The Trouble with Relationship Labels
Michael and David are gay men who met on one of those cringy, yet stimulating, hookup apps. They flirted through the app’s messaging system before deciding to meet for lunch. Lunch? I know. How weird is that? What happened to down and dirty, meaningless sex? Yes, I’m being facetious. Actually, how thoughtful, refreshing, and lovely to meet for lunch.
Michael is a “mature” man. Okay, an older man (he’s sensitive about his age). He is intelligent, accomplished, well-educated, attractive (for his age, he would add), thoughtful, sweet, passionate, playful, and engaging. Although he has sexual relationships with other guys, Michael was not in a committed romantic relationship when he met David.
David is two decades younger, and all of the words used to describe Michael also pertain to David. Despite their generational divide, David and Michael share myriad common traits and interests. They are sympatico in many ways. And both men are affected by varying degrees of insecure anxious attachment. They seek reassurance and validation that they are desirable, lovable, and enough.
Oh, and this is kind of important; David lives with his partner........
