Life hasn’t been easy the entire time I have been alive. I didn’t need something to double it up. I didn’t need more to think about. I didn’t need anything else to bother me. Too bad something like that happened anyway.
I guess you could say Dawn started it. Even that wouldn’t be entirely true. Actually, when I met Dawn things started getting better. I met her seven years ago, back when she was ten and I was twelve. She always wanted to know my story; she always wanted to know why I’m never happy. Why I am how I am. She would ask me at every opportunity she got, but I would never tell her. Until one day I decided I wanted her out of my hair, and I just spilled. I was tired of her begging, plus there was something about her. Something that made me want to be with her. Something that made me need to tell her. She listened, paying great attention. When I was done explaining my life to her, she wrapped her arms around my neck and hugged me tightly. “I’ll be your best friend. I’ll be with you forever.” At first I thought this was annoying, pathetic, even, but I warmed up to her eventually and we’ve been close ever since. ‘Best friends’ You could say. Whenever I was around her she would make me feel good. It made me want to be with her more and more. I never dared show it to her, though. I didn’t know what would happen if she knew I felt that attached to her.
Eventually, our relationship turned to romance, and we began to date. At the time, it was the best thing that had happened to me. Three years ago. I still remember it clearly. We were at my house, on the couch, watching TV. I was sitting up and she was laying down, her head in my lap. I was tousling her hair, practically caressing it. She suddenly turned over, so that she was laying on her back and no longer facing the TV screen. She looked up at me.
“Paul?” She said. Her voice was quiet and questioning.
“What?” I looked down, staring into her eyes. They were a clear crystal blue, and I had to look away, slightly, to keep myself from getting lost in them.
“Well…we’ve known each other for four years now…and I think I should tell you something.” She began, twisting her fingers around, nervously.
I grabbed the remote and muted the TV, making it easier to hear what she was about to say. “What is it?”
“Um…I’ve liked you…like, as more than a friend…for awhile now.” A blush spread across her face.
“Really?”
“Y-yeah. I just thought I’d tell you. It’s not a big deal…and I don’t want it to ruin our friendship or anyth-”
I cut her off with “I like you back.” That was my first mistake. I can’t really blame myself though, because I thought that I liked her. I really thought I liked her. I actually believed it. When I said that, her face lit up and she gave me the biggest smile I had ever seen. “Ask me out then!” she said cutely.
I couldn’t refuse that look, that smile she gave me. “Um…okay. Go out with me.”
“YES!” She sat up and threw her arms around me, embracing me tightly. I slowly wrapped my arms around her, and closed my eyes. My lips curled to a smile. At that moment, I forgot about everything else. It was just Dawn and me that mattered.
Since then, our relationship has gotten much stronger. Our first kiss was only a day after we became an item, which I also remember clearly. We were in a movie theater, watching some stupid chick flick she dragged me into. I leaned over and whispered that I was bored. She smiled at me and whispered back “I’ll give you something to do.” She grabbed my wrist with her left hand and placed her right on my shoulder. She kissed me gently. I kissed her back. Second mistake. I was throwing myself into deep trouble, and the worst thing was, I was enjoying it.
After that, our relationship snowballed fast. And now we’re seventeen and nineteen, and still together. I really wish I wasn’t questioning it so much. I should be as completely devoted as she is. But I’m not. The problem is, I’m starting to question my sexuality. I never thought I could be gay, but now I feel like I am. I don’t really feel an attraction to Dawn anymore. Or at least, not as much as I used to. When she kisses me, when she touches me…it just doesn’t feel as good as it did a year ago. And I don’t get erections as much around her anymore. I guess that means she doesn’t ‘excite’ me enough. I don’t want to be gay, really. I like Dawn, a lot. She’s really nice, and I can trust her. I want to be with her. But I don’t love her like she does me. I just see her as a girl. A really, really nice girl. A girl that’s been close to me for years. That’s in love with me. But I can’t break up with her. I don’t want to hurt her that much. I really don’t. Plus I’m not even sure that that would be best. I’m not one hundred percent sure I don’t like her romantically. I don’t want to destroy something I may miss once gone. But I’m pretty sure I don’t love her.
I need to stop dreaming. At this rate, I’ll be marrying her in two years. I’m in a position I’m sure many guys would kill to be in. I’ve got this beautiful girl that loves me to death. I’ve been dating her for three years. Any guy would love to be me. So why am I not satisfied?
I want to talk to Dawn about it. But I know that if I do she’d hate it. Hate me. She wouldn’t be able to take it. She’s the only one I have. I don’t have anyone else to talk to. My family abandoned me, and I don’t have any friends. I used to talk to her about everything. But now, I’m on my own. I don’t know what to do. I’m lost. Lost and alone. Even when I’m with her, I feel alone.
“Paul!”
She’s calling me. Where is she? Oh, downstairs. I forgot that I gave her a key to my apartment.
“Coming, Dawn!” I called back. I took one last look at myself in my mirror. I stared at my eyes. I hated that weak look they possessed. I needed to be stronger. I didn’t like seeing myself so weak and helpless. That just wasn’t me.
“No, I’ll come up there!” She called back, and began walking up the stairs, to my bedroom. I knew why she was here. I knew why she was coming to my bedroom. I knew well.
“Hey.” I said when she walked into my room and closed the door behind her. She was wearing a dark blue tank top with lace, and short jean shorts. Last year, I would’ve gotten hard just looking at her.
“Hey.” She replied, taking off her sweatshirt and hanging it over my headboard. She sat on my bed. “How are you?”
“Okay. You?” I sat on the bed next to her.
“I’m good.” She replied. She slowly took hold of my arm and began kissing me. I forced myself to close my eyes and kiss her back. She continued to kiss me while snaking her arms up my shirt. She broke away from my lips to take my shirt off, then continued to kiss me. She ran her hands up and down my chest, then pushed me. I fell backwards, landing on my back with her on top of me.
I pushed her off of me and turned to my side. I shoved my hands up her shirt, grabbing what I found. Something small inside of me wished I she wasn’t here right now. It wished I didn’t have to do this. But I pushed that to the back of my mind and ignored it. It’s not important.
She stopped kissing me and took off her shirt. She then unhooked her bra and took that off. She lay back down. I knew what she was waiting for. I knew she expected me to touch her. She expected me to squeeze one of her breasts wile sucking on the other. I knew the drill. I took her breasts in my hands and began massaging them. She placed her hands on my stomach and drove them down my pants. She felt around for a few moments, then said quietly: “Paul.”
I knew what she was going to say. But I gave in anyway. I stopped licking her and said “What?”
“Why isn’t it hard yet?”