A/N: Here's another chapter! I wasn't too sure how I was going to play it out but I finally got it together lol I'll have the next part up very soon!


The Day After

Mercedes woke up in her bed alone, she wasn't sure when she fell asleep after being with Sam. She smiled at the thought of what they had done last night. She could feel his lips on hers and his hands on her body. She crawled to the foot of her bed to sneak a look at Sam before he woke up but he wasn't there. She scanned the room, listening to see if she heard the shower running but only got silence. She shook her head remembering his morning jogs and decided to shower and meet him outside. She took her a hot shower and opted to washer her hair as well, when she finished she stared at herself in the mirror noticing a slight glow. It had been a long time for her and she couldn't think of a better person to break her spell. She brushed her teeth and threw her hair into a bun before getting dressed, she put on an old school shirt hanging in her closet and some shorts. She headed down stairs and stopped mid-step when she heard her family and Sam laughing.

"What the hell?" She said to herself continuing down stairs, she was sure he was on his morning run so why was he in the kitchen laughing with her family?

"Look who finally decided to join the living." Marie said winking at her daughter. Mercedes looked around the kitchen at everyone who were all fully dressed for the day and she was in her old MicKinley shirt and a pair of shorts.

"Yeah, nice of you to join us, since when do you sleep in? Hope that "movie" didn't keep you up late." JJ said wiggling his eyebrows and smug smirk. Mercedes felt her eyes grow wide and looked at her brother pleading with her eyes to stop talking.

"Yeah, I hear sometimes "movies" can tire you out if you watch them too long." Mark chimed in chuckling a little.

"I bet the "movie" felt like it was in high def and real time." Mark added letting his laughter win. Mercedes shot him a look to stop but he kept laughing

"Maybe the movie was just too "good" to stop watching and she needed to watch it twice… maybe three times." JJ added struggling to hold in his laugh. Their parents exchanged confused looks before realizing what their sons were hinting at and immediately looked at Mercedes noticing her embarrassment growing.

"Mercy..." Marie said looking at her daughter and then Sam. She could see that they were beyond embarrassed and covered her mouth to hide her laughter as well. She wasn't upset, she knew it was going to happen… just wasn't expecting it to happen so soon and in her house.

"MERCEDES ANN JONES, I KNOW DAMN-" David started before Marie grabbed his arm making him stop. Sam stood there trying to hide his own embarrassment when he felt a nudge from Mark and looked at the man who was shaking his head towards the back door. Sam took the hint putting his coffee down, and grabbed Mercedes' hand and walked out to their back yard. Mercedes didn't say anything at first she just stood there embarrassed and slightly amused that it took her parents that long to get what her brothers were talking about. She felt Sam moving closer to her and moved back knowing her family was watching from the window. She shook her head and lead him to her favorite spot under the huge Maple tree in their yard.

"I'm so sor-" Was all she got out before his lips crashed into hers, making her roll her eyes back as she wrapped her arms around him. She felt the same fire she had last night ignite and bit his lip before pulling away.

"Morning." Sam said sweetly caressing her face. She looked simply amazing and without any effort on her part. She was just that beautiful, everything about her was beautiful to him. Her laugh, her smile, how kind she was and how cute she looked when she was embarrassed. He felt his self falling for her more and more and couldn't help but wonder if she was starting to feel the same way. She obviously felt something if she was ok with they did last night.

"Morning." She said looking down smiling.

"I thought you were on your run? Since you do it every morning back home."

"I was going to but I missed my alarm… for a good reason too." He said grinning down at her. She rolled her eyes and shoved his arm before biting her lip and looking up at him.

"It was fun huh?" She said giggling. Mercedes knew she would never live this down with he brothers but she was happy he felt the same as she did.

"Mhmm. We should probably do it again though… just to make sure." He said winking and grabbing her butt. She didn't move away this time so he pulled her into him and began kissing her deeply.

"Awh hell not in the backyard!" Mark said loud enough for them hear.

"OOO! Moma they at it again!" JJ said looking at them laughing

"MERCEDES ANN! Do we need to have a chat about house rules again?" David said looking at his daughter. He couldn't help but notice how happy she looked with him and felt a smile forming on his lips. His baby girl was a grown woman and it just hit him like a ton of bricks. He had always saw her as his little girl, the same little girl that would wait up for him to get home so she could ask him a thousand and one questions about his day, the same little girl that would hide behind him when her mother would fuss at her, sure she had boys coming over asking about her but she always would ignore them. Only one other somehow made his way into her life and he ended up hurting her so badly that if he could he would still break a few of his bones.

"OH MY GODDD! I'm an adult people! Why do you insist on doing this to me?" She said rolling her eyes.

"I bet you let Sam know just how much of an "adult" you are watching that damn movie. If that's what you really did." Mark said laughing then charging towards Mercedes, who began running away before being caught.

"No , no, no! Don't you dare! Put me down!" Mercedes shouted trying to break free of her brother's hold.

"Put you down? Okay I can do that." He said carrying her over to their pool and throwing her in before falling in after she grabbed onto his shirt.

"Good Lord, will you two ever grow up?" JJ said be for running over and jumping in as well. David and Marie both shook their heads and laughed while walking over to the outdoor seating they placed near the pool. Sam walked over to where everyone else was laughing and enjoying see Mercedes interacting with her brothers before they all stopped and stared at him then shared a look between each other.

"Oh no, I'm not involved in this." He said backing away with bis hands raised. Mercedes was the first out of the pool walking slowly towards him smiling sexily. He couldn't help but stop and admire her wet body and how her clothes clung to her curves. He didn't hear or see Mark and JJ get of the pool and wouldn't have noticed had they both sneak attacked him picking him together and tossing him to the pool.

"Victory!" They said in unison followed by a burst of laughter. Sam joined in the laughing before moving towards the edge where Mercedes was kneeling.

"Plotting against me… I see how it is Jones. Revenge will be had." He said with a devilish grin before getting out.

"I'll be damned." They heard a voice say and all turned to see who was speaking. David was the first to get up and speak.

"Just what the hell are you doing here, in my house?" David said angrily. Marie stood up and placed a hand on his shoulder, calming him down a little. She knew this was about to get ugly and didn't need her husband getting anymore worked up then he already was.

"Dude, I told you not to come here." Mark said through gritted teeth moving closer to the man standing on the back porch. Sam felt like he was in some weird Texas stand off and moved closer to Mercedes who stood there completely frozen, staring at the man with so much anger and hate in her eyes. He'd never seen her look like that in the five years she'd been his assistant. He'd seen her frustrated but never anything like this.

"Anthony, I'm not sure why you are here but I think it's best for you to leave honey." Marie said calmly looking back at her daughter and then him again.

"Oh Mrs. Marie, you know why I'm here." He said looking past Sam then smirking when his eyes fell on Mercedes. Sam felt her grab his arm and he moved in front of her so she wouldn't have to see whoever this Anthony character was.

"Look, either leave or we will help you leave." JJ said moving closer to him with Mark right behind him. Anthony held his hands up and backed up slightly.

"Hey, you know I have no beef with you. I just wanted to see Mercy." He said looking past the men and back at Sam, giving him a once over before scuffing.

"You her man now?"

"Antho-" Marie started before Sam moved forward and replied.

"I don't think that's any of you damn business, I suggest you listen to Marie and leave before we help you leave." Sam replied harshly causing everyone to turn and look at him before looking back at Anthony.

"Hmm. Mercy, baby? You're not even going to say hey?" He asked looking at Sam still. He felt her hand tighten on his arm and felt his self getting angry but when he started to move forward she stopped him. He looked back at her and her eyes were pleading for him to stay there with her.

"Boy, don't you ever talk to my daughter again. Now Mark and JJ show him out." David said moving away from Marie and closer to his sons. Mark and JJ started walking towards Anthony who finally took the hint and headed out through the side gate stopping before going completely leaving.

"Don't leave town before saying good bye baby." He said before Mark shoved him along. David looked back at Marie then Sam who looked very angry and it made him chuckle especially since he know she hadn't told him about Anthony but he still stood up for her and made her feel safe. Kid was good in his books.

"Sam baby, why don't you take Mercy upstairs to dry off. I'll get lunch started and we can all talk about this later." Marie said giving her daughter a reassuring smile and nudged her along. Sam nodded and grabbed Mercedes' hand and headed back inside to her room.

Once they go into her room she went straight to her bathroom and closed the door. He could hear her breathing heavily and knocked on the door not wanting to walk in before she was ready.

"Are you okay?" He said through the door. He waited for her to say something but only got silence back. He heard a knock at her door and went to answer it, Mark and JJ both looked concerned before stepping into their sister's room.

"Is she okay?" JJ asked first.

"I don't know… who was that?" Sam asked in a hushed voice. He didn't want to upset her any further by talking about it while she was in earshot.

"She hasn't told you? Y'all lived in the same place for five years and he never came up?" Mark asked looking confused. Sam let out a long sigh and shaking his head, he knew he was going to have to tell him he didn't know much about their sister until recently.

"Guys, let me talk to him please." Mercedes said softly as all the men turned and looked at her. She could tell her brothers wanted to stay but she needed to get this out of the way before they went further. She scolded herself for not doing it before last night but her emotions got the best of her and now she was sure she was about to push Sam away.

"You sure?" JJ asked walking to his sister.

"Yes, I'm sure. Now please give us a minute we'll come down once we're done talking." She replied with a small smile. JJ nodded and squeezed his sister's hand before leaving.

"Just… keep an open mind dude." Mark said to Sam before kissing Mercedes on the cheek and leaving closing the door behind him. She walked over and locked it then turned to face Sam. She went back into the bathroom and grabbed him a towel.

"Here, why don't you dry off and get changed then we can sit and talk." Sam nodded and grabbed some dry clothes before stepping into the bathroom to change. Mercedes took her wet clothes off and changed as well. She threw on sundress and sat down on her couch waiting for Sam to reemerge. Once he did she looked at him with a smile and nodded him over.

"Okay, I'm going to tell you everything but all I ask is that you listen before asking any questions. Alright?"

"I'm all ears."


SOOOO? I know major cliffhanger there but I gotta keep you guys interested! Yes everything will be explained and it's some ish! Plus we'll get to know Mercy a little deeper! Plus how cute are Mark and JJ!? Such good big brothers!