Hearing You Say I Love You

~*~Seven~*~

•AUSTIN•

Mornings seemed to go a hell of a lot easier, probably because the nights were also not filled with more beer than I can drink which meant not waking up with a hangover that was going to take me weeks to recover from. But there was also Oakley, the reason why I was sitting in my bed smiling around my morning cigarette like someone who was talking to a girl for the very first time.

Over the past three weeks she has become an integral part of my days. There isn't a moment throughout the day that I am not thinking about her. We've moved from solely communicating through instagram and we've exchanged numbers which was a huge thing for me. I was always careful with letting people in, especially someone that I had met online. But things seemed so different with her. She was so easy to talk to and I felt like I could tell her anything and she wouldn't be all judgy and shit about it. She was just honest and genuine and that gave me that warm fuzzy fucking feeling that I didn't want to let go of.

But I didn't want to jump to conclusions that something was going on here, because it wasn't. At least not yet anyway. I knew that it had only been three weeks since we started talking, but I couldn't deny that I wanted something to happen. She flew into my life so unexpectedly, nothing more than sweet words on a sad post. But we connected in a way that I never thought I could connect with anyone. Fuck I even connected with Oakley better than I connected with Lauren.

At first I couldn't help but wonder if what I was feeling for Oakley were just rebound feelings from Lauren. Craving to feel the things that I felt with her with someone else, but that was the thing. The things that I felt with Oakley were not even close to the things that I felt with Lauren. I loved Lauren, I wasn't going to pretend that I didn't or push the feelings I had for her aside like they were nothing, because they weren't. But what I was feeling for Oakley made me realize that I was in love with Lauren for the wrong reasons because she definitely did not bring out the side of me that Oakley did, and that was reason enough to want something more to come of this.

I pulled my cigarette from my lips blowing the smoke out through my nose while my thumbs worked the digital keyboard, pulling up Oakley and my texts. I placed my cigarette back between my lips letting it dangle there.

AUSTIN: Good morning beautiful. How'd you sleep last night?

I rested back against the pillows pulling my cigarette from my lips, my cell phone balanced in my other hand as a smile crept on my face seeing that she was already answering me.

OAKLEY: Morning Cowboy. I slept okay. How about you? Did you make it out to Loser's with the guys?

It didn't matter how many times she's called me it, whenever she called me Cowboy my bottom lip rested between my teeth and my dick twitched. What I'd give to hear her call me that right before she took me for a ride. I chuckled to myself rubbing my hand over my face, a shit eating grin spreading from ear to ear. I didn't need to be having these thoughts just yet.

AUSTIN: I actually did not. We left the studio pretty late, which by the way I'm so sorry it's two weeks later and I still don't have the clip to send to you. But nothing is changing, I want your opinion first before I put it out there.

OAKLEY: It's okay, it just means you're working extra hard on it. Heading back to the studio today?

I put my cigarette out in the ashtray, settling back against my pillows, running my hands through my extremely disheveled bed head curls.

AUSTIN: I am. The guys are all super impressed at how well ideas have been coming to me. They are starting to get a little curious. Especially since I didn't go out with them last night.