Disclaimer: I don't own much, but I do owe a lot of thanks to those of you who continue to read, review, follow, and favorite this story. I am caught up now with Tumblr, so I won't have to do these double postings. I will try to post the story here, and put the link on my Tumblr page when I finish Chapter Four which is been a major rewrite and departure from the story. I had to do research ugh to get it 3/4ths finished. I just don't know if I am going to stay true to Tickled Pink or put my own TB spin to it to end the chapter.
Chapter Three
Sam was relieved that he was back in his office after a morning spent in court with the Honorable Roz Washington and after the horrible meeting with a client for lunch that lasted for four hours because he had a client who wouldn't agree on the critical placing of a wall. The only good thing that happened today was Mercedes had shown up in a black leather dress with a peplum top that Stacie said was all the rage in fashion and stiletto heels. He was sure the black was symbolic of her mourning her state of singlehood, and he could feel her pain. Sam hadn't been in a committed relationship since his girlfriend Marley left him to move to New York. Not that he was serious about the model, but she was kind and gorgeous something that was not common with the people he had met since becoming a millionaire. He normally dated two women at a time, but as far as he could remember the last time he was serious about a woman was when he was dating Quinn seven years ago when he was young and stupid. His future marriage would be something that would be very difficult for him considering his wife was hot and he couldn't touch her, and he apparently couldn't touch another woman during the length of their marriage.
Sam couldn't keep his mind off of Mercedes, and he was upset when Noah came into his office bragging about the banging babe that was in the office. "Sam, my man, if you could see this goddess, I tell you she has more curves than a Nissan ad, and all of them are begging for my special touch. I would try every sexual position in the world with her and would still choose doggie style as my favorite because that ass oh that ass what I wouldn't do to tap it. Why did I have to marry Rachel?"
"Probably, because you fell in love with her."
"I know I did love her. But I love beer and I didn't marry it. Our marriage started out great, and now after three kids who keep us busy as hell, she is like 'no Noah I have a headache or my favorite I'm just too tired, I had my weekly hike today.' Rachel is so high maintenance and always tired, and she expects me to do everything for the kids while all she does is sits on ass all day watching Dr. Oz and making us follow the latest health craze. I barely have sex as it is."
Sam just wanted Noah to shut the hell up, but he humored him as always. "Didn't you just tell me that you had sex three or four times last week?"
"You know that Kitty in interior decorating doesn't really count her legs are open for anyone, so having sex with her is like having sex with a bottomless hole and neither does Brittany giving me head twice a week. I don't count oral as sex. Or do you mean Sugar?"
"Sugar, is that the name of the stripper?" Sam asked not believing they were having this conversation even though he had known Noah since college; they had gotten their degrees together, and Sam convinced his father to hire Noah who had years of construction experience as well as having an artistic flair for interior design.
"Who knows Sugar could be a stripper, she wasn't smart enough to be able to have a full time job doing anything else that is for sure. But who cares about these members of the little bitty titty club when a fine, foxy, stacked woman shaped like a Coke bottle is out there. She is in a whole other league. She's dressed in this all black leather outfit that screams dominatrix, and I am like here is your whip spank me, please. She is like a Brick House Barbie, and she is out there talking to your dad right now. Do you think he has hired a new secretary? If so, you better hurry up and knock boots with her before she becomes your new step momma."
Sam knew by Noah's description that he was describing the one and the only Mercedes Jones. What was she doing here besides probably turning every straight male in the office on as well as Brittany? He had no doubts that his secretary would be trying to get in her pants before the day was over to see if she taste like chocolate. What was his father thinking in bringing her here? Even though the office was full of males who didn't listen to R&B music, she would still be recognizable because she was one of the most famous people to have ever lived in Lima, Ohio.
"Sam, I was just showing Mercedes around the office. Her dad and I decided to take her out to lunch today to cheer her up, and as we were leaving the restaurant I asked her if she wanted to look at the place where you and I both worked since it's not that far from her home."
"Hi Sam," Mercedes greeted him trying to ignore the way he eyes swept over her body. He had just seen her this morning, and he was acting like this was the first time he had seen her all day Mercedes thought as she stepped inside Sam's office.
As soon as she was fully in the office, Noah got up and stood as close to her as socially acceptable and introduced himself to her. The smile disappeared from Mercedes' face as she tried to maneuver herself to put as much space as possible between them. She knew enough not to be rude and told him that it was nice to meet him.
Unfortunately for Puck he couldn't take a hint and dropped his voice to the tone he would use in a club and asked for her name. Mercedes never liked giving out her name because if people didn't recognize her, then she was able to live her life normally. However once people found out her name, they were usually able to connect her to her singing career. Mercedes evaded the question by looking at Sam and telling him in her sultriest voice, "Sweetie, why didn't you tell me that the Noah you worked with is so sociable and charming?"
She was calling him sweetie in the sexiest voice he had ever heard, and Sam didn't now if he should kiss or spank her for turning him on without any hope of him getting any satisfaction. "Darling, you will have to forgive me when I am with you thoughts about other people just leave my head," Sam said as moved closer to Mercedes to hug her leaving one arm draped across her shoulders. Sam could feel her body melting into his embrace. He turned attention back to Noah and introduced her as Mercedes his fiancée. Now it was Noah who was suddenly wearing a shocked open mouth expression.
"I can't believe that you are getting married. Mr. I will never settle down has finally been taken off of the market. I can see why you waited you lucky dog." Noah couldn't help but take one more salacious look at Mercedes before turning around an offering his hand to Sam to shake in congratulations.
Sam didn't want to remove his hands from Mercedes, but he do so reluctantly accepting Noah's hand in his own as they did their version of their bro handshake.
Mercedes focused all of her attention on Sam intentionally dismissing Noah by keeping her eyes on Sam alone. After he finished shaking hands with Noah, Mercedes met Sam's gaze and then placed her hand on his chest. "Sweetie, please don't forget that Mike and Tina are coming by tonight for our barbecue around six."
Sam's brain went south when he felt the touch of her hand on his body through his clothes. Even though she was in high heels, the top of her head barely reached his shoulders. He felt so protective of her. "Don't worry honey I promise to be on time. Just make sure my dad doesn't keep you here to long, you know how he is."
"Don't you worry about Mercedes, she is in good hands. I would never let anything happen to my future daughter in law even though she is trying to convince me to take her to a site we are working on. I told her she couldn't wear those heels on a construction site, but I know she would look cute as a button in a construction hat." Dwight said as he waited for Mercedes to leave Sam's office.
As soon as Mercedes lifted her hand from his chest and stepped away, Sam wanted to pull her back because he now craved her touch as she walked with his dad towards the door. Mercedes said her goodbyes, and Sam realized it was going to be an exasperating year and half.
As soon as she left the office he heard Noah saying, "You are marrying the Brick House Barbie! I can't believe this."
Sam realized that Mercedes did everything right to convince Noah that they were a couple; she had truly covered for him when he was at a loss. He could get used to her calling him pet names, none of his other girlfriends had ever called him 'Sweetie' it was unbelievable mushy but when she said it in her deep seductive voice the word went all through him. He had to pay attention to Noah before he further convinced his friend that he was a lovesick fool with his actions. "I most certainly am marrying her, and if you know what is good for you, you will never refer to my future wife as Brick House Barbie again. If I hear you referring to any part of her anatomy, I will kick your ass first, and then kick you in the face, making you sure that you will swallow all of your teeth. Now leave me alone, I have a ton of work to do since I have plans for the evening.
"Thanks Tina for convincing me to have lunch with my dad and Mr. Dwight. They both apologized for their wives' behavior, and I apologized to them for getting upset and being disrespectful. My parents didn't rear me up to be a ratchet hot mess. However, they were both so charming that I didn't feel any guilt at all. My dad treated me like I was his princess again, and when Dad had to go back to work, Mr. Dwight took me to his job to show me where he worked, what he did, and of course we ran into Sam and his wretched friend Noah Puckerman." Mercedes discussed her afternoon with Tina while the two of them prepared the barbecue.
"I knew that going out with the two of them would be just what the doctor ordered. I could tell by Mr. Evans' face last night that he didn't approve of his wife or your mom's behavior, but he was obviously smart enough to stay out of it. And your poor dad was stuck between a rock and a hard place. He was angry with the both of you, and he could publicly correct you without rancor but correcting his wife would have resulted with him probably sleeping on the couch."
"You are so smart and wise as always. Why am I not in the least bit surprised? You could read them like you have always read me."
Tina looked her best friend in the eyes, and said "I also know something else is bothering you. So, tell me what's up with you besides being forced into an arranged marriage and dealing with your normal mama drama?"
Mercedes didn't know where to begin so she just poured out her feelings regarding Sam. "Sam Evans is driving me up the wall. You and I know it's been forever since I've dated or even been interested in a guy. After I became famous most guys wanted to date the superstar and not the person."
"Well that explains why no man has gone out more than twice with you. I don't think you have been in relationship since that loser who went by the name of Rank," after hearing Mercedes wanting to interrupt, Tina continued with, "Oh, please excuse me, he wanted to be called Tank. After your relationship with him failed, you began to devote yourself to your music career and then charities. And later when you had gotten over him, I was diagnosed with breast cancer, and then you completely stopped going out on dates at all."
"Tina, I couldn't bear to see you sick and fighting cancer, and even though I knew Mike was with you, Mike was not himself. I am positive if you would have died, then he would have died of grief along with you because he loved you so much. You were scared, Mike was scared, and I was scared as well. I could understand Mike's pain because even though I don't have romantic love for you, I love you like a sister, and I can't imagine my life without you in it. You know my parents; I need you and will always need you in my life because you love me unconditionally." Mercedes had to struggle to hold back her tears. She withheld her tears from Tina throughout her friend's battle with cancer. Tina and Mike thought she was being strong and optimistic, but her mother had ingrained in her that tears were for the weak, and that Mercedes Marcia Jones was a strong black woman.
Tina, on the other hand, was one who would cry at the drop of a hat. Tears were rolling down her face as she remembered her illness. "I can't believe that you gave up so much for me. You cancelled tours, appearances, and put back your album's release date, so you could spend time with me. You moved back to Lima a place you said you would never come back to because you didn't want to be near your mama. You did it all for me."
"I had no choice Tina. At the time Mike was a ball of emotion, and your mom dealt with your illness by turning to alcohol to numb her pain while your dad was so stoic. I knew you needed me, and there was no place that I would rather be than with you during that time."
"That's my mom and dad. She is the eternal optimist and he is the eternal pessimist. When she found out the cancer was stage four and that she would more than likely lose me she was so supportive until my dad having already given up and all but buried me convinced her to accept my death. She really couldn't cope, so she just turned to alcohol and continued to drink out of guilt for not being there for me."
"Well, I used to be jealous of your mom and your relationship with her until your cancer diagnosis. I don't even think that the doctor thought you were going to survive because you were so petite and frail. I was so terrified that every phone call I would get would be someone telling me that you had died. You truly inspired me to never lose hope and write songs about how even in the darkest hour there is a light, and we must hold on and keep the faith and never let go. And look at you now. You are married to the love of your life and you are in complete remission, so I have nothing to be upset about."
"Mercedes you can try to redirect the conversation as much as you like, but you are still not telling me what is wrong and has placed those bags under your eyes indicating that you are not getting proper sleep. Please don't shut me out."
"It's my feelings for Sam; I don't know if I am going to be able to fight off my attraction towards him."
"Girl is that all. I think any female over the age of 12 who is straight forget that some even batting for the other team would be attracted to your husband, even though I am happily married, I still think he is hot." Tina said laughing at Mercedes as she began to chop of the vegetables for the salad.
"Tina, I mean more than like him physically, he is beginning to turn me on emotionally, too. His mom and my mom are so similar and our dads are similar, too. I'm about to be his wife in name only, and I am seriously doubting my ability to keep my hands off of that body. I made a mistake and touched is chest today, and I swear he has a minimum of a six pack and that smile of his; those lips make me imagine all the ways he can use them to give me pleasure. And did I mention those arms and those big hands. You know when he hugged me today, I could tell that big hands, big feet, also equal big d! How in the hell and I am going to go through a year and half of marriage and not climb that man like a tree?"
"Mercedes, I don't know what to tell you, but I think you are worrying too much. We are not promised tomorrow, so it's best to just focus on today and its concerns." Tina tried to give her friend good advice seeing how conflicted she was. Tina really wanted to tell Mercedes to forget the annulment and work out her sexual frustration on Sam, but she knew her friend wanted to save herself for marriage and that was the reason she and Tank broke up, and if Sam wasn't her happily ever after, she would feel awful giving up her virginity to a man that she was only married to for a year and a half.
"Look at me Tee! After talking to my dad and Mr. Dwight I have decided to pretend to have a "real" marriage so that our mothers are not embarrassed. I am standing in my kitchen dressed like, cooking like, and being neurotic like a black Martha Stewart all to impress some guy that has to marry me anyway. I am wearing make-up for two days in a row look I even have eyeliner on."
Tina turned around and saw Sam and Mike approaching, and she tried to interrupt Mercedes, but Mercedes continued on, I have on an outfit my mother bought me for the summer we spent in the Hamptons. I have over 30 freaking recipes for salad that range from casual to haute cuisine, and I am wondering which salad would go best with steak. What if Sam hates everything that I am preparing?"
Tina finally had a chance to enter the conversation. "I really think that you should change the subject,"
"Hell to the no, Tee! You were the one saying I needed to talk and now I am spilling my tea. You wanted me to confess why I have been tossing and turning and not getting sleep, and it is all because I am so stupid to be attracted to my future husband; someone who I hated on sight. Now I am worried about whether or not he has food allergies, and if my cooking will kill him, then Judge Washington would use this as an excuse to say I was avoiding marriage to him and have me convicted for murder one."
"Mercedes! Shut up the hell up! I mean it stop talking."
"Tina what is your problem you act as if Sam is standing behind me. Oh rub a duck; he is standing right behind me isn't he?"
"Honey, I am home." Sam said, and Mercedes wish she could melt and disappear through the vent on the floor.
"How the hell did you get in?" Mercedes asked him thinking it would be rude for him to just walk up in her home even if he would be moving his belongings into two of the rooms that very weekend.
"Sam called me to come over his place and put some boxes that he will be moving over here that he didn't want the professional movers to be responsible for. He needed my SUV as well as he car to bring them over with his clothes, so that is why we both arrived at the same time, and I figured I would show Sam where you keep your spare key which I am assuming you need to go ahead and give to him and make another copy of. I figured you and Tina would be so busy with food preparation that you wouldn't mind if we came on in."
Mercedes looked at Mike as if he had lost his ever loving mind and mouthed really to Tina who could have interrupted at any time to let her know that Sam was listening to every freaking thing she was saying. Mike saw the look that Mercedes was giving to him and his wife, so he decided to play it safe and leave the room before she went off on the both of them, "Babe why don't you help me unload the boxes that are in the SUV?" Mike said as Tina quickly agreed and left Mercedes alone with Sam.
"Mercedes you have never been this quiet for this long are you okay?" Sam asked noticing that she was avoiding his eyes and not looking in his direction in general. When she shook her head indicating she wasn't, Sam couldn't stop himself from drawing her into his body into a hug. He missed her scent, the feel of her hair underneath his chin, and the feel of her curves close to his body. "You don't have to worry about me the only thing that I am allergic to is shellfish, so steak and salads are fine." He tried to distract the both of them, but he could feel the sparks that they generated whenever they were close to one another and it was feeling that he was reluctant to let go even though he knew he would have to end the hug.
"Would you like something to drink?" She asked and when Sam nodded, she told him where the beer was. "Did you know that other than Mike, you are the only person that I know who drinks beer?"
"I also drink scotch, bourbon, and have been known to sip on a little whiskey, too."
"I just think that this entire situation is so weird. We are marrying each other in less than three days, yet we really don't know much about each other." Mercedes said as she resumed chopping the vegetables for the salad.
Sam had stepped over to the fridge to get the beer and while he was walking he couldn't help but noticed how her hair was beginning to curl again and it was swept back with a headband allowing him to see her beautiful eyes. Sam wanted to stop gazing at her, but after hearing her confession about wanting him as well the only thought that was going through his mind was how in the world he was going to keep himself from trying to seduce this sexy woman. He had to get his hormones under control and while he was trying to do so, he couldn't help but reveal to her that he'd wish they had met under different circumstances.
"I wish we would have too." Mercedes said concentrating on the salad because she could get lost in the intensity of his green eyes.
"Do you want to know a secret?" He said wanting to tease her and bring a smile to her face. After she nodded that she did want to know, Sam couldn't stop grinning and told Mercedes, "I am seriously attracted to you to as well." And when Mercedes gave him an answering smile, he felt as if all the air was sucked out of the room. Her smile truly made her beauty luminescent. Sam realized that by temporarily marrying a woman that could rob him of his breath may not be his wisest decision. Instead of telling her this, he tried to reassure himself by saying, "As far as this mutual attraction that we have going on between us, we will both be okay as long as we don't act on it."
"We won't be able to get our annulment if we do, and I believe that we can handle our attraction now that we are actually getting along with each other. The only thing that that makes me wonder about your sanity now is your taste in friends. I don't know how much of Noah Puckerman that I will be able to tolerate if you plan on spending as much time with him as I spend with Tina and Mike."
"You mean the famous Puckerman charm didn't make you want to risk going to jail for 30 days so you could get with him?" Sam asked pulling her chain. He could tell how Mercedes tried to distance herself from Noah that she was definitely not feeling him.
"Hell to the no Sam, I would prefer if I had to be in his presence, that it will be for as little time as possible."
"Well, he is a college friend, and we will be expected to entertain him and his wife when it comes to company dinners with my family, but as for us doing what we do with the Changs, you don't have to worry about us doing it with the Puckermans. They have three children and believe me I try to avoid going over their house as much as possible."
"I will just do my best to keep my distance from him when we have to be around him. Taste this piece of steak for me. I used a homemade marinade, and I want your honest opinion before serving it to you all for dinner." Mercedes cut him a tiny portion of the steak and placed the meat on the fork so he could taste it.
"Wow, that is the most succulent and flavorful piece of steak that I have had off the grill in my life. Are you a professional chef as well?" Sam asked ready to eat his meal and get far away from Mercedes as possible. Her smell made her just as appetizing as the food. She was almost the perfect woman: brilliant, beautiful, sassy, and could cook. He tried to spend the rest of the evening without focusing on her and instead enjoying the barbecue with her friends who were quickly becoming his close friends as well.
On Sunday Mercedes had been on pins and needles waiting for Sam to pick her up to join him for his family's Sunday dinner. The barbecue had been a success, and they had emptied the boxes that Mike and Tina had brought into the house earlier as well as retrieved and unpacked the luggage that Sam had in the car. Tina, Mike, and Sam had left after midnight which prompted Mercedes to sleep late that morning.
Now she was walking hand in hand with Sam up the drive of his parent's home. The pins and needles feeling hadn't left but seem to increase the closer they got to his house.
Sam could feel Mercedes' nervous energy, so he tried to calm her by reminding her that it was only Sunday dinner with his parents and siblings and that she would be okay. He saw her fidgeting with her dress and told her she looked beautiful which she did in a short royal blue dress and killer heels. Sam could think of all the things he wanted to do to her while she was wearing those heels, but cleared his throat when Mercedes mentioned all the cars that were parked along the street.
"Somebody must be throwing a party." Mercedes guessed thinking it was unusual for people to throw parties on Sunday afternoons.
"Well, I thank God, that my parents are sticklers for our family dinner tradition, so I know that we aren't going to have to go to their neighbor's party."
Mercedes noticed her father's vehicle and the two others parked on the driveway. "Whose cars are the other two vehicles that are parked by my dad's car?"
"Oh, that is my brother Stevie's car and the car that my dad recently bought my sister Stacie for her 17th birthday." As the neared the front door, Sam put his arm around her waist, and the tingles he felt when he held her hand multiplied.
Mercedes knew her butterflies and nervousness was a result from the last meal she shared with their parents. "I am just hoping and praying that this dinner will not be as horrible as the first dinner we all shared together at Tina and Mike's." She had been avoiding her mother successfully since the dinner, and this would be the first time they would be face to face since that disastrous night.
"Just think on the bright side, I don't think there is any possibility of it being any worse, and this time we are not battling each other. We are a unified team, and the only problem that I think we will have is my little brother." Sam admitted as they approached the front door.
"A team I like that idea. I will have your back and you will have mind. Why would your brother be a problem?"
"Yep, Team Samcedes those mothers of ours don't stand a chance. Stevie will be a problem because the first thing I bet he is going to do when he meets you is hit on you."
"Sam didn't you tell me that Stevie is just 19, I am over a decade older than him, and I'm your fiancée. I doubt he will be that bold to flirt with me in your face."
"Mercedes, according to my mother, Evans' men come out of the womb flirting. You have even said how charming you find my father. Well, my brother is at the time in his life that he has more hormones than common sense, and when he sees you that body that God broke the mold of once He made you because I have yet to see anyone as sexy, he will be unable to stop flirting with you for the entire evening. Just don't smile and tell him he's cute, or you will have to deal with him dogging you throughout our marriage."
"Thanks Sam," Mercedes said sarcastically. "Now I don't only have to worry about our mothers, but I also have to watch out for your brother who may or may not become my stalker."
"Now that our mothers have an audience of my siblings, I assure you they will be on their best behavior because I don't think they have told them that we're being court ordered to marry, and my brother is harmless; he won't stalk you just flirt with you every chance he gets. I am sure both our dads and yours truly will be able to keep him in check."
As soon as Sam rang the doorbell, his mother rushed to open door smiling as if she was the happiest woman in the world. "Oh Sam and Mercedes come in. Mercedes I simply adore that dress. You are beautiful as always."
Mercedes was shocked to see this version of Mary Evans. So, she accepted the compliment with a thank you and followed Sam into the grand foyer that had double staircases on both sides similar to her parents' home except their double staircase extended from the great room not the foyer.
As they went into the home, Mercedes was shocked to be greeted by her own mother who called out their names and hugged Mercedes before asking, "How are my beautiful baby girl and handsome future son-in-law doing today?"
Mercedes didn't know how to answer her mom. She felt that either she was dreaming or that she had stepped into the twilight zone. Sam, appearing to be not the least bit shocked by their behavior, replied that they were doing fine and asked how Mrs. Jones was doing as well. Her mother was interrupted by Mary who grabbed Sam's arm and ushered all four of them through the house saying that everyone was waiting for them.
Sam unable to remain optimistic had to question his mother, "By everyone you mean only our families right?"
"Uh no not exactly Sam we sort of meant it by saying that you two were going to have to pretend that this marriage was for real, and in order to do this, Melanie and I…"
Before they could step towards the end of the foyer and before Mary could finish talking a great many people shouted "Surprise!" causing Mercedes to stumble back in shock, and Sam had to react quickly to catch her from slipping on the hardwood floors with her heels. "Oh, hell to the no." she whispered as she felt Sam's arm around her waist.
"What the hell is this?" Sam asked the moms, and Mercedes' mother laughed at him.
"This is your engagement party silly. Mary and I know you both didn't want us to make a big deal because of how much Mercedes values her privacy and doesn't want the media to know her personal business, but we just couldn't go without having a small party with a hundred of our closest friends and a couple of your friends." Melanie explained as hugged Sam then Mercedes again.
Mary congratulated the kids on their engagement and then left the two, so they could mingle hurrying away from them before Sam's loose lips could say anything and before Mercedes could explode in anger. Mercedes told Sam that she could kill their mothers before she spotted and waved to Mike and Tina.
Sam promised to help Mercedes hide their bodies, before telling her if they decide to commit the crime that night that she would have to change her shoes. This caused Mercedes to remember her almost fall from earlier and caused her to laugh. While they were laughing a camera flash went off, and Mercedes knew without a doubt the press was there, and they would have to put on a show as a loving couple. "Okay Sweetie lets go interact with a couple of our friends while avoiding the hundred of our mothers' closest acquaintances." Sam agreed and steered her towards Mike and Tina.