Disclaimer: I own none of Glee, but I manage to find joy all the same.

Chapter 1: A Kiss Is Still A Kiss

In which Rachel hosts another party, the gang plays another round of spin the bottle, and Mercedes, Sam, and Finn gain some new perspectives on kissing.

Finn would never admit it in public, but he loved to play Spin the Bottle. Even though his Valentine's Day stunt had ended with a case of mono, an ill-advised return to Quinn, and a rift in his already precarious relationship with Sam, he'd gotten to kiss a lot of girls and it had been fun. Finn liked kissing as an activity and considered himself something of an expert on the subject now that he'd had so much experience. Not that he was currently using it, since tonight Rachel was throwing another drunken house party, which meant that she and Kurt were on stage running through the entire score of Pip Pip Hooray, and he was spending most of his time hanging out at the bar with Blaine while everyone else—except for Mercedes and Sam, who seemed really interested in the songs—was making out.

So he was somewhat relieved and more than eager when Brittany suggested that they play the game in her attempt to distract Santana from her increasing frustration with the floor show. Kissing was always a good idea, and if he was lucky, he'd have a legitimate excuse to kiss the one girl at the party that he hadn't kissed yet.

Faced with the alternative of a ranting Santana, everyone—save Rachel, who was in the middle of her favorite number, "My Kingdom for a Hat"—was willing to play a round of spin the bottle, even agreeing to play by Brittany's rule that you had to kiss whoever the bottle stopped on—with tongue, no exceptions.

Mercedes was nervous. She'd played before, but the bottle always seemed to skip her, and she and Sam were still on the down-low. What were the rules? Would Sam be upset with her if she kissed someone—and enjoyed it? And how would it feel to watch him kissing another girl, especially since no one in the room knew that either of them were spoken for?

Sam looked over at Mercedes and shot her a reassuring smile. "You OK?" he mouthed. He wasn't sure how they were going to get out of the game if she wasn't, and he didn't want to pressure her into going public with their relationship right at this minute. He felt relieved and a little bit sad, too, when she gave him a quick nod that she was OK with the game. He hoped that things wouldn't get too out of hand, and resolved to get them both out of it if she looked uncomfortable.

Brittany spun the bottle, which pointed to Puck, who then spun to a disinterested Santana, who subsequently got to kiss a somewhat-wary Tina (after verifying that Santana did not, at the moment, have mono. Or stereo).

"You taste like tobacco," Tina said, her nose wrinkled as she went to her purse to find some mints.

Santana rolled her eyes. "And my blood is now teeming with msg."

Tina glared at Santana as she returned to her spot. Mike leaned over to kiss her cheek and whisper something in her ear that made her giggle then gasp. Her face grew flushed as she reached for the bottle and gave it a spin. It landed on Sam, which seemed to please her.

Mercedes felt nervous. Sam shot her a quick glance as Tina made her way toward him, his eyes seeking what Mercedes could only assume was permission (or maybe forgiveness?). She pursed her lips and nodded, and found that she didn't mind as much as she thought she would when Tina gave Sam a sweet kiss. Both of their eyes were closed, and she realized that this was the first time she was really aware of what Sam looked like when he was receiving a kiss. If she was honest with herself, it was kinda hot.

It was Sam's turn now, and everyone laughed as he crossed his fingers while the bottle spun. No one knew exactly who he wanted to kiss, but there was speculation on who he might want to avoid, and so there was a moment of tense silence when the bottle stopped on Finn.

"Finneptitude?" Santana laughed. "Watch out, Berry; Samson may be a man, but his lips are more woman than you'll ever be."

Rachel inhaled sharply, her lips pinched together as she tried to find something suitable to say. Kurt grabbed her hand. "Don't listen to that bitter kitten," he coaxed. "You have a classically lovely mouth. Besides," he nodded to her boyfriend, who was seated on his other side. "Finn looks like he's about to faint."

Finn was frozen with panic. He didn't know what to do. This wasn't what he expected. All eyes darted between the two boys, who were seated across from each other.

"I don't see what the big deal is," said Blaine. "No one batted an eyelash when it was all about the girls."

Artie laughed. "Had to happen to somebody, bro."

Brittany punched the air. "Boy kisses for the win! Lord Tubbington is going to be sorry he missed this party!"

The room erupted in nervous and excited chatter and laughter which was followed by anger at both Brittany's rule and how unfair it was that the guys didn't seem willing to do what everyone assumed the girls' would be OK with. Three people, however, were silent.

Sam looked at Finn. Finn looked at Sam. Mercedes wasn't sure who to look at, but she was sure that this wasn't one of the scenarios she'd pictured when she was worried about who Sam might kiss. She was also curious to see what would happen.

Finn nervously slammed back the rest of his drink. No guts, no glory, right? These are my friends. Besides, if I don't do this, it's like I'm not fair to women. Or something.

Sam calmly considered his options. I'm not drunk, so I can't blame it on the booze later. Puck is going to torment me for days about this. He glanced at Mercedes. She was sipping her soda, a hint of a smile at her lips and in her eyes as she looked over at him. When she narrowed her eyes and mouthed "I dare you," Sam gave in, mouthed back "it's on," and started moving, choosing to ignore the fact that his jeans felt a bit tighter.

The room grew suddenly quiet as Sam made his way over to Finn, who looked surprised and a bit afraid. When he was kneeling in front of Finn, Sam whispered "This OK?"

Finn hesitated, then nodded. "Yeah. I'm cool."

Sam put his hand on the back of Finn's head and kissed him hard, his tongue quickly entering Finn's mouth after the initial contact. To Finn, everything was silence and a soft harshness, a contest that he wanted to win, and just as he started to part his lips to continue what was turning out to feel surprisingly good, Sam broke the kiss. The crowd went wild. A bit dazed, Sam went back to his seat and looked over at Mercedes, who was busy doing something on her phone. He was glad that she wasn't looking at him just right now. He'd made himself stop kissing Finn because he didn't want to stop. He needed a minute to think about what that meant.

"That was hot!" exclaimed Brittany, now seated in Artie's lap. Finn wondered if the person who landed on the two of them would have to kiss them both. Then he wondered if it was weird that he was wondering that. Then he stopped wondering as Santana nudged him, pointing to the bottle in the center of the circle. "Your turn, Finnocence."

When it stopped spinning, the bottle pointed at Mercedes who was preoccupied with the text message she was sending to Sam.

"Hot Mama!" yelled Puck eagerly as he punched Mercedes in the arm. She glared at him.

"You're just glad he didn't land on your insecure ass," she growled, rubbing her arm. She looked up at Finn, who was smiling as he came toward her like a puppy who was about to get a treat. "Don't look so excited. This changes nothing."

Everyone looked confused, expect for Sam, who tried not to look at anyone. He felt jealous and turned on at the same time, and he didn't know that he'd be able to keep either emotion in check once he actually saw Finn and Mercedes kissing.

"I disagree," said Finn. He was on all fours before her, his hands on either side of her hips, his nose inching closer to hers. "Perfect. Record."

Mercedes was flustered at his proximity, but rolled her eyes. "It doesn't count if I have to kiss you, Finn, no matter what you might—" Her protest was muffled by Finn's mouth pressing on hers, and though she knew she'd regret it later, she didn't struggle when he gently swiped his tongue across her lips, choosing instead to let him finish what he'd started. He wasn't Sam, but he definitely knew what he was doing. When he finally released her, she looked at him, bit her bottom lip, and huffed. "Nope. Still doesn't count."

"Protest all you want, Mercedes," Finn said as he moved back to his spot in the circle. "The deed is done." Satisfied, Finn put his hands on the floor behind him and stretched out his long legs. Everyone still looked confused. "What?"

Tina was the first to catch on. "Liar! You said you'd kissed every girl at school."

A grinning Artie looked at Puck. "Pay up, man!"

Puck grumbled, pulled out his wallet, and passed Artie a rumpled twenty dollar bill.

"Guys, what the hell?" Now Finn was the confused one.

"Didn't think I'd have to wait until July to settle this bet," Artie said as he put away his wallet. "But I knew Mercedes wasn't going to play that game." He raised a fist in solidarity with Mercedes who was laughing at Finn's confusion.

Rachel was indignant. "You kissed me on the forehead then but you laid the smack down on Mercedes now?"

"We weren't dating at the time and you were all—" Finn stopped himself when he saw Kurt frantically shaking his head. "Besides—I was just following the rules of the game when I kissed Mercedes. And why weren't you upset about me kissing Sam?"

Rachel primly smoothed her skirt. "As a woman, I have to support my sisters. We'd already had a few Sapphic smooches that were quite intimate. It only seemed fair that you and Sam enter into the game in the same spirit as your female counterparts."

Everyone was talking now—again—about the fairness of the game, the game itself (and the fact that it was Mercedes' turn) now forgotten in the familiar drama that was Finn and Rachel. Sam looked over at his girl and felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He pulled it out, his cock growing harder as he read the message Mercedes must have sent right after he'd kissed Finn. "I can't wait to get you alone." He made eye contact with her and winked, then looked down at the phone again, wondering for the umpteenth time this evening why they were keeping their relationship a secret. "Me too" he texted back.

"Dude, we're heading out." Sam jerked his head from the phone to see Mike crouched beside him. "Wanna come with us, or can you find another ride home?"

Sam could see that Mike really wanted to be alone with Tina, and although Sam was the designated driver of the trio this evening, he knew that Mike hadn't had anything to drink, so he decided to take advantage of this unexpected opportunity. "Mercedes," he said, surprised at how calm he sounded. "I hate to ask, but do you think you can give me a ride home?"

Mercedes looked like a deer caught in headlines. "Um. Sure. Yeah," she said, nodding a bit too eagerly. Thankfully, Mike and Tina were already halfway out the door.

Now that he had an excuse, Sam didn't waste any time. "Just let me know when you're ready." He motioned to the group, now splintering off to enjoy other passions or revisit old arguments. "I think this party's done."

"Ready whenever you are." Mercedes grabbed her purse, told everyone goodnight, and practically ran for the door.

Kurt and Blaine leaned against the bar and watched as Sam tried not to touch Mercedes' ass as he followed her up the stairs. His eyes on the staircase, Kurt held up an outstretched palm to Blaine, who grudgingly placed a Lima Bean card in his hand. "So transparent," Kurt sighed as he placed his prize in his pocket, then turned to kiss away Blaine's pout. If he'd looked a bit longer, he'd have noticed Mercedes and Sam each take a quick glance in Finn's direction. Blaine, however, did see Finn's gaze linger a bit too long in the direction of the staircase and filed away that data for a future bet.