Touchdown | E.D. + E.C.

8: "Alright Bob Morley, Put Your Blunt Away"

"Oh... wow.. um, your hair looks- wow," Ethan stuttered as I closed the passenger side door. 

I grinned, his faltering about my new hair made me feel slightly better about my awful decision. I honestly don't know what had possessed me to run to Walmart at 11 p.m. and grab a box of hair dye. Maybe the fact that I had sat in my bed after texting Ethan, thinking about this sudden arrival of affection in my life, albeit a fake affection. I hadn't even attempted to dive back into the dating scene after Healani left, Olivia's attempts to set me up always ended with the boys disappointed when I refused to even show up. 

This new hair color signaled a new beginning, and although people only noticed the difference on the outside, I felt refreshed on the inside. 

"Earth to Ethan!" I snapped my fingers in front of Ethan's face after a few awkward seconds of him staring at me. 

"Yeah... yeah sorry," he scrubbed a hand down his face," your hair looks very... nice." 

The look of hunger in his eyes made me feel as if he wanted to say more and I looked towards my feet in hopes he wouldn't see how much his gaze made me blush. 

I noticed a black cord dangling from the dash and reached out to plug it into my phone. I scrolled through my playlist until I reached a worthy song. Selecting it, 12:51 by one of my favorite bands blared through Ethan's speakers and he gave me a skeptical look.

"Come on man," I quipped in my best possible Bob Marley impersonation, "just feel the music!"

Ethan's shoulders shook as he laughed at my awful attempt at humor, "you're an actual child."

"Yah man, I'm twelve years old," I continued in my accent, "I'm just going with the flow." I rolled my hands in a wave-like motion. I found myself laughing along with Ethan's contagious laugh and realized I could add him to my very short list of people who could make me truly laugh. 

"Alright Bob Morley, put your blunt away."

"Come on, I know it's a little more alternative but I find that these songs are the ones to really make you feel emotions. Sure, they're not quite as catchy as the top of the charts hits, which I find ridiculously annoying with all the auto tune. And simply the fact that the singers actually sound real instead of  comput-"

Ethan cranked the song up to max volume to the point that I had to cover my ears in fear of the eardrums exploding. I turned the dial until the song continued on at a more comfortable listening volume.

"Hey, I wasn't done talking mister!"

"I know, I was just trying to enjoy the song. Kinda hard to do with your blabbermouth talking over it. Hey, that's not a bad nickname!"

I smacked Ethan's arm, "If I hear that come out of your mouth in reference to me, I swear I'll fucking cut off your balls with a rusty kitchen knife."

"Yah know, I'm starting to decide whether or not if I need this deal if it's gonna cost me my balls. Those things are precious you know."

"Oh trust me, I could tell by the way the girls at our school practically fall down at your feet begging you to have their children. It's probably because they're so ugly underneath all that makeup they need something to make their children look decent."

Ethan used his thumb and forefinger to grab my chin from across the console. He pulled me halfway so that he could closely examine my face, his eyes radiating heat onto my face. A flash of his teeth showed as he released and focused fully back on the road.

"Guess I won't need to worry about you throwing yourself at me then." 

The rest of the drive was spent in a comfortable silence as I scrolled through my phone, sending off various DM's to the account of athletes I hoped to interview in the future. I couldn't help but notice Ethan softly tapping his fingers against the wheel in time to the beat of my music.