HELP PLZ...my feelings on parents, finding out i have a bf Options

[highfashion]

just recently my friend Bruce asked me out. since i wasn't sure of my feelings toward him, i asked him if i could have time to think about it. he said okay. over the past few days i thought about our friendship. i've liked him on and off and on and off so many times that i was confused, but now i realized that i really do like him and we could really have a good relationship as bf and gf. so i would tell him yes BUT i have a problem. one word: PARENTS

its not that they dont allow me to date. they have no problem about me dating. it's me with the problem. i dont want them to find out that i have a bf. this might sound corny but, the reason i dont want them to find out is because i dont want my parents to be sad that they're letting me go. u know how dads say "oh ur daddy's little girl..."? well i dont want to lose that. if i have a bf, i wont be that "my little girl" image to my dad. i know, i know, im 17 and im not a little girl anymore, but my relationship with my parents is different (in a good way).

plus, they know that if i have a bf, then that means i hug, which leads to kissing, which leads to "total make-out", which leads to (waaaay later on) sex. i know they wont see me as innocent anymore. i dont want to lose that with them.

so my two questions are...
1. should i tell Bruce no because of my parents?
2. can u give me advice on my parent problems? (how to solve it, is it normal?, etc.)

[*mipadi*]

You'll always be your parents' children. You might still want to be their little girl, and I'm sure on some level they want that too, but they also want you to grow up and experience the world. Every parent enjoys seeing their children grow up, even if it is bittersweet. I'm sure they'd rather see you mature than see you stay their little girl. You can't be little forever, but no matter what, you'll still always be their little girl.