Med Student Dilemma

[wanderlust]

I'll try to keep this intro short and sweet...

I went to New Orleans for NYE to hang out with my brother, his gf, and all of his new medical school friends. I had met a few of his friends already, so I wasn't expecting a connection out of the trip.. just some fun.

Turns out, I ended up hitting it off with one of the guys I hadn't met before. Let's call him Nate. Our personalities clicked.. we were both enjoying the sarcastic banter. He seemed to be well-liked by the whole group and generally friendly (and I'm oblivious), so I didn't realize he was flirting with me. But, alas, we kissed at the stroke of 12.. then proceeded to make out that night.

He played it pretty cool the next day. I found out later from him that this was out of respect (and fear) of my older brother. New Years night he added me on Facebook, messaged me for a bit (apologizing for the "no hug on the way out").. then got my number. We have been texting ever since. I met up with him and the rest of the crew one more night before I left to go back to school. The flirting was more intense, and my feelings for him grew.

Nate has mentioned being worried about hurting his friendship with my brother a few times (not recently).. searching for my view on the situation. I finally talked to my brother.. although he is less than thrilled about the idea, he says he's not mad, I am free to do what I want, and Nate is probably the nicest guy in the class.

Problem: Med school.

I'm not too terribly far away (@ 4 hours), and I already go home a good amount. Also, Nate's hometown is 40 minutes away from my school. However (as you may can imagine), med school is VERY time consuming. They weren't tested before the holidays, so they have exams every day this week. Meaning.. Nate studied all day for the past week and will be fairly unresponsive this week. Completely fine. I have only uttered a few words of encouragement here and there. He has made a point to at least send me a picture of his textbooks each day to let me know he's still alive, I spose..hah.

Last week, I mentioned half jokingly that he should visit this upcoming weekend to celebrate the end of exams..since we both have MLK day off. He joked back about it.. yesterday I suggested it again, and he said he'd think about it after he takes all of his hellacious tests.

Question.. Do I proceed with alternate plans.. so that I'm not waiting around for him? Or, since I laid the offer out there, do I wait it out?

He seems to be interested in me and even flattered that I reciprocate the interest.. but I still don't want to come off too eager/available. On the other hand, his free time is rare. I can go home whenever.. but my brother will likely be around, and I'll be staying at my parents' house.

Thoughts??

[wanderlust]

Anyone?

I'm really having an issue with how to approach this potential relationship in general.