Guys My Age ➙ Ethan Dolan

chapter two

     The next night, Ethan sat at the bar, the girl sitting two chairs down from him. Tonight, she had some sort of blue drink. Ethan had arrived after her, and hadn't heard what she ordered.

     Ethan on the other hand, had his usual. Rye and coke, with two ice cubes. He always asked for two ice cubes, and would normally eat one of them, when his drink was half gone.

     Once again, glances were exchanged. But no words were said. The girl looked sympathetic towards Ethan, and he always assumed the worst about what she could possibly be thinking. Something along the lines of 'what is this old man doing here?'

     Ethan wasn't that old though. He was only twenty nine, but he always looked exhausted. His dark circles aged him by a few years, and he had faint frown lines around his chapped lips.

     Ethan did the same thing every day. He'd wake up, go to work, then come to the bar. He normally worked late every night, but he always made sure to have at least one drink before heading home, long before the bar was even supposed to close.

     Tonight though, the bar was nearly empty, and the tenders were starting to clean up. They were washing all the glasses, and putting away all the bottles of alcohol. The girl hadn't moved all night, and she had been given at least two drinks. One less than Ethan.

     Ethan had left just before the employees could kick him out. He walked into the darkness that had fallen over the city, and walked a few metres to get to his shiny black motorcycle. Ethan pulled on his jacket, and put on his helmet. Just as he went to buckle up his helmet, he heard the clicking of high heels behind him, then someone was talking to him.

     "Nice ride you got there." He heard the familiar accent of the girl, and turned around.

     "Yeah, it gets me where I gotta go." He replied, and finished doing up his helmet.

     "Are you sure you can drive?" She asked. Ethan sighed, before smiling slightly.

     "I don't live that far."

     "Me either. Maybe you could walk with me?"

     Ethan chuckled lightly. "Alright." He replied, and took his helmet off. He locked it up in the small trunk of his motorcycle, and shoved the key into the pocket of his jeans.

     "So, you come here a lot." The girl pointed out as the two started to walk.

     "So do you."

     "We've all got our issues, don't we?" The girl asked. "The drinks help me by temporarily forget about my problems."

     "What problems?" Ethan asked, scoffing lightly.

     "How about we start with names first. I'm not much of an open book, Mister Biker."

     "My name's Ethan." He replied.

     "Ethan?" The girl repeated, glancing up at the man beside her. He nodded, not looking down at her.

     "I like it." She mumbled, then cleared her throat. "Mine is Nina."

     "How old are you, Nina?"

     "Twenty one, and you?"

     Ethan gulped. "T-twenty nine." He replied nervously.

     "That's okay." Nina said softly, gently touching Ethan's arm. He glanced down, before looking up at the girl. Her brows were slightly furrowed, and she had a small frown on her face. Ethan looked away, and gently moved his arm away.

     "This is my place." Ethan said, pointing at the large apartment building they were about to walk past.

     "Alright. Will I see you tomorrow night?" Nina asked.

     Ethan nodded. "Probably." He replied.

     "Alright, bye Ethan."

     "See ya."