Thank you for your continued interest and support. I appreciate it.
I do not own Glee or the characters, Neither do I own Chasing Christmas.
Mercedes awoke at the touch of Sam's hand on her hip.
She smiled.
It was late afternoon...she wasn't sure what time...but they'd spent the rest of the day in her bed.
And the fading light slanted through the window, casting a glow through the room.
She was warm and comfortable in his arms, their legs tangled together, her back to his front.
But that wasn't what made her smile.
It was feeling his lips on her shoulder, softly exploring.
She could feel the heat of his body against her bare back as he moved. And she laid there for a moment, luxuriating in it all.
How in the world could she lose herself so completely, without a single inhibition, with a man she hardly knew?
It boggled her brain.
"So sweet," Sam murmured huskily.
Mercedes chuckled.
"Just thinking. Why is it, I feel like I've known you forever?" she asked.
"Because we like each other," he said, "And because we don't need anything from each other either."
He rolled her over to face him, his hands sliding down her back to cup her ass, his green eyes dark and hungry.
"Nothing...?" she asked, wrapping her arms around his neck, making room for him between her legs.
"Well, maybe one thing," he said against her mouth, and then went about recharging her batteries again.
And then again, because he was nothing if not thorough.
Kitty slipped into Sam's office at the ass crack of dawn the next day.
But since she was carrying coffee, he forgave her interruption...
Until she spoke.
"So who was the expensive suit with Mercedes yesterday?"
Sam sipped his coffee and went noncommittal.
"Everyone's taking guesses on what's going on, you know. Wendy and Pam think, that maybe, Mercedes is a corporate spy, trying to find out how far you've come with your drone project."
Sam raised a brow.
"Karen thinks, that maybe, one of her brothers works at some news conglomerate and is pimping her out to try to catch you with your defenses down."
Sam shook his head and drank some more coffee.
"Nancy and her husband think, she's after your money."
Sam leaned back in his chair.
"And you?" he asked. "What do you think?"
Kitty sat on the corner of his desk, her business suit a siren kickass red today, her heels high and shiny black.
"I think that...I don't know what to think."
He laughed.
"Well, there's a first time for everything."
She laughed a little, too.
"I know, right?" She shook her head. "It could still be a con, you know. It's not like you're being careful."
"And you know this how?"
"Because you were sighted nearly getting into a fight, protecting her yesterday."
Sam wasn't surprised.
The building could've doubled for downtown Mayberry, with all the gossip and secret spilling that went on, and that included the outlying streets as well.
"Maybe there's no conspiracy," he said. "Maybe she just really likes me."
Kitty sighed.
"Is it really so hard to believe, that a smart, attractive woman with a sense of humor could be into me?" he asked.
She straightened, bristling.
"Okay, that's not fair. There's a lot about you to like. A lot, Sam. But face it, you've got a horrible track record."
"We all have horrible track records," he said. "It's what leads up to the real thing. It's what allows you to recognize it when it shows up. As you should well know."
Kitty stared at him for a beat and then acknowledged the truth of that with a sigh.
"Okay, but I'm going to need you to tell me you're not in love with her, after only two-plus weeks."
Sam paused.
He didn't want to lie to her, but this wasn't a conversation he was going to have with her, before he had it with Mercedes.
"It's probably more lust than love," he said.
Kitty sighed again, this one, pure relief.
"Okay," she said. "Lust is fine."
"Thanks for the permission, mom."
She rolled her eyes.
"You pay me a lot of money to keep you protected."
"From the press," he said. "From the needs of this building. From the demands on my time for things you can handle. Not my love life, Kitty."
"There's that l-word again," she said. "So, you know how Mercedes takes notes all the time?"
"Yeah."
"Tasha got a peek at her laptop screen the other day at the coffee shop. She had a page up about, how deep you have to dig a hole to keep a dead body buried and safe from the elements."
Sam shook his head, keeping his smile to himself.
"I know," Kitty said. "Kind of insane, right?"
Her eyes narrowed, catching on to his amusement.
"What the hell is so funny? Mrs. Wallace overheard her on the phone, planning some sort of big heist. Even Fergus and Shamus are worried about you and you're laughing about it."
"Have you talked to Artie or Puck about this?" Sam asked.
"No. Artie told me to mind my own business...which obviously...I'm never going to do. I've been trying to get to Noah, but he's been avoiding me like the plague, although...shit!" she said, looking at her phone. "I did miss a call from him."
"Call him back," Sam suggested.
"Now?"
"Yeah."
Kitty pulled out her phone and hit a number.
"Hey," she said. "I..." She paused, listening. "Huh. And Artie knows this...?" Another pause. "Okay, thanks."
She disconnected, opened her e-mail, and thumbed through something. Two minutes later, she looked up and met Sam's gaze.
"You know."
"Yes. But only since the other night, if that helps."
Kitty sank to a chair.
"And Artie knows."
"He's Noah's boss, so of course he knows. He knows everything. When you sicced Noah on Mercedes, what did you think would happen?"
Kitty shook her head.
"Not this. But I guess I'm not all that surprised."
She didn't look particularly appeased either, Sam noticed.
"How about sorry," he said. "Are you sorry?"
"Hey, it could've been any of a million reasons why Mercedes was acting shady. I couldn't have guessed this reason. It's a good one though," she admitted grudgingly. "Impressive."
"Hugely so." Sam had to laugh. "You can't even admit when you're wrong, can you?"
"I can admit when you're wrong." She sighed. "Dammit! You should've told me who she was. I would've been..."
"Nicer?" he asked mildly.
She sighed.
"Okay, yes. And I am sorry, but..."
"Sorry don't usually have a 'but' after it."
"Fine. I was wrong," Kitty said. "And I'm sorry."
"Wow!" Sam smiled. "Did that hurt?"
She ignored that.
"But...something I wasn't wrong about?" she asked. "Is that I can see you're falling for her. Like really falling, Sam."
"I don't fall."
Her expression softened.
"Listen, I actually think she's falling too."
"I'm not as optimistic as you."
That got a laugh out of her.
Kitty was a lot of things, but optimistic wasn't one of them.
"The problem is, where does this leave you?" Kitty asked. "You're already having a hard time with this project and..."
"It doesn't matter," Sam said, not wanting to talk about the drone project, which was currently at the top of his shit list. "None of it matters. She's leaving on Christmas Eve and that'll take care of everything."
Kitty stared at him and slowly shook her head.
"You can't really believe that. Love isn't that simple, Sam."
He drew a deep breath.
"Yeah, well, love sucks."
Kitty didn't even try to disagree.
"Sometimes, absolutely," she agreed. "But the thing is, once you've been hit over the head with it, it actually sucks a lot more to walk away and leave it behind."
"I'm not the one walking away," he said.
"Maybe it'll pass," she said. "Maybe...maybe it's just a really powerful crush."
"Clear brown," he said.
And Kitty blinked.
"Huh?"
"Mercedes' eyes are a clear, pretty brown, but sometimes, they're more like a chocolate opal when she's sad or upset."
Kitty was still staring at him.
"You've finally gone off the deep end," she said.
"How long have I known you?" Sam asked. "And the others? I don't know what color anyone else's eyes are."
'Not even Cindy's,' he thought of his ex.
"But I know Mercedes'. I also know that she bites her lower lip when she's trying not to smile. That her comfort food of choice is mac and cheese. That she loves and cares about her family, more than she worries about herself. That she can laugh at herself and life. Hell, she makes me laugh at life, and we both know that's a real feat in itself."
Kitty continued to stare at Sam.
"Interesting," she said. "It's not just any woman...who can get you to slow down and notice the little things."
She shook her head.
"I guess, I have no choice but to let this go. Or at least try."
"Try real hard," he suggested. "And while I'm asking something of you, I'm going to ask this too...she's alone out here. No friends, no family. Can't you and the girls invite her to something?"
"Like?"
"Like the chick nights you have where you all get together and...I don't know, whatever it is you all do."
Kitty looked amused.
"Just for curiosity's sake, what is it that you think we do?"
"Look, all I know, is that last month, you, Pam, Wendy, Karen, and Holly, all went to some drag show and ended up onstage. When the club got raided by the police for some shady dealings in the back rooms, everyone got dragged downtown. And Artie, Fergus, and Noah had to bail you all out."
"You want me to get your girlfriend arrested?"
"No," Sam said. "I really, really don't want you to get her arrested. I want you to include her in your crazy-ass gang and make nice."
"I don't make nice easily."
"No shit!"
He gave her the look that he knew she could never resist.
"Just try. For me, okay? If you get the others involved, it won't look like I made you make friends with her."
Kitty blew out a sigh and hopped off his desk, grumbling,
"The things I do for you."
When Sam was alone, he stood at the window and tried to gather his thoughts.
Yeah, okay, so he was in deeper than he'd thought, or even planned on.
But what he hadn't yet admitted to anyone...including himself...was that, even if Mercedes expressed an interest in making this work, he still wasn't sure they could.
Could he change his habits?
Let her in...all the way in?
He wondered if these worries had anything to do with why his grandpa had picked up and left his family, out of the blue.
And did the old man have regrets?
Shaking his head...because there was no use in going there...he decided to call Mercedes.
He'd already told her Noah and Artie knew, so he might as well tell her about Kitty.
A few minutes into their cute greetings, Sam spilled.
"Kitty knows now, too."
Mercedes was quiet for a beat.
"Okay."
"Don't worry...they'll all keep it to themselves."
"They're your people," she said. "But if you trust them, then so do I."
His people.
He had his people, and she had hers.
But it already felt as though they were a continent apart.
One afternoon, Mercedes was writing away and getting lots of pages while she was at it, when Kitty texted her to come to her second-floor office.
When she got up there, she found Pam, Wendy, Karen, Holly, and Kitty going through a trunk of costumes.
"Girls' night out," Kitty said to her.
Karen was wearing a headband with a feather in it, a flapper dress, and some seriously high heels.
"Hard to snag a good man when you're as short as me," she said.
'I'm shorter than you. And can you walk in those?" Mercedes asked doubtfully.
"To be determined."
Mercedes noticed Wendy was in only a bra and panties, pawing through the trunk, probably looking for the perfect get-up.
"There are worse things than being short, you know," Holly said.
"True," Karen said. "There are actually great things about being short. For instance, when you hug a guy and you feel his heartbeat against your ear, you know exactly where to stab him if he hurts you."
"She's just kidding," Wendy told Mercedes.
But behind Wendy's back, Karen shook her head no...she was not kidding.
Holly, who didn't like men at all, just grinned.
"The twenties theme is harder than I thought it'd be to pull off. I don't look good in hats," Pam said.
She was in her boat captain's uniform...or at least the pants and boots. She wore no top and was talking with someone on the phone.
"Don't worry," she was saying. "We don't plan to get arrested this time."
Mercedes' eyes widened.
"So...you got arrested last time?" she asked.
"Yes, but that hardly ever happens," Karen said and tossed her an outfit.
"We for sure, can't get arrested again tonight though," Pam piped in. "I've gotta work in the morning. Plus, I promised Fergus."
"Party pooper," Karen said.
"You in?" Kitty asked Mercedes.
She had no idea.
Back home, she didn't have a lot of friends.
There was just Jaci and Trisha. And Johnathan. Then there was her editor, Angela.
But mostly, everyone else had fallen by the wayside when she'd gotten too busy.
"Mercedes?" Wendy asked.
"I've never actually been on a girls' night," she admitted.
"Why not?" Holly asked. "You and your clan too busy or something?"
At that, they all paused what they were doing and looked at her, with varying degrees of curiosity.
"This is a little embarrassing," Mercedes said.
"It can't be as embarrassing as when we took Pam to the spa and she screamed the house down during her Brazilian," Kitty said.
"Hey," Pam said. "My bits are extremely sensitive."
Mercedes sighed.
"I don't exactly have a clan."
They all blinked collectively.
"You don't have any friends?" Wendy asked.
"Not the type that I can just call up and go out and get arrested with."
"One time," Pam said and sighed.
Wendy smiled sweetly at Mercedes and squeezed her hand.
"Well, you can change that right here and now. Kitty put tonight together, and included you, so you've got your girlfriends now. Us. Right, guys?"
They all nodded enthusiastically.
Well, except for Kitty. Her nod wasn't quite enthusiastic, but Mercedes got the feeling that she didn't do enthusiastic, so she decided to take it.
Stay safe!