Page 40 of Trick or Treat Nurse at My Feet
"The frat house?" I clarify, a flutter of nervousness returning.
"Yeah. We don't have to stay. Unless you want to, there's a movie night happening, but we could also go somewhere else."
"No, that's fine," I say, surprising myself with how much I mean it.
We are cutting across the east side of campus, deep in conversation about our shared addiction to baking shows, when a familiar voice interrupts us.
"Ethan."
Shit. Shit shit shit.
Turning, I see Ryan, hovering like a dire prognosis, hands jammed into his precious letterman jacket, looking like he's been waiting long enough to be pissed off.
"Ryan," I fight to keep my voice steady. "What are you doing here?"
"I've been trying to reach you," he says, his eyes darting to Tyler, then back to me. "You haven't answered my texts."
"I've been busy."
Ryan takes a step closer. "We need to talk."
"No, we don't," I'm surprised by thefirmness in my voice.
Ryan finally acknowledges Tyler with a dismissive glance. "Is this why you've been ignoring me? You moved on to a new model?"
Tyler tenses beside me, but I’m impressed when he remains silent, allowing me to handle this myself.
"This has nothing to do with Tyler," My voice holds steady. "I'm no longer interested in being your secret boy toy. I'm not interested in being anything to you anymore."
Ryan's face hardens. "So that's it? Eight months, and you're just done because I wanted some privacy?"
"Privacy is closing your bathroom door," The steel in my voice surprises me. "What you wanted was for me to be invisible."
Tyler's hand finds mine, fingers intertwining in silent support. Ryan's eyes track the movement, his expression souring.
"Seriously? A frat boy?" Ryan scoffs. "You think he's actually into you? Guys like him don't date guys like you, Ethan. This is just his experimental phase."
Before I can respond, Tyler speaks, his voice calm but firm. "You don't know anything about me or what I want. But disrespecting Ethan isn't going to make him come back to you."
Ryan's jaw clenches. "Whatever. Have fun being his college experiment." He turns to leave but can't resist one parting shot. "Call me when he dumps you to date some sorority girl."
We watch him stalk away, and I realize I'm still holding Tyler's hand in a death grip. I loosen my fingers. "Sorry about that."
"You have nothing to apologize for," Tyler says, studying my face. "Are you okay?"
"Surprisingly, yes." And I am. Seeing Ryan hasproduced none of the longing or confusion I'd feared. "That was... easier than I expected."
"You handled him well." Tyler squeezes my hand gently. "Want to skip the frat house? We can go somewhere else."
"No," I decide. "I still want to go. If you do."
The corners of his mouth curve upward. "I do."
We continue our walk, and the tension from the run-in with Ryan gradually goes away as Tyler tells a ridiculous story about his Environmental Ethics professor's obsession with compost. I'm laughing again when we approach the DPO house.
"Tyler?"
We both turn towards the female voice. A tall young woman with perfectly highlighted blonde hair stands on the front lawn, her expression a mix of surprise and something more challenging to read. She wears expensive-looking jeans and a camel-colored coat that probably costs more than my monthly rent.
