Thank you for your continued support. I appreciate it
Standard disclaimer.
I just want to say to my sister HomiesOverHos, Life is a journey and there are lessons to be learned as we travel this journey. Mistakes are there to be made...no one is perfect, therefore, no one should be judging. The thing is, to learn from our mistakes and make newer, more pleasant memories. It's not where you have been, it's where you are going, that determines where you will end up in this life. It makes me happy that you have learned and you are now a more powerful woman, who's in charge of her own destiny. Kudos to you and my continued blessings to you and yours. Thank you for sharing.
My brows rose as I watched Shay, place a backpack by the kitchen island. It looked like it weighed more than she did.
"You're going to carry that while hiking?" I asked.
"Yep." She tugged her hair up and secured it with a hair tie. "It's really not that bad and it's smart to be prepared in case something happens."
"Like when a rabid bear tries to eat you?"
She grinned.
"I don't think we're going to run into any rabid bears. And we're not just going to hike. We're going to camp out for the night."
I gaped at her.
"Seriously?"
Walking over to the counter, she grabbed the pot of coffee and began pouring the steaming liquid into her Thermos.
"Yeah." She looked over her shoulder at me and laughed. "You should see your expression. It's like I just told you, that we're going to go camping on Mount Everest or something."
I hopped up on the bar-stool.
"When did you guys decide this?"
"Last night. After you went to bed." She screwed the lid on the Thermos and faced me. "You know, after Sam also went upstairs."
Schooling my expression to blank, I picked up my mug.
"Okay."
"Yep. Caleb and I thought, it would be kind of cool to do. We used to camp out all the time when we were kids, so it'll be fun."
She skipped over to me, placing the Thermos on the counter.
"We were going to invite you and Sam..."
"Oh really?" I murmured.
She nodded.
"Actually, Caleb went upstairs last night to ask him, if he wanted to camp with us."
My hand tightened around the warm mug.
"Strangely, Sam wasn't in his room." She paused, lowering her voice. "And the funny thing was, he heard these noises coming from your..."
"Stop it," I said, my face flaming. "I know where you're going with this."
Her eyes narrowed, as she climbed onto the stool next to mine.
"You need to spill, right now, and make it quick, before Caleb gets his butt down here."
Any other time, I would've given her all the juicy details, but I shifted uncomfortably, because, Sam could walk in on us at any moment.
I took a deep breath and said in a quiet voice,
"We didn't have sex."
She gave me her best serious look.
"Don't you dare lie to me, Mercedes."
I rolled my eyes.
"I didn't say, we didn't do other things, but we didn't do that."
"What other things?" A wide smile broke out across her face, as she smacked my arm. "Tell me. Tell me now."
"Stuff. Things. Use your imagination."
She folded her arms and waited.
"My imagination sucks. I need help."
I glanced at the stairwell.
"It involved his hands and my mouth. How about that?"
"Oh!" she chirped. "You dirty girl. He's a dirty boy. You all are getting dirty together."
"Oh my God," I moaned, tucking a stray curl back. "You shouldn't be talking. I know the dirty things you and Caleb do."
"Hell yeah!" she replied, giggling. "The things we did last night were pretty freaky. And I loved every second of it."
I simply stared at her.
She tilted her head back and laughed, and I shook my head.
"We spent most of the time just hanging out, to be honest," I admitted after a moment. "It was really nice."
"I'm sure it was." Sincerity filled her words. "Sam is a really good guy and you're awesome. So it had to be nice."
I wanted to deny that last part. But Sam was an awesome guy, and I was...well, I wasn't sure what I was, on most days.
"You two have always been circling one another," Shay continued, drawing my focus. "It's about time that you let go of what happened freshman year and he recognizes what's been in front of his face, a lot longer than he even realized."
My heart stuttered and then sped up, as I thought about the way he'd looked at me last night.
"I don't know, Shay. I'm..."
I was afraid to open myself up, to expose myself to all that hope.
She gently touched my arm.
"Just don't stress out about it, okay? And if you feel up to it, give it a chance. Give it one shot. Use your time alone with him and see what happens. Caleb and I aren't planning to come back until tomorrow evening. You two will have all day today and tomorrow."
Understanding seeped in.
"You guys are going camping because of us..."
"We're going camping because we want to." Her sly grin said otherwise.
Footsteps sounded from above, nearing the stairs, so she hopped off the stool and then leaned in, kissing my cheek.
"Have fun."
I said nothing, as she danced off towards the stairway.
Sitting there, I stared into my mug, as my pulse began to race.
Suddenly, sweat dotted my palms, but I regulated my breathing, taking deep breaths, before the overwhelmed feeling could take hold and spread like a virus.
When I heard Caleb's deep voice, I looked up and closed my eyes.
In a lot of ways, I was a coward. And I didn't like that about myself. Not at all, but it was scary...the idea of giving us a chance...when I wasn't even sure Sam would be on board.
But then, there'd been last night, and there'd been the time in the pool.
He had said it meant something to him, and maybe...I wasn't seeing what I thought I saw, in the way he looked at me.
Maybe I was reading too much into that and not enough, into what he was actually saying.
I opened my eyes, and decided there and then, that I could at least try.
I would try.
SAM
I normally wasn't a suspicious man, but I had this distinct feeling, that Caleb and Shaylee's impromptu camping trip, reeked of a hidden agenda.
With them gone, Mercedes and I had the whole place to ourselves.
And I totally wasn't complaining.
When we get back to Maryland, I was going to buy Caleb a drink, or maybe one for Shay...for whoever was the mind behind their deviously brilliant plan.
The two of them had left about three hours ago, and I was still giving Mercedes some space.
She was downstairs for the most part...at least not hiding, and neither was I.
I had plopped myself in the living room and had been flipping channels for a while, when she reappeared in the room.
My thumb paused over the remote, as I glanced over at her.
Her red high-lighted hair was pulled up in some kind of twist, so there was no hiding her pretty face and neck.
Fingers clasped together in front of her, Mercedes shifted her weight from one foot to the next, and the skirt of her lavender dress swung just above her knees.
She was barefoot, and I noticed that the paint on her nails, was a different color than before. They were now a pale blue.
I had never, in my entire life, noticed a chick's toenail polish, until now.
"I was going to go outside," she said. Her gaze met mine and then flickered away. "I wanted to see if you wanted to...um...to join me?"
What I wanted to do, was jump to my feet and thrust my fist into the air, but I managed to calmly turn off the TV, place the remote on the couch, and stand.
"Yeah. I can do that."
Her smile was quick, but beautiful nonetheless.
As she turned around and walked towards the glass doors, I trailed after her, wanting to start spewing poetry and shit.
Rubbing a hand along my jaw, I shook my head as we stepped outside.
What the hell had this woman done to me?
Mercedes went to the side of the pool, sitting down and dipping her feet into the water.
I noticed the rain last night had raised the levels, and the water nearly reached the edge.
Following her, I rolled up the legs of my jeans and did the same.
Since the storm yesterday, the temperature had dropped. While it was still warm, it was bearable, so we could sit outside and not have sweat pooling in uncomfortable places.
Mercedes stared at the slowly rippling water, with a pensive look on her face.
"So...when you leave for the police academy, how long will you be gone?" she asked.
The question caught me off-guard, because, I was surprised and glad, that she wanted to know, but I recovered quickly.
"About six months."
She glanced at me quickly, eyes wide.
"That long?"
I nodded.
"But we do get time off. We can leave after a little while, and people can visit us on assigned days. It's not like no contact for six months."
At first, I wasn't sure why I was telling her all of that, but then I realized, I wanted her to know that I'd be around...available. For her.
"So, I'll still be around."
She seemed to mull that over.
"Are you excited?" she asked.
"Yeah," I admitted, splashing my feet. "It feels like I've been working towards it, since forever."
"You don't have to go to college to enter the academy, right?"
I shook my head.
"No, but it gave me a foot up on those who didn't. Plus, having a degree in criminal justice and having experience on a police force, will allow me to move more easily into federal positions."
"That's what you want to do? Federal law enforcement?"
"Eventually," I nudged her with my arm and grinned. "Because, while I know I'll look damn good in a police uniform, just imagine what I'd look like in a suit."
Mercedes tipped her head back and laughed.
"I can second that," she said.
"Damn straight."
Smiling, she paddled her feet in the water.
"When you end up pulling girls over, they're going to willingly accept whatever ticket you're giving them."
I chuckled, admittedly basking in the compliments she was paying me. Fuck! I was ready to roll on my back and let her rub my stomach.
"It's so dangerous, though. The job..." She started to toy with the hem of her skirt. "...Does that scare you?"
I thought about that for a moment, then said,
"I think I'd be stupid or reckless to say, that it's not scary. I think there's a healthy level of fear, but it keeps you on your toes, you know what I mean?"
She nodded slowly.
"That's an interesting way to think of it. And I do understand."
"What about you?" I asked. "You have to be terrified, too."
Her lips turned down at the corners.
"How so?"
"You're going to be working with kids," I explained. "Nothing more terrifying than that."
Mercedes giggled.
"But you know what? I don't have to take those kids home with me."
"And I won't take the job home with me," I admitted, meeting her gaze and holding it. "It'll be hard, but I refuse to do that shit."
She didn't look away.
"Did...did your dad do that?"
I raised a shoulder.
"I don't think he knew how to separate the two, but that was the least of his fuck-ups."
"Do you have any contact with him?" she asked.
"Not really. And I'm cool with that. I still see my mom." I leaned back, resting on my elbows. "What about you? Are you close to your parents? You've never really said before."
"I am. We get together every other Sunday for dinner. All of us. Mom likes to cook, so it's a grand affair for her." A loose curl blew across her cheek. "I kind of look forward to it."
My gaze traveled across her face.
"That's good."
Sitting up, I reached over and caught the curl with my fingers.
She stilled, as I tucked it back behind her ear. Her wide eyes latched onto mine and held.
"These highlights suit you. They look really nice. I like them," I said.
The tips of my fingers had minds of their own. They trailed down the smooth curve of her cheekbone.
"So you take after your mom?" I asked.
Her lips parted.
"Yes."
"Then she must be beautiful."
The hue of her eyes deepened.
"You know what?" she asked.
"What?" I grinned as my finger reached the corner of her lips.
"You can be a real charmer when you want to be."
"And I want to be..." Leaning towards her, I replaced my finger with my lips, kissing the corner of hers. "...With you."
Mercedes pulled back slightly, ducking her chin, as she peered up at me through thick lashes.
But I didn't let her get very far.
"I don't know what to do...with you," she said.
Curling my hand around the nape of her neck, I brought our foreheads together.
"Yeah, you do, Andy. Just do whatever you want."
Her eyes squeezed shut.
"What I mean is, I don't know how to do this with you."
My heart thumped heavily.
"You're doing just fine." I paused. "Most of the time."
The corners of her lips quirked up.
"Yeah, maybe about fifty percent of the time."
Placing my other hand on her cheek, I smoothed my thumb along her jaw.
With Mercedes, I never really knew where I stood with her. One minute, she was sweet as sugar to me. The next, she had a bite more venomous than a copperhead.
But I had great instincts. Always had.
I knew she liked me, and I had a feeling, that like ran deeper than friendship or lust.
But I was going to have to be the one to take the first step, to really put it out there, so there was no mistaking what I wanted, or expected from this.
I pulled back just a little, cupping both sides of her face.
"When we leave this cabin at the end of the week, I want to see you."
Her lashes fluttered up.
"We'll see each other."
I grinned.
"I know, but that's not what I mean. I want to see you, Mercedes. You get what I'm saying?"
Mercedes' gaze searched mine, and I was seriously hoping, I wasn't going to have to write it down. Like those notes back in grade school...Do you like me? Circle yes or no.
But then, she drew in a deep breath and said,
"I get what you're saying."
'Thank God.'
"So, what's your answer?"
"Yes," she whispered. "I want to see you, Sam."
Stay safe!