Enjoy! It's a mess!

Mercedes covered her mouth, trying to stifle her laugh but was failing miserably; after everyone grew tired from playing in the pool, they decided to eat some lunch and lounge around for a while. The men opted to help finish set up while the ladies decided to get to know Mercedes better; they'd asked her well over a thousand questions before she got a chance to ask a few things about Sam which is how she ended snickering.

"... so when our parents finally stopped, Sam jumped over the seats and fell out of the car, screaming about how he had to go to the bathroom, but what he didn't realize was that there was a cheerleading convention, so over four hundred girls heard him." Stacey finished, laughing along with everyone else.

"Wait, so did he ever go to the bathroom?" Mercedes asked in between laughs.

Stacey shot her a pained look. "He really had to go… and Sam back then was pretty shameless, so yes…."

Quinn snickered. "Oh my God, I remember this now… all those screaming girls."

"He didn't!" Mercedes said, gasping.

Stacey nodded. "Oh, he did; he has never been shy."

Mercedes looked over to Sam, trying to see that carefree boy his family spoke about. "So when did all of that change? You guys seem like you haven't really seen the fun side of him in a while?"

Quinn shifted. "He didn't tell you?" She asked.

Shaking her head, she looked at the woman. "No, he didn't…is it bad?"

Stacey stood, shooting Quinn a knowing look. "It's not for us to tell; he'll tell you when he's ready."

"Okay, I am actually going to check on the dogs; when I get back, I fully expect to hear all your meet-cutes with your husbands and soon-to-be," Mercedes said, offering them a smile before walking across the yard.

"Hey Romeo, are you playing nice with your new friends?" She asked, bending down to him and froze as a man and older woman walked out of the house.

"I don't care who her dad was!" The woman hissed angrily in a whisper. "The check bounced! We are putting all this effort in, and for what? If we don't get paid, how are we supposed to pay for all of this!"

"Amelia, keep your voice down!" He looked around, and Mercedes tried to stay out of sight. "This is a job, and we will get paid. I already talked to Dwight, and he said he will handle it."

"HA!" She laughed loudly before quieting down. "If he can't even talk to her about the money, then what makes you think he is going to have this handled? I want my check or my entire staff walks."

"You can't walk! We have worked too hard on this wedding to walk away; our reputations are on the line!"

Amelia shot him a look. "I nor my staff work for free. Either it's here by the night's end, or We will take it all down and book another wedding." She warned.

He ran his hand over his beard and sighed. "Okay, I will say something, but please. Please, if I can get half right now, would you stay on through the weekend so I can get the rest?"

"Seventy-five percent and nothing less." She answered before storming off.

Mercedes stood as the man walked away and shook her head. "What the hell is going on around here, Romeo?" She laughed as the small dog yipped at her.

"There you are! I was wondering where you got away to?" Sam said as Cap and Hulk ran up to him.

She jumped, offering a smile. "Just… walking these little devils. How's it going?"

"My mother is working us hard, but I promised Stevie I would do it, so I am…doing it," Sam said, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Do you mind if I join you?"

She smiled. "Sure, you can tell me all about your childhood, considering I only know the parts you wanted me to know." She quipped, nudging him with her shoulder playfully.

Sam nodded as she started walking with him. "I tell people what they need to know. You know the main parts."

"So you exposing yourself in front of hundreds of cheerleaders isn't something I should know?" She asked, smirking.

Sam stopped walking and shot a look over to his family in the short distance and then to Mercedes. "They told you that?"

She giggled. "Mhm…" She replied, looking around and seeing they were pretty secluded. "I think in order to redeem yourself, you should totally show me how you did it."

"Yeah, I am not doing that in public." Sam said, shaking his head. "You got all of your PDA."

Mercedes kneeled down, unleashing the dogs and watching them run off. "There, now it's only us." She challenged.

"Mercedes…" Sam said in a tone that was unusual for him. Why was he even considering this? All because she asked?

She smirked, raising her hands to her neck and unclasping the top of her bathing suit. "I'll show you mine if you show me yours." She teased, letting him get a quick peek at one of her breasts.

Sam groaned, staring at her; one thing was for sure, she was damn tempting. "You really are trouble."

She pulled the front of her top down, biting her lip. "Your turn; better hurry. I think I hear footsteps." She taunted.

Sam leaned closer into her. "You are playing a dangerous game." He said, teasing her by tugging at the top of his shorts.

She shrugged. "I'll take my chances."

Sam licked his lips; he wouldn't even consider her under normal circumstances. "Fine." He shoved his pants down quickly, revealing his hardening member before pulling them back up just as fast.

Mercedes frowned. "No, no, no, you have to leave them down long enough for me to look!" She said, "Or you won't see or touch these again."

"What makes you think that is a threat you can make?" He asked, folding his arms across his bare chest.

"Hmm… well, in that case." She said, pulling her top back up and fastening it. "Shouldn't be hard for you, especially since you hate PDA."

She moved closer to him, running her hand up his thigh. "But the real question is, who's gonna take care of this?" She asked, slipping her hand up his shorts, lightly squeezing his erection.

"Fuck it." Sam said, shoving his shorts down, not even looking around to see if anyone was there, and pulling Mercedes to him, unfastening her top as his lips traced her jawline before attacking her lips.

Mercedes moaned as he pushed her against the tree, pulling her suit to the side and simultaneously entering her and lifting her. "Sam!" She moaned out, letting her head fall back.

"Shh," Sam growled, moving his lips down to her breast, licking and biting as he thrust into her, fast and hard. Something about Mercedes made him act like this, and he didn't know what it was, nor did he care at the moment.

Mercedes's hands ran through his hair, chewing her bottom lip as she bounced on his dick, being pushed closer to the edge as she tried her best not to scream.

"Do you even know how sexy you are?" He asked, kissing his way up her throat. "How irresistible I find you."

Mercedes tightened her thighs around him. "Sam! Oh God, I am so close!"

"Cum for me, Merce. Cum for me right now."

As if her body was his to command, she came, screaming out as Sam followed after her, emptying himself inside of her. "I swear you might be the devil." He said, head laying on her shoulder.

She let out a long sigh. "Are you trying to compliment me because there are so many other ways to do that?" She asked teasingly.

He chuckled. "No, if I wanted to compliment you, I would have, temptress."

Sam let her down as they both dressed quickly. "You know, I didn't realize your parents' land was so big."

"Yeah, it's been in my family for decades on my mom's side."

Cap, Hulk, and Romeo ran beside them, and Mercedes bent down to put their leashes back on. "Should we get back, or you wanna keep walking?"

Sam eyed her. "If we keep walking, we both know you are gonna try to seduce me again."

Mercedes shrugged. "Eh, you act like you didn't enjoy it."

Sam looked away from her and started back towards the house. Mercedes walked next to him and glanced ahead of them. She chewed her bottom lip as she looked over at him.

"So your sister and Quinn said that you used to be the life of the party."

Sam sighed. "You gonna be doing that a lot? Getting information about me from them?"

"You don't tell me much."

"As I said, I'll tell you what you need to know. Some things you don't need to know."

Mercedes looked over at him. "Like why you changed?"

Sam looked over at her as he stopped. "Mercedes, I grew up. There, end of story." He said as he started walking again.

His harsh tone took her aback. "Hey, you don't have to talk to me like that. I get this is for a weekend, but considering we've had sex, it would be nice to know something more about you."

Sam huffed. "Having sex while in a fake relationship doesn't necessarily constitute needing to get to know someone. Don't over-complicate this."

She nodded, rolling her shoulders. "Well, it's a great thing we have separate rooms. I'll be waiting by the car; I don't feel very social anymore." She replied, walking away from him.

He let out a sigh. "Mercedes, wait."

Shaking her head, she stopped and turned to face him. "No, you grew up, and that's enough for me. You're right; this is a fake relationship for a single weekend. I'll do what I agreed to do and nothing else."

"I don't understand why it bothers you this much… We don't even know each other. You will surely forget me once this weekend ends, so why bother?" Sam asked, growing annoyed at the conversation.

"Hmm." Was her only reply before she started to walk away again.

Mercedes took a breath as she stared at herself in the mirror, wearing a blush-flowered sundress that flared out as it came to her knees. She had washed her hair and conditioned her natural curls, letting them dry as she finished getting ready.

She was still upset with Sam and hurt at how he spoke to her, but she wasn't going to let that stop her from doing what she said she would do. Placing her gold teardrop earrings in her ears and adding the matching necklace, she slid into her heels just as a knock came on the other side of the door. Shaking her head, she pushed against the dresser and opened it before returning to the dresser to finish applying her make-up.

"I'll be done soon." She said, not looking at him.

He walked in, shoving his hands into his pockets. "No rush, just rehearsal dinner."

Mercedes didn't reply; she just finished applying her ruby red lipstick and spraying her body spray as she grabbed her bag and walked towards the door, leaving without glancing back and heading towards the elevator.

Sam followed after her, shutting her door as the elevator doors opened. "Are you just not going to talk to me?" He asked, looking at her.

"I will talk to you when we have something to talk about." She said, pushing the garage button.

The elevator started to move, and Sam ran his hands through his hair. "Mercedes, I know I was out of line, and I apologize for that. But we are about to head to the rehearsal dinner, and if you aren't speaking to me, that defeats this whole thing's purpose."

Mercedes looked over at him as he spoke but still didn't say a word.

Sam huffed, pushing the emergency stop button. "I am sorry, Mercedes, okay? I shouldn't have talked to you the way I did. So I am sorry."

"Okay." She said, looking away from him. "Can we go? I don't want to be late."

Sam opened his mouth to say something but decided against it as he pressed the button to start the elevator back up. Once they made it to the garage, he led her to his car with his hand on her lower back, and though he felt her stiffen, she didn't push him away, so that was at least something.

The ride to his parent's house was a quiet one, he looked over at her, but every time he wanted to say something, she looked out the window. As they arrived, he opened her door, and he saw a change in her; she smiled and allowed him to lead her to the backyard.

"Ah, perfect timing, Sam. Go to the front. We are about to run through the ceremony." Quinn said. "Mercedes, you can sit on the left up front." She pointed to the left.

"Okay." Mercedes said, offering Sam a smile as she walked away from him.

Quinn eyed him as Mercedes walked away. "What did you do?"

"What?" Sam asked.

"She was all over you yesterday, so I expected a kiss, a dry hump, or something." She teased.

"We don't always have to show PDA to show that we are in a relationship. Why am I explaining myself to you? Aren't we about to get started?" He said, walking away as Quinn followed him.

"Sam, I don't think any of us have seen you this happy in a long time; you've been all about work and the bottom line."

Sam shrugged. "I am still about work, still about the bottom line."

Quinn frowned. "Sam."

"Quinn, don't you have to go so we can get this stuff talking?" Sam said, moving away from her.

The rehearsal went off without a hitch; as Sam watched his brother stand in the front of their makeshift aisle and declare his love to Jane, his eyes drifted to Mercedes.

The woman was beautiful, and she was definitely a handful, and while they were supposed to be fake, he found a part of him really liking her. Shaking off that feeling, he looked away from her and back towards his brother. As everyone smiled and clapped as Stevie and Jane kissed.

"Now, these two just have to do this tomorrow, and everything will be great!" Dwight said.

Mercedes stood and applauded with everyone else, and Sam watched as she walked towards the yard where the tables were set up for dinner.

Sam caught up with her and stopped her from walking. "The whole point of this was so that people could see us together. If you keep acting as if you don't want to be anywhere near me, that defeats the purpose."

Mercedes looked at him over her shoulder before sighing. "What would you like for me to do? Hold your hand or share sweet kisses or hug you? Those are all forms of PDA, you know, and this is a very romantic event, so you just tell me what is acceptable for a fake girlfriend."

Sam ran his hands through his hair, huffing; what did he want? "Well, as much as I want to say those acts are ridiculous, I can't. Because you started this thing being very…touchy, and so that should continue, so people won't think I screwed this up."

She let out a humorless laugh. "Sam, if you want me to touch or kiss you, then you'll have to initiate; I did my part by showing up. Anything extra will come from you."

Sam gave off a low growl as he looked around and noticed people were staring at them. "You want me to initiate it? Fine!" He said, pulling her body to his, pressing himself into her. "Does this work for you?"

She gave him a bored look. "You showed more emotion when you were buried inside me, and it's a hug, not war."

Sam laughed, shaking his head. "I swear you are just…" He lifted his hand to her face, caressing her chin. "I much prefer being inside of you; you talk less and scream more."

A smirk formed on Mercedes's face as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Too bad you'll never have that luxury again." She replied sweetly.

Sam smirked, moving his lips to her neck, kissing a trail up to her ear. "You sure about that?" he asked, sucking at her pulse point.

She managed to hold in her moan when he started kissing along her neck. "Pretty positive." She stammered.

Sam moved her lips to his as he nipped at them, sucking her bottom lip between his. "Only pretty positive?" His free hand ran down her curves.

"Ahem," Mary said, interrupting their moment. "There are children present."

Mercedes snickered, nodding. "She's right, Sam. You should know better." She teased, nipping at his lips before pulling away.

"This is a very classy event, and I expect everyone to act as such. We're going to be sitting down for dinner; Sam, you will be with the wedding party, and Mercedes, you can sit wherever."

Sam shook his head. "She can sit with us. There's no point in doing it all now; we get the jist of it."

Mary frowned. "Samuel, this is a rehearsal dinner. Meaning we will do every aspect of the ceremony now so that it's perfect tomorrow."

Smirking, Mercedes moved further away from him. "Yes, Samuel. Surely you want your eating to be perfect." She teased. "I'll sit in the back."

Sam reached out and grabbed her hand. "No, I want you to sit with us, Mercedes. With me."

Mary looked at her son before rolling her eyes. "I don't understand why you're being so difficult about this! I just want to make sure your brother's wedding goes off without a hitch."

"And it won't; it's fucking dinner. I know how to eat properly." Sam snapped.

Mary took a step back, crossing her arms. "Samuel Dwight Evans, what the hell has gotten into you? You have never spoken to me like this before and you won't begin now! Apologize, now!"

Mercedes shifted, feeling uncomfortable. "I can sit over there with the other pretend guests; it's fine, really."

Sam frowned. "No, you don't see that she's actually being rude to you by making this an issue."

"Sam, I have nothing against her; I just-"

Sam held up his hand. "Don't lie to my face. She's sitting with me, and that's final."

"Fine! Ruin your brother's rehearsal dinner and make a fool out of me!" Mary said dramatically.

Sam rolled his eyes as she stormed off.

"Sam, it wasn't that big a deal. I could have just sat by myself." Mercedes said.

"I want you with me. Her trying to make you sit alone was her being rude. It makes no sense." Sam said softly. He pulled her closer to him. "You are here with me, and that means that you will stay by my side for the rest of the night."

"Getting a little possessive, aren't we?" She teased with a smile.

"If my family weren't looking at us, I would take you behind the pillar over there and fuck you like your mine; then you would see possessiveness."

Mercedes shrugged. "You act like I would actually let you fuck me now." She looked behind him. "It's time for dinner, you should practice your speech."

Sam groaned as she turned in his arms, brushing her ass against his shaft as she walked over to the table, moving her hips as she did, allowing him to see every curve in her body. "Fuck." He growled as he followed after her.

With dinner underway, Mary stood clinking her glass. "Excuse me, everyone, can I have your attention?"

Everyone quieted down as she smiled, looking over her family. "I am ecstatic to be here, for the union of my son and his beautiful bride. I know most people assumed Sam would be the first to marry, but you know how it is, he is a hard worker, handsome, and very well off, which means he always attracts…those women who always want something from him."

Mary's eyes met Mercedes as she continued. "He has yet to find a woman who wants nothing from him. Which is why Stevie finding Jane is a blessing to my family. Jane is a beautiful, smart, top litigator at her Firm. She is everything I would want my daughter-in-law to be. I can only hope one day Sam finds that."

"What are you trying to say, Mother? You are about as subtle as a bull in a china shop." Sam spat.

Mercedes held his hand to calm him, but she was feeling the same way he was.

"Well, it's not a secret that everyone here is wondering how you manage to get someone like her on your arms. How much do you go for these days, Mercedes?"

Mercedes stood from her seat. "I'm sorry, could you repeat that? You think I am a prostitute?"

"I didn't say it; you did." Mary said.

"Mom, that's enough," Stacey said.

Mercedes shook her head. "You know Mary, I find it funny that you think your son has to pay someone to be with him instead of just thinking he can really have something genuine. Something amazing."

"And I find it funny that you think you and Sam actually belong together. You are a fling, and we both know as soon as he tires of you, you will be gone."

Sam fumed. "That is enough!"

Mary nodded. "I agree, it is enough. Sam, this is an important day for our family, we have important guests coming, and there will be photos, and considering we both know that this girl won't last that long, do you really want her in our photos, meeting our guests?"

Sam's hand balled in a fist, and Mercedes laughed. "Sam just let it go, it's obvious your mother is losing it in her old age, why else would she be making a scene at her own son's rehearsal dinner? She is clearly off her meds."

Mary's eyes widened. "How dar- you insolent little harlot! Come to my home, taking up with my son! You better be wearing condoms Sam cause low class women like her will trap a man by getting pregnant."

"That is quite enough!" Dwight said, finally standing. "This is Stevie's weekend and I will not have you all ruining it."

Mercedes laughed, throwing her head back. "Oh, I'm not the one ruining it, I'm just a guest. I could ruin it by telling everyone here that you two can't afford this wedding but I won't… oops."

Everyone looked over to Mary and Dwight, as Sam stared at Mercedes.

Stevie stood. "Is that true? Are you having money troubles?"

"No!" Mary shouted. "She is obviously lying."

"Am I? I am sure the staff know I'm not. Have you paid them yet? Or are they still threatening to go on strike?"

"Mercedes!" Sam snapped.

She looked at him. "What? Your mom can dish it but can't take it?"

Sam stood, letting out a deep breath. "I get that she disrespected you but what did you accomplish by playing into her bullshit? Now not only did our mother ruin this for my brother but you, my date has ruined it for everyone." He replied, shaking his head.

"Is it true?" Stevie asked.

Sam sighed. "No, I'm actually footing the rest of it- that's why they were complaining." He lied. "I forgot to send the money because I'd gotten distracted."

Mercedes scuffed. "And to think you told me you don't like lying or being lied to… clearly, I'm the problem so I'll go."

"Finally!" Mary mumbled, earning looks from the rest of the family. "What? She said she was the problem…"

Mercedes just rolled her eyes before starting to walk away, a tiny fraction of her had hoped that Sam would at least offer to drive her back to the hotel but he didn't. He didn't say a word to her or give her a final glance, fuming she walked faster knowing herself enough to know that when she was this angry she tended to cry. She refused to let them see her cry because they didn't deserve it, none of them tried to correct Mary and she felt like a fool for standing up for Sam when he couldn't do the same for her.

"Mercedes!" She heard causing her to look over her shoulder. It was Quinn of all people.

"Let me give you a ride back." She offered. "I… they…" She stammered.

"What? They want me to sign an NDA?" She questioned and Quinn shot her a sorry look. "Ha! That's not happening. Have a great night and wedding."

Quinn moved in front of her. "Mercedes wait!"

Mercedes sighed, folding her arms.

"It's a long walk back to the hotel, and even longer to the airport. Let me take you, please. You didn't deserve all that back there."

Mercedes closed her eyes for a moment, trying to calm herself so she could think correctly. "Fine." She said, exhaling.

"My car is right over there." Quinn said, pointing to the right of them.

After Mercedes left, the dinner pretty much ended. No one wanted to say anything and Sam didn't want to deal with the drama that was what just happened.

Walking over to his parents he pulled out his wallet. "How much do you need?"

Mary shook her head. "She was a liar Sam, we are fine. Now we need to find you a suitable date for tomorrow. Like-"

Sam raised his hand. "How much!" He said through gritted teeth.

Dwight ran his hand through his hair. "Fifteen thousand. It's my fault, I heard about this sure thing, but it wasn't and I lost our savings."

Sam shook his head, filling out a check. "It took me five years to get you guys out of the last 'sure thing' but I won't be doing it again. The only reason I'm helping now is because you made yet another promise you couldn't keep to Stevie." Sam spat shoving the check into his father's hand.

Dwight and Mary shared a look before nodding. "We are sorry about this, truly and we won't have any more issues now that that woman is gone." Mary replied.

"Don't. She was the only honest person here and that's why you didn't like her. You've chased another woman away from me because you need to keep your cash cow close." Sam retorted before walking away.

Dwight shifted looking at the check. "It's for forty-five."

Mary wiped her tears. "It's because he loves us."

"He shouldn't have to keep paying for our mishaps and he's right about all this… Stevie never asked for this grand wedding. It was something yo- we promised him."

"My son will have a wonderful wedding, everyone who's anyone will be here. We have to look the part."

"And at what cost? You saw Sam with the girl, he was laughing and interacting with us and-"

"She was trash!" Mary shouted. "Ugh! Why am I the only one that could see through her? She wanted his money and I damn sure wasn't about to let that happen!"

Dwight frowned. "Why? Because you have to keep your cash cow close?" He asked, shaking his head. "You didn't like her because she was the biggest threat to date in regards to Sam. Sure, you chased a few away but she left on her own accord, you didn't have to pay her."

Mary shook her head. "She's gone and that's all that matters."

Dwight looked over to Sam who was sitting at the table nursing a beer. "Is it?"

There will be a time jump in the next chapter!