Thank you for your continued interest. I appreciate it.
I do not own Glee or the characters, neither do I own Chasing Christmas Eve.
Please forgive any extreme mistakes. I'm tired and sleepy. Hope you and your loved ones are faring well.
Ten minutes later, after a heated moment, where, both Sam and Mercedes...who, incidentally was a few inches off the ground in Sam's arms at the time...were out on the bay, taking in the peace and solitude of their little getaway.
Mercedes had her gaze glued to the horizon and a huge smile on her face. And Sam, watching her, felt some of the pressures of his day fade away.
It was hard to remain stressed when he was with her, as he'd already discovered.
She was like a warm spiked drink on a hot day.
A balm to the soul.
As for their view, it was that magical time between day and night.
The bay was smooth and still beneath them, with small swells slapping against the ship, crisp wind in their faces, and the last of the light slanting sharply across the water, illuminating it with a soft blue glow.
In the distance, they could see the Bay Bridge, which was also lit with thousands of small white lights, making it stand out against the night sky.
The two of them sat at the bow of the boat, on a huge, almost trampoline-like lounger, which held them both.
Sam had packed the duffle bag with gear for the weather, so he pulled out two down jackets and a wool blanket, then bundled Mercedes in one of the jackets and covered them both with the blanket.
They leaned back, the gentle jostling of the swells, having nudged them up against one another, so that they rocked together with each smooth rise and fall of the ocean tide.
Next to him, Mercedes felt soft and warm, and he couldn't think of another place he'd rather be.
"It feels like we're birds," she said, tilting her face close to his. "We're flying low, and skimming over the water. It's amazing. I feel like my heart is soaring as fast as the boat."
She sighed in pleasure and Sam felt his body react.
He wrapped an arm around her to keep her close, liking the way she snuggled into him, way too much.
Pam took them out of the bay, where they caught sight of whales moving out in the distance, five of them swimming together, enormous and massive and gorgeous.
"Holy golf balls," Mercedes said and clutched Sam tight. "Do you see?"
But he never took his eyes off her.
"Yeah. I see," he replied.
Turning to him, she laughed and playfully slapped his toned arm.
"The whales, Sam! Don't look at me...look at the whales!" She went back to reverently watching them, so moved, her eyes filled with unshed tears.
"You okay?" he asked.
"Better than okay." She blinked the moisture away and laughed a little at herself. "It's just that...I realized that here, my life doesn't revolve around me getting everything handled and done on my own. Here, life revolves on its own axis. I'm just going along for the ride."
Sam was getting a feeling, that her growing-up years had been more than a little rough. And it was something they both had in common.
Also, that she'd clawed her way out of the gutter by her fingernails.
Something else they had in common.
Mercedes must have felt her phone vibrate, because she pulled it from her pocket with a grimace of apology and accessed a text.
"Problem?" Sam asked.
"David. He says the emergency-only credit card I left him, isn't working at the pizza joint."
She rolled her eyes and thumbed in a response, then shoved her phone away.
"What did you tell him?" Sam asked.
"That an emergency involves blood. And not just any blood either, but an arterial bleed."
When he laughed, she sighed and smiled.
"You know what I love?" she asked, her eyes back on the last of the sun, as it sank below the horizon. "That I'm not important here."
"You're important anywhere," Sam said.
She shook her head.
"I didn't mean it like that...I'm not having an existential crisis. It's just that here...away from home and work...I'm not the glue, you know? I'm not the one having to hold it all together."
Sam stared into Mercedes' brown eyes and felt himself lean into her, wanting to drown in them.
"So, the trick is to run away from home," he said. "Got it."
Mercedes smiled.
"You need to run away?" she asked.
"Actually, this, here with you, is working wonders. I'm starting to feel like I'm not the glue right now either."
Still holding her against him, he slid his hand into her hair and added,
"You should know something, Mercedes."
She licked her lips and nearly made him groan.
"What?" she whispered.
"I want to kiss you again."
At that, she dragged her teeth over her lower lip.
"Why?" she asked,
No one had ever asked him that question before, but she tilted her head, and waited on his answer.
He had to laugh.
"I want to kiss you again, because you're a smartass. Because, you're a little demanding too, and those things somehow really turn me on."
"Hmm," she said and he laughed again.
"I also want to kiss you again, because you're smart as hell. And also funny as hell. Not to mention, sexy as hell," Sam said.
Her breath caught.
"You think so?" she asked.
"I know so. And you roll with life's punches and give it all you've got."
He pushed his sunglasses up and lowered his head, so that their mouths were only inches apart.
"And you're so pretty you make me ache," he added in a husky voice.
"Can you see me without your glasses?"
"No, but I have a good memory."
With a laugh, Mercedes gripped the front of Sam's jacket and tugged his mouth to hers.
The aggressive move had him groaning and when she broke from the kiss, he had to take a long, unsteady breath and grapple for control.
And he had to admit, though silently, that the only thing stopping him from letting her have her merry way with him, was that they weren't alone.
Plus, it was damn cold and when he gets the chance to have her, he wanted her naked against him. Not in a down jacket.
"Mercedes..." Sam started.
But she shut him up with her mouth, in another kiss so hot, he was surprised smoke wasn't curling from their bodies.
"You're a good kisser," she whispered against his lips. "Which you probably already know from previous relationships."
"Yeah, well, it's not like my life has lent itself to many relationships," he admitted. "And the ones I've had, have all gone bad over time."
She looked at him for a minute and then gave a small smile.
"Good thing that time, is the one thing we don't have," she said. "So no one can read too much into this, right?"
Sam stilled and met her gaze.
"You heard me say that to Steven. Listen, I didn't mean..."
"No, I get it. And you're right." Her stomach growled and she pressed her hands to it, changing the subject. "The beast is hungry, apparently."
"Mercedes..."
"Didn't you say something about dinner?" she asked.
"Yes, but..."
"I'm starving, Sam."
He looked at her for a second, trying to ascertain, if she really wanted to change the subject. And she did, so he nodded.
"I've got you."
And once again he reached for his old duffle bag.
"Did you really cook?" Mercedes asked.
"Sort of," Sam said.
"Did you burn water?" she asked.
"Ha ha! Very funny."
She chuckled.
Relieved to hear the laughter in her voice, Sam took her hand in his, brought it up to his mouth, and playfully nipped at her fingers.
"I put together a picnic."
"Ingenious," she said. "Also cheating."
He laughed, because he'd totally cheated, even more than she knew, since he had Nancy put it all together for him.
"We've got wine, cheddar cheese, salami, crackers, grapes, and chocolate chip cookies," Sam said, citing the list he'd given Nancy.
"Because, everything goes better with chocolate chip cookies," he added.
He pulled out the goods and Mercedes stared down at it all and giggled...so hard, she tipped over.
"I can't wait to hear how you explain this," she finally managed, swiping a tear of mirth from her cheek.
It was all wrong.
He'd unloaded Gouda cheese, a beef stick, red apples, a still warm foil-wrapped loaf of garlic bread, and sugar cookies.
He shook his head.
"You did get the drink right, though," Mercedes said, nudging the bottle of wine. "So, who did this for you?"
"Nancy, my housekeeper." He gestured at the garlic bread. "Why would she add garlic bread?"
"Because it's delicious?"
"Yeah, but..."
He scratched his jaw, thinking the garlic bread may hinder any further kissing action, and he'd definitely planned on more kissing action.
Mercedes grinned at Sam.
"I think it's okay if we both eat it," she said, as if reading his mind.
He locked eyes with her, liking the look on her face, the one that said she was remembering exactly what it felt like when they kissed, and that she liked the memory very much.
"Maybe we should test that theory," he said, then leaned over her, and brushed his lips along her jawline.
And then the side of her neck.
She moaned and tilted her head in invitation, which he took, rolling with her, pushing her to her back, his hands pressed on the canvas on either side of her head.
Mercedes sucked in a breath, and it assured him that she liked the move. As did the way her legs shifted, making room for him between them.
Her hair was spread out over his hands and forearms like a halo as she whispered his name...another invitation, which he gladly took, along with her mouth.
She kissed him back eagerly, the kind of kiss, that pretty much guaranteed a guy was about to get laid and it was going to rock his world.
Except, they were still on the boat...with Pam, who probably couldn't see them from where she was controlling the boat, but knew they were there.
With regret, he broke the kiss and lifted his head.
Mercedes' eyes were filled with straight-up lust and she was breathing just as hard as Sam was.
She smoothed out the nail marks from where she'd been clutching his jacket.
"I think we're supposed to actually eat the bread first," she said on a rough laugh, just as his phone went off.
Looking pained, he pulled the phone from his pocket.
Pam: Coming up on Alcatraz, under a full moon. It's a rare sight. If you're lip-locked, might want to lift your head. And if you're not lip-locked, do you need pointers?
Sam shook his head and put the phone away.
"Emergency?" Mercedes asked.
"Nope. No arterial bleeds," he said, and together they took in the sight of Alcatraz lit by the full moon.
It was both spooky and stunning, and Mercedes seemed transfixed by the sight.
"Wow," she whispered, breathlessly. "Tonight's the best night ever."
Sam shifted his gaze to her and it was plain to him...he thought so too.
Stay safe!