Girl Crush

Part 9

"It's a woman. I'm dating a woman." Madelyn said. She took a deep breath after she said that. She had never said that aloud, and doing so made it feel more real. She knew her mom would be accepting, but it was still scary to tell anyone, especially since she hadn't had it all figured out yet.

"Oh, is that so? Tell me about her!" Pam said excitedly.

Madelyn let out a giggle of relief. She wasn't expecting her mom to be that casual about it. She expected the acceptance and support, but Madelyn assumed her mom would have a lot of questions for her and want her to label herself.

"Her name is Gracie. She's a singer, and she has the most adorable dog." Madelyn said. She couldn't stop smiling.

"She sounds cool, honey! How long have you two been together?" Pam posed.

"About a month. But it feels like I've known her forever. She's really amazing. I can't wait for you and dad to meet her." Madelyn said, gushing over Gracie.

"I'm really happy for you. Don't read the articles, ok? Do you want to tell dad yourself, or should I?" Her mom asked.

"I'll call dad soon. Thanks mom." Madelyn said.

"I love you Maddie. Tell Gracie I say hi!" Pam said.

"I will, love you too." Madelyn replied.

Madelyn smiled. She felt freer in a way, now that someone else knew. She wanted to tell more of her friends, even though they probably already saw the news online. She made her way back inside to Gracie. Madelyn rubbed the brunette's back and Gracie slowly started to wake up. She suddenly felt anxious again now that people knew of her relationship.

"Hi pretty girl." Gracie said as she opened her eyes.

"Good morning beautiful." Madelyn replied.

"Are you ok? How long have you been up?" Gracie asked, noticing a tinge of worry on Madelyn's eyebrows.

"It's out." Madelyn said flatly after taking a deep breath.

"What? What's out?" Gracie asked as worry and confusion plastered all over her face. Seeing Madelyn concerned made her concerned.

"Us. There's articles with the paparazzi pictures and everything." Madelyn said.

"Why did you read them?" Gracie asked. They had both agreed to not read anything about themselves.

"I was curious, I'm sorry." Madelyn said.

"Are you ok? Are you worried about it?" Gracie posed.

Madelyn shook her head and then nodded.

"What does that mean?" Gracie asked with a nervous giggle.

"It feels a little scary. But I'm trying not to care too much because you're my girlfriend and I'm proud of that." Madelyn stated.

"Oh, I'm your girlfriend?" Gracie teased.

Madelyn blushed. "You are, aren't you?" Madelyn checked worriedly.

"Of course I am. And you're my girlfriend. And, you look so beautiful right now I can't even take it." Gracie said.

Madelyn smiled. "Oh stop." She joked.

Gracie wrestled Madelyn back into the sheets and covered her in kisses. They snuggled in bed and talked for a little longer. Madelyn happily let Gracie distract her from her earlier worries. She decided to not look on her phone for the rest of the day, there would be hate and a lot of messages and question. She just wanted to cuddle with Gracie, and then go home to have an afternoon for herself.

GRACIE

💌

After Madelyn left, Gracie sat alone in her room and just thought about everything. She felt empathetic towards Madelyn. She knew how worried the articles made her, and she wanted Madelyn to know that she supported and loved her. Gracie desired for her and Madelyn to be able to exist comfortably together immediately and publicly, but she understood that Madelyn needed more time to process this. Gracie had done this before, she had been with women in the past. Although she never came out publicly about her sexuality, she never tried to hide it from the media. But this was Madelyn's first time in this situation. She wasn't as comfortable in her sexuality just yet, and it would take some more time for her anxieties to go away.

Gracie

are you sure you're ok?

Maddie

i'm ok g

i'm just not gonna look at any social media for a few days

Gracie

I love u

and I support u

Maddie

I love u too

thanks for understanding

I don't want it to seem like I'm embarrassed or ashamed of u

bc I really love you

Gracie

mads, it's ok, I know

wish I could hug u rn

Maddie

me too

I'll squeeze u tmr, ok?

must have candlelit bath rn or else

Gracie

can't wait

lol enjoy gorgeous

Gracie was appreciative of Madelyn's honesty. She was glad that Madelyn was able to communicate with her how she was feeling and why she was feeling that way. It truly felt like they were both two emotionally intelligent people. Gracie was looking forward to hugging and kissing Madelyn tomorrow, she had to give her some space today. She knew that Madelyn needed a little more love and reassurance from her during this time. It was always hard when rumors and articles are written about you, especially when it's about dating.

She put her phone down and smiled. Gracie felt that she had found a good one.

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