"AHHHHH!!!!!" I screamed as I read the email, my body coming from the chair as I started to jump up and down, the tiny words on the screen jumping with me as I attempted to do the Olympic task of reading the final line while jumping like an idiot.
See you in Salt Lake City! Can't wait to meet you! -Posty
My eyes lingered on that final line as I brought my right hand across my chaotically beating heart and used my left hand to push back the many fly aways that seemed to have broken free from the high ponytail I had put in before bed last night. I struggled to catch my breath bringing my hand down to rest on my white desk as I reread the email for a second time just to be sure I wasn't making things up as an even wider smile started to snake its way onto my already overly elated face.
"Oh my fucking shit" I said with a disbelieving laugh as I fell back into my black rolling chair and rolled a good distance away from my desk as I sat staring blankly out the window at the bright blue New England summer sky.
Shit like this never fucking happened to me, I mean sure I always took a chance at all kinds of contests and shit but I never won, not even like a fucking participation ribbon for entering, so for me to win this made me feel like I was dreaming. I don't even know what made me decide to check my email today—another thing I never paid much mind too. It just exists for online shopping and that's pretty much it—but shit am I fucking glad I did because I needed to be on a plane to Salt Lake on Friday and today was Monday.
"Lace! Lace is everything okay!" my friend Alycia yelled as she came running into my room. "Lacey? You okay?" she asked as I slowly turned towards her, panic clearly outlined in every single detail of her face as she leaned up against the door frame with her arms folded over her chest.
"Sorry Alycia" I said shaking my head with a laugh before dropping it into my hands while I took a few minutes to gather myself before I slid them away and looked over towards her beaming with excitement. "But you'll never guess what happened" I said as the panic slid from her face and was replaced with curiosity.
"A huge ass spider crawled across your keyboard and you're realizing how ridiculous you were acting?" she asked with a smile as I rolled my eyes at her before placing the tip of my toe to the ground so I could give myself a spin.
"No asshole" I said before I reached my foot out to stop myself as I looked at her, my heart starting to beat rapidly in my chest again at even the thought of mentioning what had happened as I took in a deep breath.
"Get on with it" she said with a smirk motioning with her hand for me to move this conversation forward as she walked into my room and let herself fall into my mattress.
If you didn't know Alycia you would think she was trying to get to the point so she could go back to doing whatever it was that I had interrupted her from, but really she knew me well enough to know if she didn't get me moving I would never fucking tell her.
"Okay, so you remember that contest I entered?" I asked moving the chair to the right just slightly so I could look at her as I rested my feet on top of my pink and white comforter.
"Which one? You enter one whenever you're bored or feeling lucky" she laughed. "Not that it's a bad thing Lace, but shit it gets hard to keep track of them. You could've won a handful of them and you wouldn't even know" she said as I started to laugh as I pointed my finger in her direction.
"This is true and an extremely valid point and had I not decided to check my email for whatever reason today, this would've been one of those instances but clearly this is meant to be" I said sitting up straighter in my chair as I crossed my legs underneath me and gave her a proud smile.
"Well Miss Chipper Pants are you going to tell me what you won? It must be really fucking good with the look on your face" she said pushing herself up from my mattress as she leaned back on her elbows and gave me a cocky grin.
"Okay" I said taking a deep breath as I slowly let it out. "So, I entered this contest through Bud Light and I never thought I would win" I said letting out a laugh as I looked up at her. "Before I continue, please tell me that I'm not sleeping and that this isn't just a dream" I said laughing nervously again as Alycia rolled her eyes at me.
"You're not dreaming asshole" she said letting out a laugh as she tilted her head at me as I narrowed my eyes at her.
"How do I know dream me didn't make you say that?" I said as she rolled her eyes again before grabbing a pillow and throwing it at my face completely catching me off guard as I looked at her in shock.
"What the hell was that for?" I laughed as she shrugged her shoulders.
"Did you feel the pillow hit you?"
"Yes" I laughed as she nodded her head.
"Then you're not dreaming, now get on with it" she said as I cleared my throat and took my previous position in my chair.
"So I saw this contest on Bud Light, thought I'd give it a go and enter it and I won the prize of my dreams!" I said starting to slightly squeal as I felt my heart hammering against my chest again.
"You won a lifetime supply of Bud Light?" she asked raising her eyebrows as I rolled my eyes at her and let out a sigh.
"No!" I said even though I wouldn't be upset if that were the prize either, but this was just so much better. "You ready!?" I asked leaning towards her as she started to laugh at me.
"I've only been sitting here for five minutes waiting for you to tell me this good news" she laughed as I reached my toe out to the floor again and gave myself a quick spin letting the good news seep further into my veins before I finally started to slow and let out a breath.
"I WON A FUCKING WEEKEND WITH POST MALONE!" I said excitedly, hopping off of the chair again as I started to jump up and down.
I watched as Alycia sat bolt upright on the bed bracing herself with the palms of her hands sinking into the mattress with her eyes wide as if she were a deer stuck in headlights as she stared at me. I brought my hand up to cover my mouth as I stared at her, waiting for her to respond as she continued to stare at me before I hopped on the bed and started shaking her shoulders.
"Say something!" I said with a laugh as she shook her head and sat herself up with her feet tucked beneath her.
"Are we dreaming?" she asked with a laugh as I fell back on the bed and covered my face with the pillow letting it muffle my excited screams before I sat back up and shook my head wildly.
"No! This is the real fucking deal" I said pushing myself off of the bed as I quickly ran to my computer. "Come on get your ass over here and read this!" I said waving for her to come over as I let my eyes gaze over at the screen again. Just seeing the words and knowing they came from him was giving me intense butterflies, I could only imagine what was going to happen when I was with him all fucking weekend.
"Okay!" Alycia said excitedly as she sat herself down in my chair and rolled herself back towards my desk, her hands coming out to grab the edge as she pulled herself closer before resting her chin in her left hand as she started to read the words with a smile.
"Read it out loud! I need to hear the words coming from someone else" I said giving her a shake on the shoulder making her laugh as she swatted my hand off of her.
"Relax" she laughed as she cleared her throat.
Hi Lacey! I just wanted to congratulate you on being the winner of the Weekend with Posty giveaway! I'm so excited to be taking the opportunity to connect on a more personal level with my fans and hope the weekend I have planned for you is as bad ass as I think it is. Bud Light has the specifications listed below. See you in Salt Lake City! Can't wait to meet you! -Posty
"Fuck, I got the fucking tingles reading that shit. It's really him! He fucking wrote to you to congratulate you!" she said beaming with just as much excitement as I had when I clicked on the message just a few minutes ago.
"I know right!? Keep going!" I said waving my hand for her to read on—mostly because I hadn't made it that far—as she cleared her throat and read the rest of the giveaway through a wide smile.
"Congratulations lucky grand-prize winner! Along with the opportunity to meet and hang with Post Malone for the weekend, you have also won 1 roundtrip first class ticket from Bradley International Airport to Salt Lake International. Car service from the airport to the Grand American Hotel with a weekend stay in one of their prestigious executive suites as well as car service by one of Post Malone's security in his very own Rolls Royce Cullinan for the entirety of your stay. Please respond to this email by 11:59PM on Monday June 28 to claim your prize." she read as she started to laugh with disbelief as she held her hands out to the side before turning to look at me.
"Fuck this is really fucking happening" she said with a wide smile as I nodded my head. "Did you reply to the email!? Please tell me you replied to the fucking email and you didn't procrastinate like you always fucking do" she said, her gaze going from happy to slightly annoyed as she rolled her eyes and let out a huff while her fingers clinked against the white keyboard.
"Well you replied now" she smiled as her finger pushed the left mouse button as she hit send before falling back in my desk chair as she let out a sigh. "I can't believe this is really fucking happening! We've talked about this so many fucking times!" she said laughing again as she stared at the screen before running her hands over her long hair.
"Tell me about it. We've talked about this exact scenario so many times and I never in a million fucking years thought it would actually be a thing" I laughed as I leaned against my desk wrapping my one arm over my chest as I used my other hand to once again glide over my hair.
"Are you nervous?" Alycia asked me as I let out a laugh and shook my head.
"Nah, not one bit" I said waving my hand like this just another visit to my family. "I'm going to spend the weekend with the hottest man to ever grace this planet. I'm not nervous one ounce" I said as she started to laugh.
"I know stupid question, I just had to make sure" she laughed as she sat forward and rested her elbows on her knees. "We should think of wardrobe. This is only four days away" she laughed as she pushed herself off of the chair and grabbed me by the arm as she started running out of my room.
"Where are we going!" I laughed as we stopped by the front door, her hand leaving my arm
as she grabbed my purse and handed it to me before grabbing her own and her car keys as we slipped out of the door.
"Shopping, this requires an entire new wardrobe. Something to knock his socks off" she said with a wink as I paused with my hand on the door handle of her black Lexus and tilted my head at her.
"Really? We've turned this into the opportunity of a lifetime to me starting a life with Austin Richard Post?" I laughed before pulling open the door and sliding my body into the soft black leather.
"Listen, you can never be certain where this goes or why he's agreeing to do it. He could be girlfriend free, and we both know there's only a small window of opportunity before he's on to the next" she laughed as she started the engine and backed out of the concrete and brick driveway.
"Yeah I suppose you're right. And I do want to look cute too" I said blushing as I looked over at her. "I've always wondered what it would be like to have him check me out" I laughed as Alycia rested her head back against the headrest and smiled.
"Then our goal is set. He seems to like nothing over the top, classy yet sexy, heels fuck we're gonna make his mouth water" she said as she reached down for her phone vibrating in the cupholder before ignoring it as she focused on the road.
"You gonna answer that?" I laughed as she rolled her eyes.
"No, it's Elliot. He can wait we have more important things to do right now, like getting my girl on Post Malone's list" she said as I laughed, although that was a fucking amazing goal to have.
—————————————————-
"So, what's the first thing you are going to do when you meet him" Alycia said as she took a sip of her Moscow Mule before folding her arms and leaning on the table as she studied me with a smile.
The two of us have literally discussed this and made a whole list of questions we would love to ask him if we ever got the chance to meet him and spend a weekend with him, but I never thought I was going to have to pick a specific question off of the list to ask him. Not to mention they were all thought up when we were drinking and watching livestreams of his shows now that things were starting to open back up again. So, needless to say the majority of the questions were quiet embarrassing and I didn't need that.
"Honestly? I'm not really sure" I laughed grabbing for my own Mule as I brought the ice cold copper mug to my lips and took a long sip. "I think I'm more concerned that I remember how to talk at all when I'm close to him" I said setting my mug down with a small clank as Alycia started to laugh, doing her best to keep her drink contained behind her lips.
"I'm sorry! I don't mean to laugh" she said covering her mouth as she caught her breath. "It's just the way you said it and that look on your face" she said laughing a little harder before she was finally able to conduct herself, her hand flapping by her face as she took in a deep breath before composing herself again.
"Anyway" Alycia said. "I think that once you meet him you are going to feel like you met an old friend. Everyone always says how sweet and humble he is, so I don't expect you to get anything less" she said with a smile as I let out a nervous laugh.
"It's just" I said letting out a huff as I looked out the window over the bay before looking back towards Alycia. "I'm so awkward" I laughed as I used my hands to gesture towards myself.
"Yeah but you are a lovable awkward and once you get used to being around someone you break that awkward shell right open and you are so much fun" Alycia said with a smile as she reached out for a battered mushroom from the leftover appetizer platter we've been snacking on and popped it in her mouth.
"Plus" she said through a mouthful of food. "Didn't he say he's shy?" she asked as I nodded my head before reaching for a mozzarella stick that was on our sampler appetizer plate. "Then maybe he'll be" she said swallowing her food "the same awkward as you" she smiled as she wiped her hands on a napkin as I rolled my eyes and held my mozzarella stick out to the side.
"Thanks Lycia, that makes me feel so much better" I said rolling my eyes again as she started to laugh.
"Just trying to help" she said shrugging her shoulders as she grabbed for her drink again and took a long sip before finishing it off as it rested against the table with a hollow thud. "He's just a normal guy Lace, that's all you need to remember, and you will be just fine I promise you" she said with a smile.
"We got you a killer fucking wardrobe that will have him drooling or at least he won't be able to take his eyes off of you and look at it this way. If he turns out to be anything less than what we expect--which I don't think he will--you get an amazing weekend away that you didn't have to pay for. So, the way I see it, there are more positives than negatives to this situation" she said making me laugh as I rested my chin in my palm and let out a sigh.
"Yeah" I said as I reached over and fiddled with the mint garnish on the side of my mug. "I just wish I could bring someone with me. I think it would make it less awkward for both of us" I chuckled before bringing my eyes up to rest on hers.
"You'll be fine. Not to be mean, but he'll probably have several beers in him before you guys even meet so he'll be comfortable and probably carry on the conversation. Just go with it and have a good time" she said as the kind waiter started to walk over towards our table.
"Can I get you ladies anything else today?" he asked with a smile as he looked between the both of us, the bill already in his hand as both Alycia and I shook our heads no as he placed it on the table and walked away giving us the familiar whenever you're ready no rush line that had to be rehearsed by every waiter and waitress everywhere.
"So when do you intend to tell your parents?" she asked as she started to dig through her purse before pulling out her wallet and her card.
"Last minute like always" I said rolling my eyes as I took another sip of my Moscow Mule. "They will probably be down in Old Greenwich that weekend anyway with their friends and I'll be the furthest thing from their mind" I said with a laugh as I awkwardly cleared my throat.
It wasn't that my parents were assholes or anything. It's just they had their life and I had mine. We checked in with each other about once a week for about fifteen minutes and then went on with our lives like normal. For them to hear that I had won a trip to Salt Lake City to spend a weekend with "the tattooed freak" as my father referred to him as would be the most uninteresting and least productive way that I could spend my weekend. Even though I beg to differ. Boring, stuffy parties with their too rich for their own good stuck-up friends on their perfectly manicured patios in their immaculate backyards of their extravagant mansions sounded way less appealing than what I was about to do.
"I figured that was what the answer was going to be but thought I'd ask anyway" Alycia said with a laugh as she gave the waiter a friendly smile as he walked away with her card. "But onto a different topic" she said letting out a sigh as she tapped the screen of her phone.
"Shoot" I said looking at her with a slight head tilt as I waited for her to explain.
"Would you mind if I spent the night at Elliot's tonight? After today's unexpected announcement of fantastic news, I seemed to let it slip my mind that today was our anniversary and well, staying with him is the only way I know how to make it up to him" she said giving me a devilish stare as she reached out for my Mule to finish it off.
"Please do" I said letting out a small laugh as I grabbed my purse and hung it over my shoulder. "I don't want to be hearing that shit anyway" I said with a smile. "As long as I see you before I leave on Friday" I said pointing at her as she rolled her eyes.
I couldn't help but make the assumption that there might be a chance that I would be jetsetting off to my dream without seeing her and getting her moral support. I mean she forgot her fucking six-month anniversary with Elliot because something better came along and typically when she was with him, she forgot to come home--unless they got in a fight which was also normal--because well nothing was better to her than Elliot
"I'm taking you to the airport so of course you will see me before you leave" she said as she grabbed her card and slid it into her purse before walking towards the door.
"Don't take this the wrong way or anything Lycia, but sometimes when you get with Elliot you forget to come home, not that I mind" I laughed as I grabbed her door handle and fell into the leather seat once again. "But this time I hope you get into a fight so I'm not dragging my own ass to the airport" I said as she looked over at me with a grin before turning on the engine and pulling out of the parking lot.
"Lace, you'll know that I'll be there for you. I won't let you leave without giving you a hug and extra words of encouragement" she said as she gave me a wink.
"Should I get that in writing?" I laughed as she sarcastically laughed back at me before resting back in her seat as we drove the short distance on the highway back to our house.
I glanced over at her for just a minute to see her smirking and rolling her eyes before turning my attention to my phone resting in my hand, my thumb wandering over towards the email button as I quickly pressed on it and clicked on the email from Bud Light, a small smile tugging on my lips as I read through his email again. Alycia was right, based on the tone of this email he was the sweetest man ever--probably even too sweet for his own good--and I had nothing to worry about. Everything was going to be amazing, and this was going to be the weekend of my dreams that I wouldn't stop talking about for weeks after. And who knows, maybe he did agree to do this because he is currently single, and his window of opportunity is hanging open waiting for me to explore. Maybe--just maybe--this could be so much more than I was bargaining for.
See you in Salt Lake! Can't wait to meet you! -Posty
'I can't wait to meet you either, you have no idea how excited I am' I said quietly towards my phone screen with a smile before pressing the side button letting the screen fall black as I rested my head against the headrest and watched the bay peacefully float by. Despite how our interaction went, this was going to be an experience that would forever change my life. I was just hoping that it was in a positive way.
A/n: Okay I couldn't wait any longer and I needed to get it out to you guys! I really hope you guys like it and remember, just because I'm excited about it doesn't mean that you have to like it. If you don't I completely understand, but I am curious to read where you guys think this is going to go. As always thanks for voting, commenting and reading :)