ethan & emma: talking with you.

An Interesting Dinner with the Dolans

A/N: Sorry for the weird spacing in this chapter. It's not purposeful, but I've had so many technical difficulties trying to get it up that I've caved and accepted this as my fate. Enjoy anyway~

Emma walked downstairs again, shoulders squared, like she was marching into battle. Bryant was rummaging around in her fridge, while Ethan was scrolling through Instagram on his phone. She could see his screen from the stairs.

"Oh, Emma. Grayson said he's out of ranch, is it cool if we just bring yours over?" Bryant asked, emerging from behind the fridge door. 

"Yeah, it's fine. What's he making?" 

"I have no clue, he just asked if we could pick up ranch on the way."

Emma paused in her step, surprised. "Oh, are we going now?"

"Well, I'm starving," Ethan perked up from the sofa chair next to the couch, "so I thought it wouldn't hurt to head over." 

It was the first time he really looked at her since they'd kissed. Emma felt herself start to blush again. After a beat of silence that went on for a little too long, Emma said, "When aren't you hungry?" 

Ethan raised his eyebrows. "I don't know. Running around in the rain... all that, it's exhausting." 

Not the response she'd expected. There was an energy running through her, a kind of nervous anticipation she might've felt before something like an interview. "Right. Yeah. Getting Dorian. Clearing away pictures. Really tiring." Emma managed to keep her lips in a straight line despite the overwhelming urge to start grinning like a crazy person. 

"Dorian?" Bryant asked from the kitchen. 

"That's what we decided to name the plant I bought." 

"What I decided to name him. I suggested it," Ethan clarified. 

"How could I forget to mention that?" Emma said, shaking her head. "I'm so fucking stupid." 

"No need to thank me or anything." Ethan shrugged. "It's fine." 

"Thank you so much, Ethan. Really. I've never been so grateful." 

"It's not a problem." His tone was casual. "You'll just owe me one." 

"I feel like you say that a lot," Emma said. "How much do I owe you, exactly?" 

"We can sit down and calculate it out if you want. I'm not the best at math," Ethan said. 

Emma crossed her arms. "We'll have to do that so I can start paying you back." 

"True. I'll factor it into my schedule. We'll have to pick a date." 

A date. Emma kept her expression neutral. "Wow, you'll have to factor it into your schedule. You sound pretty busy."

Ethan nodded. "I'm a busy guy." 

Bryant cleared his throat. "Uh... so should we head out?" 

Emma started, before leaning away from the stairs and pocketing her phone, grabbing one of the extra jackets next to her door to take with her. "Yeah, let's go. Don't want to take up too much of Ethan's time, since he's so busy, and all." 

"Thanks, I appreciate that," Ethan said, inclining his head and rising from his chair.

"Whose car are we taking?" Bryant asked, then cracked a smile. "I just realized that we all drove here. That wasn't the smartest thing to do. Maybe we should each just take our own cars."