Page 12 of Trick or Treat Nurse at My Feet
“Honestly, there was this one time when I almost talked to him last month just after Cher and I broke up,” I say, rubbing the back of my neck in embarrassment. “I got tongue-tied, and he just smiled and walked past me before I could introduce myself.”
Gavin raises an eyebrow, a teasing grin forming. “Aww, look at you getting all flustered!”
“Shut up,” I laugh, shaking my head. “But seriously, he’s so damn cute that I can’t help but check him out when he walks across campus. Sometimes I feel like a creep, just staring at him.”
“Hey, you’re in college! Everyone looks at people, it’s not weird!” Gavin reassures me with a playful nudge. “You’re just a guy appreciating another guy!”
“Yeah, okay, that makes me feel a little better,” I admit, feeling more confident. “I just need to stop overthinking it and actually say hi next time.”
Glancing over at the student center, I spot him again.Ethan, a name I'd finally learned last week. My stomach does that weird flip thing it always does when I think about him.
Maybe tonight's the night. Everyone will be out on campus; it's Halloween, and there's the carnival, too. Perfect timing, really. The whole place will be busy with people in costumes, music playing, and games set up everywhere. I could try "accidentally" running into him again, but I can actually talk to him this time.
When did I turn into such a nervous wreck over anyone? The Vice President of Delta Psi Omega shouldn't be this anxious about talking to someone. Hell, half my job is being the frat's professional people person. I'm the guy who charms potential donors at alumni events, convinces hesitant freshmen that our fraternity is worth joining, and can work a room of strangers like it's second nature.
Last month, when our President, Drew, got food poisoning, I gave an impromptu speech to the dean and thirty facility members. I didn't even break a sweat. But something about those green eyes makes my usual confidence evaporate like it was never there. It's like all my carefully honed skills short-circuit when he looks my way.
If the brothers could see me now, tongue-tied over a male nursing student, they wouldn't believe it. Tyler Landis speechless? Impossible. Yet here we are.
After I get everything off my chest, Gavin and I walk back to the fraternity house together, feeling better for the first time since I decided I wanted to ask out a guy. We get back just in time for the meeting to go over everything for tonight.
Inside, the brothers are hanging out in the common area, waiting for Drew, the frat president, to get there tohand out tonight's jobs. The place is pretty hyped up; everyone is getting ready for a Halloween night out.
Some guys laugh at how green the pledges' faces are from a chugging contest earlier today. They mixed all kinds of leftovers from the fridge, and the new guys were all drinking whatever was in their cups.
"You idiots are lucky you did this before the party," I say with a grin, shaking my head. "Otherwise, someone might've died. And as VP, I'd be the one filling out all the paperwork explaining how we poisoned half the pledges with whatever ungodly concoction you made."
The guys laugh, and one of them pipes up, "As long as we have a bucket for whoever can't handle it!"
"Yeah, and a mop for whoever misses the bucket," I add, watching as a couple of pledges still look like they might need that bucket sooner rather than later. Being VP sometimes feels like being the responsible older brother to thirty overgrown children, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. Even with all the dumb shit we pull, these guys are family.
Drew walks in, and everyone shuts up. He's a great guy and has been a fantastic president so far this year, getting respect without having to demand it. The room shifts as he enters, backs straighten, and voices lower. It's not fear exactly, more like the natural gravity a true leader has.
I've known him since my freshman year when he was in charge of us pledges, and even then, I could tell he'd end up running the house someday. We've bumped heads a few times about frat stuff, but that's why we make a good team - he listens to what I think, even when we don't see eye to eye.
The meeting gets going as we discuss plans for the scare house and the party after. The pledges are stuck with all the grunt work for both. Every house on campus is expected toparticipate in school events, and Delta Psi Omega has a rep to protect. We've run the scare house for the last six years, and every year, we do a scare-fuckin-fantastic job.
Everyone wants to volunteer to be inside the tent we have set up. Making people scream is the best job of the night, and it's also a chance to check out everyone's costumes.
“Gentlemen,” Drew says, “remember, I want to hear screams all the way to the other side of the field!"
Gavin and I exchange glances, chuckling as we wait to hear for sure where we will be tonight. Since we're the biggest guys in the frat, I assume Drew will have us inside the tent again this year.
"With our size, we're a scare machine!" Gavin jokes, nudging me playfully. "Just wait until I drop those fake spiders. Always makes someone run away!"
"I'm excited to jump out from the shadows; it's the best way to see their faces when they scream!" I say, grinning. Last year, I made a freshman girl cry, which I felt bad about for like two seconds before her boyfriend nearly pissed himself too. Worth it.
Gavin and I fist bump, sharing a laugh. At six-four, he's got a few inches on me, but together, we're pretty scary to look at in the dark. Perfect for the haunted tent. Drew knows exactly what he's doing, putting his two biggest brothers on scare duty. We've perfected our technique over the years. Gavin distracts them with something obvious while I come out of nowhere for the real scare.
As everyone heads up to get ready for tonight, Drew reminds us to "look scary but approachable" for the campus event. Scary but approachable; that's exactly how I felt the last time I almost spoke to Ethan.
Standing by the student center, my heart racing, Iwatched Ethan talk with some other nursing students. He was laughing;he has the best laugh, a perfect sound that makes me want to hear it again and again.
When he left the group, I walked up to him, but he didn't see me and walked right into me. It was a perfect chance to meet him, and I chickened out. All I managed was a quick "Oh, sorry" before fleeing, my face burning.
Man, my face is getting all hot just thinking about it. Three weeks of working up courage, and that's what I came up with? "Oh, sorry." Real smooth, Tyler. Real leader material right there. I rehearsed actual sentences and everything, but the moment those big green eyes looked up at me, my brain just... emptied.
Hopefully, tonight will finally be the night to talk to Ethan. Like, actually speak to him, complete sentences and everything. I've been psyching myself up for my chance. I've even practiced what to say in the mirror like some middle schooler with a crush.
