Secret Lovers

This takes place during and after the Season 2 finale, "New York."

…

It was finally over. All the practice and worry, was finally over. Mercedes bowed with the rest of New Directions and then they all started whooping, hugging and jumping. Before she could blink she felt herself engulfed in Sam's arms.

"That was awesome, I'm so glad I was a part of all of this. I'm so glad we're here, together, like this. Mercedes…come out with me tonight?"

It was all whispered in her ear so fast she barely realized what was said until he was gone, off hugging someone else, high fiving the guys. If she didn't know better she would have though she imagined it. But then, he turned around and looked at her once more, held her gaze, and smiled. Okay, that was definitely aimed at her.

….

Hearts heavy with defeat, all of the Glee kids were hanging out in the girl's hotel room. Santana was on the warpath, cussing Rachel out in Spanish. Mercedes was too preoccupied to care. Sam kept looking at her from across the room. He was waiting for a sign that she would indeed go out with him. She gave him a quick nod and tilted her head to the door. She rose and walked out the room, unnoticed due to all the drama going on.

Ever since prom the dynamics of their friendship had changed. She found herself checking her mirror more often if he was around. She noticed that more often than not, he would be sitting next to her in Glee, watching her. Mercedes dreamed it was because he was interested, but kept that hope buried deep inside. She had made a fool of herself once over a fellow Glee member and did not wish to make up another romance in her head again. Sam was going through some pretty heavy stuff at home; he was probably just looking for a friend.

Once outside the door, she walked to the bank of elevators and sat down on one of the benches to wait. Even though the hallway was carpeted you could still hear muffled footsteps. She looked up to see Sam sauntering towards her, whistling "I'm in the mood for love."

"Hey."

"Hey, thanks for meeting me. Wanna talk a walk? I noticed Gray's Papaya down the street, thought we could get some real New York Hot Dogs."

"Sure, sounds great. I am kinda hungry." Not really sure what to do, she stood and pressed for the elevator. Concentrating on the little light above indicating what floor the elevator was on, she didn't realize Sam was staring. Suddenly she felt his hand on her shoulder. When she turned her head to look at him, he bent in for the kiss. It was feather light and tentative, almost as if he was seeking permission. All thought drained out of her ears. Sam was kissing her. How could this be? Why? When he pulled back looking unsure of himself, her common sense kicked in. She turned to face him fully and slid her hand behind his neck bringing him down to her for another, deeper kiss. It was all the encouragement Sam needed. He drew her closer to him and simply breathed in her scent. It was intoxicating. Breaking the kiss for air, Mercedes spoke:

"Sam… what's going on? I don't know what to…" He cut her off mid sentence by going in for another kiss. He was slowly backing her up towards the elevator door when the bell dinged. They both jumped at the sound of the doors opening. Dazed and breathing hard, Sam took her hand and pulled her into the empty elevator.

"Mercedes…I.." It was her turn to initiate the kiss. She flicked her tongue along his lips and prompted him to open for her. He moaned her name and pulled her closer, running his hands down her back to her butt where he squeezed just enough to make her moan his name too.

Passion finally sated, for the time being, they walked hand in hand from the elevator out the lobby. Taking a minute to get his bearings, Sam looked around.

"It's this way, come on." They walked in silence for the first block before Mercedes finally had the nerve to speak.

"Sam… what is this? I mean, you're a fantastic kisser and all, but why are we kissing? We're friends, right?"

Sam stopped at the word friends and turned to face her. "Mercedes, I wanna be more than friends with you. I like you and well, ever since we danced at prom, I've been fantasizing about what it would be like to kiss you. We're in New York, where anything is possible, I decided to throw caution to the wind and take a chance."

"Wait, you like me, like you like me?"

Sam smiled at her question. "Yeah, I really do."

"But why? I mean, we couldn't be more different… you're a jock and I'm …me"

"We're also in Glee together and you like sci-fi as much as me…you never laugh at me when I make a reference to a movie or a corny joke. You're really pretty and when I saw you the night of prom for the first time I realized how beautiful you are. When we danced together my heart was beating so fast; couldn't you tell? It was the first time I was ever so close to you and you smelled so good, you felt so good, all soft and curvy in my arms. Didn't you notice how well you fit there? I wanted to kiss you then, but I was afraid you'd think I lost my mind, so I waited. But I'm tired of waiting."

"Sam… let's think about this, I mean Glee club relationships are always so unstable. Everyone's in your business and it just ends up stifling everything. And if it doesn't work out then there is all the drama that follows that. I don't know."

"Are you attracted to me Mercedes?"

She started to lie, but figured he deserved the truth." Yeah white boy, I'm attracted."

"Did you enjoy kissing me?"

"I did, but that doesn't mean…"

"Do you think I'm not good enough, are you embarrassed by me?"

"What? No, that's ridiculous Sam, if anything you might be embarrassed.."

"Stop right there. Don't even go there. I would and could only be proud to be with you and be seen with you. Mercedes, your reasons are pretty lame. Let's give it a try. Summer is coming and we can get to know each other outside of Glee. Just give me tis summer. We can see what's happening between us."

He could see she was weakening. He knew now was the moment to seal the deal. He gently grabbed her shoulders and pulled her in for one more kiss. This time he took it slow, but deep. Kissed her lips, then her cheek, down her neck back up to her ear, all the time whispering to her, just give us a chance, just one chance, like a mantra over and over.

"Okay. Okay….OKAY! You keep that up, you're gonna get us arrested."

His smile was brilliant. "Really? Cool." Grabbing her hand they start walking again. Suddenly she stops

"What is it?"

"Can we…can we keep this hush hush for now?" Even in the dark she could see the anger starting to form on his face.

"Mercedes, I don't want to sneak around like you're some dirty little secret."

"Sam, look, I've never been in a relationship before, it's all new to me. I just want to enjoy that before I have to share it with others, just for a little while… till school is out?" Sam was uncomfortable with the idea but agreed to it. He didn't want her to call it all off before they even had a chance to get started.

"Okay, but just for a little while, until you're comfortable, okay?"

She beamed at him then, standing on her tip toes, she pulled him in for a sweet kiss. In that moment Sam thought he would do just about anything she wanted if she continued to kiss him like that. Wrapping his arms around her he held on, hardly believing his luck. She was his at last and nothing was going to change that.

The End