"Hey sleepy head. Wake up. Its time to eat."

"Hey, um Mercedes? The food is ready."

"…."

Sam backs up and takes a running start and leaps onto the bed.

"WAAAKKKKEEE UPPPP!"

"What the hell?!" Mercedes shoots up from the bed with a look of horror on her face.

Sam busts out laughing. "I tried to be civilized, but you wouldn't budge."

"You should have tried harder jackass." She snipped.

"Hey now wait a sec. I cooked for you and let you sleep in my bed. I think you should be a little nicer to me." Sam knew he just pushed a button and the look Mercedes now sported had Sam trying his hardest to keep a straight face.

Mercedes had had enough,"Listen, I told you I was okay to leave a while ago! Yet, you insisted..no you physically forced me to stay here against my will and now you want me to be "nice" to you? Oh hell no! Im outta here!"

Mercedes flings back the covers and starts to slip on her shoes when a pair of strong hands slide up her back and begin to massage her shoulders. Almost failing to stifle her groan she asks, "What do you think you are doing?"

"Im hoping to massage out your stress, because you seem on edge all the time." Sam tries to convey without attitude.

"Wait, is that your way of saying that Im the black girl with the bad attitude?" She stops what she's doing to turn around and look at him. 'Damn, why is he so close to me? His lashes are ridiculous. Dammit girl stop zoning out!'

"…lost you again." Sam smiles.

"Huh? Lost what again?" She shakes her head to refocus. "Anyway,, is that what you think of me?"

Sam just stares at her making her slightly uncomfortable.

"Mercedes , I just said that I have seen you at the restaurant over the past few months since the new sous showed up and you've lost your spark. Then I saw you had zoned out yet again and I said that I have lost you again."

Mercedes looks down in embarrassment, " Sorry to have gone off on you like that. You are correct in your assessment. I haven't been my best since Nichole has shown up."

"Nichole? Is that her name?"

Mercedes bust out laughing, "Oh man, she would flip if she realized after all this time you didn't know her name!"

Sam gave her a confused look, "Why would she be upset? I haven't really ever talked to her since she was hired."

"Well if you ask her, she makes it seem like the two of you talk on the regular."

Sam turned her back around and continued massaging her shoulders.

"Well, I try to be nice to everyone in the kitchen and show them respect..' Sam said trying to be diplomatic.

"How very future Senator of you," Mercedes chuckled. " Wow, this feels really good. Did you take a class or something?"

"No, actually an ex-girlfriend of mine was a masseuse and she taught me a few things." He said bashfully.

"Well she was a great teacher. I've never had a professional massage. Im too terrified to get it done." Mercedes winced at saying that last part out loud.

Sam stopped his movements and leaned forward over Mercedes shoulder and looked at her down turned face. "Why? You are missing out on an amazing and relaxing experience. I highly recommend it. I'll see if I can hook you up with someone I know. Is that cool?"

" Uh, sure that would be great. Thanks", she replied knowing full well she will not be going. Mercedes took the opportunity to look around his room. Nice décor for a bachelor pad. 'Must have been an ex-girlfriend who helped him decorate.'

Sam noticing her eyes wander and could tell what she was thinking blurted, " Yeah, I know it's a little too much matchy matchy for a guy but my little sister Savannah, is a future design star and she helped me with my room. I wouldn't let her touch the living room or kitchen."

"How old is she?"

" She will be 17 next month, actually. I haven't been to see them in a few months. I have a younger brother, Steven. He will be 16 in six months." Sam said in shock. 'Where did all the time go?' he thought to himself. Sam had grown up in a loving household. His mother and father were very much in love and spent as much time with their kids as possible. His mother would take off a few minutes early from her job every Friday to pick him up from school and spend some one on one time with him before picking up Steven and Savannah. One Friday she never showed up. Instead a police car arrived asking for him. They wouldn't tell him what happened. Only that there was an accident and they were asked to come get him from school. Sam asked about Steven and Savannah and the cops said that they were getting rides too. He arrived prior to his siblings. He walked in the ER doors and told the attendant his last name. He gave Sam a half smile and told him which way to go after passing through the double doors. As he rounded the corner he saw his father slumped over in a chair yelling and screaming as a nurse tries to calm him.

"No! No! Not like this! Sharon wake up baby! Please! I need you.!" His father Scott yelled out. Sam immediately began to cry knowing something awful happened.

"D..D..Dad? Wh..What happened? Where's mom? Sam could barely get it out.

Sam's father Scott looked up and ran to his son. Holding on tight to his son and crying so hard he couldn't talk. He had lost the love of his life due to the incompetence of another driver. Sharon had just pulled out of her job at the local bank where she was a loan officer and into the flow of traffic. Unbeknownst to her a semi truck driver decided to get that last peanut out of the bag. He held the bag up and shook the remnants of his snack into his mouth. Not seeing that the light had already turned yellow as he was approaching and then red he sailed right on through the intersection missing the car that was in front of Sharon but hitting her right on the passenger side. The car spun around at least three times according to witnesses and after that hit another car that was at the stop light. At the scene she was life flighted to the hospital where they were able to stabilize her briefly. She was only able to ask them to pick up her children from school because they were waiting on her. After that she quietly slipped away. Her body sustaining too much trauma for her to be saved.

Sam, this time had completely zoned out and even stopped his massage of Mercedes shoulders.

"Sam? Uh..are you okay?" Mercedes felt slightly uncomfortable because his hands were just resting on her shoulders not moving. Not that she would complain, but she was more worried about his embarrassment than her own. "Earth to Sam!"

"Wh..Oh! Im sorry. I began thinking about my family."

' Well, you did say that it had been a few months since you have seen them, I understand you wondering about how they are doing."

Not liking where the conversation was headed. Sam jumped off the bed and took Mercedes other shoe back off, grabbed her hand and brought her into the kitchen where he had fixed a breakfast feast.

Mercedes looked at the amazing spread laid out before her and thought two things. 'Either he Is trying to show off or he thinks because I am a big girl I need to eat a lot.' She hoped it wasn't the latter.

"Um, you do realize that it is just me and you?" she asked with a teensy weensy bit of attitude.

"Yeah I know, I usually call my neighbor over and we hang out for a while and eat." Sam looked at everything and hid a grin. Maybe he did out do himself today. I guess having her over gave him a little push to show off some. He wanted her to know that she wasn't the only one that could throw down in the kitchen. " Grab a plate and lets dig in!"