Tis the Damn Season | Ethma

7

Emma

I got accepted into that program at NYU. Ethan was the first to know.

I mean, he was sitting right next to me when I found out. And I think he was more excited about it than I was.

We had a long talk about it, and decided that I was going to move in with him. I mean, we talked to Grayson about it too, and he was happy for us. He didn't have a single hesitation about the whole idea.

The three of us even went to dinner to celebrate that night. I was so happy, and Ethan and I were finally back on track.

Summer came to a close too soon, and before I knew it, Ethan, Grayson and I were carpooling to the city everyday.

Ethan and Grayson had internships on the same block as each other, so they just dropped me off at campus each morning, and picked me up at 4:30 when my last class was over.

I usually got most of my homework done in between classes, and always had everything finished by dinner time.

(Unless it was a six page essay, but I never let it take too much free time away).

I really enjoyed the program I was in at school, and I knew that Ethan was happy I was living with him.

We got to spend so much more time together, and it was just like senior year of high school again. Except this time he was treating it as a 'for evermore' instead of a 'for now'. That terrified me simply for the fact that we're still only 19.

Did I really want the rest of my life to be planned out? I mean, of course I love Ethan to pieces, and I want to be with him, but it might be hard if we have to adapt to each other's lives.

Will he want to travel with me if I go somewhere else? If I leave the East Coast again?

God, I felt conflicted about it.

And then Ethan noticed.

"What's wrong?" he said one day, when we were watching tv in our room.

"Hmm? Oh. Nothing."

"Emma," he said. "Tell me what your thinking about."

"Us," I said. "How our future's gonna be."

"Okay," he said. "How are you feeling?"

"I love you so much, Ethan. But I'm scared. What if we want different things?"

"What do you mean?"

"What if maybe in the future I wanted to travel. Live somewhere that's not on this side of the country, or maybe even in America? What if it comes to that and you don't wanna come with me?"

"Emma," he said. "If you ever leave here again, I'm coming with you. You're my girl. I'm not gonna let that change too easily. I love you too much for that."

Resting my hand on his face, I pressed a long kiss to his lips. "You're so good to me," I whispered.

Ethan kissed me again, before brushing a piece of my hair away from my forehead. "I love you," he said. "So much."

"I love you too, Ethan," I said. "I have since we met."

He smiled. "You are so cute."

I smiled back. "Wanna kiss me again?"

"Gladly," he said, finally kissing me. "Don't worry, Emma. I'm here with you to stay," he said, linking his pinky with mine and kissing my hand.

I smiled at him. "We should go out tonight," I said. "Get shakes and drive around like we used to in high school."

"Oooh I like that idea," he said.

So, we did go out. We got shakes from Milky Way's, and we drove around town like old times. 

"You know, I used to love taking you to get shakes when we were in high school, but I love it even more now that you get to just come home with me after."

I smiled. "I know," I said. "I love living with you."

"It sure beats you being three hours behind and in Arizona."

I giggled. "Ugh. You're so right. I never should've went so far away."

"Hey, you're here now, and that's what matters most to me."

"Wanna trade shakes?" I asked.

Ethan laughed. "You little stinker. No matter what flavors we both get, you always wanna trade."

"That's my game, Edwin," I said, bringing back my old nickname for him. "I gotta try them all."

He laughed again. "Mildred, you already tried this flavor."

I traded him my milkshake, and then sipped on the one he gave me. "Eh. I just like this flavor."

We drove around for a while, enjoying the autumn air as we listened to music. It was still warm enough to have the windows down, and his hand was warm on my thigh. 

We ordered pizza when we got home, and then watched reruns of The Office. It's a pretty funny show, and it was fun to watch it with Ethan and Grayson. I was really enjoying living with them. Of course sometimes I'd have to resolve their arguments, but otherwise we usually just had a lot of fun. 

The three of us would have game nights, we'd binge-watch all of the same series' together, and we'd simply hang out. I felt like this was a glimpse into mine and Ethan's future. 

Maybe the two of us will eventually get our own place (provided that Grayson could stay with us whenever Ethan wanted him to), and maybe Ethan and I would host game nights like this. Have little parties with our friends. 

I mean, we did invite a few of our high school friends over a couple of times. It was a blast.

I was really starting to picture what our life together as adults was turning into; what our future was building itself up to be. 

Sure, it was a little nerve-wracking, but it wasn't scary anymore. Ethan and I shared a lot of similar goals. We wanted the same type of future together. 

All of the unknowns that came with our lives started to become things we handled together. I wasn't scared anymore.

I was ready to see what the next chapter of us would bring.