Standard Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or any other book/movie/song referenced. If I owned Glee then we would just flash forward 5 years when all the important couples (i.e. Samcedes and Klaine) are together living out their dreams. But I digress...

Sorry for the delay y'all. This chapter took forever to write cuz I wanted to do it justice. Thanks as always for the views, follows, favorites and comments! I love that y'all have ideas about what's happening next and that you seem to love how I've portrayed Mercy. Yay!

Now without further adieu...

It was throwback night and as she made her way through the crowd, the sounds of 90s r&b enveloped Mercedes' ears. The DJ was great and her appreciation for him grew as he smoothly transitioned into one of her favorite tracks.

Boy, I been watching you like a hawk in the sky
At night, like you were my prey
Boy, I promise you If we keep bumpin' heads
you know that one of these days (days)
We gon' hook it up
Probably talk on the phone
But see I don't know if that's good
I've been holding back
This secret from you
Probably shouldn't tell you, but if I…

Sam smiled at what he assumed to be a joke Mike made. It had been a long day in the office and despite his protests, here he was nursing a drink at one of the most popular spots in town. His attention was elsewhere and he was relying on context clues from his coworkers to fake his way through the conversation. When they laughed, he laughed. When they expressed shock, he did his part to look surprised. But the truth was that he'd checked out of the conversation the minute she entered his line of vision. It wasn't until he felt someone tapping him on his arm that he realized he was standing.

"Dude, are you ok?," Puck asked looking at him.

Sam glanced down at him. "Yeah, I'm fine. Anyone need a refill?"

His friends looked at each other and then at the full glasses each of them, including Sam, held.

He didn't wait for a response and made his way to the bar.

You can't tell nobody

I'm talking bout nobody
I hope you responsible
Boy I gotta watch my body
I'm not just anybody
Is it my go, is it your go?
Sometimes I'm goody goody
Right now I'm naughty naughty
Say yes or say no
Cause I really need somebody
Tell me are you that somebody

Mercedes tapped her fingers on the bar as she waited for her orders, singing along softly with the music and subconsciously swaying her hips to the beat. The place was packed for a Wednesday night, but she should have known that Tina would have selected a great venue. Today marked Mercedes' three-month anniversary in Nashville and Tina and Quinn had insisted they celebrate the occasion. Mercedes met Tina when moving into her apartment and met Quinn at work. It was a great coincidence that the two women were friends and Mercedes had clicked automatically with the duo, sensing that they would fit perfectly with her friends back home. She blinked rapidly and swallowed the familiar feeling of sadness that accompanied thoughts of her former life. Per Officer Abram's strong suggestion, she limited communication with Kurt and Santana. It made perfect sense given the reason she left Los Angeles in the first place, but that didn't make it hurt any less.

"Hey baby."

Mercedes froze as she felt someone brush against her, completely breaking her train of thought. The smell of whiskey was strong on their breath.

"I'm giving you two seconds to back off of me or else-"

"Or else what?" the stranger sneered, getting closer than he should have.

Mercedes turned around and glared up at him.

Sam watched as some man, clearly drunk off his ass, walked over to the woman in the red dress and put himself directly behind her. He quickened his pace, dodging couples on the dance floor. He approached the pair just in time to catch the end of what he could only take to be a thorough cuss out.

"...and if you ever forcibly insert yourself into a woman's personal space again I hope she's not as collected as I am and maces your ass. What kind of man are you, you disrespectful sack of convoluted irrelevance."

Sam let out a whistle as the man walked away to the jeering of those closest enough to overhear the exchange. He watched the woman turn back to the bar to get her drinks, a feeling of unjustified possessiveness settling into his stomach as another man slid up beside her. Sam waited a beat as she shook her head at the would-be suitor. The man was prepared to say something else when Sam walked over and inserted himself between the two, effectively interrupting the conversation before it could continue.

"Hey babe, everything good over here?" he said with a pointed look at the other man. The guy held up his hands and backed away, apologizing to the woman as he retreated.

"Excuse you," she said, tilting her head up and glaring at him. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Sam looked down at her five foot nothing frame, a small smile playing at the corner of his lips as she shot flames at him with her eyes.

Mercedes was furious. First some asshole has slithered up to her like the infant version of Voldemort, then some other schmuck had approached her, and now this… man… had pulled up next to her under the pretext of being her boyfriend. And he had the nerve to laugh at her!

"Saying hello."

She continued to glare. "By rolling up on me like we know each other?

He smiled. "I saw your exchange earlier."

Mercedes snorted. "Then you know that I don't like talking to strangers." She turned back to the bar.

"And yet here you are," he drawled.

With a roll of her eyes, she grabbed her drinks and began to walk away, mentally chiding herself. Under any other circumstance, she would have ended their exchange before it even started, but something about him caught her off guard. Whatever. It didn't matter now anyway.

She got to the table where her friends were seated and put their orders in front of them.

"What took you so long?" Tina yelled over the music.

Mercedes opened her mouth to respond when she heard a deep voice from behind her.

"Forgetting something?"

She whipped her head around and came face to face with a muscular chest. She inhaled sharply and looked up into the same humor-filled eyes that had mocked her minutes before.

She swallowed and narrowed her eyes. "What?"

Sam smiled at the obviously flustered woman. Good god she was gorgeous. "I asked if you were forgetting something."

Confusion overshadowed the annoyance in her brown eyes as she tried to understand his question.

Sam held up a purse.

"Seems like you were in a real hurry to leave the bar. Any particular reason why?"

She threw him a dirty look and grabbed her purse from him.

"You're welcome," he said smiling.

"Thank you," she shot back.

Between leaving his table and approaching hers, Sam wasn't exactly sure what he was doing, but this woman was driving him crazy and they had yet to have a decent conversation. Initially it was purely superficial - the way her dress sinfully hugged her curves, the manner in which looses curls framed her face, the way her brown skin glowed - but now it was the fire with which she handled herself. He had seen part of it when she was dealing with the asshole at the bar and some of it had been directed at him. He was desperate to see more... of everything.

"Is there anything else I can help you with?" Mercedes asked, instantly regretting the question when she saw his eyes darken.

"Actually, there is."

She raised an eyebrow.

"Have dinner with me."

She was unable to stop the laugh that escaped. "Are you serious?"

He nodded, unfazed.

Her laughter died and she cleared her throat when she realized he was waiting for a response.

"Thanks for the offer, really, but no thanks. I don't date."

Now it was his turn to raise an eyebrow.

"Is that so?" he asked slowly.

"Yes, it is."

"Well," he said with a knowing smile, "that's really a shame. Let me know if you ever change your mind."

Mercedes didn't say anything as he turned and walked away. She took several deep breaths. Without his piercing green eyes studying her, she was free to appreciate the confident manner in which he moved through the crowd and the way his jeans and button-down fit his frame perfectly.

She stared for several more seconds before turning to face her friends who were staring at her with a mix of shock, anger and good-natured envy.

"Are. You. Fucking. KIDDING ME?!" Tina exploded.

"What?"

"Did you seriously just turn down a date with that man? Were we looking at the same person? What the hell Mercedes?"

She shook her head. If she was going to be honest with herself, she was kind of regretting her answer, but couldn't afford to dwell on it. That man was trouble that she didn't need. Now want on the other hand...

Sam walked back to Puck and Mike who stopped their conversation as he settled into his seat.

"Refill huh?" Puck said with a knowing smirk. "Did you get her number?"

"Not yet," Sam said, taking a sip of his abandoned drink.

"Well, what's her name?" Mike asked.

Sam put down the glass. "Don't know."

He saw his friends exchange a glance.

"Soooo..." Puck drew out, clearly confused.

Sam smiled. "So, how about those Titans?"

A/N: So was it worth the wait? And so you know, the song playing is "Are You That Somebody?" by Aaliyah. I was actually inspired to do this fic when it came up on my iPod one day. Such a great song!