Hey guys! Here is another installment! Like the others, sadly this story is reaching its end with only, two or three more chapters. So Enjoy!

"Mommy! It's Iman Vellani! Mommy, it's Miss Marvel!" Malaya screamed as she and her friends gathered around the actress.

Mercedes couldn't deny Sam did good; they did great, actually. He got Malaya's favorite actress; he had personalized goodie bags for which Mercedes chose the favors. As a team, they threw one kickass party.

But what mattered most was seeing Malaya's face. It was everything she could have ever wanted, and for that, Mercedes was grateful.

Amelia and Mary walked over to Mercedes, smiling. "This is amazing. The momma's are a great touch great for the kids and for the adults."

The party itself was at the trampoline park. Sam had wanted it at the Hilton, but as Mercedes told him, this was a kid's party, so it needed to be fun. And at a place, they could have fun.

So Sam bought out the place for the day. They paid the staff to sign an NDA and worked with Tina and Blaine to throw the best party for a nine-year-old.

The tables were decorated with balloons and streamers. There were finger foods consisting of all the kid's favorites. Cheeseburger sliders, Pizza, Chips, and, of course, Chicken nuggets. They had a candy stand and a soda/juice fountain.

There was a fresh fruit table with fruit kebabs and marshmallows; they added strawberry yogurt and a chocolate fountain. Then the adults had salad, chicken, and a burger station. The dessert table was, of course, the kid's favorite, and it consisted of cupcakes, cake pops, and a two-tier Ms. Marvel-themed cake.

Everyone who RSVP'd had custom costumes and masks, and the staff created a superhero run through the trampoline park.

But having the actress who played Ms. Marvel show up was everything to Malaya.

Mercedes looked at her mom and Mary and beamed. "I am so glad that this all came together. Lay seems to really be enjoying herself."

"You and Sam make a great team. And you both look good in your Captain America and Black Widow costumes." Mary smirked.

"Almost like an actual married couple. I mean throwing parties and dressing alike. Sending flirty looks towards each other every time you see each other."

"No, we don't."

"Yes, you do." They said in unison.

Mercedes shook her head. "Look, things are…good, but he's going to be headed back to Ohio, and I just…."

"You aren't ready to give up your life here and move to Ohio." Amelia nodded.

Mercedes sighed. "I can't just uproot her; her best friend is here; my best friend is here. Ohio is great, and I love it there, but Mom, I built everything here. How am I supposed just to uproot my life? Then if he gets traded, what happens?"

Mary took Mercedes's hand. "You have thought about this a lot, haven't you?"

"I keep playing the scenario, and someone has to give up something they love. Sam and I have worked our asses off, him with his football career and me so that I could provide a great life for Laya and make sure Nana's legacy remains. Plus, we just opened that new location."

Amelia placed her head against Mercedes. "Sweetie, these things tend to work themselves out. I know it doesn't seem like it, but they do."

Mercedes watched Sam, Bas, Hunter, and Mike jump with the kids, feeling her heart soar with love. "This is what I have always wanted. This is what I have prayed about, dreamed about, but."

Mary nodded. "You know, your mother and I have been married for a long time. Me too, and Evans, who surprises me and tests me, and who makes me feel like I am worth everything. Whatever I had to give up to be with him wasn't anything compared to the love I have now."

"And you know your dad and I, we have gone through a lot but came out on the other side. So when you look at Sam and Lay, you decide what is best for you."

Mercedes nodded. "I think right now. What is best for me is to go and spend some time with my family. I don't know what the future holds, but right now, right now. I am gonna enjoy it."

Amelia and Mary sighed as she walked over to the trampoline. "They are gonna be okay; I know they will."

Mary nodded. "We just got this family back together; we are not gonna let them fall apart."

Mercedes walked over to the trampoline and smiled as Sam reached down to her.

"Hey, beautiful. Joining us for a jump?"

Mercedes nodded. "Yes," she said, taking his hand so he could help her. She smiled as she pressed against him, trying to catch her balance. "Hi."

"If you wanna get frisky, I scoped out a place in the back." Sam teased.

"Momma, Daddy, come jump with me." Malaya said happily.

Sam took Mercedes's hand as they bounced over to their daughter.

Sam smiled, linking his hands with Mercedes as they cuddled on the bed, with Malaya sleeping between them.

"I think today was a success. Malaya and her friends had a great time. Rave reviews."

Mercedes laughed. "Getting the real Ms. Marvel, that was a great surprise, and the photo booth and props just made it better. She will have this memory forever."

Sam sighed. "I am still so sad I missed all of this, but being here now is everything."

Mercedes looked at him. "You are in the same dilemma I am, Sam; whatever we do, someone has to give up something they love or have worked hard for."

Sam turned to look at her. "You know I could get transferred here; we can find a house and make it work."

Mercedes chewed her bottom lip, turning towards him. "Sam, this is…things have been perfect, but you are getting ready to leave and. I don't want to ruin it by talking about this."

"Mercedes, we have to. Even if it's sad. The Bengals offered me fifteen million to extend my two-year contract."

Mercedes nodded. "Wow, that's a lot of money."

"It is, but I am good when it comes to the money; I don't need it. But Mercedes, I need you, and I need Malaya."

"You have worked so hard for your career Sam. You can't just walk away from it."

"I can work for you. I don't need that money, I have money, and I can do something else. You have two businesses, and our daughter is here. If you are willing to give me a chance, then I am willing to give it all up."

Mercedes sighed, turning away from him and lying on her back. "How soon do you have to let them know?"

Sam sighed. "Mike is holding them off, but it needs to be soon; training camp is gonna be starting up."

Mercedes reached out for his hand. "Sam, today was perfect. I loved being with our family and watching Laya living her best life. But just because it feels right doesn't mean it is right. You have a career, and I won't have you giving it up for a maybe."

"Maybe it is better than a flat-out no. You both are worth the risk." Sam assured her. He was about to speak but stopped as his phone rang. Kissing her hand, he moved to answer it.

Mercedes sighed, looking over at Malaya as she waited for Sam to return. When he did, he frowned, and she sat up. "What happened?"

"Bengals need an answer tomorrow, and I have to fly back to Ohio for a meeting."

"I guess we really don't have time, do we? We need to come to a decision." She said softly.

Sam moved closer to her. "Merce, I already signed the contract for this year, but I don't have to accept the two-year addition."

"But do you want to?"

Sam sighed, and Mercedes looked at him. "Tell me the truth, Sam."

He nodded. "Okay, this is my career, it's been my career for as long as I can remember, and it's the only thing I am good at. So yes, if I can do it for a little longer, I would love to. But in the end, if it's a choice between you and my job, it will always be you."

"A part of me wants to tell you to stay with me, stay here with us, and be a family. But we would just be selfish. So you are going to go back to Ohio. And during spring break and summer break, and I will come to visit. And in the off-season, you will come here. And when we know for sure, we can make it work. We will decide, together, to do what is best for our family."

Sam smiled, leaning in and kissing her. "I can agree to that, and we will play it by ear and see what happens."

"But, you have to do one thing for me. May 12th is Laya's Father/Daughter dance, and you need to be here for that?"

Sam nodded. "I can be there. I will be there."

Mercedes wrapped her arms around Sam's neck. "So you really have to leave tomorrow?"

Sam nodded. "But I only have to be there for a few hours, and then I will be back here for the rest of my time off."

Mercedes leaned in and kissed him softly. "How about we have dinner tomorrow night when you get back?"

"It's a date."

Sam walked into the office, and Mike jumped up to greet him. "Sam tell me we have good news to tell them?"

"I am going to sign another year, and that is it." Sam said, standing tall.

"I guess I can work with that. Now after the meeting, the people from that body storm commercial and they want you and Penny back."

"No," Sam said, shaking his head. "Mike, I am doing this meeting, then I am getting back to Charleston; I have a date tonight."

"Sam! This is your job; you signed on for five commercials, you have a contract you can't just decide now you don't want to do it."

"You knew they wanted me to do this, and you didn't bother to tell me?" Sam seethed.

Mike stepped back. "Sam, I have been with you since before you got drafted. I handle your contracts; I handle your money; I handle it all. I have never had to run contracts by you that you have already agreed to before. So don't get mad at me for doing it now."

"I am not doing a commercial with Penny, not after all the drama she caused. Not after everything that I have just put right."

"Sam, I told you not to sign on with Penny on this, but you let her talk you into it."

"Mike, get me out of this."

Mike shook his head. "Sam, if I do that, then you might lose your other endorsements. Some of them are connected."

Sam groaned. "Fine, let's do this. I need to call Mercedes."

"I will call her for you after the meeting. You will go and ace this meeting, and while you are on set, I will call Mercedes or have Kitty call her."

"Mike, no! I need to call her now."

"Fine, call her and come one."

Sam pulled out his phone, reaching Mercedes's voicemail. "Hey, Merce, I am headed to my meeting, and Mike just informed me I have a commercial to shoot. But we are still on for our date. I can't wait to see you; wear something sexy."

Hanging up, Sam walked into the meeting, praying they could get everything done and make it for dinner.

"I gotta tell you, Sam, working this close together is bringing back so many memories." Penny purred in his ear.

"Penny, if you don't step away from me, I will embarrass you." Sam said through gritted teeth. He was already over this shoot. The moment he showed up, Penny was all over him. And he was not about to let her ruin things between him and Mercedes.

"Sammy, I don't understand. You agreed to do this, so I thought you agreed to try again."

"You thought wrong. Penny, I am here because it's my job."

She ran her hands down his chest. "Sam, you made me believe that we had a future; I don't know what I did to make you toy with me."

"Toy with you? Penny, I wasn't playing with you. I never meant to hurt you, but what we had is over."

Penny shook her head. "Over? Ha, Sam, look at me, I am a beautiful, sexy supermodel, and any man would die to be with me; you and I spoke about our feelings and love. You told me you loved me, or was that a lie?"

"I never said I was in love with you; I just never corrected you when you told me that we were in love." Sam confessed. "And that's on me; I should have been clear from the start."

Penny frowned. "Sam, look, let's start over; I mean, you still have to be my date for the party tonight."

"What party? What are you talking about?"

Penny tilted her head to the side, toying with his shirt. "You promised me that since you were going to announce me, we would go together; I am being honored after all."

Sam ran his hand through his hair, vaguely remembering that he promised her he would escort her to The Fashion Awards six months ago. "Penny, I have plans tonight, and I have to get back to Charleston."

Penny sighed angrily. "I knew you couldn't be trusted, and I turned down Scott Eastwood for you! Because I thought you were a man of your word. You were supposed to escort me and present the award to me! Please, Sam, this is the biggest award in my industry. I have worked my ass off to win it, and I can not be embarrassed like this! You know how easy people turn on you in this industry!"

"Hey, Sam, you ready to go?" Mike asked, walking over to them.

"Mike, am I supposed to make some announcement at the fashion show awards?"

"What? No…I don't think so…" Mike pulled up his phone and dialed Tina. "T, what is this about Sam having to make an announcement at the Fashion Show awards."

Mike eyed Penny as she stood nervously. "Uh huh…you need to get him out of it. Sam didn't agree to that." Mike looked at Sam. "Wait, when did he agree?" Mike took a breath looking at Penny. "So you did agree to it, had Tina confirm it six months ago when we learned about the award, but someone claiming to be from our team confirmed it last week."

Sam let out a humorless laugh. "Yeah, well, I am not doing that."

Mike held his finger up. "Sam agreed back when he and Penny were dating; he wasn't prepared to do any of this tonight... Okay, I get it. Yeah okay. I will let you know what he says."

"He says no!" Sam said.

"Sam, Tina said that because you agreed to it, they have you set up as the presenter. It's already been put in motion. And Penny is right. If you don't show up to give her the award, she will have no one. This is a big deal for her. Plus, your endorsement matters here. Having you do it, with you both on this Cologne spot, it looks good for her team and us."

"That makes no sense. Why would my endorsements matter?"

"Sam, what matters is you signed on for all of this, and so if you walk away, Penny will lose out." Mike said. "Now personally I don't care but it will make her look bad."

"I don't give a flying fuck! I am not going to be pushed into something I didn't agree to! This is not what I signed up for."

"Sam… Sam, if you do this, walk away, then I will suffer too. My money is tied up in this new line I am helping a friend with, and I can't afford not to work. Sam, I know you moved on; I get it. But promise I will leave you alone. I will never bother you again." Penny said tearfully. "Please."

Sam sighed, shaking his head. "I don't know."

Penny looked at him tearfully. "Please. Please, and I have nothing but this job now. And you owe me."

Sam knew she was right; he did owe her because, unintentional or not, he hurt her. "Fine! But make no mistake; this is not a date. We are not together, and I am on the first flight out of here as soon as it's over."

Sam walked out of the area, and Mike followed him. "You don't have to do this. We can figure something out."

"I owe her, I hurt her, and my mom was right; Penny didn't deserve to be used by me. So I am going to announce her award, and then I am done." He said, pulling out his phone.

"Sam, this can go wrong very easily."

"No, it won't. I am going to call Mercedes, and all will be fine."

"Yes, Sam. Call Mercedes, the woman you left, and tell her that you are breaking your date so you can take your ex to an awards ceremony."

Sam frowned. "I am not taking Penny. I am just presenting her award. I am trying to do the right thing."

"Oh? Really? Do you think Mercedes is gonna care about the technicalities? I know how hard you have worked to gain her trust, but she's a woman, and they aren't always rational regarding their guy and other women."

"Mercedes will understand. I am sure of it."

Mercedes held up the dress she just brought, debating on the shoes she was going to wear. She was excited about this date with Sam. She had planned it down to the dessert, which consisted of strawberries, whipped cream, and her.

"Knock, Knock; the food is downstairs; you just have to warm it up before Sam arrives. And Hunter and I have a fun time planned for Laya." Sebastian said, sitting on her bed. "Gorgeous dress."

"Thanks." Mercedes beamed. "I am so excited right now; I feel like I am back in high school."

"I don't think I have ever seen you like this, Merce."

Mercedes took a breath. "I know…" Mercedes jumped on the bed happily. "I am finally allowing myself to…." She stopped as her phone rang. "Hello." She sang.

"Hey, Merce." came from the other end of the line.

"Sam! Hey, are you heading to the airport? I am really excited about tonight."

"About tonight. It looks like I won't be making it back in time. I had a last-minute event come up; I forgot I agreed to do this awards thing."

Mercedes sighed. "Oh, okay."

"I'm really sorry; I just didn't even remember until Mike and Tina reminded me. We all forgot, and so much has changed since Christmas."

"I know, Sam; you had a life before you came back into ours; it's fine."

"First thing tomorrow, I am heading back to you and Lay," Sam promised.

"Okay," Mercedes said sadly.

"I'm really sorry, Mercedes. I will make it up to you."

Mercedes closed her eyes. "Sam, you do what you gotta do, and we will figure the rest out when you get here."

"I don't deserve you."

"I know. Call me later, okay?"

"Promise."

Mercedes hung up and sighed. "Soo, it looks like my plans for the evening have changed. You and Hunter feel like keeping me company?"

"Fine, you can join us; I am sure we can find something to do."

Sam tugged at his tie as he walked out on the stage. "Thank you, guys, for that applause; seeing it up here feels different than on the field. Tonight I am presenting the Fashion Icon Award to someone I have known personally for a while. She's kind, beautiful and embodies what a true Icon is. Tonight the Fashion Icon Award goes to Penny Owen."

The crowd applauses as Penny walks out. She waved and hugged Sam, holding him close and kissing him as the crowd went wild. She pulled away from Sam, smirking as she turned to the crowd.

"Thank you! I am honored, not only because my fiancee' presented me with this award but because I have always wished to be an Icon,"

Sam tuned out her speech as he realized just how bad things had gotten in a matter of seconds. It was clear as day that she played him, and he stormed off as she spoke. He was livid, and it took everything in him not to strangle her.

Mike walked over to him with Tina on his heel. "We are already on it, Sam, and issuing a statement that she is crazy."

"I need to get home, and I need to talk to Mercedes right now." He said, pulling out his phone.

"Sam, it's 1 am. Do you think she is awake? Just let's get to the airport; your private plane is waiting on you. And we will take it from there." Mike said.

"Sam, I need you to read over this statement," Tina said, shoving it in his face as Penny came off the stage.

"Sam, you could have stayed to escort me off; leaving like that was rude."

"Penny, what the actual hell were you thinking? I did you a favor."

"And I got my revenge. You humiliated me; you ruined my life! And now I have ruined yours. Good luck explaining things to your girl." She blew him a kiss and walked away.

Sam started to reach for her but stopped when Mike grabbed his shoulder. The ride to the airport and the plane ride to Charleston were filled with Mike and Tina trying to change the narrative to Penny speaking.

But the front page photo of the kiss it was going to be hard to explain. Sam tried reaching out to Mercedes, but she hadn't answered, and then it was too late to try calling again.

By the time they touched down, it was six am. As the car took him to the house, he looked at Mike. "I will call you later. Let you know what happens."

"Look, you told her you were going to the awards, and she knows that you were there with Penny, so you are good."

"No, she doesn't. I didn't mention Penny because I didn't want her to think exactly this. I fucked up this time." Sam frowned.

The car came to a stop, and Mike sighed. "Go talk to your girl and get some sleep. I just hope we did enough damage control."

Sam shrugged. "I don't care about the world believing me; I just care about my world believing me."