Member-only story
You can survive heartbreak
One morning I kissed my first serious boyfriend and said, “I love you.” A week later, he dumped me. For someone else. Worst part? I’d never said those words to anyone else before. But heartbreak happens. You can’t live in fear of it. My first heartbreak came late, not until the age of 21. But it laid the foundation for better relationships.
My senior year of college, that’s when I met him. We fell in love the second our fingers touched, like in the movies. A simple handshake that lasted a little too long. A smile. Coffee. And then dates. We were both English majors, introduced by a professor who liked to play matchmaker. He did a helluva job. We were topless in his dorm a few weeks later.
The guy, I mean. Not my professor.
Fucking pronouns. What can you do?
We spent the night together. A little past dawn, he walked me to my car. We kissed. That’s when I told him. “I love you,” I said. “I’ve never told anyone that before.”
He held my chin. “That’s incredible,” he said. “I love you so much.”
At the time, I thought he was the one. We liked the same books. Laughed at the same jokes. Rolled our eyes at the same assholes. I felt comfortable around him. We could talk about anything. Plus, he was hot. You know how that goes. I considered myself lucky.
