A/N: Here is the next chapter, everybody :)
Enjoy!
"So, here we are, Mercy." Sam said before he playfully sighed and smiled at Mercedes. "This is the last hole on the golf course."
Mercedes nodded. "And since I'm winning, you'd think that I'd be a confident golfer, by now." She laughed. "Even if you have been helping me out by giving me tips."
Sam laughed too. "Nah. I sure that my help hasn't made THAT much of a difference. It's not like golf is difficult or anything." He said sarcastically.
Mercedes looked at him with a stern facial expression before she stuck out her tongue at him. She prepared to take her turn by correcting her stance.
Sam laughed again. He took a step back, towards and behind Mercedes, not only to give her space to swing and hit the ball, but to get a glimpse of one of his favorite of her 'assets.' He smirked as he stared.
"Sam -" Mercedes said as she turned and looked at Sam. She paused when she noticed him look away and then look back towards her, though she noticed him looking in her direction initially. She shook her head. "And here I was about to ask you for help." She said with a smile. "But, no, I guess you'd rather continue doing whatever it is that you were just doing…" She said before she turned her attention back towards the ball. "…that you think I didn't notice." Mercedes smiled at Sam again.
Sam blushed. "Sorry." He said with a chuckle, although they both knew that he didn't mean what he just said. "You know that I'd love to help you, Mercy." He put his golf club down and approached Mercedes. "I'll just check you out afterwards."
"Sam!" Mercedes laughed.
Sam was honest. "Well, I will."
He stood behind her, in the same stance, and put his arms and hands on top of hers as she held the golf club.
"You just have to remember to always look at the ball…" He moved her arms back and up, causing the golf club to move away from the golf ball. "…Considering your distance from the hole, you don't have to raise the club too high, but make sure that it's not too low either…" Sam said. "…Now just swing, hit, and follow through." He moved her arms back towards the ball, causing the golf club to hit the ball. They both watched as the ball rolled into the role.
Mercedes smiled and clapped. "Yes!" She said excitedly.
Sam clapped too. "That was awesome."
Mercedes and Sam 'high-fived' before hugging and sharing a kiss.
After they wrote their scores on the score-sheet and gathered all of the golf equipment, they began walking back towards the Lima Country Club.
Sam's parents are members of this country club, as well as friends of the club committee members. Sam has been coming to the country club to play golf since he was old enough to do so. Usually, he'd play with his father, but sometimes they'd have a 'tournament' of their own involving him, his dad, his dad's friends, and their sons who were also Sam's friends since they'd often see each other here.
With the weather getting less and less 'friendly' for golf, this could possibly be the last weekend that the golf course is available here. So Sam invited Mercedes to join him for a game.
Both of them wore black dress pants, and Mercedes wore a pink cardigan sweater and a white, short-sleeved dress shirt with a pair of black flats while Sam wore a yellow, checkered, long-sleeved dress shirt with a pair of black dress shoes.
"That was fun." Mercedes said. "But the next time we play, you will NOT, and I repeat, you will NOT go easy on me or even help me at all…okay?"
Sam pretended to be confused and unsure of what Mercedes meant. "Mercedes, I didn't 'go easy on you.' Sure, I helped you out, but whenever I took my own turn, I played exactly the same way that I've always played. OW!" Sam yelled as Mercedes gave him several small punches to the back.
"What was that?" Mercedes asked.
Sam sighed. "Okay, okay!" He said. "I agree. I'll let you do your own thing, the next time we play."
Mercedes smiled. She gave him a kiss. "Thank you." She said before she gave him just one more punch.
"Hey!" Sam began rubbing his back. "Why did you do that?"
"Because you actually thought that I would believe that YOU, someone who has played golf and watched others including your father play golf for years, couldn't win a game against ME." Mercedes said.
Sam chuckled.
He wrapped an arm around her shoulders as they continued walking towards the building.
Once they were inside, they headed for the dining area. After they found a table, they put down the golfing equipment and Mercedes sat down as Sam took his wallet out of his pocket.
"I'm telling you, Mercy." Sam said. "This place has the best smoothies you'll ever taste. What kind do you want? Fruit or Vegetable? And what all do you want in it?"
"I'll just have whatever you're having." Mercedes said.
Sam nodded. "Good choice," he said with a smile.
He walked over to the Snack Bar. Sam greeted the employee, ordered and paid for two 'fruit and veggie mix' smoothies, and waited as they were being made.
As he waited, his cell phone rang. Sam took it out of his pocket. He looked at the caller ID and saw that the person calling him was Brody. He answered the phone call. "Hello?"
"Hey, man." Brody said. "How's it going?"
Sam smiled. "Hey, what's up, B?"
"I told you that I'd let you know when I'm back in town." Brody said.
"Yeah, but I didn't think that you'd actually be back before the semester ends." Sam said.
Brody laughed. "Hey, man, you know how I am. I'm always ready to party." He said. "Besides, I'm here with some of my Frat brothers. We're just here for the weekend to have some fun before Mid-terms."
Sam waited for him to admit what the main reason is that he's back. "…Okay?"
Brody chuckled. "And…maybe I've got some…stuff…that I'm looking to sell while I'm in town." He said. "I'm always ready to make money, too."
Sam was quiet for a moment.
"So, you busy tonight?" Brody asked. "Why don't you come on by and hang with us for a while?"
"Oh," Sam said. He hadn't even considered visiting Brody and the rest of the guys tonight. Sam looked at Mercedes. "I don't know, man."
"Since when do you not feel like partying with the best?" Brody asked. "Besides, it's not like things will get too out of control, this time around. It's just us guys, a few chicks that we know from on the campus, and some other people." Brody said. "You'll be able to hang out with us guys, and I'll get to know your cute, new girlfriend. What's her name? 'Mercedes?'"
Sam had no idea that Brody knew anything about Mercedes or their relationship. "Do you think that you could tell me how it is that you know anything about her?"
"I'll tell you. Tonight," Brody chuckled again. "Later, dude." He said before he ended the phone call.
Sam sighed. He put his cell phone back in his pocket before the country club employee finished making the smoothies and gave them to Sam. Sam thanked him and walked back to the table.
Mercedes smiled as Sam placed the drink on top of the table, in front of her. "Thank you."
"It's no problem," Sam said with a smile as he put his own drink down and sat down.
Mercedes had a sip of the drink. "…This is good." She said.
Sam nodded. "I told you so." He said. Sam began thinking about his conversation with Brody. A part of him did want to see his friend, but he didn't want to be around the craziness that usually came along with and from being in Brody's presence, least of all if Mercedes was with him. Eventually, Sam decided to just ask Mercedes what she thought about it. "Mercy?"
"Yeah?" Mercedes asked.
"…I, uh, I got a call from a friend of mine." Sam said. "I told you about my friend Brody, right? He's a college student, but he's from Lima, so he still visits often."
"Yeah." Mercedes said. "And he played on the football team at McKinley, right?"
Sam nodded. "Right." He said. "He's in town for the weekend. Usually whenever he's back in Lima, he has a party with some friends. He always invites me and some of the other members of the football team…Well, this visit is no different." He said. "And he wants me to bring you so that he can meet my 'cute, new girlfriend.'"
Mercedes smiled. "He said that to you?"
Sam smiled. "Yeah." He said. "So I figured I'd ask you if you wanted to go. But we don't have to. It's totally up to you."
"Do you want to go?" Mercedes asked. "He seems to be a good friend of yours."
"Yeah," Sam said. "But, he's…not the type of person I'd like you to meet."
Mercedes was curious. "Why not?"
Sam was honest. "Let me put it to you this way," Sam said. "If you looked up the definition of the word 'party,' a photo of him would be there as a reference."
Mercedes laughed. "Well, to be fair, he is in college."
Sam nodded. "True," he said. "But I wouldn't want you to feel uncomfortable around him or anyone else there."
Mercedes playfully rolled her eyes. "Sam, I'm not as 'good' as you might think."
Sam looked at her as she leaned towards him.
Mercedes whispered into his ear. "Everybody has a 'bad' side, and I've been waiting to get in touch with mine."
As Mercedes leaned away and back towards her seat, Sam couldn't help but smirk.
Mercedes smirked back at him, seductively.
"Well, I guess we'll be there." Sam said.
Several hours later, an apprehensive Sam arrived at Mercedes' house.
In order to let her know that he was outside, he texted her. She texted him back to let him know that she was about to come to the car. He only had to wait for a minute. He looked towards the front door of her home as she opened it, exited the house, then closed and locked the door.
He smiled as he saw her approaching the car.
Mercedes wore a black, V-neck, long-sleeved shirt, a blue, denim skirt with black leggings, and a pair of black, suede, high-heeled ankle boots. Sam wore a green, long-sleeved t-shirt, blue jean pants, and a pair of black chucks. Both of them brought a jacket just in case it got cold.
After Mercedes entered the car, the couple kissed.
"Hey," Mercedes said. "And before you ask, my grandmother does know that I'm out."
Sam nodded. "What did you tell her?" He asked.
"I told her that Rachel is having a sleepover at her house, and since every girl from the glee club is going, Tina was going to pick me up and bring me back home tomorrow." Mercedes said. "She's been sleeping on-and-off throughout the evening, but she hasn't woken up again for about an hour, so she didn't see me leave."
Sam smirked. "I sure am impressed."
Mercedes laughed. "Well, thank you." She said.
Sam began driving away from the house.
After he drove for a while, Sam entered Fairfield Township.
Mercedes stared as they approached and passed by the sign that read: Welcome to Fairfield Township
She closed her eyes and tried not to think about the accident. She knew that unless Sam turned back around and took a different route to the motel, she'd see the area where the accident occurred. Although she'd visited the city since the night of the accident, it was always a struggle to not get emotional when she was near here. But she wanted to overcome all of that.
Sam noticed that Mercedes seemed different compared to how she was just a few minutes ago. "Cedes, you okay?" He asked.
Mercedes abruptly looked at him. She nodded her head. "…Yes…Everything's okay." Mercedes said as she forced a smile upon her face.
Sam held her hand and kissed the back of it as he continued driving.
He felt badly, because he was sure that the reason why Mercedes suddenly didn't seem like herself was because he was approaching the location of the accident. It was yet another reason why he initially didn't want to come out here.
"We can go back, if you want," Sam said. "Maybe I should take you home…"
Mercedes used her thumb to rub his hand. She shook her head. "No," she said. "I could use a carefree night, Sam." She told him. "I can't even remember the last time I had one…if I've EVER even had one."
Sam understood.
"Besides," Mercedes said. "Your friend was nice enough to invite me, so the least that I can do is make an appearance."
As they looked at each other, they started laughing.
Sam smiled. "Yeah, I guess," he said. "But he better not flirt with you." Sam said. "Brody's usually the one to suggest that I follow his 'influence,' remain single and…well…you get the idea." Sam chuckled. "So I think that the fact that he asked me to bring you along so that he can meet you means that he must already like you."
Mercedes smiled. "Don't worry." She said. "If he does flirt with me, and you don't get to him first, I'll shut him down for you."
Sam nodded. "I hope you mean that, because I'm being completely serious about him."
They continued driving. Eventually, they approached the area of the accident. Sam, hoping to help Mercedes remain focused on something other than that, began singing along to the song that was currently playing on the radio.
Mercedes knew what Sam's goal was, and she was appreciative. As she intertwined their fingers, she began singing too.
Before they knew it, the song was over.
Sam stopped the car as they approached a red light. He looked at Mercedes and saw that she was already looking at him. He smiled and gave her playful kisses on the cheek.
Mercedes giggled.
Once the light turned green again, Sam began driving again.
Suddenly, Sam was overwhelmed by a thought that was new and uncontrollable.
*Flashback*
Sam was feeling a bit out of sorts.
"God I hate this car. Dumbass radio, change the FUCKING STATION!" yelled a hyperactive Sam.
He was on the road trying to focus on getting home safely, but it was becoming increasingly hard as his mind wandered. It was strange. One moment he was anxious to get home, head for his room and go straight to sleep, yet now all he could think about was getting out of the confines of his car and attempting to dance his 'white-chocolate' ass off.
He tried to calm his nerves by focusing on finding some decent music. He began manually scanning through radio stations continuously coming up short.
"Finally," he grinned and cranked up the volume, bobbing his head to the music.
*End of Flashback*
The thought caused him to feel nothing but confusion, but he tried to put it aside.
After Sam parked the car, both of the teenagers exited.
As they walked up to the door of the motel room, Sam saw that the door was open. He pushed it open a bit more, so that they could enter, and he held Mercedes' hand as they walked inside. She closed the door behind her as Sam looked around for Brody.
Brody, who was sober, approached the couple. "Hey," he said. "I'm glad that you two could make it."
"Yeah, thanks again for letting me know about tonight." Sam said.
"Oh, sure, it's never a problem, man," Brody said. He smiled at Mercedes. "I'm Brody. You must be Mercedes." He extended his hand.
Mercedes smiled too. "Yes. It's nice to meet you." She said as she grabbed Brody hand before they shook each other's. "And thank you for the 'invite.'"
"No, no, no, no, thank YOU for coming." Brody said. "I had to meet Sammy-boy's girl. And I'm glad that I get the chance to do so, because otherwise I might not have gotten to see you in the flesh. You are beautiful," He looked at Mercedes intensely, from her head to her toes.
Mercedes smiled and held back her laugh as Sam put his arm around her shoulders.
"Watch it, B." Sam said.
Brody turned his attention to Sam and chuckled. "Sorry, man. But, hey, obviously you know that why I said is true."
Sam sighed with a groan and playfully pushed Brody.
The tall, brunette, older male laughed and led the two teens past everyone else.
Mercedes saw the refreshment table as they walked. "You guys go ahead." She said to Sam and Brody as she stopped walking.
"Are you sure, Mercy?" Sam asked.
She nodded. "Yeah, I'm going to get a drink. Do you want me to bring you something?"
He shook his head. "Nah, not right now. Thanks, though."
Sam and Brody walked into the bedroom where Brody and some other guys had been watching TV, talking, and drinking.
The men in the room saw Sam and greeted him.
Sam smiled. "Hey, guys. It's always good to see everybody," he said.
As he and Sam sat down, a chuckling Brody spoke. "Don't even bother asking how he's been, guys." He said. "If speaking to his girl taught me anything, it's that he'll never have a reason to be unhappy again."
"Speaking of which," Sam began. "Are you ever going to tell me how it is that you even know about my relationship?"
"Dude, you know that 'once a 'Liman,' always a 'Liman.'' Between my parents and all of my friends here, I couldn't avoid news about anything that happens around here even if I wanted to. I heard that you two got Homecoming King and Queen, too. Congratulations." Brody said. "By the way, 'the WILDE child' is the one that told me."
Immediately, Sam felt annoyed. "Kitty told you?"
Brody laughed. "Yeah. And I don't know why, but she didn't sound like she was mad or anything when she mentioned it to me. Well, that could be because she was drunk at the time."
Sam was confused. "Wait, so you two have been talking to each other more often now?"
"…I guess so." Brody said, after he thought about what to say. "I was just telling the guys that the last time we were at this motel…things between the two of us were…different."
Sam looked at him as he continued speaking.
"Alright, I'll just go on ahead and say it." Brody said. "…We hooked up."
Sam hadn't expected to hear that. "…Dude, what?"
"I know, I know. Trust me, I couldn't believe it either, when I woke up the next morning." Brody said.
"…Are you two…?" Sam didn't finish asking the question.
Brody got the idea. "We've just been communicating a lot more, now." He said. "But you better believe I'm still single. In fact, I'm in love with my 'singlehood,' if that's even a word."
Sam and the rest of the guys laughed.
As she stood in the outer area of the motel room, Mercedes stared at the liquid that was in her cup.
After a while, she decided to stop thinking about anything more than she should and just enjoy herself at the party.
'You are here to have fun!' She thought before she drank the drink in one gulp, tasted the alcohol, and immediately began coughing.
A girl hurried over to Mercedes. "Whoa, whoa, you shouldn't drink it all, like that." She said as she put a hand on Mercedes' back.
Mercedes began inhaling and exhaling deeply. "I didn't know." She said.
"Which drink did you have?" The other girl asked.
Mercedes pointed to the beverage bowl in front of her.
The other girl smiled. "Oh, that's no drink for an obvious newbie." She got a drink for Mercedes from the beverage bowl at the end of the table. "Here you go." She said as she handed it to her. "This isn't as strong."
Mercedes thanked her and sipped the drink. "Yeah, this is less strong."
Another girl approached the two of them. Mercedes assumed that she was a friend of the first girl because she linked arms with the first girl as she spoke to her. "Giving her advice on how to handle booze?" The second girl asked.
The other girl nodded. "Yeah, something like that."
Mercedes finished her drink. "…I think that I'll try something else," she said before she picked up a shot of tequila.
The second girl chuckled. "I already like this girl," she said as she put her cup down and got two shots, too. She gave one to the other girl.
The first girl nodded, in agreement. "Cheers," she said.
Mercedes smiled as they all hit their shot glasses against each other before they drank.
About half an hour later, Sam was drinking what would be his first and only beer and laughed along with Brody and the rest of the guys as they continued talking.
The guys began exiting the bedroom so that they could go and get another drink or talk to a few of the other guests.
Sam and Brody were left alone.
"So, even though I've heard about you and your 'CUTEiful' girlfriend...yes, I'm calling her that because she's 'cute' and 'beautiful,'" Brody said and he chuckled when Sam glared at him. "I'm curious to know how it is that you got her, in the first place."
"It's called being awesome, B. Not that you'd know anything about that." Sam said with a smile before he had another sip of his beer.
Brody laughed. "Sure." He said, sarcastically. "So what's the story?"
Sam started thinking. "…I don't know." He said. "She's just the type of girl that caught my attention from the moment I saw her."
"I see why," Brody said. "Girl's got the type of body that you usually don't see on a girl her age."
"That's not what I'm trying to say," Sam said. "It's not JUST her looks…It's everything."
"'Everything,' like…" Brody said.
Sam knew that he was implying 'sex.' "No, no, no. We haven't crossed that line, yet." Sam said. "We haven't even talked about it. Not that I'm worrying. Anyway, it's not a big deal."
Brody nodded. He wanted to talk to Sam about something else that he'd heard about Mercedes. "…So…" He began. "Considering everything that's been going on with her, are things weird for you two?"
"…Are you talking about the car accident?" Sam asked.
Brody nodded again. "Yeah."
Sam shook his head as he swallowed another sip of his beer. "Nah, everything's been fine." He said. "In fact, things have probably been too fine, since it wasn't that long ago."
Brody stood up and drank his beer as he put a hand on Sam's shoulder. "Dude, when it comes to girls, there is no such thing as things being 'too fine' between us and them." He said with a chuckle.
Sam smiled and stood up too.
"Hey, let's see what we've been missing." Brody said.
Sam opened the door before he and Brody exited the room. After doing so, Sam closed the door. He looked around for Mercedes, though he didn't see her. Suddenly, a group of people, surrounding an area in the corner, began excitedly yelling, whistling, and cheering.
The song 'Evacuate the Dancefloor' by Cascada played.
"Shake that ass, sexy!"
"I'm about to 'make it rain' on you!"
"Yes! Yes! Yes!"
Sam heard all of this as he approached the crowd, before making his way in front of them all, after struggling to see over them. He could not believe what he was seeing.
Mercedes was dancing, if anyone would call it that, against the wall. She moved her hips as she swung her head from side to side and slowly brought her hands up and down while they were on her torso, stopping for a while whenever she reached her breasts.
Sam grabbed her hands in an attempt to stop her from doing what she was doing. "Mercedes, what the fuck?!"
Mercedes whined as Sam pulled her towards himself. "Sam, stop. I'm just having fun. You know what? I want YOU to dance with me, now!"
As Mercedes began moving her body to the music again, Sam held her face between his hands, hoping to get her to focus and listen to him. "No," he said. "You need to stop, sit, and calm the FUCK down."
Sam pushed past everybody in the crowd as he, with his arms around Mercedes' midsection, carried her to the bedroom.
After they entered the bedroom, he closed the door by kicking it shut, and he took Mercedes to the bed, putting her down and on top of it.
Mercedes smiled at Sam as he sat on the bed, next to her. "Ohhh…that's why you wanted me to stop dancing and come back here."
Sam shook his head. "No, Mercedes, that's not what this is about. You -"
Mercedes cut him off by kissing him. She straddled Sam's lap, putting her hands on his shoulders, when she wasn't touching other parts of him, especially his neck, abs, and 'lower' region.
"Mercedes -" Sam tried to speak, again, but she stopped kissing his neck and began kissing his lips again.
Slowly, she started lifting his shirt. Once his entire torso was exposed, she removed her lips from his lips and took the shirt off of him.
"Mercedes -" Sam stopped speaking. He watched as Mercedes removed her own shirt, revealing her pink bra.
"Mercedes -" Mercedes' aggressive yet passionate kisses continued, preventing Sam from speaking.
"Mercedes -" Sam could not help but moan as she began grinding against him. As she did so, he put his hands on her hips, until Mercedes took his hands into her own and put them on her butt.
Sam was now lying flat against the bed, on his back.
As Mercedes reached both of her hands behind herself, down, and on top of Sam's throbbing bulge, Sam tried to sit back up. "No -" he said. "Mercedes." Sam finally got her attention.
Mercedes looked into his eyes. "What is it, Sam?" She asked.
She was still on his lap, so, gently, Sam lifted her up and put her back on the bed. Then, he sat on the side of the bed. Sam looked at her. "…We shouldn't do this."
Mercedes was confused.
"Mercedes, you're drunk." Sam said. "And I'm not comfortable with the idea of going any further without knowing that this is what you want, or that this is what you would want if you were sober."
"Sam," Mercedes said. "I want you." She sat on her knees and put her hands on his cheeks as she kissed his lips.
Sam smiled. He held her hands and kissed them both before he stood up and faced the wall as he spoke. "Obviously, I LOVE hearing you say that," Sam said. "…But, when we reach the point in our relationship when we're ready for that, I don't want it to be like this. Well, I would like it if you did what you just did, but you know what I mean." He said with a chuckle. "I want it to be under the right circumstances…I want it to be a moment that we'll always remember…I want it to be perfect…Because, I care about you in a way unlike the ways that I've ever cared about other girls, in the past." He said, honestly. At the time, the only thing that Sam wanted to know is what Mercedes was thinking. "…Mercedes?" He turned around.
Sam saw that Mercedes was sleeping.
She was sprawled across the bed, on her back, and she occasionally snored.
'Could she be any cuter?' Sam chuckled, closed his eyes and shook his head at this situation, as a whole. He reached down for his shirt, picked it up, and put it on before covering Mercedes with the blanket. He walked over to the door. After glancing at Mercedes' sleeping form, Sam opened the door, exited the room, and closed the door.
As Brody finished dancing with one of the girls at the party, Sam approached him. "Hey," Sam said. "Listen, B, I hate to ask of this from you," he began. "But Mercedes is…"
"Wasted?" Brody asked.
Sam nodded and sighed. "…'Out of it'…"
Brody laughed.
"…and since she got out of the house by saying that she was going to a sleepover, she doesn't have to be home at a specific time. And you know that I don't, either. I was going to take her home and then head home too so that we could get some other clothes, without waking anyone up, and after that we would just go out for breakfast or something…but I can't do that now, obviously." Sam said. "Anyway, I was wondering if it'd be cool with you if we just stayed here, until she's totally slept it off."
Brody nodded. "Sure," he said. "Yeah, that'd be fine. And, actually, since people are already starting to leave, the rest of us were going to go to this club, not too far away. And I can always go to my parents' place and stay in the guest house above the garage. So if you want, you two can have the whole room for yourselves." Brody reached into his pocket, searching for something, until he found the key to the motel room. He gave it to Sam.
Sam smiled. "Thanks, man."
"Nah, it's not a problem," Brody said.
Eventually, Brody's Frat brothers, with a few of the girls, began walking outside and towards their cars.
Brody grasped the doorknob. "Take it easy, dude." He turned to look at Sam. "Oh! And I almost forgot. You never even mentioned if you wanted anything from the 'collection.'" Brody said. "Are you good, or what?"
Sam hadn't even considered getting anything from Brody. "Oh, uh, yeah. I'm good." He said, with a nod. "And thanks again, for doing this." He was referring to the favor that Brody was doing, by allowing Sam and Mercedes to have the motel room.
Brody smiled. He and Sam bumped their fists before Brody left, closing the door behind him.
Sam looked through the window as everybody drove away from the motel. Then, he glanced around, happy to see that the room wasn't a mess. He took his cell phone out of his pocket, to check the time, and he saw that it was now 11 pm.
Tired, he decided to try to get some sleep.
Sam approached the bed after entering the bedroom, as Mercedes continued sleeping. Slowly, hoping that he would not wake her up, Sam took the blanket off of her before he took off her boots, leaving Mercedes in her underwear, skirt, and leggings, as well as her socks. Since Mercedes is drunk, and she is an inexperienced drinker, Sam took precautions regarding her sleeping by taking all but one of the pillows off of the bed, so that there wasn't a possibility that she would have trouble breathing, and correctly tucking her in, so that there wasn't a possibility that she would roll off of the bed. Though, ordinarily, Sam would sleep on the couch, which was in the outer area of the motel room, he wanted to be near Mercedes. He wanted to make sure that she's okay and be here just in case she needed him. Sam went to the closet and removed an extra blanket. He took off his shirt, as well as his own shoes, then he placed one of the pillows that he'd removed from the bed next to the blanket. He got comfortable on the floor, near the foot of the bed.
Sam began imagining himself sleeping in the bed with Mercedes, which was not only what he wanted to do but what he had considered, though he knew that what he had done was that of a 'gentleman,' and, therefore, good.
Sam was on his back, and while his hands were below and behind his head, he finally fell asleep.
The next day, Mercedes slowly opened her eyes, stared for what seemed like forever at the first thing upon which her eyes landed after they were opened, which was the ceiling, and finally let the tears that filled her eyes fall down her cheeks.
In addition to feeling hung-over, she felt what she always did after she was awakened by her nightmare about the car accident: Like a combination of any and all possible feelings, yet, at the same time, like she had no feelings.
She didn't know how to feel, think, or what to think about the fact that she had experienced a nightmare again, despite coming to the party with the hope of ending that general way of thinking, especially as far as her nightmares are concerned, because she has less problems with these types of thoughts while she is awake.
Mercedes was tired, dizzy, and felt like she could vomit at any moment.
She sat up, in the bed, with her back against the headboard as she observed her surroundings. Though she remembered some of what happened during the night, just hours ago, she certainly didn't remember everything. She was confused about why it is that she was in the bedroom of this motel room, in the bed, and the only clothing that she had on her torso was her bra. She wondered where Sam was, and just as she was about to get out of the bed and search throughout the motel room for Sam, she heard a snore. She took the blanket off of herself, got on her knees, and crawled to the foot of the bed. She saw that Sam was sleeping, and as she watched him for a while, a smile formed upon her face.
Shortly after she finds Sam sleeping, she does rise from the bed. Hoping that she doesn't wake him up, or fall to the floor due to her intoxicated state, she tiptoes to the bathroom, for a shower. Once she approached the door to the bathroom, she looks at him, one last time, before entering the bathroom and closing the door.
After she walks to the sink, she looks into the mirror. She inhales and exhales, deeply, as she looks at her reflection. She continues to look into the mirror, while turning on the faucet, reaching for a washcloth, and putting the washcloth underneath the faucet until it's completely wet. She washed her face, all too happy to be rid of all of her make-up which was smeared anyway, what appeared to be saliva from her drooling as she slept, and her tears.
Mercedes turned on the shower and adjusted the pressure and temperature before she took off the rest of her clothes. After she gathered and folded the clothing, she put it all on top of the counter. She entered the shower, after opening and before closing the shower curtain. She allowed the water to drench her entire body. She was beginning to think that she was right, and that taking a shower would be just the thing to help with her hangover. But as she reached for the soap, suddenly, she felt like someone pressed a button labeled 'vomit,' because just as easily as she seemed to be recovering from the hangover, she seemed to be no different than she was earlier.
Sam yawned and stretched, before he began rubbing his eyes. After doing so, he sat up straight. Sam looked at the bed and saw that Mercedes wasn't in it. He didn't have to feel worried and wonder where she was, because he heard that the shower was on.
Happy that she seemed fine, Sam stood up from the floor, walked to the bathroom door, and knocked. "Cedes, would it be okay with you if I came in, for a second? I promise that I'm not trying to be a pervert," he said, with a chuckle. "I won't even look at you, if that's what you want. But, I have to pee like crazy." He waited for an answer from Mercedes, but she never said anything. He knocked again. "…Mercedes?"
Slowly, Sam opened the door. As he entered the bathroom, he looked around, though nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. He saw that Mercedes' clothes were on the counter. The running water, from the showerhead, was the only sound that Sam heard as he approached the shower. What worried him, immediately, was the fact that he did not see anything that would indicate that Mercedes was in the shower, because he didn't see any sign of her through the shower curtain, which wasn't transparent but it didn't seem to be designed to 'hide' a person, either.
Sam pushed the shower curtain aside. As Sam saw Mercedes lying on the floor of the tub, he began panicking, yet, just as suddenly, he began trying to calm himself down. Sam sat her up, slowly, so her back was against the back of the tub, turned off the water that had been hitting Mercedes' already soaked feet, and held her face in his hands. "…Mercedes?"
Mercedes' eyes began opening, though they looked all around the room, which was understandable since she was dizzy.
Sam went to get a towel from the towel rack, grabbed one of the towels, and walked back over to Mercedes before he wrapped the towel, securely, around her nude body. "You're going to be okay." He said, also to himself. He stood her up and saw that she put her hands on her mouth, like she was making an attempt to prevent herself from vomiting. After Sam put his arms around her waist and lifted her up, he took her over to the toilet.
The second she saw it, Mercedes fell to her knees, lifted the toilet seat up, and put her hands on the rim of the toilet bowl, just before she began puking like she never had before.
Sam moved her hair back and away from her face. He held it in that position with one hand and used his other hand to rub her back as well as her shoulders, while Mercedes continued puking.
After a while, Mercedes was able to stop vomiting, which was a fact for which she was thankful because her throat was so sore that it felt like it was burning. She sighed and flushed the toilet. Slowly, she sat on the floor and put her back against the bottom portion of the toilet. Mercedes opened her eyes. "…Sam?" She asked as she saw him kneeling in front of her, so that he was practically looking at her eye-to-eye.
Sam smiled. "Yeah, Mercy, I'm here." His tucked her hair behind her ears.
She looked down and saw that she was in nothing but a towel. Embarrassed by the realization that Sam must have seen her naked, since she didn't put the towel on herself, Mercedes closed her eyes. "Oh my god," she said.
Sam knew what Mercedes was thinking. "Hey," he said. "Mercedes, you have to know that you don't have anything to be embarrassed about. I wasn't disrespectful or anything like that by intentionally looking at you before I got you a towel." He told her. "I know that you're usually a shy person, but you don't have to be shy with me."
Mercedes looked into his eyes.
"You are the most beautiful girl that I've ever seen," Sam said his thought aloud.
Mercedes smiled as he kissed her forehead.
Sam stood up, approached the sink, picked up and rinsed out one of the cups that was next to the sink, and put some mouthwash inside of it. Afterwards, he walked over to Mercedes and gave her the cup. As Mercedes gargled, Sam went to get her a second cup, into which she would be able to spit out the mouthwash.
Mercedes finished gargling as Sam turned the shower back on. After he help her back up, she had a small sip of water.
"Make sure to let me know if you need anything, okay?" Sam asked.
Mercedes nodded. As Sam began walking away, she called his name. "…Sam."
He turned back around. "Yeah?"
Slowly, Mercedes approached Sam. She held his hands and intertwined their fingers before she kissed him. "…I don't want you to go." She said.
"What do you mean?" Sam asked, in a confused tone.
As she looked deeply into Sam's eyes, she took a step back. 'I don't know if I'm doing this because I'm hung-over…And I don't care.' She thought. Mercedes brought her hands up to remove her towel. She took off the towel, allowing it to slide down her body and fall to the floor.
Sam was speechless. He didn't want to influence Mercedes' choice regarding whatever she was going to do next, but he could not help but stare at her beautiful body.
"I mean that 'I don't want you to go.'" Mercedes repeated. "…I don't want to be alone."
Though he loved knowing that he was the person to whom Mercedes felt she could turn when she felt this way, Sam hated the fact that she did feel this way.
"Mercedes…" Sam said.
"I don't want the two of us to do anything...well...'sexual.' The only thing that I want is to be near you, now. Please?"
Sam looked into Mercedes' eyes as he approached her. He kissed her hands. "…Okay." He said with a nod.
Mercedes kissed him again before she stepped back into the shower.
Slowly, Sam began undressing, as Mercedes adjusted the water.
Once he was completely nude, Sam looked at Mercedes as she stood underneath the showerhead, looking back at Sam. She extended her hand towards him and he held it as he stepped into the shower, then closed the shower curtain.
They stared at each other for a while, communicating with their eyes.
Sam rubbed up and down Mercedes' arms with his fingers as Mercedes allowed her eyes to wander while looking at Sam's body.
Sam noticed. He smiled. "Is it good or bad that you're looking at me with that look on your face?" He asked before the both of them chuckled.
"It is definitely good," Mercedes said. "…perfect."
Sam smiled before he gave Mercedes a passionate kiss.
Mercedes and Sam wrapped their arms around each other, resting their hands on the other's back. Mercedes' face was against Sam's chest and Sam's face was against the top of Mercedes' head.
For a while, they stood where they were, holding each other and kissing.
Mercedes got the soap and a washcloth. After she got the washcloth soapy, she rubbed it against Sam, starting with his chest and working her way down until she reached his belly-button. Sam turned his back to her, like she'd asked him to, so that she could wash his back. After she dragged the washcloth up and down his arms and legs, she rubbed her hands with the soap. They laughed as she created a 'smiley-face' upon Sam's face by using the soapsuds. She kissed him on the tip of his nose, when she was done.
Sam took the soap and the washcloth from Mercedes and he kissed her neck as he rubbed the two items against each other. He continued the kissing that he was doing upon Mercedes' neck, giving her a hickey, as he put the washcloth against her back and moved it in a circular motion. Mercedes giggled. When Sam finished with her back, he washed her arms and legs. As Sam began rubbing the soapy washcloth against her breasts, Mercedes ran her fingers through his hair, until Sam finished.
Eventually, they got out of the shower, put on their clothes, and left the motel.
Sam stopped the car on the side of the street, and parked it, after he approached Mercedes' house.
Mercedes put on her jacket. "What are you going to tell your parents when they ask you about where you were or anything like that?" She asked Sam.
He chuckled. "What makes you think that they'd ask me about any of that? They never have, so I never worry about it."
Mercedes nodded, understandingly, because this information did seem obvious.
"Besides, Mercedes, YOU are the one that's still hung-over." Sam said.
Mercedes playfully rolled her eyes and smiled. She knew what it was that Sam wanted to say next. "Sam, my…" She sighed. "…hangover…isn't bad enough to prevent me from being home. Yes, I have a CRAZY migraine, but I don't feel like vomiting nor do I feel dizzy, anymore." Mercedes said. "I'm just going to stay in the house for the rest of the day. I probably won't even leave my bedroom. If my grandmother asks, I'll just tell her that I'm tired because we didn't get any sleep at the sleepover."
Sam knew that Mercedes was right.
Mercedes looked at him as she watched him consider what she'd said. "That green shirt looks unbelievably sexy on you, by the way." She said. "It matches your green eyes perfectly."
Sam smiled at her. "Everything looks sexy on you, sexy."
Mercedes smiled back at him. She gave him a kiss. "Bye," she said.
"Bye," Sam said before she opened the front passenger's side door of the car and exited the car.
Though Mercedes seemed to be happier now than she was earlier in the day, Sam was still worried about the fact that she was still having nightmares about the car accident.
Sam took a different route back to Lima, so that they would not pass by the area where the accident occurred. But he could tell that, aside from her hangover, something was wrong. Eventually, she told him about the nightmare she'd had during the night.
He wanted to have a talk with her about everything, but he also didn't want to bring it up today. Sam believed that the only way that Mercedes would be able to stop having the nightmares is if she discussed them, possibly with a psychiatrist so that she could get a professional's opinion. 'I'll talk to her tomorrow,' he thought regarding what he was going to do.
A/N: Song mentioned in this chapter:
"Evacuate the Dancefloor" by Cascada