Hello my lovelies! Thank you for the love I hope you enjoy this new chapter!
Mercedes chewed her bottom lip, glancing around the fairgrounds; this was a mistake; she should never have agreed to this. A hand on her shoulder caused her to smile and slightly relax.
"Mercedes Jones, if you don't calm down. It's going to be fine." Sebastian hissed.
"Why in the hell did I let your ass talk me into this!" Mercedes hissed back.
"Because he's a damn con artist," Jane said, walking over to them. "You know that boy is creepy, and you want me here, dating him?"
Sebastian sighed. "Do I need to call Santana on you two?"
"No! Her telling me to get a life is the last thing I need." Mercedes said, waving him off.
"Well, she's right, Merce, you are all about work, that's it, no fun, no going out, nothing. And Jane." He turned to Jane. "You spend all your time in school; it's time for you to have fun, time for you to do something for you, and let that man buy you something nice."
"And let me guess, you being here is just to watch us; doesn't it have anything to do with that Blaine guy?" Mercedes smirked.
"Let me just say that I am here, trying to do what is best for you; if I get some enjoyment out of it, then hey."
Jane shook her head as a car pulled up. "Well, they sure know how to arrive in style, don't they?"
Mercedes and Sebastian turned to see Sam, Stevie, and Blaine pull up in a 2023 red Mustang and hop out like they were in a beer commercial. Shaking her head, she folded her arms across her chest. He was sexy in his dark wash jeans, henley tee, and brown leather jacket; she could admit that. But, he was a showboat, or at least that's what she was getting from him, from his brother, who matched his look, only changing up the color to black instead of brown.
Sam walked over to her. "Wow, Mercedes, you look…beautiful."
She looked down at the rose-colored sundress that Santana practically forced her to wear. "Oh, thank you. Nice car."
"You like?" Sam beamed.
"No, really. Are you boys ready to go? I haven't been to a fair since I was a teen, so I want to have some fun." Mercedes smiled, turning away from him and linking arms with Jane.
Stevie sighed, walking next to Sam. "You need to get your girlfriend under control so I can get close to Jane."
Sam cut his eyes at Stevie. "If you mess this up for me…."
"Mess this up for you? Hell, I am in the same boat you are! At least B seems to be enjoying himself."
Sam looked to Blaine, who was currently flirting with Sebastian. "Yeah, we just need to find a game that can separate those two."
Sam ran up and put the money down as they got to the ticket booth. "I will be paying tonight."
Mercedes turned to him. "Don't think I can pay for myself?"
"That's not it at all; I just believe in being chivalrous. I want to make sure that you know that I am a gentleman." He offered with a bashful smile.
"Oh…well, for the record, I can afford the tickets, but I appreciate you buying them. It's sweet."
Sam grinned, grabbing the tickets. "Sweet is my middle name."
Mercedes rolled her eyes with a soft smile as she walked inside, with everyone trailing her. "So what should we do first?"
Jane smiled, looking at the sky. "I want to ride that!" she said, pointing to the Ferris wheel.
Mercedes stared up at her. "I uh…think I wanna start with something a little less dangerous."
Sam nodded towards one of the games. "How about we start with winning some prizes? I do have a hell of an arm."
Mercedes raised an eyebrow. "Oh, you think you can beat me?"
Sam shrugged. "I think there is only one way to find out."
"Oh, it's on!" Mercedes said, walking towards the baseball toss game. Sam followed her as the others peeled off to play other games. The attendant put three balls in front of them both and smiled.
"Whoever knocks down all three pins wins."
"Simple enough. "Sam said, looking over to her with a wink as he picked up a ball and tossed it, narrowly missing it.
Mercedes lifted the ball and took her time looking at the pins before tossing it and hitting it dead center, knocking down all three pins. "Ta-da!"
She said, smiling, and Sam shook his head, tossing the ball and knocking down the pins. "Second place isn't bad, and I still get a prize."
The man walked over to them and pointed to the stuffed animals hanging on the way. "So tell me, which one do you want? The lady gets the second row; the man gets the third."
Mercedes looked at all of them and smiled. "I want the huge purple and pink zebra."
The man raised his eyebrow. "That one is on the top row; you can't get it."
"Why can't I get the top row if I won?" Mercedes questioned.
"Because I said so. You gotta win at least three games for that. Take it or walk away."
Sam stepped closer to her. "How about I forfeit my prize, and she gets the one at the top."
The man shook his head. "Don't think so."
"I can just get something else," Mercedes assured him.
Sam stepped closer to the man and pulled out a twenty. "This should suffice, correct?"
The man laughed. "No, you win them or get nothing."
"Sam, it's okay; I don't need it." Mercedes said, walking away.
Sam stared after her and then turned back to the man. He pulled out two hundred dollars. "Take it or leave it. Now!"
"I, um, not that I don't mind, but it's a stupid toy worth like forty bucks." The man said, reaching for it.
"Maybe, but that woman over there wants it, and I am doing my damnest to make that happen." Sam said.
The man handed him the Zebra and shook his head. "Fair warning, she is out of your league."
"I know." Sam said, walking away and catching up to Mercedes. "Here you go, M'lady."
Mercedes turned and smiled as Sam approached her with the stuffed Zebra and a huge smile.
"How did you convince him to give this to us?"
Sam shrugged. "I have my ways."
"Thank you, Sam."
Mercedes held the Zebra as they continued to walk around. "Do you wanna grab something to eat and talk, maybe?"
Sam nodded. "I could eat."
Mercedes lead him to one of the booths. "So, I know it's not healthy, and I know that I normally wouldn't, but I wanna funnel cake!"
"Funnel cake?" Sam asked.
"Yeah, funnel cake with a slushy," Mercedes said, walking to the front and waiting to order.
"I've never had a funnel cake," Sam said, staring at people around eating carnival food. "Can't we do hot dogs or something?"
"If you want hot dogs, go for it but think you will enjoy a funnel cake. Share one with me."
Sam hesitated for a moment and smiled. "When in Rome, right?"
Mercedes ordered the funnel cake and smiled. "Want anything to drink"
"A water?"
Mercedes nodded, ordering water for him and lemonade for herself. Thanking the server, Mercedes led them to a table and smiled as she sat down. Sam sat beside her, and she said a small grace before pulling a piece off and putting it towards his lips. "Try it."
Sam looked at her, and she gave him a look that said trust me. And Sam opened his mouth to take a bite, licking her finger in the process. Their eyes met as she pulled her finger away, and Sam smiled. "Okay, you were right; it is good."
"Told you." She said, taking a bite for herself. "It's not something I would eat every day, but I love it during times like this."
Sam reached to take another piece. "So tell me about you."
She picked up her drink and sighed. "What do you want to know?"
"Everything." Sam smiled. "But for now, tell me about your family?"
Mercedes frowned. "I don't really like talking about my family."
Sam frowned. "That bad? I remember you said your mom was a chef?"
"You remember that?"
Sam nodded.
Mercedes sighed. "Well, she was a chef, a great one. She worked at a five-star restaurant and taught me everything that I needed to know about cooking and life."
"She sounds amazing."
"She is; she deserved so much better than she got." She looked at Sam and continued. "Look, you might as well know the truth about me because I have no idea what you are interested in me for. My dad is great, always there for me when I call, and I am lucky in that aspect, but he was just a sucky husband. He is a dog, and I was a ghetto twin."
Sam raised an eyebrow. "Okay, you are going to have to tell me about that term because I have never heard it before.
Mercedes offered him a small smile. "It's when you have a half-sibling who is your age and born the same month as you. My dad has 12 kids by eight different women. And sadly, my brother seems to be going that route too."
"So you think you attract men like that?"
Mercedes laughed, shaking her head. "I don't think it; I know it. I have had a bad time in relationships; I just gave up on finding anyone for me."
"Well, that's a shame, but I can't say I don't understand it."
She shook it off and grabbed another piece of funnel cake. "Your turn; tell me about your family."
"Well." Sam sighed, trying to think of the best way to be honest but not tell her too much. "You could say I have sheltered my whole life, and it's one of the reasons I am glad to be here with my boys."
Mercedes nodded. "So you guys are here on a guy's trip?"
"We are here for work, but in between that, I decided I wanted to get out and experience things."
"So you guys are working here? In Ohio? That must be boring."
Sam laughed. "Yeah, pretty much, though you, you are a bright spot for sure."
Mercedes took a sip of her drink, hiding her smile. "So what do you want to do now?"
Sam shrugged. "How about we go on a ride?"
Mercedes smiled. "Okay, I wanna go on the tilt-a-wheel."
Sam stood and held his hand out. "Come on."
Mercedes linked her hand with his and smiled. "So, what is your favorite color?
"Blue, what is yours?" Sam said, pulling her closer to him.
"Purple."
"You know that purple is a color that represents royalty," Sam said, smiling.
"I didn't know that." She looked over at him as they got in line. "But I can assure you there is nothing royal about me."
"You never know." Sam smiled, looking down at her. "Tell me something about you, and no one knows?"
She chewed her bottom lip. "I am terrified of clowns. Like legit scared of them, and I don't tell people because they tend to use them against me."
"Someone used your fear against you?"
"People can be cruel, but we move on and let it go."
As the night progressed, Mercedes couldn't help but let her guard down; Sam was funny and insightful. As they walked towards the Ferris Wheel, Sam reached out and took her hand.
Mercedes smiled, looking down at their hands and then up to Sam. "Okay, so tell me a dream you have?"
Sam looked at her and smiled. "A Dream? No one has ever really asked me that before."
Mercedes squeezed his hand. "Well, I am asking now. You should know what you want with your life."
"Well, what do you want with your life?"
"Na uh, I asked you first." She smiled.
"Well, I want to do right by my people."
Mercedes raised an eyebrow. "Your people?"
Sam's steps faltered as she tried to recover from his words. "My family. I mean my family. I want to do right by them. They are all I have in this world."
Mercedes nodded. "I can understand that. Sometimes it feels like the entire world is on my shoulder."
"Why do you feel like that?" Sam said, stopping and turning to her.
Mercedes chewed her bottom lip; she said she wouldn't get close to him, and yet she was doing just that. "I am surrounded by people who need me and require my help because their family didn't live up to what a family should. We are a group of misfits, but we love each other."
Sam smiled as the wind blew softly around them, moving a stray hair from her face. "You are amazing and gorgeous."
Mercedes stared at him. "You are…" She shook her head. "You are trouble, Sam."
"What does that mean?" He asked, cupping her cheek.
"It means just what I said." She replied softly.
Her eyes moved to his lips as he stepped closer to her, moving slowly to kiss her.
"Cedes! Let's go on the Ferris Wheel together." Jane said, running towards her.
Mercedes stepped back as Stevie ran up to Sam.
"Damn, Stevie, you couldn't give me five more minutes? She almost let me kiss her!"
"Look, Jane looked at me like she was going to kiss me, then she took off like a rocket. I can't control that woman."
Sam ran his hands through his hair, looking at Mercedes as she and Jane got in line. "I like her; I really like her."
"Sam, you can't. We can't."
"Sam! Come on before we ride without you guys!" Mercedes yelled, and Sam sighed, walking towards her.
"I know I can't. But I am."