Lance brought the warmed up cups of coffee out to the living room where they were watching the video. Mercedes sat with her knees up to her chest on the couch. She took her cup from him. "Thanks. You’re back just in time for the scene when they’re in the restaurant eating."
"This is when I knew," Lance explained.
"You lie," She smiled. "You did not know this early." He grinned.
Lance noticed something catch the light from the television screen.
"Ooo, you’re wearing the swan ankle bracelet."
"I rarely take it off! It was the perfect gift. Thank-you, again."
"I had such a blast." Lance took a drink out of his coffee cup. "How’s Mag-ster and Pre?"
"Missing you." Mercedes smiled devilishly, "Nobody plays soccer with Maggie as well as you do."
"That morning before I left, I thought maybe you should have named her Pele instead of Maggie!"
Mercedes giggled. "You really love animals don’t you? Children and animals. When I start that camp for challenged children next summer, I’ll be hoping you’ll come around and be the highlight of their stay."
"Then I’ll try to be there." He put his cup down on the coffee table, reached for Mercedes and pulled her closer to him. "There’s a scary part coming up, so we need to sit closer."
Mercedes felt so safe and comfortable sitting there close to Lance. Soon her head was on Lance’s chest, his arms around her. She listened to his heart beating. ‘This is delicious.’ Pretty soon, Mercedes fell asleep. Lance noticed she was napping when the little boy was hiding in the tent and Lance went to shield her eyes from the scene. He looked down and noticed her eyes were closed.
She looked so peaceful. Lance exhaled. He thanked God they had gotten to the place they were at. He switched off the television and VCR. Lance held her closer and snuggled. Soon he fell asleep, as well.
There was noise in the kitchen. Lance opened one eye lid. Bright sunlight was already pouring in through the windows. He thought for a second or two. "Ah."
Lance felt Mercedes arm up around his head, they were sprawled over the couch. It might have otherwise been uncomfortable, but her face was mere inches away from his, the front of her body laid on top of his. ‘Thank-you, God.’ This was something wonderful to wake up to. Lance placed his arms around her protectively. Then, he heard voices. "Didn’t we get glazed?"
"No, just jelly and cream filled."
"Geez, WHAT are you doing in here?" Stacey yelled. "You scared the crap out of me!"
Lance put his finger to his lips, "Shh!"
"Oh, I’m sorry." Stacey said as she saw Mercedes stirring.
Mercedes pretty much hit Lance across the face as she woke up and had a puzzled look on her face as she looked around the room.
"Good morning." Lance said quietly, rubbing the side of his face.
"Oh, Lance did I fall asleep? Oh, man I think I drooled on your shirt."
Lance grinned, "That’s fine." He watched her stretch and appreciated the view.
"Lance, did you stay here last night?" Mercedes asked sleepily.
"Mercedes, think about that. Yes, I stayed here last night."
"Why did you do that? I told you that you shouldn‘t. Your parents are really going to think badly of me."
"I fell asleep!"
"Oh man!" She was awake enough now that the reality finally hit her. Mercedes looked really worried. She jumped off the couch.
"Mercedes, it’s okay."
"Sure, it’s okay. Your father already looks at me like I have a big letter "A" on my forehead! But, hey...I guess you showed him who’s boss of you!"
"That is SO not funny." Lance said narrowing his eyes at her. "Do you honestly think I would sleep overnight here just to piss off my father?"
Suddenly, it occurred to Lance that he had slept through the night without having his nightmare. He couldn’t remember the last time that had happened. Lance smiled. "I didn’t have the nightmare last ight." He said quietly.
Mercedes stopped fuming, sat down close to him and commented, "That’s wonderful. Why do you think that is?"
Lance took his hand, outlined her features and kissed her forehead. "I can only guess."
"Hey, Lance."
"Chris."
The two met in the hallway at the venue walking in for sound check.
"How’s the Mermaid?" asked Joey.
All Lance did was smile.
"Ah Man. You are pathetic, Bass." Chris said laughing.
"What? I didn’t say anything!" said Lance.
"All we have to do is look at that puppy dog face of yours. You are way GONE." Chris smiled.
J.C. ran up behind them, "What’s the news?"
Lance turned back at him as he touched Lance’s shoulder.
"What’s the news, Scoop?" J.C. asked again.
"What?"
"How’s Mercedes?"
Lance smiled again.
"There he goes." said Joey. "You didn’t give me a chance to answer him!" Lance said.
Justin was already in the dressing room.
"I heard the ‘rents came in early, Scoop. How’d that play out?"
Lance shrugged his shoulders. "I fell asleep at Mercedes’ house last night.
They kind of gave me the cold shoulder when I stopped by my house to pick up some gear."
"You stayed at HER house. You two weren‘t doing the dirty deed, were you?" asked Chris. "Freaky deaky?" Lance stared at Chris and Justin, "Could I talk to you guys seriously for a minute?"
Chris dumped his bag down, sat on a chair and gave Lance his undivided attention. "Go ahead."
"Is there a problem?" J.C. asked.
Lance sat down, looked for anyone who was near by that he wouldn‘t want to share this with and then continued.
"No, things seem to be going along great. It’s just that I think I need to tell Mercedes everything about...everything."
"Like the night you slept, I mean didn’t sleep, in the loft?" Chris asked.
Lance nodded, "And the fact that I knew Liam was cheating on her. It’s really bothering me that I’ve got all these things I know about her life and she doesn’t know about any of it."
"Maybe you should ask Dr. Fitz...whatever his name..."
"Fitzpatrick?"
"That’s him. I mean, maybe he should be there when you tell her this stuff."
"So, you think it would be good for her to be told?"
"I only know that you’re not the type of guy that can stand this situation very long. It’s gonna eat away at you until you come clean with her, so you might as well talk to the Doc and find out what he suggests. Personally, I wish you could just wipe it from your mind. Everything is going so great for you."
"Honesty is a tricky thing, Lance. As much as a woman says she wants you to be honest with her, BELIEVE me she really doesn’t want to know." J.C. said.
Justin laughed, "Yeah." Then J got serious, "Listen, Lance isn’t talking about another chick here. He’s not confessing to sleeping with her best friend or some girl in Detroit. This is a little different. I can see where it might bother you."
"I tried wiping Liam from my mind and you saw what kind of trouble that got me into. I have to make sure Mercedes has it all out on the table. I want to spend quality time with this woman! In my mind that means no secrets. Chris, she was showing my sister and brother-in-law the loft last night and I had to pretend like I had never been in there. That’s insane! I can’t help but feel I’m deceiving her. Funny thing is, I didn’t have the dream last night. It’s crazy. I felt really awful about not being honest with Mercedes and yet I slept right through the night without having the nightmare."
"Oh that’s great! I can appreciate that you slept through the night last night, man. I finally did, too." said Justin.
Lance shook his head and smiled. "I am sorry about all those nights on the road, J."
"Yeah, I know." Justin said.
J.C. had a scrunched up look on his face. "Lance, do you really feel that this is a good idea? You really kind of ARE telling her that you slept with another woman. Kind of."
Chris and Justin chuckled. Then, they thought about it.
"Maybe J.C. has a point." Justin said.
"It might be different from a guys point of view, but how would I feel if Dani came to me and said, ’oh, by the way honey, we slept together last December but you thought I was someone else."
"That’s not a good example because you and Dani have been together so long." said Joey. "You have to remember that Mercedes doesn’t think she’s ever slept with anyone but Liam. And I think that might be like EVER. Ever."Justin couldn’t help but chuckle slightly, "And how would you know that?"
J.C. raised his hand, "Regardless, Mercedes certainly doesn’t think that her and Lance slept together."
"You know I’m standing right here. Just so you know." Lance said.
"You stayed over there last night." Chris commented.
"I SLEPT over there last night."
"So, if you then went and told her that you two HAD in fact spent the night together, in a sexual way, it might be a pretty big shock." J.C. said.
"Yes, it would be." Lance admitted.
"This may not be the best time to tell her."
"But, I just feel deceitful."
"Why?" asked Joey. "Wait until you two have been lovers for a couple of months, then it won’t be shocking. You two could have a good laugh over it."
"How can I even think of making love to her when I haven’t been completely honest with her?" Lance said.
"Oh, man. Like J.C. said, honesty can be a bitch." Justin said.
"Is that what I said?" asked J.C.
"In so many words, man."
"If you don’t mind me saying this, Lance, you know it’s not always possible to live up to the ideal protocol in relationships. You want to be a good guy and be honest...that’s admirable, but unrealistic. If you ask me I’d just let it go. I mean, if Mercedes’ doctor didn’t think she needed to know everything, then why do you? Why mess with it when it‘s going well?" J.C. asked.
"Maybe because I love her! This ‘let it go‘ thing, I‘ve heard this before and it did not work out." Lance said.
"I still think you ought to have sex with her for a few months first." said Joey.
Chris hit him, "You would."
"Well, I want to thank-you all for making this so much more difficult than I imagined." Lance said.
The Quiet Room just prior to show time.
"Where have I been? Man, when Lance said that things were going along nicely for them, he wasn’t kidding. Since when are Lance and Mercedes SO tight?" asked Chris.
Joey smiled. "Are you referring to the fact that they are snuggled up over in the corner? I guess things are moving right along."
Chris smiled. "I didn’t expect this, I thought his parents were in town."
Joey laughed, "I think Lance paid Melinda to keep them busy and get them to the VIP section a little early."
"Nervous?" Mercedes asked him.
"About the show? No." Lance said. He had his head buried in her neck. They were sitting on the floor like children at play. Mercedes had her hands in Lance’s hair adjusting his headset. "That fits better. Thanks."
"Then, if it isn’t the show or the headset, what is it?"
"If you think something’s bothering me, you couldn’t be further from the truth. I‘ve had the most incredible day with you." Lance said nuzzling her again.
Mercedes laughed as he tickled her this way. "Lance, I don’t know if I have a right to feel this way."
"What way is that?"
"Ummm."
"You don’t have a right to feel ‘ummm’ is that like ‘yummy’? Kind of like the ice cream we had this afternoon?" Lance grinned. His eyes were dancing on her. He looked at her as if he wanted to eat her all up. "Mercedes, give me some sugar." he whispered.
Her eyes were on him only. Mercedes smiled and lightly touched his lips with her own.
Lance tilted his head, "Oh please." His eyebrows’ furrowed as if he was wincing in pain.
Mercedes took her hands and placed them on his face, this kiss had some ‘umph" to it. "How was that?" she asked in a whisper.
"Better, much better." Lance told her." Would you mine if we worked on it some more again later?" He had a devilish grin.
"Do you think that you’ll have any energy left? I hear it’s quite an energetic show. "
"First you question my ability to handle Pre, NOW you think I’ll be too wiped out to spend some quality time with you? You shouldn’t underestimate me this way." Lance shook his head in mock disgust.
"I apologize, sir." she said. "Will you ever forgive me?"
‘The truth is...will you ever forgive ME, Mercedes?’ ran through Lance’s head. Lance stared down at her hands as he held them. How much he wished she could leave Liam behind and take off the wedding band. Lance didn’t like the hint that Liam was somehow still lurking in the background. It haunted him.
"You know, I’ve found that whenever I’m around you my face hurts because I’m smiling so much!"
Mercedes held his face and massaged it, kneading it like dough. "Does this help?"
Lance took hold of her hand, kissed it and took aim for her lips. "No, but this might." He leaned in and kissed her.
From the looks going around the room, one might think that this was a surprising new aspect to Lance’s personality.
"Who is that guy and what has he done with our Lance?" Chris asked no one in particular.
"Lance?" A voice sounded in his ear. Lance’s head darted up. ‘What? What is that?’ "Lance it’s Tim. I can hear everything you’re saying." Then he heard laughter.
"If you don’t cut your feed, I’ll make you sorry, Tim." Lance said as he rolled his eyes and pointed to his ear piece to answer Mercedes’ unspoken look of puzzlement. She started to laugh hysterically. Lance covered his microphone and said, "I’m so glad you think this is funny."
The door opened and the guys were given the signal. It was time to move out. It was time for Mercedes to get to her seat. Lance and Mercedes were the last ones to leave the comfort and privacy of the room.
"Have fun!" Mercedes said to Lance. Then she gave him a little wave. Lance grabbed her hand and pulled her back behind the door. Lance pressed his cheek against her face. "I’m so glad you’re here." he said to her as he hugged her.
"I am, too." she grinned. Then she adds with emphasis "Try not to wear yourself out."
Lance puts one of her hands to his chest, to fen a heart attack. "You surprise me sometimes." He says in a voice filled with deep masculinity.
Mercedes looked into his beautiful green eyes and replies in a soft whisper. Lance has to strain to hear over the noise building in the hallway. "No more than you have surprised me. I don’t think I have a right to feel this way, Lance."
"You said that before. Please don’t say that. If anyone should be saying that it’s me. I don’t even want to think about how little I’ve done to earn the right to be this happy with you. I am very happy, Mercedes. All I want is to make you feel as happy as I do."
Mercedes felt tears welling up in her eyes, she couldn’t believe how sweet he was. How much he seemed to care for her. How much she cared for him. Wasn’t it just yesterday that she was determined NOT to give in to these feelings? The last thing she meant to do was to fall for Lance, or allow Lance to think she might be falling for him. But, here they were.
Mercedes was definitely falling for him. And she felt the excitement of a new beginning. It was also pretty frightening. Love can be a fragile thing. Hearts can so easily be broken. She didn’t know why, but she felt an impending feeling of dread mixed in with that rush of adrenaline. Maybe because she loved Liam so much and lost him. Maybe because she knew Lance’s parents didn’t approve. Maybe because she knew they would be separated from one another much more than they would be together, like the sword fisherman and his wife in Vineyard Haven. For whichever reason, there was a touch of sadness.
They shared a moment where they simply looked at each other, then Mercedes said, "Hey you. You better go."
Lance kissed her forehead, squeezed her hand and they walked out into the hall together. Mercedes heard an echo from the past. Lou used to tell the guys, ‘Okay, let’s not be too obvious with the girlfriends, boys.
It wouldn’t be nice to throw that in the fans’ faces.’ So, she tried her best to hang back. There were a lot of people backstage. Some she recognized, most she did not. As the guys gathered for a quick game of Hacky Sack, Mercedes parted company from Lance. As he felt her hand slip from his, he turned to her. She motioned to him that she was going out front to watch.
"Have fun." she mouthed.
Lance smiled. He touched two fingers of his right hand to his heart. It was meant as a signal, that much she knew. He didn’t have to tell her. She was with him in his heart.
