~O~ Volume One: I knew you then….. ~O~

Sam's return has proven to be the catalyst Mercedes needed to reassess her relationship with Shane. And after a brief encounter with her blond Casanova, Mercedes is more sure than ever that he's the one for her. But she's never been one to cheat and hates the idea of hurting Shane or Sam's feelings with her decision. Will their past summer love survive their present drama?

~O~ ~O~

DISCLAIMER: All Glee characters, locations, names, and plot lines (with the exception of all originally created characters and divergent plotlines mentioned herein) are the sole property of FOX, Ryan Murphy, and the creative team of Glee. I do not own any rights to Mercedes Jones, Sam Evans, or any of the other original characters of the Glee cast, which includes all major and minor characters from Season One to the end of the series in Season Six. All elements of my story are written and published for entertainment purposes only. No parts of this story are based on real events. All face claims are used solely in the scope of the story told here. No information surrounding any real persons mentioned are based in fact. The author does not intend to offend, infringe upon, or defame the image/rights of any persons mentioned in this story. None of the information in this story has been plagiarized in any way. All work is original.

O-O

As Mercedes walked down the hallway, boyfriend in tow, she realized with mild disdain that she'd forgotten her geometry textbook in her locker. Again.

It wasn't a real surprise, though. Ever since Sam Evans blew into McKinley like a fresh wind, Mercedes had a tendency to forget the important things. She'd pass him in the halls and forget the direction of her next class, wandering aimlessly like some freshman. She'd spot him at lunch, and her feet would make the occasional mistake of walking toward his table on autopilot. It would only take a few steps before Mercedes remembered that he was an ex-boyfriend, and her current boyfriend was sitting and waiting for her five tables down.

Sometimes, on her worst days, when Shane would kiss her cheek and whisper I love you in her ear, she would forget in her reply of I love you, too that she was supposed to be looking into his eyes instead of glancing at the blond haired, green eyed boy with lush lips who stole her heart that summer…

"Summer is long over, girl…." she reminded herself. And old feelings had no place in her present.

Luckily, there was still five minutes to spare before class.

"I forgot my geometry books again." she told Shane, slightly embarrassed since it was the third time this week.

"Again? Babe, we might have to start tethering all your books to your wrists so you don't leave 'em behind! What, you don't want me to walk you to class?" Shane joked.

Though he said it in jest, his words had struck a raw nerve. It was almost like that was exactly what her subconscious was doing.

The revelation shocked her, but she quickly hid her surprise with a coy smile and a lie. "I would never want to leave you, baby," she told him, sealing her false covenant with a kiss on the cheek. Reluctantly, Shane released her hand and continued on to his classes, glancing briefly at her ass with a cocky grin before continuing on his merry way.

Mercedes walked on with less gusto. She opened her locker and retrieved the necessary books on autopilot, plagued by her thoughts. Why aren't I happy with Shane? He does everything right! So why does it feel so…empty between us?

If she were paying better attention to her surroundings as she closed her locker and made her way to class, Mercedes would have realized that the answer to her question was leaning against the locker next to hers, briefly smiling at the sight of her face before his lips fell to a frown. He looked just as perplexed and flustered as she'd felt.

"Mercedes."

Every fiber of her being responded to his voice. Her muscles tensed. Her body stiffened and prickled with goose bumps, alert to his presence. Her hands clutched her books tightly to her chest, pressing against her heaving lungs to slow their breathing. Her eyelids fluttered shut and squeezed, fanning her lashes against her cheeks.

After a moment of processing, she calmed enough to face him, ready with a poker face and an emotionless reply.

"Sam, I would love to talk but I have to get to class. If I'm late for Ms. Henderson one more time, it would not be a good look on my record." she explained, hoping she didn't see through her lie. Acting wasn't her strong suit.

"Can we talk for a minute? It won't take long, I promise." The desperation and anguish in his voice instantly broke through her defenses. Mercedes's resolve crumbled instantly at his request.

Sam watched her eyes soften toward him. Feeling encouraged, he added a "Please, Mercy" that was just as urgent and needy.

Damned if they both didn't know exactly what he was doing, if she couldn't see right through his ploy—she had learned this boy's tells so well over the summer—but it didn't stop Mercedes from agreeing, against her better judgment.

Sam pulled her into the nearby janitor's closet and quickly shut the door behind them, turning the small lock on the doorknob. What he wanted to say—needed to say—required her full attention and minimal interruptions.

"What's this about, Sam? Is everything okay? You know you can tell me." She sweetly assured him.

Sam remained silent, studying her eyes, wondering if she realized how adorable and warm they looked when she was concerned. He'd been a sucker for their chocolate brown expressions since the day they'd met; mesmerized by the way they invited and held him captive. He felt at home in her eyes.

He felt at home with her.

Why couldn't he tell her that? All Sam wanted to do was wrap his arms around her waist, hold her close, and kiss her lips again, assuring her that he would always be okay as long as she was his.

And there lied the problem. She wasn't his anymore, and it pained him more than any pain he could remember in his young life. And much as he wanted to kiss her and love her like he did last summer, he knew…

"I can't."

"What?" Mercedes strained to hear his whisper.

Sam sighed, repeating himself. "I said I can't, Mercedes."

"Can't what, Sam?" She pouted and looked so genuinely confused and, damn it all, so kissable that Sam had to sink his teeth into his bottom lip, using the pain to keep his focus.

"I can't see you with Shane, watch you with him, when I know that you're still mine. It feels wrong."

It was Mercedes turn to punish her bottom lip, more to lessen the pain in her heart from his words and focus on an easier, physical affliction. "Sam, we went over this a while ago. I'm with Shane now. We can't be together because those feelings…those feeling were summer and our season has passed. Can't you understand?" She pleaded.

His eyes had closed when she said Shane's name, and now more than ever, she needed him to look at her so the message could hit home. He needed to believe it. And, as loathe as she was to admit it to herself, she needed him to look at her so she could make a clean break of him and, eventually, believe that they were over, too.

"Sam?" She touched his cheek, trembling slightly when her skin finally touched his. It had been so long since they'd touched. Months had passed since their last caress. And she hadn't tasted his lips since….

Oh father, help her. Now was not the time to revisit old memories. She needed to escape them, move on with her life. Why was she stuck in June?

Sam's green eyes burst open in surprise at her touch, and he instinctively turned his face to nuzzle his nose against her hand, pressing against her fingers like he'd been starving for her affection. When he finally looked at her again, glossy eyed from unshed tears, she knew he was thinking the same thing she was.

What she didn't expect was for him to be bold enough to voice his feelings.

"Does he know you, Mercy?" Sam asked gently, his stare unyielding.

Damn him. Damn him for his free thoughts and open heart. Damn him for the break in his voice that proved he was being genuine. And damn the single tear that fell down his reddened cheek, urging her to grab his face and kiss his pain away.

"He loves me, Sam." She answered, looking away. "He loves me for who I am and he never asks me to change. He supported me when I joined the Troubletones and…"

"That wasn't my question, Mercedes." His voice darkened, raw from restrained passion. "Does. He. Know. You?"

Mercedes shook her head, trying her hardest to pretend that she didn't understand. "Sam, I don't know what you're talking about..."

"Does he know your eyes? Can he look into them and read every emotion? Identify them well enough to know whether you need a hard kiss to bring you out of your thoughts or a hug to know someone is there for you to cry on? Does he?"

His questions rendered her dumb. He was asking too much. Her brain couldn't process a lie fast enough to seem convincing.

"I'm sure that he…" Mercedes swallowed hard, fighting the growing lump in her throat. "Yes, I think that…"

"Or your skin, Mercy? Does he know your skin? Is the smell of you so familiar to him that he can close his eyes and remember? Does he hold you when you're fresh from a shower, just after you've put on your honey vanilla lotion? Does he kiss your neck to feel its softness? Does he breathe you in when you're near him and know that only you could make a fragrance so delicious? Does he want more? I always did."

Mercedes had to stop him. She knew that his words were drifting into very, very dangerous territory. "Sam, you can't say things like…."

"And your smile?" he interrupted, stepping closer. " Does he ever do stupid avatar impressions and make a complete fool of himself just to see your face light up? Does he know about that spot on your ankle that makes you wiggle and laugh uncontrollably? Does he tell you how beautiful you are when you're happy? And hope to God every day that he can always find something to say or do to make you smile forever?"

"Sam…" She let him run his hands over her shoulders. By then, she was in a mess of tears.

Mercedes couldn't believe that he'd noticed all of those things about her, that he still cared to know. She knew Shane didn't understand half of what Sam had said about her. Sam knew that, too. His questions were only to help her see the truth.

When she felt him panting near her mouth, her breathing halted. Sam's hungry stare devoured her lips. His hard body pressed ever so gently against her softness, entering her personal space, careful to leave enough room for her to run away if she'd wanted. It was her right. She had a new boyfriend and was in a committed relationship. There wasn't anything that kept her here, with him. She could push him away and insist it was over. Tell him what a fool he was to believe that there was still something between them.

But Mercedes hardly flinched, never once making a move to step away.

He had to make her see. She had to realize how much she'd meant to him, then and now.

The fire in his eyes made her tremble, both from gripping fear and intense desire. She wanted this, wanted him, since she'd said goodbye beneath the sunset on his last day in Ohio. Endless summer days aching for him, remembering all they'd shared together.

Sam was the void she couldn't fill. Her relationship felt empty because it was with the wrong guy. The epiphany made her gasp.

Sam smiled, realizing that she'd come to the same conclusions that he had months ago. He pressed against her more firmly, daring her to move with his stare. Ghosts of kisses trailed across her left cheek, leaving a tangible heat in their wake. When Sam finally reached her ear and nipped her lobe, she surrendered in a whimper, tilting her head to give him room.

"Your lips, Mercy." He growled. Their chests were pressed so tightly together that he could feel the moment her heart started racing. Mercedes silently prayed that she could remember how to speak after his voice vibrated in her ear, low and commanding, like that.

"What abou—Oh God, Sam…" His fingers traced the curve of her hips, inching beneath the hem of her blouse to touch her bare skin. "What about my—mmph!—my lips?"

Sam slid his lips down her cheek slowly, leaving gentle kisses as moved closer and closer to her delicious mouth. He kissed its smooth corners, then the arc of her chin, before nudging her bottom lip with his own.

"Does he worship them, Mercy? Does he appreciate them and everything they can do?" He earnestly asked, clenching his free fist to keep himself from burying his tongue down her throat. "Does he watch them open like petals when you speak or nibble them when they're puffy and swollen from being kissed senseless? Has he even kissed you senselessly?"

His lips were a breath away from hers when he whispered his next words. "Has he felt them press kisses up and down his chest, leaving prints of mauve lipstick behind on his skin? Or watched them, soft and wet, as they wrapped around the head of his cock, giving him pleasure he never knew existed?" His stomach churned at the thought. "God Mercedes, please tell me that he's never done any of those things with you. Not when we….." Sam's breath hitched. "Just…please."

Her head shook frantically, leaning in, guided by his pull. "He's never…We would never…."

And before Mercedes could find the words to finish her thought, her lips met his, mashed together and burning with need. When the gap had finally closed between them, they both sighed in relief, utterly content. She had never felt so happy to be in anyone's arms. He had never felt so complete in anyone's kiss.

Their mouths parted and moved in sync, and tongues danced and swirled and wrapped around each other like old friends in familiar places. It wasn't just lust between them. There was a knowing, an intimate knowledge and awareness that only love could bring, making the moment all the more arousing.

Mercedes was the first to pull away, gasping desperately for air as she held his shoulders. Their bodies remained close. Looking down, she noticed, for the first time, how wrapped in each other they actually were. Mercedes couldn't recall the exact moment when her leg had wrapped around his waist during their kiss, nor could she pinpoint the exact moment that Sam had maneuvered himself between her thighs, grinding against the heat between them and hoisting her ass up to support her weakened knees.

Like it mattered, anyway. Who was complaining? Sam's steady thrusts put the most delicious and direct pressure on her clit. His hips were still at work, a full minute after their kiss had ended.

"Sam, we should really—Oh, GOD!—we should really….really…" Her dampness grew, dripping from her and soaking through her leggings. She felt her orgasm build, coiling like tiny springs in the lowest part of her belly, ready to burst forth when the pressure grew too great. It was maddening pleasure.

"Stop? You want me to stop, baby?" he asked her, breathless and unrelenting, kissing down her neck to her collarbone, shoulders, and any exposed skin he could immediately reach. Nuzzling her chest, Sam made an immediate notice of the way her breasts perked up from his attentions and smiled wolfishly.

Mercedes could resist a lot of things—displays of emotion, his advances, his words—but he knew his woman's body well enough to know that a few minutes of toying with her nipples would make her come undone in his hands.

"Does he know how to touch you, Mercy? Where to touch you? How fast to rub or how hard to flick to get you dripping and ready? I know because you let me in. I'm the one whose touch gets you wet, baby, and no asshole like Shane is ever gonna change that."

Mercedes knew she should've stopped Sam when he'd mentioned Shane's name. She slid her palms up his chest, ready to push him away, but then his hands had skated under her shirt and roughly pulled her bra cups under her breasts. His thumbs slowly circled her nipples and, shit, she forgot her own name, much less any man other than Sam that she's supposed to be committed to.

The hands on his chest grabbed his shirt and pulled him toward her, instead.

Moving his hands from her breasts, Sam took the leg around his waist and pushed it up and back, opening her up for him. His other hand snuck underneath the tight black leggings he loved so much to tease her pussy, circling around her slick opening, leisurely dipping an index finger inside her heat after it had finished its lap around her swollen lips.

"Does he play with you, baby? Does Shane know that you don't like to be turned over and fucked without a little teasing?" Sam whispered, licking the shell of her ear. "You used to tell me that a good finger fuck should only be the appetizer, something to get you going before the main course arrives."

He had to chuckle at the analogy. Mercedes was so clever with words. She always had a unique way of expressing what she liked and wanted. He loved her intelligence and brazen honesty. It was a part of the reason why she could never be dishonest with him, not really. His knowledge of her tells, combined with her penchant for truth, made her a terrible liar.

The eager sound of her whimpers reminded Sam that her body didn't lie either. She'd wanted him, too. Judging from the slippery glide of his fingers and the gush of cum on his palm as he pushed into her, she had wanted him for a while.

"Please, Sam! More! Don't stop, don't ever…..ugh….fuck!….don't stop fucking me." Mercedes hot words lit Sam afire. He became keenly aware of his own ache, standing hard and proud between his legs.

"Mercedes?" he asked, nearly begging as he reached down to unbutton his jeans with one hand, steadily pumping into her with the other. He fished inside his boxers to grasp and release his cock, sighing in relief when the lick of cool air brushed across the heated and engorged flesh.

He only needed her permission to find his relief. As much as he couldn't wait to bury his dick as far inside her as he could reach, he needed her to say yes to him.

Perhaps, if he were honest with himself, he needed her to say yes to satisfy more than just his physical need. But, priorities...first things first….

"Mercedes? Sweetheart, look at me."

Her eyes opened to stare into his, glazed over with lust and clouded in pleasure from Sam's unrelenting fingers.

"Yes, Sam?" she breathily replied. She followed his eyes down and unconsciously licked her lips as she watched Sam rapidly stroke himself. She clenched hard in anticipation.

"Are you hungry?" Sam growled, sending another stream of wetness down her soaked thighs and leggings.

"What? I don't…oh, fuck!" she gasped when he roughly pinched and twirled her clit between his fingers.

"You've had the appetizer. But, it's not enough is it? You still want more. Are. You. Hungry?"

Her head fell back against the wall and her eyes rolled back as she rode Sam's fingers. Mercedes reached up to pinch and twist her nipples, hoping to bring herself closer to relief.

Sam stopped stroking himself and removed the hand between her thighs, pushing his fingers through her hair and tugging until she was forced to look at him. When their eyes met, the urgency of the action was forgotten.

Overwhelmed by the love and adoration in her eyes, Sam leaned in and slowly kissed Mercedes. He took her carefully, moving against her lips with such tenderness and unabashed love that tears streamed down her face. She felt everything he wasn't saying with words. He wasn't asking for permission to screw her senseless. Sam was pleading for the chance to love her again.

Could she let him? Would she? So much had happened between summer and now. She couldn't number the nights she'd wept into her pillow when he'd left, hurting over him. The feeling of loss that ate away her days when she thought of him. The emptiness that stole her free hours when she'd remember the way his hugs warmed her body. She had never needed someone like she'd needed Sam. And after him, Mercedes had taken great pains to prevent herself from ever needing anyone like that again.

But, as strong and independent as she was, Sam returned and made her willingly give her heart to him. It was then that Mercedes realized she had never gotten it back to give to Shane or anybody else. And now that the opportunity had presented itself to retrieve it, she realized that she didn't want to. There was only Sam. Just Sam. Always Sam.

He broke their kiss, keeping their foreheads connected, and waited with baited breath for her reply. His heart burst from the answer he saw in her eyes, but he needed to hear it from her. His eyes silently begged her and posed the question again.

Her reply was quiet, but unwavering and sure. "Yes, Sam. I still want you." Fresh tears streamed down her face, then his, at her confession. The doubt had drifted away, and relief rushed over them as warm and sure as sunlight. Mercedes felt the burden lift immediately, and found that she couldn't stop saying Yes as she peppered his face with kisses, making them both smile.

He bent down to peel her leggings off, kissing each inch of revealed thigh as they fell from her. Her underwear fell behind them, and Sam caressed and squeezed her bare backside as he lifted her up against the wall. Open and slick for him, Sam slid his dick along her opening, coating it with her juices, before sliding inch by agonizing inch inside of her.

It took several small thrusts to grow accustomed. Sam was a large man and it had been a while since they were together. But soon, Mercedes relaxed around him, and he sunk into her heat. Once fully sheathed, Mercedes took both of his hands to lace her fingers with his, just like she did the first time they'd made love.

Their eyes met as they smiled, unknowingly sharing the same memory.

"Don't let me go." She said with a brief chuckle, hiding her fear in humor.

"Never again." promised Sam, meeting her lips in a small kiss. School surroundings forgotten, the couple joined and indulged in each other as if time were theirs, savoring all that months apart had stolen from them. New life birthed between them.

But soon his kisses, much like his thrusts, grew urgent and unrelenting. The lust of the moment returned, and Sam pounded into her with all the desire and want he'd harbored for her since June. Her thighs rippled from the force. Mercedes locked her legs tighter around him, desperate to hold on as he rocked against her. Needing to see all of her as she came, Sam pulled her glittered purple blouse over her head, then groaned at the sight of the glistening breasts jiggling wildly on her chest. How had he gone so long without this?

Mercedes caught his admiring stare and smiled, unconsciously deepening the arch in her back. She loved how much he loved her body.

Sensing they were both on the brink of orgasm, Sam held her thighs and ass up with his arms and buried his face in her neck, turning his lips up to whisper in her ear. "Mercedes, can I ask you one more question?"

"Anything, Sam. Any fucking thing, just don't stop." she whined, frantically meeting his thrusts.

He grinned at her eagerness. "Does Shane make you want to scream his name when you orgasm? Do you think about him when you bury your fingers in your pussy at night and pleasure yourself? Or is it just me?"

"Only you, Sam…. It's always…..will always…." And she shook violently as she came, overwhelmed by the sudden and welcomed attack of pleasure. Sam pushed in as deep as he could when he came, aching to be as far inside her as possible, groaning her name as he let go and clung to her smaller frame.

"Sam…" she whispered reverently, opening her eyes to study his face. The corners of his jaw always bulged when he was coming. It was one of the random things she'd kept locked away in memory of their first time together. His jaw tightened as if he were gritting his teeth, forcing himself to maintain his control around her. The knowledge that he held such beastly abandon inside him, but chose to tame it out of concern for her, turned Mercedes on even more. One day, someday soon, she wanted to let him loose. Just thinking of a future with him made her shiver, with a desire more emotional than physical.

Sam opened his eyes when he'd finished and grinned, wrinkling his nose against hers. And his smile, contagious as it was, made her smile just as wide.

"Mercedes…" He whispered back, pulling her into a gentle hug. Silent tears fell as she returned his embrace, reveling in the feeling of being wrapped in his arms. The faint sound of the bell ringing in the hallway interrupted the quiet of their moment.

"Classes are over. The bell just rung." Mercedes said, unable to think of anything else to say outside of the obvious as she looked into his eyes. Sam studied her—all of her—from her mascara-streaked cheeks and shiny nose to her strewn bangs, now straight and sticking to her forehead, and delectable, well-fucked body. Anything he'd called true love before her had been a pale imitation of the words.

"I don't care. I'm never letting you go again. I promise." And Sam meant it with everything in him.

O-O