DISCLAIMER: On first chapter.

This story-after this chapter is about to move FULL SPEED AHEAD. In the next chapter, you're going to be seeing a ton of friendships, relationships, important plot lines and be prepared for some surprises within the next few chapters. I apologize for such a long wait, but this chapter proved difficult for me to write. It'll be interesting to hear your thoughts!


May 28, 2011 (Sunday)

Lynn's House—Dining Room

Lima, Ohio

7:12AM

"What we did was wrong, Jeffrey."

Lynn's voice was as unsteady as the rapid beating of her heart. She clutched the handle of the mug in her fingers and couldn't stand the pained expression that crossed Jeff's face. She looked away from him, feeling a mixture of helplessness and guilt.

She wanted to be with him. The proof was there—in her heart, her mind, her soul. It wasn't a question of her feelings, but it was a challenge of her integrity. Oh yes; she hated Elizabeth Evans with a fiery passion, but she had never thought that she'd have stooped to the same level as that she-demon.

In her mind, when she put her lips on Jeff's yesterday; she had lost her moral high ground. It hurt her to realize that she had compromised all that she'd worked for in the past seven years with one stupidly amazing kiss.

Her eyes burned with tears.

"So you do regret it," he said and Lynn's gaze snapped to him—her head already shaking.

"No," she told him, "I don't regret kissing you, Jeff. I regret the circumstances in which we kissed. I promised myself that I would never do what Davis did to me to anyone else and I—" Her throat felt clogged and Lynn clutched the mug in her hand tighter. "—I did that when I kissed you. It made a cheater out of both of us."

Jeff said nothing for one of the longest moments of her life.

"We're not them, Lynn," he replied.

"You're married!"

"I'm as good as divorced," he snapped back, "I wouldn't stay with her if she paid me. There is no love in this marriage. I haven't seen her face in almost three months. I haven't slept with her in over a year and I haven't kissed her filthy mouth in far longer. That's not marriage. That's not even friendship. She is nothing to me!"

Lynn couldn't help but stare at him. He'd never raised his voice at her before.

"Jeffrey, I'm sorry, but even in a loveless marriage—I will not be the other woman."

"Lynn—"

"I said no, damnit!" she hissed, slamming her mug down onto the table top. "I am worth more than that. I deserve more than the shame that comes with being a mistress."

"I understand," Jeff replied—his tone was hushed and he looked more resigned than Lynn had ever seen him. He wouldn't look at her, but she could tell by his clenched jaw that he was hurt and angry. Why could she never get anything right?

Lynn bit down hard on her trembling lip and she blinked away the tears. She was sure that her morals should be important. She couldn't throw who she was out of the window again. She just couldn't. Not even for Jeffrey, who was everything she'd never even dreamed of wanting, but everything she could possibly need.

The silence between them was strained, and it broke her heart to realize that she had probably just killed their whole relationship before they could even really begin. It wasn't fair. She didn't want it to be over. Lynn wasn't sure that she was ready for it to start either, but this couldn't be it—not the end of them. Not like this. She felt too much—too much for him and too much for his kids.

"So, I guess this is over huh?" he asked—his voice was rough and Lynn started crying. The heartbreak threatened to suffocate her from within.

This wasn't—it wasn't supposed to happen this way. Jeff meant so much to her, and because she was so stupid; she couldn't be with him for longer than a day. No wonder no man had touched her in years and now she wouldn't get the chance. She wouldn't get the opportunity to really kiss him or hold him, or be held by him.

"Jeffrey, I—", Lynn tried to speak, but everything was happening too fast and it was all wrong. She couldn't just let him go like this. They were meant to be together. She knew it. She could feel it with every fiber of her being. But what if they weren't ready yet? What if she was still too damaged to be in a relationship? NO.

Lynn sucked in a sharp breath and made herself focus. Davis was seven years in the past. He wasn't Jeffrey; he'd never measure up to Jeffrey. She had to remind herself that her marriage to Davis had been a poorly thought decision—a life where she'd had no confidence in anything but him. Lynn wasn't that girl anymore. She'd never let herself be that girl again.

So, she needed to fight for what she wanted, and the man she loved. If she just let this one thing destroy the beautiful relationship that she shared with Jeffrey then she wasn't worth his time. And Lynn would never let herself be worthless ever again.

"I don't want it to be over," she admitted and he looked at her. His eyes were red and she could tell that he was on the verge of crying too. "Oh Jeff, I want to be with you. I do. It's just—I can't be that woman. I can't be with you while you're still with her."

"That kiss," she said, "it was amazing. I wanted so much more. I still do. I want you to kiss me until I can't breathe anymore, but I can't do that until your marriage isn't hanging over our heads. When I'm with you, I want to be with only you."

"I'm not perfect, Lynn," Jeff admitted, "I have trust issues. My pride can blind me sometimes. I'm more vain than I like to let on." Lynn giggled at the blush that turned his cheeks a soft pink in the sunlight streaming in from the windows. Jeff gave her a hesitant smile back. "I have raging protective instincts and when someone I love is threatened; I can blow my fuse real quick. I'm not the most patient person when it comes to sports. I cuss at the television when my team is playing like jackasses with sports equipment."

Lynn smiled at him, amused by his words and the scowl that crossed his face. His southern accent showed itself when he talked about sports—Lynn found it exceedingly adorable.

"I hate neck ties," he told her, "I feel like I've been collared like a dog. Corn on the cob is a pain in the hindpot to eat, and I hate how the kernels get stuck in my teeth."

Lynn laughed at that and Jeff grinned back at her, sheepishly.

"Not that I'm not enjoying this Jeff, but why are you telling me all of this?"

"I want you to know exactly what you're signing up for," he said, "Sometimes I feel like you think I'm perfect, when I'm far from it. And then sometimes, I feel like you can see every flaw that I have. It's quite disorienting to comprehend. But—I want to be with you and I want you to be with me; strange quirks and all."

"If that's what you're worried about," Lynn replied, "then you can relax. I argue with you about vegetables every day. You suck at making sandwiches and you thought that blue jeans went in with the light clothes. If I didn't accept you as you are, I wouldn't have fallen for you. Yeah, there are things that you do that irritate me; like how you slice oranges horizontally instead of vertically or how you leave the bar soap on the sink counter instead of putting it back in the dish, but I like you, Jeffrey. If I didn't—we wouldn't be here now."

Jeff looked moved by her words. His expression flitted through so many emotions that Lynn couldn't decipher them all.

"Can you wait for me?" he questioned and Lynn's breath caught in her throat. He looked so desperate for her to say yes and Lynn wasn't surprised to find that she wanted to say yes too.

"You already know I will," she answered and Jeff stretched his hand across the table to her. Lynn's heart stuttered in her chest when his fingers laced with hers and he pulled her hand to his mouth—pressing a kiss to the back of her hand.

Feeling the heat from his slightly chapped lips against her skin had her heart pounding. Her fingers tightened around his and they shared a glance—one filled with the promise of so many things that Lynn couldn't even begin to comprehend. She wanted to kiss him so badly. Her lips tingled; remembering the sweet sensation of his lips moving over hers, his tongue tracing across her soft flesh.

She couldn't help the blush that heated her cheeks or the warm shiver that traveled across her body as they stared into each other's eyes. Jeff's green gaze was a beacon of longing. The way he was looking at her—Lynn didn't know how she could have ever doubted that he wanted her exactly as she was; damaged and insecure, but loving.

That said more than she could have ever asked for. The love she felt for him was overwhelming.

"Give me three weeks, Lynn," he told her. "And this is going to be over."

Three weeks suddenly felt like a lifetime, but Lynn nodded. She could wait.


May 28, 2011 (Sunday)

Lynn's House—Second Floor

Lima, Ohio

8:46AM

Waking up at a quarter till nine on a Sunday morning wasn't an ideal occurrence. Waking up that early on a weekend during the summer after staying out until one in the morning at Mercedes' house made the situation that much worse.

Sam couldn't quite say that he had much of a choice. They had church at eleven this morning, and he needed to talk to Stacey. He had felt like the worst brother on the face of the planet for leaving her in tears yesterday morning. They hadn't talked when he stopped home to change before heading to Mercedes' house that night either. And unfortunately, he'd gotten more than a little preoccupied with his girlfriend's lips and collarbone after the game of strip-pool had ended with her almost naked.

So his plan to leave the party early to spend some time with his siblings hadn't worked out as well as he'd hoped. But Sam couldn't—no; he wouldn't—avoid working this out with Stacey any longer. She may not be his entire world, but she was a huge part of it. The fact that Mercedes had smacked him for it after he let her know what was going on seemed to up the urgency of the situation.

She cared for Stacey just as much as Sam did—and she wasn't happy about him leaving the distance between the two of them, especially not if she was the cause. Sam didn't want Mercedes to feel guilty for something that neither of them had planned for.

With tired eyes, he sluggishly slid his way out of bed—running a hand through his mussed locks. He trudged into the bathroom and over to the sink, being sure to turn the tap onto cold. He splashed his face a couple of times to wake himself up and then patted his face dry with a fluffy red towel that was hanging off the hook near the sink.

He smiled when he inhaled the clean scent of the fabric softener and hung the towel back up to dry. Sam blinked at himself in the mirror and sighed before he moved out of the restroom to grab a t-shirt.

He pulled it on over his head before he made his way out of his bedroom and into the hallway. Sam walked towards Stacey's bedroom door with quiet footsteps. When he reached her room, he could hear her small body as she shuffled around—whispering under her breath. Sam was sure that she was playing dolls or talking to Mr. Fluffy; the stuffed rabbit she'd had since birth. It was a present that he'd given her when she was born. Actually, he gave it to both her and Stevie, but his brother had basically ignored the toy while Stacey latched onto it like a leech.

Its leg had been torn off and sewn on so many times that they gave up on hiding the stitches. Mr. Fluffy had a defected ear from being tugged on one too many times. He only had one eye and an absurdly pink nose amidst the caramel coloring of his fur. Stacey loved that rabbit. She talked to him all the time, usually when she was scared or incredibly upset. If she was having a conversation with Mr. Fluffy—then Sam knew that she was really hurt.

He took a moment to gather his thoughts and suck in a deep breath before he knocked on her door. All sounds inside the room stopped abruptly and Sam wanted to hide a wince. He knocked again to see if she'd respond.

"Who is it?" she asked.

"Sam," he replied. A long, tense silence stretched for what felt like eternity before Sam heard her speak again.

"What do you want?"

The accusatory tone in her voice broke Sam's heart. He rested his forehead against her door and sighed softly. "Stace, let me in," he said, "I wanna talk to you."

"What if I don't wanna talk to you no more?"

"Are you really going to be that way?"

Silence—an angry, hurt one that chilled Sam to the core. Oh, how he hated when she was mad at him. He turned and pressed his back against the wall next to her door, before he slid down to the ground. This was going to take awhile.

"Sunshin—"

"Don't act like you care!" she yelled back and Sam felt like the scum of the earth when he heard her start crying again. "You didn't have time for me before, so why are you here now?"

"You know that I love you," he replied, just loudly enough for her to hear his voice. As angry as she was, he knew that she was listening to him. "You also know that I'm not perfect—"

"I know that you're a giant butthead—"

"Is name-calling necessary?" Sam asked, amusement coloring his tone.

"Yes," she huffed back and Sam grinned to himself. She was still angry, but Sam found her rage cute. Not that he would tell her that now, of course.

"I didn't mean to ignore you, Stacey," Sam said, "That was the last thing that I ever wanted to do."

"I get it," she replied, "You have friends and a girlfriend now. What good does a stupid little sister do?"

"Hey," Sam told her, "don't talk that way. You're not stupid, and you're an awesome little sister. I'm really sorry that I've been gone so much for the past few weeks and I promise to spend more time with you and Stevie."

"You promise?"

Sam could hear her crying again and the hesitance in her voice killed him inside. He hated that he'd broken her trust so badly.

"I promise," he replied. There was a long silence, before Sam heard the doorknob turn slowly. He sat up straighter, crossing his legs underneath him as the door opened. Sam saw her blonde head poke out of the open doorway and she stopped when she didn't see him.

"Sammy?" she called, confused.

"Sunshine—"he said, startling her. Her head whipped around to glance at him and Sam's heart clenched when he saw the tear tracks on her cheeks and the puffiness of her blue eyes. He felt horrible when he realized that she was clutching Mr. Fluffy to her chest. "Ah, Stacey, come here."

She immediately burst into tears and Sam opened his arms to her.

The small girl practically flew into his chest—her bunny plastered against his shoulder as she threw her arms around his neck and clung to him. Sam pulled her into his lap, pressing kisses against her blonde hair and rubbing calming circles on her back.

"I know that it's not easy, Stacey," he whispered to her, rocking her gently in his arms, "and I know that you've gotten used to me being around you all the time, but we can't be that way forever. It doesn't mean I love you any less. It just means that I have to spend time with others, so I can grow up and be successful."

"I don't want you to go away," she mumbled into his neck. Sam felt her tremble and he hated doing this to her. She clutched him tighter. "I don't want you to spend time with anyone else."

"Why not?" he asked her, "This isn't the first time that I've had a girlfriend or other friends."

"I know," she replied, sniffling. "But you never looked at Quinn or Santana like you look at Mercy."

Sam's brow furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"You looked at Quinn like she was really pretty, and you and Santana spent so much time kissing that you never actually looked at her, but Mercy, you stare at her like she's special. You laugh and you make jokes—you're the Sammy that I know around her. You never were that way around Quinn or Santana."

Sam wanted to blink at his sister in shock. Who knew that she was so observant? And what could he possibly say to that? A strange feeling twisted in his stomach—one that was unfamiliar and heavy, but amazing. He pushed it out of his mind.

"But why is that a bad thing?" he asked her.

Stacey pulled back from him, wiping her face with the back of her hand and clutching her rabbit in her hands. Sam tucked her hair behind her ear and then tugged on the lobe—making her scrunch up her nose and giggle.

Sam smiled at her and she smiled back.

"It's not a bad thing," she admitted, "I just—I don't want you to replace me with Mercy."

Sam's heart broke at the pain that crossed her small face.

"How could you possibly think that anyone will ever replace you?" Sam asked softly. Stacey stared up at him, and he leaned forward to press a kiss to her forehead. "You're my sunshine," he told her, "You light up my world like no one else can. I love you and I care about Mercy a lot, but it's in a different way. She'll never replace you. I have enough room in my heart for both of you. Okay?"

Stacey nodded and Sam smiled. "I'm sorry for being so mean," she told him and he chuckled, pulling the small child into another hug.

"We all have bad days," he said, "I'm just happy that we're alright now."

Stacey kissed his cheek before she snuggled into his chest. Sam rested his head atop hers. "Will you sing to me for a little while? I've missed your bedtime songs."

"Sure, Sunshine," he replied.


May 28, 2011 (Sunday)

Eternal Baptist Church

Lima, Ohio

10:39AM

Her phone rang just as she finished talking with Gail, the adult choir director, about the upcoming competition season. Taking a moment to excuse herself after her mother joined the conversation, she answered her phone.

"Hello?"

"Mercy," Brittany said from the other line, "they said yes!"

Blinking in slight confusion, Mercedes responded, "Who said yes, Britt?"

"My boss, duh," she replied as though Mercedes should automatically know what she was talking about. Brittany was a great friend, but sometimes her aloof manner was a tad bewildering.

"Your boss said yes about what?"

"About the dance studio!" she answered, "The piano room that I told you about last night—"

"Oh!" Mercedes felt like an idiot for forgetting that. "Yes, I remember now. And that's great!"

"We'll have to schedule to use the room, but he said we should be fine."

"That's wonderful, Brittany," Mercedes said, "I'll let everyone know. "

"Okay," she answered, "Bye Mercedes!"

"Bye Brittany," she replied and then ended the call. That was a fairly straightforward conversation with the blonde girl. From some stories she'd heard from Artie, Mercedes had been expecting something way different.

She caught sight of her twin brothers standing near a group of girls by the hospitality table and she rolled her eyes at the cheesy grin on Kyler's face. Mercedes almost burst out laughing when her mom made her way over and smacked them both upside the head.

"Ma!" Kyler's protest was heard all the way over where Mercedes was standing.

"Boy, don't even," Delia replied sharply—Mercedes could practically feel the glare she was shooting the twins. Even across the room, the authority in her mom's voice made Mercedes want to take a seat. "Both of you need to sit your butts in those pews and focus on Jesus, not his creations."

"Mama," Joshua started, "Jesus told us to love our neighbors—I'm just tryin' to follow his commandments."

She watched as her mother reached out and snatched the lobe of her brother's ear. Josh faintly howled in pain. "Joshua Anthony Jones, Jesus also ripped a rib out of a man's side to create a woman. I promise that the rib I'll rip out your behind won't make anything quite so beautiful. You better take your tail over to that chair and follow my commandments."

Kyler opened his mouth to say something, but Delia prevented that by grabbing his ear too. The twins looked mortified as the group of girls laughed at their predicament. Her mother didn't care though as she escorted both of them by the ear to the place where her dad was sitting. The fact that her dad was grinning at them in amusement made Mercedes giggle—her brothers' should have known better.

"It amazes me that Dell has those boys bobbin' and weavin' and trying to take a whole pew of seats after she lays the act right, but she still can't reach the top shelf in her own pantry."

Hearing the familiar voice behind her startled Mercedes, but the laughter that followed made her grin.

"Auntie Lynn!" she said, turning to face her aunt. She was greeted with a bright smile and open arms. "She does have a way of making the fear of God more real," she replied with another giggle, "How are you?"

"I'm good, darlin'," she replied as Mercedes stepped into the hug. "How are you, sweetheart?"

Pulling away, Mercedes smiled. "I'm alright," she said before she glanced over at Mr. Evans—Jeff, who was standing right next to Lynn. Stevie's hand was clasped in his father's, but Mercedes moved forward and wrapped the tall man in a hug.

"Hi Mercedes," he told her with the same crooked grin that Sam had. She briefly wondered where he was before shaking it off—she'd find him later.

"Hi Jeff!" she greeted, before she stooped down and opened her arms to Stevie. He gave her a shy grin, but he hugged her tightly. "Hello handsome," she told him and he blushed.

"Hey Mercy," he replied, "You look pretty."

She beamed at him and his face turned bright red when she pressed a kiss to his cheek. Jeff chuckled when she thanked him and straightened up.

"Talk about perfect timing," she said. Lynn's expression turned curious and Mercedes smiled. "I don't know if Sam told you or not, but the glee club agreed to perform at your opening."

"Oh, that's wonderful!" Lynn replied, her hazel eyes sparkling. Mercedes didn't miss the fond look that Jeff shot her aunt, but she didn't say anything. That was certainly none of her business.

"Yeah, we're all excited too," Mercedes said. "We have a rehearsal space, but I needed to get some specifics about what you were looking for like what type of songs you want, how long you want the entire performance to be—"

"I think that's our cue to leave, buddy," Jeff fake-whispered to Stevie, who smirked. Lynn quirked her lips at him and Mercedes laughed when he gave her an impish grin in return. "We'll save you a seat!"

The two of them walked off and Lynn shook her head at them, before falling right back into conversation with Mercedes. They discussed details for about ten minutes and Mercedes had all the information that she needed.

"We'll most likely have to change some things, but I think we've got a solid idea to build on," Mercedes said finally, closing the note tab on her cell phone screen.

"You know where to find me if you have any more questions, darlin'," Lynn told her, leaning forward to plant a kiss on Mercedes' forehead. She gave her aunt a smile.

"Do you know where Sam is?"

Lynn shot her a knowing look. Mercedes blushed in response.

"He's around here somewhere," she replied, "He and Stacey were being all giggly about something in the car. I think Stevie's in on it, because he was excited when we first got here too." Lynn shook her head in amusement. "The two of them booked it from the car as soon as we pulled into the parking space—I don't even think Jeff had pulled the keys from the ignition before they were out of the door."

Mercedes laughed. "I'll talk to him after church then," she said, "Thanks Lynn."

"No problem, sweetheart," Lynn said before she turned and walked towards the pew where Jeff and Stevie were sitting alongside Mercedes' family. Jeff and her father were laughing about something and Stevie found himself between Annabelle and Trey; the three of them chattering loudly.

Deciding to not waste time, Mercedes pulled out her cell phone again and typed out a text to everyone. She kept it simple—giving the address of the dance studio that Brittany texted her, and telling them to meet the next day at 8PM. She also let them know that she'd fill them in on the details then.

It only took about two minutes to get responses from everyone. She was putting her phone in the pocket of her sundress when she heard Stacey's giggle.

Mercedes couldn't help the grin that crossed her face when she spotted her boyfriend walking inside the church, his hand gripped by a chattering Stacey, who was wearing a lavender dress with lace bands that stretched from top of her dress and fell over the A-line tulle skirt. Her dark purple flats sparkled as she walked inside and the matching cardigan she wore contrasted with the tumble of blonde curls that fell over her shoulders.

Mercedes was happy to see that Sam had worked things out with Stacey. She had no desire to come between the two of them. The two seemed closer than ever looking at them now. She knew instantly when she was spotted. Stacey's squeal of her name was enough of an indicator.

The small blonde practically dragged her brother in her direction, but she got impatient about ten feet away and let go of his hand to sprint to her. Stacey crashed into her side and Mercedes huffed out a laugh as the girl wrapped her in a tight hug.

"Guess what, Mercy!" she said, her blue eyes shining in excitement. Sam finally reached them and he chuckled. Mercedes thought it was unfairly attractive. "Guess! Please?"

"Give her a chance to speak, Sunshine," Sam told his sister, his voice low and amused. Mercedes was sure that her face was on fire. She certainly hadn't expected to have flashbacks to the previous evening when she saw him again. She knew things would be different between them, but holy crap.

Stacey pouted in his direction, but she stopped talking.

"What is it?" Mercedes asked—forcibly putting her attention on the kid wrapped around her. She had to remind herself that it was inappropriate to think sexual things about her boyfriend when his seven-year old sister was hugging her.

"Can I tell her Sammy?" Stacey asked and Sam laughed again. Mercedes stared at his lips and his shoulders in the crisp sage green button down he was wearing—boy was looking fine. His black dress pants were cut very well and his hair looked slightly windswept and his green eyes were twinkling as though he knew exactly what—shit. Sam was smirking at her.

She blushed furiously and he bit his lip to stop himself from laughing.

"Of course you can tell her," he replied softly and Mercedes wanted to melt into the carpet when she felt a shiver slip down her spine and pool in her lower abdomen. Was it just her or was it warm in here?

Why was he talking that way? In that low, rumbling, sexy voice that he'd used all last night as his lips traced patterns against the skin of her neck and shoulders and bust line—he knew it drove her insane.

She was gonna kill him after this. He had lost his damn mind if he thought this was okay. She was in church. Boy was sippin' on the wrong type of syrup if he thought she was down with being sacrilegious.

Mercedes needed some serious prayer for being adulterous in the house of God. Her mother would beat her with the bible if she knew what was going in her head right now. She gave Sam a stern look and he grinned at her, before she turned her attention to Stacey.

"Stevie and I are joining the children's choir!" Stacey exclaimed and Mercedes beamed at her.

"Really?" she asked, feeling truly excited. "That's great!"

"We're gonna be at rehearsal tomorrow," she replied, "And I can't wait. Sammy told us all about your awards for playing music and that you have the voice of an angel."

Mercedes raised an eyebrow in Sam's direction, grateful that it was his turn to blush. She smiled at him though. "You said that?"

"It's true," he replied, running his fingers through his hair. Mercedes practically drooled when it fell in a ridiculously attractive way across his forehead. It wasn't fair!

"I don't know about angel—"

"You have the best voice in the city of Lima, Cede," Sam said firmly, "Probably even Ohio."

Mercedes gave him a look that clearly told him what she thought about that statement. He gave her a look right back. "I'd say the galaxy, but then you'd really ignore me."

She rolled her eyes at him, ignoring the smile he was shooting her.

"I'm happy that you signed up," she told Stacey, "We're gonna have a lot of fun together."

Stacey beamed before she let Mercedes go. "I'm gonna go sit with Lynn and Belle, but I'll see you over there, Mercy."

Mercedes nodded and Sam tugged on one of Stacey's curls—making the kid scrunch her nose at him and bat his hand away from her hair. She turned on her heel and practically skipped over to the row where their families were sitting.

Mercedes watched her go until she felt an arm wrap itself around her shoulders. She turned her head to look up at Sam and found herself blushing at the intense look in his green eyes. "You look stunning," he whispered, pressing a kiss to her temple.

Her blush deepened, but she turned into his embrace; resting her head on his shoulder and gripping his waist lightly. She could feel the warmth of his skin through the fabric and she remembered how it had felt when he was laying on top of her—no fabric separating their skin.

She blushed so hard that she was sure that she was bright red, and she buried her head in Sam's chest. He laughed softly and she felt him wrap both arms around her, pressing a kiss to the top of her head this time.

Sometimes, she forgot how short she was in comparison to him.

"This is so embarrassing," she mumbled and Sam's chest rumbled with another laugh. She was surrounded by his scent and his warmth and it was driving her crazy. She wanted to pull him into a kiss, but this was not the place.

She could already feel her brothers' gazes burning into her back.

"Your attraction to me is embarrassing?" Sam asked, amused. "I'd be more worried if you didn't want to be around me."

She pulled back to glare up at him and Sam winked at her. She quirked her lips at him in fond-exasperation and he grinned in response. "After yesterday, I'm sure that you are very aware of my attraction to you."

"I think I'll need some more evidence. If you do some poppin' and lockin' in a private show—"

"Boy, you need to stop," she whispered to him, both irritated and amused by his antics.

"You like it," he replied, "and you liked it last night too."

That sounded so much worse than what they had actually done, but it put the desired flush in her cheeks. Sam chuckled again and Mercedes glared.

"Are you okay with what happened?" he asked and Mercedes hesitated enough to make Sam frown in concern. She hurried to calm him.

"I'm okay with it," she answered, "I just don't know what to do with all these feelings I'm having now." It was humiliating to admit, but she had promised to be honest with Sam about these things and from the understanding look on his face, she was glad that she had told him.

"We'll take it one step at a time," he replied, "and we'll go as slow as you want."

She nodded at him.

Mercedes had been thinking about something on this topic for awhile, but she was hesitant to bring it up to Sam. It sounded so stupid, but she thought it would help her a lot.

"Can you come over tonight?" she asked and Sam blinked at her, slightly surprised. "I have work training right after church, but I don't have anything after five."

"I know that Lynn is dragging my family to the mall to get new work clothes and stuff," Sam said, "And then I have my last shift at the pizzeria. It ends at ten. I can drop by then."

"That's fine," she replied, "I just want to spend some time with you and maybe talk to you about a few things."

Sam's eyebrows furrowed. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah," she agreed, "I just—I want to talk to you about some stuff, but I'd rather not discuss it in a church."

Sam smiled, before he kissed her temple again. They stepped out of their embrace and her fingers ended up tangled with his. Sam kissed the back of her hand as they walked towards the seats where their families sat.

"I'm all yours tonight," he told her. Mercedes couldn't resist kissing his cheek as they stood at the end of the pew, hands still entwined. They only let go when they were asked to stand for the opening prayer.


May 28, 2011 (Sunday)

City of Lima Shopping Center

Lima, Ohio

1:45PM

"It's a button down shirt, Jeffrey," Lynn called into the dressing room, he could hear her foot tapping against the floor impatiently, "not an astronaut suit. What on earth is takin' you so long?"

"Hold your horses woman," he responded, his voice gruff with amusement, "I have a delicate form. I can't just rip my clothes off." The huff of irritation that she let out made him grin as he leaned against the wall of his stall—the shirt she'd been waiting to see on him for the past five minutes already on his body.

It didn't look half bad if he said so himself, but he needed some sort of payback for her dragging him to the mall. Making her wait twice as long as she needed to was quite entertaining—at least for him.

"Delicate?" she asked, disbelieving. "Even if you are delicate, it doesn't take you five minutes to put on a shirt—"

"I don't think I can figure out these buttons—"

"The buttons?" she cried and Jeff had to bite his lip to stop from laughing. "Are you kidding me? You can build a skyscraper but you can't figure out buttons—"

"They're square—"he protested with mock-indignation in his voice and Lynn let out a frustrated grunt.

"Squ—you know what, I'm coming in."

Oh shit.

"What-? No, Lynn—" Jeff pushed himself off the wall as he heard her footsteps approaching and he started unbuttoning the shirt. She was gonna kill—the door banged open and Lynn stared at him.

Jeff stared back and then he gave her a sheepish grin as her eyes swept over the shirt that had clearly been on him for awhile and Jeff knew he was in trouble.

"Jeffrey Matthew Evans!" she snapped, her eyes narrowed in his direction as she stormed into the dressing room stall. "You've had this shirt on the whole time, haven't you?"

"Maybe," he replied, winking at her as his lips twitched into a grin. Lynn reached out and smacked him on the shoulder. Jeff laughed and she hit him again.

"You conniving old man," she said, her hands dealing out a barrage of slaps to Jeff's chest and arms. He laughed as he dodged some of her blows and she chased him around the small stall.

"I ain't old!"

"You're so old even the dinosaurs wouldn't remember you!"

"Lynnette!" Jeff gasped in mock-affront and she giggled at the look on his face. "So mean!"

"You deserve it!" she replied, "I can't believe that you were hiding in here like a little kid."

"You call me old and then you call me a child, you can't have it both ways—"

"You're such a smartass—"

"Language, darling. We just came back from church—"

"Jeffrey!" Lynn howled, her eyes were twinkling with annoyance and more than a hint of amusement. Jeff knew he had her—she so wasn't mad anymore.

"What? I'm just sayin'. You listen and wave your hand when the pastor is preachin' and then you cuss me out for testing your patience—"

"You were being annoying—"

"Patience is a virtue—"

Lynn launched herself at him in an attempt to smack him again and he caught her hands with a laugh, before he lifted them over her head and twirled her around. Her back to his chest, Jeff brought her hands down before he let them go and his wiggling fingers tickled her waist.

Her shriek of laughter had Jeff chuckling and she immediately started fighting to get out of his grasp.

"Jeff-rey!" she cried through giggles as his fingers assaulted her waist and ribs. She was wiggling hard in his embrace and Jeff loved seeing her breathless with laughter. "Stop it!"

"Nope," he said impishly, before Lynn found enough strength to elbow him. The pain distracted him long enough for Lynn to make a break for it, but he caught her before she could get away.

Jeff grabbed her waist and spun her around. Lynn ended up pressed solidly against him, her hazel eyes bright with laughter and her cheeks flushed from all the giggling. The moment changed when her hands clutched his biceps and Jeff couldn't find anything about this embrace amusing anymore.

The desire to kiss her swept over his body like a tidal wave. All he could do was remember how sweet her mouth tasted and how soft her lips were. It pained him to know how much his body strained to make her understand the depth of his feelings for her and he couldn't do anything about it.

His thoughts were cloudy as he stared into her eyes. Lynn's desire to wait didn't seem to be faring as well as she'd hoped. It was practically impossible to deny what they had after the kisses they'd shared. To get a taste of her wasn't enough—Jeff wanted more; so much more. He wanted to kiss her everywhere—her mouth, her skin, her whole body. He wanted to taste her, make her cry out his name, but most of all, he wanted her to be his.

Lynn's lips were parted in shock and her eyes were wide—the hazel irises glowing with an explosion of emotion.

"Do you mean that?" she whispered, her lashes growing heavy with tears. Jeff hadn't even realized that he'd been speaking aloud, but he meant it—every word.

"Yes," he replied and Lynn swallowed hard—blinking away tears, but she didn't quite succeed. He brushed his finger across her cheek; erasing the path the tear had taken and Lynn shuddered in his arms.

"I will wait for the day that you can do all of those things to me, Jeffrey," she told him. "Three weeks won't be forever."

Jeff smiled down at her before pressing a kiss to her forehead—he would respect her wishes because he could understand. And it hurt to not kiss her, but he could wait; she wasn't going anywhere.

The two of them were distracted when there was a hard knock at the door.

"Um, sorry sir, but we don't allow couples to be in stalls together." The voice sounded incredibly uncomfortable and Lynn and Jeff finally realized what it might seem like they were doing.

Lynn gasped and then blushed furiously, her hands covering her mouth in embarrassment. Jeff simply started laughing.

"We'll be right out," he replied and they listened as the store employee hurried away. Jeffrey grinned down at a red-faced Lynn before he pressed another kiss to her forehead. "Why don't you go check on the kids and I'll get dressed."

"Oh, no!" Lynn cried as she tore out of his embrace. "I left Stevie and Stacey sitting—I'm a horrible person—" Jeff didn't even get a word out as she ripped open the stall door and bolted into the hallway, frantically calling for the twins.

He didn't think for a second that his kids had wondered off without him or Lynn. They knew better than that, and when he heard them reply to Lynn and her sigh of relief, Jeff smiled to himself.

He started unbuttoning the shirt as he heard Sam join the group. Lynn's exclamation of, "What in tarnation is that shirt you're holding, Sam?" He couldn't help but laugh when his son's confused voice asked why she was so upset at his clothing choice.


May 28, 2011 (Sunday)

City of Lima Shopping Center

Lima, Ohio

3:42PM

"Lynn, I'm going to be late," Sam groaned as she packed as many of their shopping bags into the trunk of the car. They'd lost track of time when Sam, Stevie, and Jeffrey wandered into the video game store as Lynn and Stacey went to look for dresses for the opening night of Clarity. The boys had gotten bored after about an hour of shopping so it fell to Lynn to find work clothes for Sam and sports clothes for all three kids.

Stacey had needed a leotard for dance class and ballet shoes, so that had taken over an hour to purchase, but Stacey loved everything she got—even the bright blue and black running shoes, Lynn had been sweet-talked into buying.

"Sam," she heard Jeff rebuke, "Hush up and put on your work shirt."

Lynn made sure to organize everything in the trunk as quickly as possible while Sam stripped off his church shirt and slipped his Pizza Parlor polo over his head. There was a reason that she'd made him wear his black slacks to church this morning, even though his charcoal gray ones would've gone better with his shirt.

Lynn slammed the trunk closed after placing their last purchase inside and then she hustled around the side and worked to get Stacey in her booster seat and buckled in. Stevie allowed her to fuss over his straps without complaint—the bag of grapes she handed the twins and the apple juice boxes probably helped distract them.

"Jeff, you can drive," she said as she made her way to the passenger side of the vehicle, where Jeff was pinning Sam's name tag on his shirt, or at least trying to. She shooed Jeff away from Sam, handing over the car keys before she stepped forward and helped Sam.

"Tuck your shirt in, darlin'," she told him as she fixed his shirt collar and buttoned it up for him.

Sam did as asked and Lynn started fixing his mussed hair. She turned to hand Sam his hat when she heard a shrill whistle from the parking lane across from them. Sam glanced over and Lynn lifted her eyes to see a car full of college age girls making kissy faces towards him.

"You've got some nice abs over there, hun," A brunette yelled, "Want to come show me how well they work?" She thrust obscenely from her position in the seat.

Sam's eyes widened in shock and his face turned bright red.

Her friends cackled with obnoxious laughter as Sam's ears turned red in embarrassment. He looked completely self-conscious as he turned away from them. Lynn's eyes narrowed when she saw the look in his green eyes. Sam was a baby and they were over here hitting on him like they could toss out a five dollar bill for an all night favor. Oh hell to the no.

Stepping forward as the girls' statements got even more degrading, she watched Sam give an awkward look back at them and one girl had the audacity to call out, "Hey baby, can I have yo' numba?"

"You say another thing to my kid and I'll give you a numba, alright!" she yelled, pulling Sam behind her. "It'll be the number for the nearest ambulance to come pick your sorry tails up from the concrete and the other number will be for the cops to come and stop me from putting my foot in your mouths."

Sam's jaw fell open in shock, but Lynn didn't care.

"No one asked you, bitch!"

"You haven't seen the bitch in me yet, girl," she snapped, her hands on her hips as she shot the snot-faced brats a cold look. "But you will soon if you don't put your foot on that gas pedal and take your butts away from my family."

"I ain't scared of you—"

Lynn let out a growl and the girl's bravado died an instant death. She paled before she sped away. Lynn watched them drive off, fury burning her insides and she turned to face Sam again. He stared at her, an unreadable expression on his face—and Lynn wondered if she'd gone too far.

"So this numba you were talkin' about—"he teased.

She sighed in fond exasperation and Sam cracked a smile at her.

"Get in the car," she told him, pressing his hat against his chest. Sam took it with a laugh and stuck it on his head without even trying to fix his hair. She shook her head at him as she walked past to climb into the passenger seat.

Sam waited until she was buckled in to lean forward and say, "I've never seen someone so short be so scary—"

"Samuel!"

"You were like this terrifying midget—"

"Sam!" Lynn turned in her seat to smack him on the leg and he leaned away from her swinging hands, laughing. Jeff pulled out of the parking space as she continued to try and beat an impish Sam. When she finally calmed down, she turned to face the front of the car—Sam snickering in the backseat.

"For someone so small," Jeff said, "you sure do threaten a lot of people."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"When you look bite-sized, it makes it hard to warn people how about how bad ass you are," he replied, "You're like the kitten that has an inner rampaging lion—"

"Jeffrey!"

"Ow, Lynn! Don't hit me while I'm driving!"

"You're not driving; we're at a red light."

"Evil, I swear you are."

"Suck it up, old man."

"Kitten breath."

"Dinosaur ancestor."

"The midget who lives."

"Rude."

"That all you got for me, Mittens?"

Lynn growled at Jeff and Stacey spoke up for the first time, "Angry kitty!"

Jeff and Sam almost bust a gut when they started laughing. Stevie laughed along with them and Stacey giggled at the put-out look Lynn was sporting. She sulked in her seat, arms crossed across her chest and Jeff chuckled. He held a hand out to her over their arm rest and she sniffed at him, indignant.

She felt it when he poked her in the leg and he gave her an amused look. "Okay, I'm very sorry, Lynn for teasing and laughing at you. I'm an idiot and you don't at all look like an enraged kitten when you're telling off a group of girls for coming onto Sam."

"I look like a fierce dragon," she told him, the humor of the situation hitting her.

Jeff side-eyed her, but he kept his mouth shut and nodded obligingly, though his lips kept twitching. "You are positively fiery," he agreed—she could hear the amusement in his voice as he spoke.

"And scary."

"Very scary."

Sam made a loud whipped noise from the backseat and Jeff shot him the stink-eye through the rearview mirror. The teenager grinned back at his dad.

Lynn wrinkled her nose at him and said, "Am I the most intimidating dragon ever?

"People cower before you," he told her, "Or at least college girls calling my son a 'hottie with a body' do."

Lynn's façade shattered and she burst out laughing. Jeff chucked with her and she giggled. Her fingers finally entwined loosely with his and Jeff squeezed her hand.

Somehow the radio was turned on and they sang obnoxiously for the rest of the ride to Sam's work. As soon as they pulled into the parking lot, Sam leapt out of the car after a quick goodbye kiss pressed to Lynn's cheek from over the back of her seat.

They waved goodbye. "Your dad and I will get his car and drop this one off in an hour!" she yelled after him. He shot her a thumbs up over his shoulder to let her know that he got the message before he walked into the door with one minute to spare.

Lynn felt Jeff's fingers tighten around hers as she rolled up her window. She smiled at him and sat back in her seat as they drove off.

Today couldn't have been a better day.


May 28, 2011 (Sunday)

The Jones Estate—Pool House

Lima, Ohio

10:11PM

Mercedes was rockin' out. Her hips swinging and singing along to the radio as she went over her lesson plan for her first children's choir practice tomorrow. Her training for camp had gone really well, and she got along wonderfully with all of her co-workers. It would be a long day full of children for her, but she was just as excited as she was nervous.

The pool house was her place—her studio for all things music and fashion. A spiral staircase, lined in twinkling lights led up to a second floor loft. She had her own mini recording studio upstairs to the far left side of the lofted space. To the far right was her fabric space—where rolls of fabric and a huge sewing machine and mannequins where half finished outfits rested. Kurt had loved coming here; the thought made her heart burn and she shook off the reminder of the shambles that their friendship was in.

The pool house had large bay windows, hard wood floors and the whole place was painted a soft lavender with beige, dark purple and midnight blue accents. Mercedes had the ceiling painted with twinkling stars and several of them were placed intermittently along the walls.

Her favorite spot was the corner where the lavender paint deepened into dark purples and eventually dark blue. The whole corner looked like the midnight sky had seeped into the room. It set the tone of the entire place.

There was another baby grand piano in the far corner of the room, and her large sectional couch had decorative pillows tossed every which way. It was like living in a dream—a separate planet where she could just be Mercedes.

On the first floor there was a large room that sat at the base of three sunken steps and it stretched into a bedroom area that had been cordoned off by sheer curtains, and heavier curtains layered behind it until it looked like a solid wall. Only a tied off space between the curtains revealed the king sized bed behind it.

It was a simple striped bed spread, but the explosion of pillows balanced it out. Mercedes loved her space almost as much as she loved her bedroom. The large windows on the side of the house were facing the glowing pool and Mercedes loved the tinting the color of the water gave the room—especially at night.

She hummed as she flipped through her notes and sheet music, making sure that she had everything put together. As she prepared for the next evening, Mercedes sporadically checked her phone for a text from Sam. He'd said that his shift ended at ten, but he still hadn't messaged her.

Mercedes shook off the slight worry and buried herself in her notes—she wouldn't be the girlfriend who needed to know where he was every minute of the day. She got so involved in her music that a loud knock at the door of the pool house made her jump; her hands almost dropping the papers in her hands.

Brow furrowed, she stacked them neatly on the coffee table in front of the beige sectional sofa that sat in the middle of the room and trekked across the hardwood floors towards the door. There wasn't a peephole at the door, but she knew that whoever it was would've had to go through the main house to get here; and the person would have to know how to wind their way through the pathways that led from the backyard to the pool house.

"Who is it?" she called through the door and she heard a familiar chuckle on the other side.

"It's Sam," he replied. A grin stretched across her face and Mercedes nervously brushed her fingers through her hair and fiddled with the hem of her t-shirt, before she pushed her glasses up her nose and opened the door.

Her breath was taken away.

Sam's green eyes looked unholy in the porch lighting and she couldn't stop her eyes from raking over his form. He was wearing a form-fitting black polo that had been un-tucked and a nice pair of black slacks that made his legs look sexy. His chucks peeked out from underneath his pants legs and Mercedes could barely take her eyes off the way his biceps shifted as he leaned against the door frame, one hand fiddling with his removed cap.

And lord, she couldn't even get started on how mussed his hair was—the way it fell into his eyes was practically her undoing.

"I brought pizza," he said with a boyish grin as he turned around and leaned over to grab the box. Mercedes' eyes landed on his ass and she felt overly warm all of a sudden. Sam didn't seem to even notice her distraction as he moved to face her, excitement in his expression. "My boss gave it to me for free! It's the stuffed crust supreme pizza that you like."

His happiness was infectious, but Mercedes was too distracted by how good he smelled and even more by how good he looked in that uniform.

Sam's grin was bright and his eyes were twinkling with pride as he continued, "She said that I've been an exemplary employee. She was sad to see me go, though."

Sam walked forward and Mercedes let him move past her into the pool house. She closed the door absently; her eyes locked onto his body as he stared around in awe, and then placed the pizza on the coffee table. She followed him as he turned to face her, his hands shoved into his pockets and sporting a bemused smile on his face.

"She said that I increased her sales by twenty-three percent," he told her, shaking his head in amusement. Mercedes watched in a daze as Sam pulled one hand from his pocket and ran it through his hair. "I don't exactly know how I did that, but whatever—"

"Do you have any idea how hot you are?"Mercedes breathed—what was wrong with her? Her hormones were having a rave in her vagina and her whole body seemed to tingle whenever she got a whiff of Sam's cologne. She had been attracted to Sam, because hello, boy was attractive, but it had never been this extreme from just staring at him.

But boy was working that pizza boy uniform. No wonder sales went up so much.

Sam looked taken-aback at her question and his cheeks turned red. "What?" he asked, glancing down at his clothes as Mercedes moved closer to him. "I'm not wearing anything special—"

"I don't know what it is about this all black outfit, but you look hella good," she told him as she stepped closer to him. Sam's surprise was written all across his face, but he looked pleased to see her attraction.

"I think this uniform has magic powers or somethin'," he said softly, pulling his hands out of his pockets to grasp her waist. Mercedes shivered when he tugged her against his body and her hands slid up his arms and over his shoulders. "I got hit on by a car full of college girls—"

"Excuse me?" That jealousy and irritation couldn't possibly be coming from her, could it? The amused grin on Sam's face answered her question, though.

"Lynn went all protective and cussed them out," he finished and Mercedes laughed at the thought of her aunt getting all riled up. She could imagine Lynn being defensive about those she cared for. "It was pretty hilarious—embarrassing, but hilarious."

"I hope you told them that you had a girlfriend," she said as his hands rubbed across her waist and lower back. She felt his fingers playing with the tips of her hair as he rested his forehead against hers.

"I didn't have to," he replied, "They didn't stand a chance against you."

Mercedes stared at him, before she lifted herself onto her toes and pressed her lips against his in a possessive kiss. Sam grinned against her mouth, but he responded by leaning into their lip lock—his grip on Mercedes' waist tightening as their lips meshed together.

Before she knew what she was doing, Mercedes found herself backing Sam against the edge of the sofa. When his calves hit the cushions, she pulled away from the kiss, breathing hard. Without a second of hesitation, she pushed Sam into the couch. He landed with a huff of surprise and he stared up at her—his lips kiss swollen and looking just as handsome as he had when he walked into the pool house.

She took off her glasses and placed them on the coffee table, before she straddled Sam's thighs and inched her way forward. When her face was directly above his, Sam's hands traced up her thighs—leaving a trail of heat in their wake as his fingers glided along her bare skin; he grabbed her hips and pulled her down into his lap. She stared into his green eyes, unprepared to see the darkening of his green eyes that was slowly but surely becoming familiar to her.

And she found it impossible to resist his kiss.

Their lips came together in a rush of fire that had Mercedes on edge. Her hands went to his mussed blond strands as he kissed her and she was incredibly aware of how tight his grasp was on her hips.

She didn't know how long they sat there—trading hot, wet kisses that made Mercedes quiver on the inside, but Sam's lips were addicting and the way he traced her mouth with his tongue had her cycling through a chorus of sounds that would've had Mercedes blushing if she wasn't an active participant.

Their hips ground together as their tongues twisted. Sam nibbled at her neck and suckled her collarbone—his hands grasping her breasts tentatively, but gaining confidence with each gasp she released.

A fire was licking its way up her body—each brush of Sam's hand, every kiss, and every graze of his teeth against her skin brought her closer and closer to a precipice and Mercedes was scared that there was no turning back as their grinding grew deeper and heavier. Hearing Sam groan when she twisted her hips a certain way was just as startling as it was powerful—his eyes rolled when she gyrated in a slow circle against the throbbing bulge beneath her crotch and a gasp left her lips when he dug his fingers into her waist and thrust his hips upwards.

Stars were dancing behind her eyes and she was quickly getting swept into a maelstrom of emotions and fire and lust that had her thoughts clouded.

"Sam," she moaned as his thumb brushed over a taut cloth-covered nipple and she tugged on his bottom lip with her teeth until he caught her mouth in another passionate kiss.

She was so close. Their hips moving quickly, they ground against each other—gasping and kissing as Mercedes was tugged into a current that was overwhelming, too much, need more, oh god.

"Fuck Cede," Sam hissed as she lifted and dropped her hips—trying and straining for it—it was right there. Her breathing was hard and every cell in her body seemed frozen in flames; she was burning from within.

"Sam," she sobbed breathlessly as their motions picked up a frantic pace, "Sam!"

His cheeks were dark red and he grasped her hips harder. Her fingers dug into his shoulders as they moved and got closer and so close and holy shit, Mercedes' whole world burst into a shower of stars as her body exploded in a fit of tingles and sensation.

She couldn't have controlled the wrecked cry that left her lips as her hips spasmed and her whole body shook from the force of her orgasm. The sound of Sam's groan had her blushing as her entire body went slack against his.

Sam was completely boneless on the couch and Mercedes couldn't find the strength in her to move. That is until she realized that she practically mauled Sam because of his uniform and then she couldn't throw herself off the couch fast enough.

"Cede?" he asked, unsurely and she wanted to sink into the cushions and never come out. She was such an idiot and childish and did she really just dry-hump the hell out of Sam?

Cheeks flaming and her eyes huge, Mercedes couldn't bear to look at Sam after the concerned look that wiped any pleasure from his expression appeared on his face.

She was about to have a fucking anxiety attack—or die of embarrassment. Oh god, what had she done? On the verge of tears, Mercedes stood up from the couch and blushed furiously at the wetness of her underwear. She couldn't tell if she wanted to turn her back to Sam or her front—what if there was a wet spot?

She heard Sam stand up from his spot on the couch and his face was bright red too. "Let me go clean up really quick," he said and then he bolted to the bathroom. "Don't go anywhere!" he called through the door and Mercedes squeezed her eyes shut, hoping that the humiliation would just be a really bad dream, but it wasn't if the dampness of her crotch meant anything.

Blushing furiously, she ran into her bedroom and cleaned herself up—tossing the underwear into her laundry bin as though they'd scalded her. She pulled on a new pair of panties and pajama pants. She even threw on a zip up sweatshirt and then she quickly tied her hair into pigtails. Mercedes peered out of the curtains that led into the living area, and scampered over to the coffee table.

She'd just shoved her glasses back onto her face when the bathroom door opened. Sam's face turned scarlet and Mercedes' whole body felt hot with her embarrassment. She couldn't bring herself to meet his eyes as she plopped down on the couch and tugged on the fabric of her jacket sleeve.

Sam sat down next to her, his shoulders brushing against hers and for a long moment, Mercedes couldn't find words—she kept remembering everything she'd felt and said and did and the self-consciousness made her mute.

Sam's ears were as red as his cheeks, but he seemed to fight through the awkwardness long before Mercedes had. "Okay, so," he said uncomfortably, his blond eyebrows rising as he cleared his throat, "That was—uh, amazing—"

Mercedes blushed, but she had to admit that a small ball of pride tightened in her stomach.

"—amazing and unexpected," Sam finished with an awkward glance at Mercedes.

They were silent for a moment and then Sam sighed. "I don't regret this," he said bluntly and her gaze snapped to him. Mercedes was shocked, but she had to admit that Sam looked adorable with his bright red cheeks and sheepish smile. "I loved being with you in that way, but I wish I had stopped it."

"How can you not regret it, but want to have stopped it?" she blurted and Sam's blush darkened, but a determined glint entered his eyes.

"You weren't ready for us to go that far," he replied, "I can tell that now, but things happened so fast that my brain didn't stand a chance."

Truthfully, Mercedes hadn't been ready for them to go so far. She admitted as much to Sam and the disappointed look that appeared on his face nearly broke her heart.

"Crap," he said, "I'm so sorry, Mercedes. I let things get out of control—"

"Hey," she piped up, "There were two people involved in this, you know." Her face was burning, but she wouldn't let Sam take the blame for something that both of them did. "It's just as much my fault as it is yours—"

"But I should've known better!" he protested, "Our hormones have been out of control all weekend, Cede and you talked about how nervous you were this morning—"

"Sam," she said quietly, "We both lost our heads tonight. It's both of our responsibility. You've been taking care of these things the whole time we've been—uh—intimate, but you're a teenage boy and I don't expect you to be perfect."

Sam's face turned pink, and he looked down at his lap. Mercedes forced herself to take his hand. If she was going to have an adult relationship, then she damn well needed to act like she was an adult.

"What we did isn't that bad," she told him, "It wasn't the right timing, true, but I think we know that we should wait until the right time to do something so intense—"

Both of them let out an embarrassed giggle and Sam met her eyes.

"So you're not mad?" he asked and Mercedes shook her head, leaning forward to place a kiss on his lips.

"No," she said, "Are you mad at me for jumping you?"

Sam laughed. "I really don't think it's possible for me to be mad about that."

"I think I'm more embarrassed about the sounds I was making than I am about what happened—"

"I thought you sounded sexy," he replied and Mercedes side-eyed him.

"There's no way that my gasping was sexy," she retorted.

"It was hot," Sam responded, "especially when you whimpered my name—"

"Sam!"

"What?"

"Are we really talking about this?" she asked, incredulously and Sam raised his eyebrows at her.

"Why not?"

"It's embarrassing!"

"Well, it'll be less humiliating if we talk about it—"

"No."

"Cede—"

"I think it's time for pizza."

"Are you kidding me?"

"No. Which slice do you want?"

"I liked your moaning—"

"Sam!"

"And when you moved your hips in circles against my co—"

"Boy!"

Mercedes' flustered countenance seemed to amuse Sam until she thrust a slice of pizza in his hand and he leaned back unexpectedly. She didn't miss the peculiar expression that crossed his face as he sat back up and then wiggled in his seat—his cheeks turning pink.

"What's wrong?" she asked him and Sam's ears turned red. He ate his pizza quietly and Mercedes frowned in concern. "Sam?"

He swallowed his bite of food—his cheeks bright red and mumbled something under his breath.

"What was that?" she asked and Sam sighed.

"I said that my pants are uncomfortable."

"Why?" she asked before a thought occurred to her. "You, uh, cleaned up, right?"

Mercedes tried to eyeball the crotch of his pants nonchalantly, but she didn't succeed. She saw enough to know that there wasn't a strange wet spot on his slacks, so they weren't ruined. Sam's face was half-amused and half-sheepish when Mercedes looked back up at him.

"Yeah," he replied, "but I had to make some adjustments."

Bemused, Mercedes blinked at her boyfriend and he shot her an exasperated look.

"What does that mean?"

"It means that I'm not wearing any underwear."

With a gasp, her eyes flew back down to his crotch and then she tore her gaze away. The hilarity of the situation made her lips twitch, and her eyes watered with the effort to contain the giggles that wanted to escape her body.

Sam didn't look amused when she faced him again and he pouted while munching on his pizza. The put out expression on his face did her in and Mercedes collapsed onto the couch cushions, laughing.

The whole night was strange and awkward, but it was perfect and she couldn't wait to find out what adventures awaited her and Sam. This time, they would be more careful.

At the end of their time together, Sam walked Mercedes to the front door of the main house and made sure to kiss her softly.

"What was it that you wanted to talk to me about?" Sam asked, and Mercedes remembered what she wanted to talk to him about this morning.

"Oh!" she replied, before she grinned up at him. "Sex and watching videos together."

"You want to watch por—"

"No!" she refuted, "I want to watch informational videos. I know you're not a virgin, but I am and I know practically nothing about it. I just thought it would be a good way to learn together without rushing into things blindly."

Sam's smirk was still too teasing and smug for her to approve of it, but he nodded his agreement.

"Gladly," he said, leaning down to press a brief kiss to her lips, "Night Cede." She stepped out of his embrace and held the door open as he stepped across the threshold.

She was about to return his goodnight when Sam spun on his heel and raised an eyebrow at her.

"For my own peace of mind," he said, "as far as orgasms go was the one I gave you closer to a 1 or a 10—"

"Goodnight Sam!" she hissed at him. Mercedes slammed the door on Sam's laughter and she huffed out a disbelieving breath. Her boyfriend was ridiculous—

"I'll take that as a 13!"

"Boy, go home!" she replied. The sound of him laughing made her smile and she finally heard him turn and walk away.


REVIEW! Until next time! :D