Big Bad World

His Heart is Open

[LACEY'S POV]

The mirror reflected my white flowy mid-sleeved short white dress, my faded brown cowboy boots, and my wavy dark brunette hair. My makeup was a ltitle too dark, but I didn't care. I just wanted him to think I was beautiful. He didn't really specify on how to dress, so I had hoped that my outfit was fancy or casual enough. I had kept my hopes of having a good time to myself. Aubrey had attempted everything she could to crack me, but I wouldn't let her. She, of course, was going waiting around in my house until I got back so she could hear all the details about the dinner that apparently wasn't a 'date'. 

I took one last look in the mirror before Aubrey practically pushed me out of the door at 5:45. Keith wanted to meet at the restaurant at 6. Rolling my eyes at Aubrey, I knew I wasn't going to arrive at 6. I needed time to myself, so I drove for awhile. I wasn't quite sure where I was going, but I ended up near the riverfront, which so happened to be where the restaurant was that Keith wanted to meet at. I stopped myself from going in though. Instead, I just sat in my car for a good hour before getting the strenght to actually walk in there. It was pathetic, but I was terrified. Dates were never my thing. What was normal for me was catching eye contact with a guy, talking him up, taking him home and having him be gone the next morning. I wasn't even sure if I had ever been on a date before. If I had, I was probably drunk and it was probably an awful date to begin with. Needless to say, I had never had an actual dinner with a guy. From my experience, it had appeared that all guys wanted was to get in my pants. Maybe I was just scared that Keith would be the same way. Maybe he was just trying to lure me in. 

After sitting in my car, I had finally gotten the courage to walk in. It was 7:26. He said was going to leave at 7:30. A part of me had wanted a challenge to see if he was willing enough to say even though I was an hour and a half late for a dinner. Everyone had always left, but I wanted him to the one exception. Taking a deep breath, I walked into the restaurant and allowed the hostess to take me to where Keith was. I stood there for a moment observing him. He didn't seem to notice me. I then noticed him looking at his phone to see the time. He was about to get up, but I stopped him just in time. "Don't leave..." I mumbled while walking toward him. 

I made eye contact with him, which made me go weak in the knees. A girl could get lost in his eyes. "Hi...." I said softly. He gave me a smile and pulled out the chair for me so I could sit down. No guy had ever pulled out a chair for me. "You can leave... I mean I know I told you not to, but I'm really late.. You have my permission" I commented. Keith then shook his head after sitting back down. "No. I'm not leaving. I'm the one who asked you to dinner. I plan on staying for it" he said with a soft smile. 

He appeared to be different than what I knew guys to be like. He didn't leave. He chose to stay, even after I told him that he could leave. The waiter came up to take our order of drinks. I ordered a bourbon on the rocks, Keith ordered his sweet tea spiked. After we ordered, Keith gave me an odd look. "What?" I asked. "You don't come across as a whiskey kind of person" he stated with a light laugh. 

"I love my whiskey. That other stuff is for wimps" I stated. Keith chuckled and shook his head. "You intrigue me, Lacey" he added. My eyes caught his as I looked up from the menu. "I intrigue you? That's different. I don't think a guy has ever said that to me before" I said with a light laugh. I thought of it as a compliment. He wasn't like most guys that I would casually meet up with. He was different. For a moment, I wanted nothing more to actually know his heart. For a moment, I didn't want to push him away, so I decided for just one night that I wouldn't. 

"Glad to know I'm the first," he smiled, "You do though. Something about you is special." My hazel eyes looked up at him. There was that word again, but he was aiming it at me. I didn't know how to respond, so remained quiet. Luckily the waiter came with our drinks, and allowed us to order our food. After he had left it had seemed that the conversation had dminished. "So, mr. Keith Urban? Tell me about you? I feel like even though I'm obsessed with your music, I don't actually know much about you." I said, breaking the silence. That was a lie. I knew plenty about him, but I wanted to hear his side. I wanted nothing more thant to hear his heart. 

Keith took a sip of his drink and nodded. "What do you want to know?" he asked. I shrugged. "I don't know.. anything I guess, like what happened with Nicole..?" It was then that I regretted speaking. That was such a personal question, and I had promised not to get personal. He had every right to get angry and leave, but much to my surprise he stayed. 

He nodded at my question. "It was a rocky marriage. It wasn't working, I guess. I was in love with her, deeply in love, but she didn't feel the same after a while. About 4 years in, I saw less and less of her. She would take longer trips, and insist on me staying in Nashville. It was like she was shutting me out of her life. We fought constantly, and then eventually she just would never come home. I don't really know what the culprit of it all was, but she fell out of love with me. So when she decided to divorce me, it never came a surprise. I knew it was coming, but I'd be lying if I didn't say it grieved my heart greatly".  It made my heart sad to see him talk about it. His heart was real, and I felt bad for asking the question immediately. 

"Keith, I... I'm so sorry.. I shouldn't have asked.." I responded after a moment of silence. 

"No.. it's okay. I'm okay with sharing that part of my life now. It doesn't really hurt as much anymore. I still get to see my girls, which is more than I could ever ask for."  I swallowed hard. I had forgotten about Sunday and Faith. I couldn't imagine what he was feeling. Two daughters, and a divorce. I wanted nothing more than to make him feel okay. "Sunday and Faith, they are so cute. I'm glad you still get to see them. It must be so hard.." I said empathetically. 

Keith shrugged, "It can be, but believe it or not, I'm really happy. I have a great life, and I have never been happier than I am right now". 

Him saying that made my heart happy. "I'm really glad, Keith. You deserve to be happy, and so do your girls". 

"Thanks, Lacey. We are happy, and seeing Nicole isn't as awkward as it used to be, so that's always a good start" he chuckled. 

I giggled and took a sip of my drink. "That's a very good start." 

Keith nodded and looked over at me. "What about you?" 

I looked over at him pointing at myself. "Me?" I asked. I swallowed hard. There were so many walls I had, and i wasn't ready to tear them down. "I'm really not that interesting. The most interesting thing about me is that I own a Chevy truck. Other than that, my life is boring." 

Keith chuckled. "I'm sure you're interesting. Owning a Chevy is pretty fantastic." 

"Sure... " I mumbled. 

Keith sighed and looked over at me. "I don't know aboout you, Lacey, but I think you're really cool, and special. You underestimate yourself, and I hate seeing you do that. I really like you, Lacey. Like I said, you intrigue me. Don't underestimate yourself, okay? You are special. Believe that." 

I was shocked. I didn't know what to say or how to respond. He was everything I thought he would be. He had said things to me that no one has ever said to me before. It was as if he cared, which was something I had to process. Shutting him out at this point was out of the question. All I could do was sit there in silence, turning my head away from him. His heart was open, but I was so scared that mine wasn't.