Hearing You Say I Love You

~*~Eight~*~

•OAKLEY•

The nervous jitters started to take over as I was finishing up with the last coat of mascara and making sure my hair was sitting just right. Going out with the girls tonight was extremely different than just a regular old night. I was telling them about Austin. I let out a sigh giving my wrists a spray of perfume, turning out the light and walking out the door. I bit on my bottom lip, scanning my closet for the perfect pair of heels–black booties with a peep hole toe–and pulling my black knock off Gucci from the shelf.

I had taken a lot of time after talking with Austin this morning about how I was going to spill the beans to my friends that the reason I was getting lost in my phone had to do with a certain blue eyed, brown haired Cowboy that had quickly become the center of my world...as dangerous as that sounded now that I thought it back in my head. Against my better judgment I already cared for him so much, both sides of him. On one hand I cared about him to the point where tonight was a huge deal for me. It meant a lot for him to get my friend's stamp of approval. On the other hand, I cared about his job and I valued how much he liked his privacy. Which is why I made the decision to tell my friends that I was talking to this sweet guy named Austin, who was thirty years old and lived in Franklin.

If I opened the door to tell them that I was talking to Post Malone, that would open the door to a ton of questions that I wasn't ready to deal with right now. Not to mention would invade his privacy. My friends were great, but if they found out this tidbit of information they would go off the wall. I wasn't ready for the never ending string of questions and the "perks" that they would instantly assume came with me talking to him. Not to mention me talking to Post Malone would make the girls automatically think that they were friends too and they would instantly be reaching out to him on Instagram.

That is not how I wanted to start this relationship, if that was even the route that this was going. I wanted him to know that he could trust me, that I valued his privacy and that I really wasn't into him and talking to him as Posty to get something out of him. To be completely honest, his fame kind of intimidated me even if it seemed that going the country route kind of gave him more privacy. But that was something that we would cover if we ever got to that point. Right now I just want to jump this hurdle of having my friends being okay with me talking to someone, but I'm sure once they heard how normal everything was they would be completely fine with it.

I slid into my shoes and put the necessities into my purse and headed down the stairs. It was almost a given that my parents were going to be raising an eyebrow to me hanging out with the girls so much, but I also knew that they would be happy for me. Even though they didn't say it, I know they worried about me when I sat home all the time even if I insisted that I was just fine.

OAKLEY: Hey girl! I'm ready whenever you are!

PAIGE: Good because I'm right down the road see you in a few!

A smile grew on my lips as I slid my phone back into my purse, my parents eyes already on me the moment that I stepped foot into the hallway behind the living room. I walked towards them stopping in the entryway giving them an animated wave and a smile.

"Are you going out?" My Mom signed and asked with a smile, her hands resting in her lap while she patiently waited for me to answer her.

Yeah I nodded, thankful for the dim light of the TV and side table lamps so my parents weren't able to see the blush on my cheeks. I didn't need them to ask anymore questions.

"Where are you going?" She asked, her head tilting.

I'm going out with Paige and the girls. We had so much fun last time we wanted to do it again.