Page 42 of Trick or Treat Nurse at My Feet
"But she said?—"
"She's pissed that I chose you over her. She can call it whatever she wants." The conviction in Tyler's voice is reassuring. "What we have isn't some phase or trial run. It's real, and it's ours, and her opinion doesn't change that."
Some of the tension leaves my shoulders, the knot in my chest loosening. "Thanks. I just... sometimes it feels like everyone's waiting to see if this is actually going to stick, you know?"
"I'm really sorry." Tyler's voice drops, and he shifts closer like he wants to shield me from any more hurt.
"Don't be. You handled that well." I squeeze his hand. "And for what it's worth, your mom's charity night with her sounds much worse than Ryan's mask-wearing fiasco."
Tyler bursts out laughing, the tension breaking. "God, we're quite the pair, aren't we?"
"Apparently." I smile up at him. "So, about those notes you needed..."
"Actually, I lied. There are no notes." Tyler looks slightly sheepish. "I just wanted to spend more time with you and thought maybe you'd watch a movie or something."
"You could have just asked."
"Next time, I will." Tyler's expression turns serious. "If there is a next time. After the parade of exes, I wouldn't blame you for running."
The smart choice screams at me from every neuron: slow down, create distance, evaluate the situation clinically. Both our lives are messy disasters waiting to collide. But as I look at Tyler, with his honest eyes and the nervous way he is waiting for my answer, sensible feels overrated.
"I'm not running," I say. "But I am reconsidering that movie."
"Oh." His disappointment is visible.
"Because," I continue, stepping closer, "I'd rather just talk more. Maybe somewhere quieter than a room full of your frat brothers."
The smile that spreads across Tyler's face is worth every moment of the complicated evening.
"I know just the place," he says, tugging me toward the house. "The roof has a great view of campus. And I guarantee no exes will find us there."
As we climb the stairs inside the busy frat house, nodding to various brothers who greet Tyler with easy familiarity and me with curious but friendly smiles, I feel something unfamiliar but welcome unfurling in my chest.
It feels dangerously like hope.
Chapter 10
Lessons in Touch
ETHAN
Trudging across the quad, my backpack heavy with textbooks after my evening lab, when a hand clamps around my bicep, yanking me backward.
"We need to talk." Ryan's voice is low and dangerous, a tone I've never heard from him before.
My heart hammers against my ribs. "Let go, Ryan."
He drags me toward the space between buildings, away from the few students still crossing campus. This is new. This is scary. Ryan's always been controlling, but he's never physically forced me anywhere.
"You're embarrassing yourself with those frat boys," he hisses, backing me against the brick wall. "Do you think they respect you? You're just their token gay friend."
"That's not true," I try to keep my voice steady when I'm starting to freak out inside. "And even if it was, it's none of your business. We're done."
When I try to sidestep him, he slams his palm against the wall beside my head. I flinch.
"We are not done until I say we're done." Hiseyes are cold, almost unrecognizable. "I let you have your little tantrum, but playtime's over."
My chest tightens. This isn't happening. This isn't the Ryan I dated, though maybe it always was, and I just never saw it.
