I’m From Oneonta, NY.

by Dan

Satellite overhead image of New York State from Google Earth 2022

I met him through his boyfriend at the time.  It was mid-August, 2007 and he was 19 and I was 20.  I was “straight” and he had just come out to his mother and one of his sisters.

I had been with guys before but hadn’t admitted to myself that it was more than just a physical attraction, but when I laid eyes on him for the first time it no longer seemed to matter.  By the end of the night of our first meeting I had slyly obtained his number and we began texting as friends.  From there we began messaging online as friends. Before long we had arranged a day to meet.

After our initial introduction by his boyfriend we both returned home to our houses about 5 hours apart.  When we arranged our meeting through phone calls that lasted in to the early morning hours, we both decided we would drive 2.5 hours and meet halfway at his college apartment before classes resumed for the fall semester.

We both drove there alone with butterflies in our stomachs the entire way.  He met me at the door and we spent the rest of the day and night together.

I had never been intimate like this with a man before.  I had hooked up with guys in the past but attributed it to my curiosity and nothing more. But by the end of one night with him I was lying on his chest listening to his heart beat.

I had never been so overcome by feelings for someone like this before and it scared me.  I pulled away and apologized to him for being so cuddly. He told me it was okay and I went back to lying in his safe and powerful arms.

We have had many ups and downs since we met that warm summer night, but our love has only grown stronger and more real.

18 months after the first time we ever met each other I still get that same feeling in my stomach every time I see him, and feel safe and content in his arms like I have never, ever felt in my entire life.

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