Gem City

Chapter 3-2

Surprisingly, he held his position. “No way. One, I think girl hobbits are sexy, personally. I mean, what"s not to like? Short, cute, and they are probably awesome cooks too with all of those breakfasts and second dinners. Pixies and fairies are dainty. I get the feeling that you"re way too kick-ass for that. Look at your arms, woman. I think you could probably take me in a fight. So yeah, hobbit it is. Or maybe I could call you like, "bear claw". Because, you know, roar, or girl power, or something. I don"t know, now you"re glaring at me and it"s making me nervous,” he finished, laughing.

Courtney paused to decide if she was offended or not. The word “sexy” threw her off. She replied, “I can assure you that you will not be calling me a bear claw. That makes me sound like a doughnut. But I think on your way to digging a hole, you sort of complimented me, so I"ll let it slide. Watch yourself, though, because I probably could take you in a fight.” She was flirting with him. Like actual flirting. She had no idea if it was the alcohol or what had gotten into her, but she was enjoying whomever this person was who had taken over her brain.

flirtingSoon he handed her a plate of pizza rolls and cookies as planned, though she was no longer hungry. He sat down on a barstool, and she hopped up to sit on the counter. She couldn"t take her eyes off him, or forget how it felt when he touched her. They chatted easily about school, and about Luke and Vanessa, and about his band. Ethan was the lead guitarist and singer for a band called Tin Roof.

“Well, I wanna hear you play. You brought your guitar tonight, right?” Courtney asked him.

“I did,” he answered confidently. “I"m sure once they have the bonfire going out back I"ll get around to playing some acoustic stuff. You have any requests?”

“Ummm, well, that"s a difficult question.”

“Why, what kind of music do you like?”

“Would you prefer the list by genre or decade?”

“Okay, I"ll bite. Let"s go by decade.” The way his eyebrows moved together made him actually seem interested. There was a distinct possibility she was about to forget the name of every band she"d ever listened to.

“Well, my dad is all about the 70s, so even though it"s not my favorite decade, I"ve gotta have love for, like, Eric Clapton, Queen, The Eagles, The Doobie Brothers, some Fleetwood Mac, and a little Skynyrd. I"m not a huge Beatles fan, though.” She looked up to see if he was following.

“I"m listening.” A surprised expression crossed his face.

“You asked for it. My mom is an 80s super-freak, so from that I have an attachment to really any hair band ballads, The Bangles, old school Whitney and Mariah, pretty much anything early Jackson- Michael or Janet, Wilson and Phillips, some Duran Duran, and well, Salt-N-Pepa, because who doesn"t love "Shoop"?” she insisted.

“Who indeed,” Ethan agreed, his eyes sparkling. “I think I can rock a hair band ballad or two. But first, I gotta hear your list for the 90s.” He said it almost as a challenge, but she was ready.

“Ok, I confess that I"m sort of a 90s junkie. Well, and into the early 2000s, I guess. In what other decade could you listen to The Fresh Prince and Jazzy Jeff, Nirvana, Blink 182, Oasis, and The Spice Girls and still be current? The 90s are like my musical holy-land. I know that sounds lame, but I"ll try to narrow it down for you. So, you"ve got Radiohead, Everclear, Sublime, Matchbox Twenty, The Wallflowers, Train- for sure- Fiona Apple, Bush, and by proxy No Doubt, Third Eye Blind, Counting Crows, John Mayer, and then also some more John Mayer, because well, I love him… I could really go on for a while.”

“You"re a fan of that "Wonderland" song of his then? That"s definitely a fun track,” he grinned. She ran her tongue over the backs of her teeth, knowing exactly what he was doing. She had to take a breath, not used to anyone hitting on her quite that overtly. Or really at all. Certain her face was betraying her with an unmistakable shade of red across her cheeks, she resolved to move on without letting him know his effect. “It"s a good song,” was all she gave him back. “I also loved Britney"s first album; it was beautiful bubblegum pop. Destiny"s Child, without a doubt. I love me some Hanson, 98 Degrees, The Backstreet Boys, really, any member of the boy band phenomenon. However, you will also find on my perfect playlist a little Limp Bizkit, Chili Peppers, Something Corporate, Taking Back Sunday, and the Phunk Junkeez.” She finally stopped, now all too aware that her buzz had made her let out even more words than usual, and she hadn"t even been watching his expressions to see if she should shut up. Well… just be prepared for him to suddenly have somewhere else to be. She swallowed and waited.

Well… just be prepared for him to suddenly have somewhere else to be.“Ok, so you"re a fan of the 90s, then,” he laughed. “I gotta say there were a couple in there that I"d forgotten about. And some I wish I had. I"m not a big fan of the emo-pop-punk invasion. Mediocre vocals and not enough bass, but maybe that"s just me.”

“Aww, but you"d make such a cute emo boy with your long hair,” she teased him, ruffling his mane. He playfully swatted her away and restored it back to its previous state. “And I get that, but I have to appreciate the genre for all those hot boys putting their feelings out there.” He was still hanging around, and that was enough to allow herself one deep breath.

“Fair enough,” he let up, shaking his head. “I see myself as casting a pretty wide musical net too, but you may give me a run for my money. I do feel like you left out a few. I mean, we"re talking Pearl Jam, Smashing Pumpkins, Stone Temple Pilots, old school Green Day, the Gin Blossoms-”

“Yes! The Gin Blossoms, absolutely.”

“And, I know it may be uncool to say, but John Mayer"s Continuum album was pretty sweet, I"ll give you that.”

“Well, your secret"s safe with me, but yeah, the guitar on that album was freaking awesome.”

Ethan c****d his head at her.

“What?” she asked.

“I just am having a really hard time believing that I"m having this conversation with a miniature cheerleader from Phoenix, that"s all. Do I even want to ask you about more recent stuff?”

She narrowed her eyes at him because of the “miniature” comment. “Ay, well, it changes almost daily, but right now I"m very into anything Mumford and Sons puts out, The Avett Brothers, Ed Sheeran. I"m always down for a little Top 40 just to stay current,” she continued. “Also, because I"m a cheerleader, in a perfectly normal size, I might add, it"s mandated that I love Taylor Swift. And I do. Like, I love her. I think she"s a goddess who walks among us.”

Ethan cracked a smile as well. “You have very, ah, unique taste.”

“Is that your way of telling me I"m weird and judging my musical selections while trying to sound nice?”

“Not at all. I will say that I didn"t expect such a variety upon my first impression of you- I was kind of thinking you would spout off a list of American Idol winners, but I am pleasantly surprised to be wrong,” he admitted.

“Amateur,” she teased him, swinging her legs slightly as she sat on the counter. She was getting a kick out of talking to him about music. There weren"t many people who shared her interest in the older stuff she"d named.

“Well, I suppose I deserve that. So is that it, then?” he asked.

“Well, that and country,” she explained, feeling nervous that he would be internally criticizing her confession. Ethan raised one eyebrow. “Don"t judge me! It takes me back to my small town roots. Girls in cut-off jeans and dirt roads and all that,” she said as she gestured to her own ensemble.

“Well, I can"t say I hate the cut-off jeans. I"ll see what I can do to fulfill at least one of those requests,” he answered with a telling smile. She was learning that this look made her forget to breathe normally. “Come on then, new girl, let"s go see if you approve of my musical talents. I can"t disappoint the bear claw.” He stood up and held out his hand for her. She grabbed it and hopped off of the counter, feeling flustered again at his skin on her skin.

She regained her self-control enough to form words. “Sounds good, however, I technically lived in this town before you did, so if anything, you"re the new boy.” She looked down briefly to smooth her skirt.

Ethan quickly pulled her toward him, making her suck in a breath, and his hands were suddenly very low on her back. She looked up to find him smiling, eyebrows raised. “Um, the new boy?” he questioned.

boy?His face with that jawline, and that hair, and those lips, was just so close that Courtney had a difficult time even remembering the English language. “Um, well, figure of speech and all that,” she stammered back.

“Well.” He smiled as he pulled her even closer. Her hands landed on his biceps and she risked a glance up at him. He bent down even further to say slowly in her ear, “I prefer to think of myself as more of a man than a boy, you know?” She could smell his soap, his spearmint gum, and a hint of cologne. Oxygen was overrated anyway. Who needed to breathe? All she could think about were Ethan"s lips finding hers.

“I think I could get on board with that train of thought.” Her hands found their way up his arms to the back of his neck, and her fingers tangled in with his hair. His hair is so much shinier than mine. I wonder what kind of product he uses. This is not important right now, Courtney.

His hair is so much shinier than mine. I wonder what kind of product he uses. This is not important right now, Courtney.“Good,” he said as his nose grazed hers. She closed her eyes, her entire body tingling with anticipation. Her toes pointed as she leaned in to meet him.

“Dude, Ethan! Where the hell have youuuuu-oops!” Luke nearly shouted when he got to the top of the stairs and walked right into their moment, breaking the spell. Ethan stepped back, but wove his fingers together with Courtney"s as if to acknowledge their closeness from only seconds ago.

“Luke! Do you have, like, special spidey-senses for when the worst possible time is to do something?” Ethan asked with a hint of real frustration. Luke looked sheepish but recovered quickly.

“Why yes, yes, I do. I was bitten by a radioactive clock when I was younger, and now I bear the curse of bad timing. I"m very self-conscious about it, so maybe you just don"t bring it up in front of my new friend here. Thankfully I don"t have to mess with the webs like that Peter Parker dude.” It was clear from his laughter he was very proud of his joke. Courtney and Ethan couldn"t help but laugh along with their eye-rolls. “Now come on, the party-goers are getting restless down there. They want some rock star action, man. Vanessa is already getting the bonfire started, so grab your guitar.”