Page 30 of Trick or Treat Nurse at My Feet
"FratMatch: Where the men literally sweep you off your feet," I suggest.
"Patent pending," Tyler adds with a wink.
Fifteen minutes until Sylas comes looking for me.The thought feels distant, unimportant.Fifteen minutes until reality crashes back in.
"You know, I've never been carried away before," I say, aiming for casual, but my voice comes out breathless. "Like, literally carried away."
Tyler rakes a hand through his hair, messing up the carefully styled chaos he'd cultivated for his costume. "Yeah, well... I've never kidnapped a nursing student before, so I guess we're both having firsts tonight."
There's a moment of weighted silence, the kind that feels electric with possibility. I'm acutely aware of the desk edge pressing into my butt and how Tyler's eyes are locked on mine, of the absurdity of ending up here, in the second-floor bedroom of a frat house with a guy who just lifted me like I weigh nothing, after getting ditched by my closeted ex.
"Is this your move? Do you always rescue strangers on Halloween?" I finally ask, aiming for humour because it feels safer than acknowledging the tension between us.
Tyler's smile is slow and deliberate. "Only the sparkly ones."
How he looks at me makes my skin tingle, like standing too close to a live wire. He takes a half step closer, close enough that I can feel the heat radiating from his body.
"You know," My voice goes low and soft without my planning it, "I should probably take off some of this glitter before it gets all over your room."
His eyes darken slightly. "I wouldn't mind."
"No?" I ask, the word barely audible.
Tyler shakes his head, brushing his thumb across my cheekbone. It comes away shimmering. "I like a little sparkle."
The air between us feels electric; I think something is about to happen. One of us needs to make a move, or we'll just end up staring at each other like idiots for the next fifteen minutes.
"I've been thinking about doing this since I first saw you in those nurse scrubs," he murmurs, his eyes focused on my lips. His lips press gently against mine, and my breath stutters.
Pulling back slightly. "With 'NURSE HOTTIE' written across my back? Not my most professional moment."
"No, the first time I saw you in scrubs was in the quad, and you looked perfect," Tyler grins, his hands finding my waist. "And now Nurse Hottie seems pretty accurate from where I'm standing."
The next kiss is tentative, Tyler leaning in carefully as if asking permission. But when I respond, sliding a hand to the back of his neck, the second kiss deepens. He makes a slight, surprised sound in the back of his throat that sends electricity down my spine.
After a particularly long kiss that leaves us both breathing hard, Tyler rests his forehead against mine. "Wow. So that's what I've been missing."
"What? Kissing?" I tease, though my voice is shakier than I'd like.
"No. Kissing someone I'm this into."
I'm not trying to stop the smile that spreads across my face, even as warning bells sound distantly in my head.
This is happening too fast. I barely know him, and I'm already melting. What if tomorrow he acts like tonight never happened? What if this is just a Halloween hookup, a sparkly distraction he won't remember in the morning?
We migrate to Tyler's bed, sitting side by side, exchanging kisses that grow more confident with each passing minute. Tyler's hand finds mine, our fingers intertwining on top of the comforter.
"Your brothers are going to give you so much crap about this," I say during a brief pause.
Tyler leans in, placing a kiss at the corner of my mouth. "Worth it. So worth it."
His lips travel to my jaw, then he hesitates. "Is this okay? Tell me if I'm?—"
"You're doing fine. More than fine," I assure him, tilting my head to give him better access.
"I have excellent muscle memory," he flexes jokingly, making me laugh.
"And such modesty too," My eyes roll hard, but I don't try to hide my smile.
