Drinking Alone / Post Malone

XXVII

Things between them had been better than ever since that night and she often found herself laughing that the muttering of three little words could change the dynamic of two people so much. Everytime it slid from her lips she still couldn't believe that they were real, she still felt like she was dreaming, but when he uttered them back to her and she saw the joy that lit up behind his perfect blue eyes and she felt the tingles that would gently float throughout her body she knew that it was real. She knew if she were dreaming she wouldn't be able to witness those emotions in him or herself. She didn't want to say that it happened fast, but it did. Yet she knew the meaning behind them was real, especially since she had been on the verge of saying it to him countless times before and each time he would tell her to wait. She knew he felt it too but was waiting for the right time to say it and well shit, he picked an amazing time and did it in such an amazing way that there was no way she could doubt it even for a second.

She didn't want to admit that things between them had changed much after that, but in a way they did and it was for the better. She had felt her anxieties about being in LA diminish significantly since that night. Going out to dinners and parties with people that she never even dreamed of meeting let alone sharing a meal or partying with all seemed like second nature to her and it was all thanks to Austin. He never left her side during any of it, always proud to walk next to her and show everyone who his girl was. He would proudly hold her hand, give her kisses and include her in everything he possibly could. She knew that certain members of his team still weren't highly impressed by her presence around him but none of that seemed to bother him and since it didn't bother him she made it a point to not let it bother her. To him she was the only person that mattered and for her it was him and that was enough for either of them.

Although despite his very charming efforts to make her feel comfortable while they were out together, it was still at home where they both felt the most comfortable, and not because he was embarrassed of her but because they were literally the same person when it came to being in LA. He was right when he had told her that night that he would be able to handle everything about being here, and he did with such charm, grace and debonair that she would never know that he felt uncomfortable being here if she hadn't asked him that night. But home when it was just the two of them, where nothing was expected of him aside from just being Austin and she wasn't feeling like she was constantly under the microscope since she was just an ordinary girl, that's where they were at their best.

She loved sitting on the couch with him while they cuddled and watched some meaningless show that they were both able to laugh at, the way that he would be so gentle with her as he gave her soft kisses and held her close to him. She loved how they could laugh at each other when they were just being themselves–something she heavily felt neither of them have been able to be in so long. In a way she loved the normalness that existed when they were sheltered in their own little bubble, and she knew that he loved it too because despite all of the things he had been blessed with from this journey, she could see how much he craved to be just Austin and she loved the fact that he could be that because of her.

She let out a happy sigh as she headed towards the kitchen, her bare feet softly padding against the dark wood floors as she headed towards the cabinets to grab two mugs so she could make them coffee. She pulled the white cabinet door towards her, a small huff leaving her lips as she stood on her toes, her black tank riding up her torso letting the cold air kiss the skin between her tank and her boy shorts causing her to shudder just slightly at the feel as she pulled the mugs from their depths. She rested them against the marble with a hollow thud, her finger resting on the power button of the Keurig before quickly busying herself with grabbing a frying pan from under the stove. She winced slightly at the clatter the steel made hitting the wrought iron grates, her eyes darting towards the balcony hoping she didn't wake up an overly exhausted Austin as she clicked the flame to life, turning it down low just so she could give the pan just enough heat so the eggs wouldn't stick to the surface.