You are twenty-two and you are feeling the kiss of a woman on your lips for the first time
Up until this point, the only intimacy you ever received was drenched in testosterone
You have no idea, but you have just met the love of your current life
She will not be your forever love, but she will change your love forever
Let her fill you with self-confidence
Let her love for you become self-love
Let the tumult and pain point you in the direction of self-assurance
You may only have her for a short time, but her freckles will still dance in your mind like the starry night under which you fall in love in the backseat of her RAV-4
You may not have her forever, but you will always have that beachside hotel room when she says your smile was the only thing keeping her alive
That day, you will make a vow to never frown again, without knowing she would cause you to break that promise quicker than you thought possible
Her love will be the yardstick to which you measure all other’s
So let the memory of her carry you into all of your future mishaps, mistakes, and misadventures
When it ends, let the light you once saw in her eyes guide you to the dance party in the middle of Palm Springs Pride
Don’t let your family’s skepticism cause a schism between your heart and your mind
And when your family asks how you love both genders , you say
“My heart may be broken, but even a fraction of my heart has more love in my heart than all of you combined.”
