A/N and Disclaimer: I own nothing from Glee, Carr's story, or any other copyrighted material. I hope you enjoy it. Please as always forgive all of my mistakes. Once again thanks for showing this story love by reading, reviewing, following, and/or favoriting it. This is a smaller chapter, so chances are I may have enough time to do a double update again today if everything goes my way today. Stay cool!

Chapter 3

Mercy sat down at the table in the teacher's lounge with her grocery list and groaned. She was tired with a capital T. She hadn't slept a wink since she'd lost her mind and invited Sam to dinner. Even though the vibrator she'd ordered online right after the field trip had arrived yesterday, she still hadn't had the nerve to try it out. She was so close to easing her sexual frustration and had even taken it out of the package, washed the thing, then chickened out—worried it might buzz too loud and wake up her son.

She had done the same damn thing with that stupid cucumber last week. She'd bought it, thinking what the hell? Then she'd felt like an idiot when it came to actually doing the deed with a vegetable, so she had tossed it on the floor and forgotten all about it. Until Sam saw it.

Her horniness was currently off-the-charts, and Sam was coming over tonight.

Yep, this was going to be a recipe for disaster.

"What in the hell is wrong with you?" Tina asked, coming in and sitting beside her new friend. "You've been acting weird since the weekend."

"Sam came over on Saturday to throw the ball around with JJ."

Tina's eyes widened. "And why am I only hearing about this now?" She walked in and grabbed the seat next to Mercy.

"Because there's nothing to tell. They tossed the baseball for an hour or so, he helped me put up my bed, and then—"

"Put up your bed?"

"I didn't have the right tool to do it. He did."

"Yeah, I bet he did," Tina said suggestively, wiggling her eyebrows.

Mercy narrowed her eyes. "It was a wrench, Tina. Or something. Anyway, the tornado siren went off, and I freaked out—"

"As only you city people can."

Mercy shrugged, wondering if she'd ever get over the idea that some big funnel cloud could crash down on her head and blow her away at any minute of the day. She remembered watching The Wizard of Oz and being scared of tornadoes and pretty much everything else in the movie as a kid. That movie was not for children, and she had never let JJ see it. The nightmares she had of being taken away to Oz lasted for a year. She never got over her fear of tornadoes even though she had never experienced one living in Atlanta and going to college there. And since the alarm on Saturday, she'd looked up at the sky more in the past three days than in the rest of her whole life combined.

"Well, we went down to the basement, sat under the stairs until it passed, and then he helped me with a few other chores."

Tina stifled a pretend yawn. "Boring. Get to the good details."

"There aren't any other details."

Tina frowned. "There has to be. You can't seriously expect me to believe that Lima's version of the ladies man in your house—and your bedroom—for hours and nothing happened."

Mercy rolled her eyes at Tina's faulty logic. Just because the man was hot, and she got wet every time Sam called her Mrs. Jones didn't mean that she would sleep with him with her son in her house. A guy she barely knew. Even though he made her burn with a desire she never felt before. She didn't even want to think about what that might mean.

"Trust me when I say this nothing happened between Sam and me," she stressed again.

"Of course it didn't."

Tina and Mercy both jumped at the new voice in the room. She stifled a groan when Kitty Wilde, the fifth-grade teacher, came in. Bitch was Mercy's first impression of Kitty on the first day of school, and the woman had done nothing since to change her mind about her first impression of her.

"Excuse me," Tina said, when Kitty walked over to the coffeepot to fill up her mug. "But we were having a private conversation."

"Then whisper or make sure the door is firmly closed next time."

Mercy narrowed her eyes, ready to read Kitty the riot act. She was existing on precious little sleep, and her nerves stretched so tight, someone could play her like a guitar. Before she could tell Kitty to go screw herself with a cactus, the obnoxious woman hopped into the conversation Mercy and Tina had just told her to butt out of.

"Nothing will ever happen between Sam and Mercy because he doesn't go for the sweet, innocent thick sista type. He prefers a thin white woman in his bed. Not"—Kitty's gaze raked over Mercy from head to toe, judging her in her T-shirt and maxi skirt—"some overly clothed Precious lookalike. The least you could do is dress and do your makeup like your hero Lizzo. I am sure you listen to and sing all of her songs along with Beyonce."

Mercy stood up, but Tina grasped her arm. Her friend might be able to stop her from walking over and slapping the smug smile off Kitty's face, but she couldn't make Mercy be quiet.

"What is your problem with me? You've been a grade A bitch ever since I started working here."

Kitty lifted one shoulder in a casual shrug, not bothering to deny her behavior. "You goodie-goodie types annoy me. You give off this 'I'm so wonderful' vibe with your perfect mom and teacher routine, and the way you bat those big brown eyes to get everyone to help you. Trust me when I say, Sam is too much man for you, sweetheart. You're better off leaving him to the real women. He'll never go for"—Kitty waved her finger in front of Mercy's outfit—"an overweight stereotypical single black mom. You are so booooring," she sing-songed as she walked out of the lounge.

"That woman is a cuntcake," Tina muttered.

Mercy laughed at her description. "I never heard of that word before but I ain't mad at you."

"Works so well, right?"

She nodded, then sat back down. "Do I seriously give off that vibe?"

"No." Tina shook her head. "I'm pretty sure Kitty was dropped on her head as a baby. She's been Queen of the Mean Girls since middle school. She's got a pack of three besties, who fawn all over her and tell her she's the hottest thing on high heels. They barhop every weekend, cutting a swath through all the single guys in town. I think she feels threatened by you."

"Yeah. She didn't sound threatened to me."

"Of course, she did," Tina insisted. "That right there was Jealousy 101. Kitty's got it bad for Sam. Always has because she can't get the man to settle down and marry her."

Mercy considered that, then decided she could accept that answer more easily than Kitty's assessment of her personality.

She was a quivering bag of nerves as she considered tonight's dinner, so from now on, she would just ignore Kitty and erase her from her mind.

Sticks and stones and all that shit.

"So is this depression of yours based on the fact Sam didn't kiss you or sneak a feel or something when JJ wasn't looking?" Tina asked.

Mercy shook her head. "No. This isn't depression. It's me kicking my own ass. I invited him over for dinner tonight."

Tina perked up, her interest suddenly piqued. "Alone? Like a date?"

"No. Not at all. As a thank-you. And JJ is definitely going to be there. I need a chaperone."

"You need a chaperone or Sam does?"

Meeting Tina about two minutes after Mercy moved to Lima was probably the best thing that had happened to her in a long time. After leaving college, she had moved back in with her folks, and since then, she'd had precious little time for anything short of online classes, work, and raising her son. She didn't realize how much she'd missed female friends until right this very minute.

"I think I do. He's a player, right?"

The only frame of reference Mercy had to go by on Sam was what Tina—and Kitty and the cashier at the grocery store and the office secretary—had all alluded to. To the countless notches on his bedpost, his ability to charm women out of their pants, and his stance—or lack thereof—on commitment.

Try as she may, Mercy couldn't make any of that fit with the Sam who'd bent over backwards to help her around the house on Saturday, the guy who'd been a perfect gentleman—with the exception of some playful flirting, and the man who was pretty terrific with her son.

"Sam Evans is the ultimate ladies' man. And I say that with affection," Tina said. "He and my man, Mike, are best friends, so I've grown up with him. I adore Sam. He's never hit on me. We kissed one time when Mike went away to college during my senior year, but it wasn't I wanna get in your pants kiss; it was just me feeling sad about Mike and I breaking up, and him trying to comfort me. So, I have never had the Sam Evans' Experience."

"Really? If he will screw any and everybody if Mike was no longer here, and they were no longer friends why didn't he try to sleep with you? You are gorgeous."

Tina shrugged. "I always assumed it was because he respected me and any girl he considered a nice young lady which prevented him from trying anything with us because of his lack of desire for marriage and kids. According to his reputation now, he hooks up only with divorcees and widows. They swear he is a sex machine. I think his bedroom door revolves. Probably makes it quicker and easier to get the old lover out and the new one in."

"Wow. Thanks. Knowing that helps. JJ's dad was a womanizer. Jake Puckerman was the hottest guy on campus, and he knew it. Girls were falling over themselves to get his attention. He was nice to me, said all the right things, told me everything I wanted to hear. Boy could sing and dance like nobody's business. I thought I was special." Funny how six years later, just thinking about JJ Puckerman could make her feel like the world's biggest idiot.

Tina gave her an understanding smile. "There's one lesson no one ever teaches girls and it's this. Guys can be dicks. If someone, somewhere would tell us that, would teach and reteach it until we learned it, life would be a lot easier for all us women."

Mercy lifted her coffee mug up in a toast. "Amen, sister."

"So why do I feel like you might still need remediation?"

Tina really understood her.

"Because I'm horny as hell and Sam Evans is a hot guy who flirts with me and looks at me in a way that makes my body melt."

Tina laughed loudly. She had one of those explosively loud bursts of laughter that probably had everyone within a half-mile radius looking around and saying what the hell was that?

"Gotcha. How long has your dry spell been?"

Mercy hated to answer the question. Mainly because it was embarrassing as hell. "Six years," she said quietly.

"Six freaking years?!"

She groaned. "Why don't you say it a little louder, Tina? I'm not sure they heard you in Alaska."

"Holy crap."

"That's not the worst part," she confessed.

"There's something worse than a six-year dry spell?"

"Jake Puckerman was my first. I got pregnant the same night I lost my virginity."

Tina was quiet. As in speechless quiet.

"Say something please," Mercy urged her.

Tina gawked at her a few moments, her mouth opening and closing, no sound coming out.

Finally, Mercy rolled her eyes, annoyed.

"I'm trying to think of something," she said at last. "I swear to God."

"I haven't wanted to have sex with a guy ever since that night. I honestly thought maybe something was broken inside of me."

She sighed as she thought about her arousal levels whenever Sam was around, then admitted, "Nothing is broken, believe me."

Tina patted her arm consolingly. "And now I understand your sad face for the past couple of days. You do realize that the solution to your dry spell is simple."

"It is?"

"Yeah. Screw Sam."

Mercy tried to feel those words, to let them sink in and empower her. "Okay. You're right." She raised one fist in the air, trying to appear tough and ready to resist. "Screw Sam and Screw Kitty and the broom she rode in here, too," she said knowing her current state was because of that sexy as hell man who sent her temperature rising.

Tina rolled her eyes. "No. I mean literally. You need to have sex with Sam. Take that sexy firefighter to bed, let him screw you senseless, then make sure you're the first one out the door come morning. Nope, scratch that last part. You don't need to sleep with him. As soon as you can move, put on your clothes, and walk out on him like it meant nothing at all."

"That's your advice? How is that helpful?"

"How is it not? You're horny, you need experience, and if the gossip around town is correct, Sam is more than man enough to take care of that for you. Give yourself one stellar night. Come back to the land of sexual beings, then turn the tables. You be the user this time. Get what you want from the man, then stick your middle finger in the air and give the universe a big eff you. You deserve one night of nonstop orgasms. You have had a baby. You deserve all the fun and pleasure that goes behind creating life my friend. Multiple orgasms is my prescription for what ails you."

Mercy closed her eyes. "I'd settle for just one."

Tina snapped her fingers until Mercy looked at her again. "No. You're not settling. Make that sexy beast give you three at a minimum. Five would be ideal."

"Five?" She tried to figure out if Tina was joking or serious. One look into her jet-black eyes told the tale. Tina was as serious as a heart attack.

"And then I just walk away?" She'd meant her words to be a comment, but they ended with a definite question mark.

Tina narrowed her eyes. "Yes. You walk away. As fast and as confidently as your bowlegs can carry you."

"I'm not bow-legged."

"You will be after a night with Sam. I heard he is at least ten inches."

Mercy didn't have the faintest idea how to respond to that. Apparently, she didn't need to. Her body gave her all the answers she needed. Her nether regions clenched, her heart raced, her palms sweated, and her nipples tightened.

"Okay. I'm going to see how tonight goes. If I'm still feeling this attraction to him, I'll hire a sitter and set up another date for this weekend."

"Why not tonight?"

"Because I have to hit the grocery store after work, start the lasagna, and clean up my house. I don't have time to attend to the details between now and then." Mercy gestured to her body. "I've been single for six years. Everything needs a trim. Or maybe hedge clippers. God, maybe even a chainsaw."

Tina laughed. "You have issues, girl. If you decide to move forward with it tonight though, call me. I'll come get JJ. He can do an overnight with Auntie Tina while you get your back broken."

"Lovely image, Tina."

She gave Mercy a grin and a wink. "Trust me. After one night in Sam's bed, you'll understand exactly what I mean."

Mercy wished Tina would stop alluding to Sam's apparent talents in the bedroom. It only made her more nervous. And hornier.

God. If she didn't have an orgasm soon, she was going to spontaneously combust.

Tina stood up, then stopped at the door. "You're on the pill, right, condoms are not one hundred percent protection, you know this right?"

"Did you miss the part about me getting pregnant the first time? What do you think?" Mercy's comment clearly failed to comfort her friend, so she added, "Of course I am. I take it every morning like clockwork."

"Perfect."

Mercy waved as Tina headed back to the clinic, then she glanced at the clock on the wall. She only had five more minutes before she had to pick her class up from the music teacher.

She looked down at the grocery list she'd been attempting to make. The plan for tonight's meal was lasagna with a salad and garlic bread. Lots and lots of garlic on the bread. She was hoping a case of stinky breath would keep her from crawling onto Sam's lap and doing a tongue tango with him.

Mercy had wanted him to kiss her Saturday. After all, they'd been standing right there—alone—by his truck. There'd been ample opportunity.

So why hadn't he?

According to Tina—and every other woman in town—Sam didn't hold back on his desires. If he saw something he wanted, he took it.

Which was a depressing thought.

Because if he really wanted her why hadn't he kissed her?