came, but I was wrong. After wiping my tears, Mom introduced me to the people gathered there at the house and the rest is history. Jonathan's appointment as CFO came two months later when his dad, Uncle Ray, decided to retire as well to allow 'new blood' to take the company to the next level.

With the new appointment, came a new social circle with an abundance of gold-diggers. That was one thing I found out very early on, so that is why my guard is up when it comes to meeting anyone new. I've dated probably a dozen women over the last two years, and none of them, not one, ever treated me more than like a bottomless source of money. That's how I know she is different, and honestly, like I just told my mom, I've known that all along.

**********FLASHBACK Thursday June 11th Continued**********

Outside our rooms after returning from the pool with her ex and his hubby, I have her backed up against the wall between each of the doors. My left forearm is pressed against the wall high above her head, and my right hand cradles her cheek. It's been too long since I kissed her lips, and after witnessing the ex's roaming hands, I have this unmistakable need to make sure she knows that I'm here. The ex had his chance, now it's my turn. I feel her softly exhale and then moan. That moan does something to me. I'll never get tired of that sound. The kiss started teasingly slow and continues at the same pace as each of our tongues caress and toy with the other. Her arms were wrapped low around my waist, but as the kiss continued, her right hand began to move up and down my back. Lost in the kiss, the sound of a door closing down the hall slowly ends our connection. I open my eyes to look down at her. She grins back and licks her lips. "So, like I was saying, before I was so rudely interrupted, I'm going to shower and then maybe take a nap. Did you want to hang out tonight?"

The smile she gives me has me ready to reconnect our lips, but I refrain. I've got a serious situation to take care of the minute I get inside my room. "Yes. Tonight, and every night after if possible. You don't want to join your ex for dinner tonight?"

"No, not unless you do. We can meet them for dinner another time when we are back in Atlanta. I'd much rather spend the evening with you so we can continue to get to know each other."

A wide smile spreads across my face. "I cannot think of a better way to spend an evening." I give her a couple of lingering pecks. "So, this nap. Am I invited?" I wiggle my eyebrows at her.

She giggles. "Yes."

"Good."

"I'll open the door once I am done with my shower."

"I'll be waiting."

She leans up on her tiptoes and quickly kisses me before ducking under my arm, inserting the keycard in the slot and opening the door to her room. "See you soon."

"See you soon." My eyes stay on her face as her smile disappears behind the closing door.

I quickly insert the keycard, turn the door handle and enter my room. I quickly strip out of my t-shirt and swim trunks and get in the shower. I handle my business and am out in ten minutes flat. I step into a pair of gray lounge pants and pull on a dark blue t-shirt. I open the adjoining door and notice that hers is still closed, so I busy myself by checking a few emails. I send Zack a few text messages to check in on how his week is going.

I hear the click of the lock on her adjoining door and then watch as it opens. I finish messaging with Zack and then go to the door. I lean against the frame. "Knock knock."

She leans her body away from the vanity and smiles. "Who's there?"

"Imus."

"Imus who?"

"I missed you."

She throws her head back and giggles. "It was so corny, but it was so cute." She chuckles a bit more and then gesture for me to come in. "Come on in and sit down. I've got to take out my contacts but then I'm all yours." She turns back toward the mirror. "I think we are going to have to forego that nap, because I'm getting hungry. Is that OK with you?" She turns and looks over at me.

"Sure, that's fine. I'm hungry too."

"OK, good. So, what do you want to get for dinner?"

"I was thinking we could order a pizza and have a few beers."

"Pizza sounds good, but I don't drink beer. Just never acquired a taste for it. I wouldn't mind a glass of wine though."

"OK, I can call room service and have them bring up a pizza, a couple of beers and a bottle of?"

"Chardonnay if they have it, if not then Pinot Grigio."

"I'm on it beautiful. What do you want on the pizza?"

"I can handle anything but mushrooms of course."

"OK, how about pepperoni, green peppers and black olives?"

"Yum."

I grin at her and stand to walk over to the phone in her room to call. I take in her dressed down look as I wait for my call to be answered. She is wearing a pair of pink pants with 'DIVA' written across her glorious behind. Words written across her ass must be a thing for her. She has on a white tank top and her hair is up again. My call is connected, and I place the order for our food and tell the clerk that I will be paying with cash. Once I hang up, she gives me a playful but stern look.

"Why didn't you have it charged to the room?"

"Why would I do that?

"Sam. I don't expect you to pay every time we have a meal. I can pay for it, or at least half."

"Mercedes. I told you I'm courting you. That means I pay."

"But this isn't a date."

"Oh, forgive me. Mercedes, would you stay in and have pizza with me tonight?"

She throws up her arms. "You're impossible."

"I can be. Just say yes."

"Yes."

"Now, that wasn't so hard was it?"

She crosses her arms and raises an eyebrow at me. "Sam, will you go out on a date with me tomorrow night?"

I chuckle. "Oh, you're sneaky." I eye her. "And if I say no, and then turn around and ask you, you will say no too, won't you?"

"I don't know, maybe."

"And if I say yes, then you're going to pay?"

"Isn't that the rule?"

I take a few moments to study her. She's serious. Why is she making a big deal out of this? Her eyes stay locked on me as I try to figure out a way to say no to her invitation, and have it not result in her saying no to mine. Coming up with nothing, I concede. "Fine."

"You don't have to sound so enthusiastic about it."

"I'm sorry beautiful. It's just…"

She comes over to me, sits on the edge of the bed and then pulls me down next to her. "I get it, but you have to see it from my perspective too. While you were raised to always be the provider and protector, I was raised to be independent. We will just have to come up with some kind of compromise that works for both of us."

"Thank you." I take her hand and kiss it.

She lightly bumps her shoulder into mine. "You're welcome. Thank you for dinner."

"Anytime beautiful.

**********END OF FLASHBACK**********

I send Mercy a few text messages.

'Imus' you, corny I know but it made you laugh before

Hope you are OK

I'm ready to talk whenever you are

Getting hungry, I open the freezer to find something to heat up for dinner and see the ice cream. I'm not even sure why I still have it. I move it to the side and take out a French bread pizza. Once it's ready, I take it and a beer to the breakfast bar and eat for a few minutes in silence, before glancing at my watch to see that it is nearing 6:00. I've put off calling Zack long enough. I unlock my phone and click on his name in my call log. He answers on the second ring.

"Hi dad."

"Hi Zack. How are you?"

"I'm OK. How are you? Have you heard from Cedes?"

"No, I haven't. I talked to your MomMom earlier. She said you've been keeping in contact with Ally. How is she?"

"She's sad. She's worried about her mom. She said all she does is work, cry and sleep."

"Can you give her my number and tell her to call me?"

"OK. She asked me for your number yesterday. I told her I needed to ask you first."

"Of course it's fine Zack." I didn't mean to raise my voice at him. I take a calming breath. "Please text it to her now and tell her she can call or text anytime."

"OK, is that it?"

"Is that it? Come on Zack, I'm trying here. Please cut me some slack."

"But I told you-"

I interrupt him. "Yes, I know you told me to tell her a long time ago, but I didn't, and you don't know how much I am regretting that now. And if I am not able to get her back, I am going to regret it for the rest of my life."

"I get that dad, but your mistake is affecting all of us now. Cedes is a mess, you're a mess, Ally's a mess and me, I'm a mess too, but I'm also mad. All of this could have been avoided. You should have told her." I hear the tension in his voice, and it leaves me speechless. After an uncomfortable space of silence, I hear his mother's voice faintly in the background. "Mom's calling me for dinner."

"OK. Um, I need you at the mansion Wednesday night."

"Why?"

"Because I need you there. No exceptions. We need to talk."

"Fine."

"I love you Zack."

"Love you too dad."

I end the call. With my appetite suddenly gone, I go over to the couch and sit. I rest my head back on the cushion and stare up at the ceiling as a tear rolls out of the side of my eye. My son means the world to me. He has been, is, and always will be, my number one priority.

**********FLASHBACK Thursday June 11th Continued**********

We've finished half of the pizza and I have finished half of my second beer. She is still nursing her first glass of wine. We are seated on the small couch in her room. She has both of her legs tucked under her and I have my legs stretched out and on the small coffee table. We have soft music playing from the television to fill any lulls in our conversation. I clear my throat and figure that now is as good a time as any, to ask her about the one thing I've been waiting for her to share. "Tell me about your relationship with Spencer."

"Well, we met at a party his fraternity had on the Georgia Tech campus. I was a sophomore. He was a junior. We hit it off immediately and from that moment on, we were inseparable. We dated for a year and a half before he asked me to marry him, then we got married a month after I graduated. Ally came along 11 months later." She takes a sip of her wine and eyes me. "Sam, he's always been the touchy-feely type. I've told him to knock it off, and hopefully he will, but he means no harm." She giggles and arches her left eyebrow at me as I chuckle and nod. "I also know you have probably been dying to ask me how that all happened, but believe me, the reality is nowhere near what your imagination has probably come up with." She takes another quick sip from her wine glass and then continues. "OK, so we had been married for about three years when I noticed that he wasn't his usual bright, shiny, playful self. I would hear him talking softly to himself sometimes in the bathroom mirror. He had this huge circle of friends, mostly his frat brothers, and over time, he began to push them all away. He didn't want to go out and do anything. He would just work, come home, play with Ally, eat dinner and go to bed. After a couple of weeks, I couldn't take it anymore, so I made him sit down and talk to me. He clamed up at first, of course, but I kept at him, and he finally opened up to me. He told me that he had been attracted to men before he met me, but he had never acted on it. Then he said he fell in love with me and figured those past attractions were just that. But then after we were married, the attraction had resurfaced, and he was ashamed. He said he was doing everything in his power to keep his focus on me and Ally, but by doing that, he wasn't the man I fell in love with anymore. He was withdrawn and depressed. Of course, I was livid and heartbroken when he told me and I reacted by taking Ally and leaving him, but that lasted for a good two days. I came back to our apartment and found him passed out with an empty bottle of sleeping pills next to him. I panicked and called 911. After they pumped his stomach and he was awake, I walked into his hospital room and punched him in the face a total of three times. Once for not being honest with me when we first met, once for not confiding in me when he started feeling that way again, and once for trying to leave our lives like that. After that, we had a good, long cry together and agreed that we should get a divorce. So we did, but we remained under the same roof as friends and co-parents until I met Alistair and introduced him to Spencer."

"You introduced them?"

"I did. When I met Alistair, I knew he and Spence would hit it off because I know Spence. And I was right, they had their commitment ceremony in Illinois six-month after meeting and were married in Hawaii a few years ago. Even though Georgia doesn't recognize it, they are married in my eyes, period."

"Wow, so you were totally right. What I had made up in my mind was so far off the mark."

She chuckles. "I figured as much." She takes another sip from her wine glass as I take a long swig from my beer bottle. "And don't let Spence's antics get to you." I nod but make a mental note to address that with him myself, when the time comes. She clears her throat and looks over at me. "So, have you ever dated a black woman before?"

"Well, biblically, I've had my fair share of all types of women, but I know that's not what you mean." What is the matter with me? This is not the time to brag about all the notches on my belt. I nervously clear my throat and take in her 'what-the-fuck' expression. I move the beer bottle away from me. "I'm not sure why I shared that piece of information, I mean, that could easily lead to you forming an unsavory opinion of me." Good job dumbass. Now, if she hadn't formed that opinion, she definitely will now. I shake my head. "I'm sorry beautiful, can I just start over and answer your question." She nods slowly and narrows her eyes. "No, I haven't. I've only had three long term relationships and those were with white women. One before I met my ex-wife, then my ex-wife and then one after my divorce. Any other dating I did was for no more than one or two dates, over the span of a couple of weeks, but all of those were with white women as well."

"OK. And I didn't mean for that to be a trick question Sam. I was just curious. I mean, you've met my ex-husband, so you know that I have dated a white man before, well dated, then married to be specific."

"Right, I get that. And I know that since I put it out there, you are wondering. So, I'm just going to come clean. After my divorce, I was angry. I caught her cheating on me. Came home to her in our bed doing him. So, I became the guy who was just out to have fun. That is who I was for the first five months after my divorce. I am in no way proud of that, but it was how I dealt with her betrayal."

"What made you change?"

"Zack. I'll never forget it. It was my weekend with him. It was a Saturday. His birthday had been a few days earlier in the week, but he had been with his mother. Now one thing you have to know about Zack, is that his emotional, speech and cognitive development were behind the arc during this time. He had just turned eight, but most if not all of his behaviors mirrored those of a four-year-old. We first noticed it when he was six and worked with his pediatrician, and several therapists to get him on track. But that's another story all together. Back to this one. So, we traveled to Memphis to celebrate his eighth birthday with my side of the family. After he blew out the candles, he came over to me, and asked if I wanted to know what he wished for. I told him that if he told me, it wouldn't come true. He stared at me for a split second, nodded his head, and then ran off to play with the kids that were there. An hour or so later, as people began to say their goodbyes, he came up to me again and asked if we were staying the night with MomMom and PopPop. I told him that we were and then he asked me again, if I wanted to know what he wished for, and I told him again that he couldn't tell me. By then, my curiosity was piqued. He was dying to tell me what he wished for, and I was dying to know. For the rest of the afternoon into early evening, I would look over at him and watch his little facial expressions. He either seemed to be deep in thought or like he was having a conversation with himself. So, after we had dinner, he took a bath and then got ready for bed. He kneeled down by my childhood bed to say his prayers and I listened in, just knowing that he would find a way to mention what he had wished for in his prayer, but he didn't. I kissed him goodnight and then went to take a shower. After I finished my shower, I headed back to my bedroom. As I got close to the door, I heard his little voice and then my dad's, so I stood there on the other side of the door and listened. He asked my dad, 'PopPop can you help me?' My dad said, 'Help you with what Zacky?' Zack said, 'Help my dad fix all the holes.' My dad said, 'What holes?' Zack said, 'All the holes at his apartment'. My dad said, 'Zacky, what are you talking about?' And then Zack said, 'I want to live with daddy but mommy says I can't because he has too many holes at his place.' It only took me a second to realize he was repeating a word his mother had been saying as 'holes' instead of 'hoes.' My heart dropped and I instantly felt like the worst father in the world. I didn't even want to face him. I was so ashamed and embarrassed. I hadn't thought of how what I was doing was affecting him. In that moment, it was over and done with. It took a long talk with my dad to even go back and get in the bed with him that night, but once his words were in my head, there was no way I was going back to that life. Zack's words from that night are ingrained in my brain. From that point on, I focused myself on him, and my career, in that order."

"Wow, I can only imagine how it felt to hear him say that."

"I was gutted. It took two years for me to even attempt dating after that. Then there were a few dates here and there but nothing substantial until a few months later, that's when I met Megan. She and I lasted eighteen months before we called it quits." I chuckle when a realization hits me.

"What's funny?"

"Well, I just realized something. I seem to have an affinity for women whose names begin with the letter 'M.' After the debacle of my first girlfriend, Kaitlyn, I met Melissa, and we dated during the rest of our high school years. She moved away after we graduated. Then, I met my ex-wife, Marley, while attending Purdue. Then there was Megan. And now there is you - Mercedes."

"Well that gives me a good feeling."

"Yeah, me too." She leans over and kisses me. She moves to pull away, but I wrap my arm around her waist and pull her upper body across my lap as I deepen the kiss. Her fingers find their way into my hair, and I grunt when I feel her nails scratch against my scalp. Drawing our kiss to a close, I pull her bottom lip into my mouth and then release it. "You about ready for bed beautiful?"

"I am. You?"

"Yes." I trail my hand up and down the side of her body as my eyes follow. "I just need to brush my teeth."

"Yeah, me too. Meet you in bed in five minutes?"

"Five minutes." She leans up and kisses me again as she rises from my lap. We both stand, and I move to go to my room.

I am back in a flash and find her sitting upright in the bed waiting for me. She pulls the cover back and pats the bed for me to join her. When I do, I lie on my back. She flicks off the lights above the bed and I use both arms to pull her toward me. She snuggles against me, her head on my chest, and my arms wrapped snugly around her. "Good night beautiful."

"Good night Sam."

**********END OF FLASHBACK**********

As I am getting settled into bed, I hear the chime from my phone. I glance over at the clock to check the time. Well, I already got my random date today, so I know who it's not. I pick it up from the nightstand and look at the screen.

Can you meet me to talk tomorrow

My heartbeat immediately begins to race as I dart up into a seated position. I unlock the phone and start typing a response.

Yes of course anytime and anywhere

After getting the details of where to meet her, a smile spreads across my face and as soon as it does, I realize that it is the first time I have genuinely smiled since she left me.