Recently I went to a friend’s dinner party where two friends of ours, “Henry” and “Roland,” made an interesting scene.
Roland is an out-and-proud gay man and, rumor has it, has hooked up with Henry multiple times. The thing is, Henry claims to be straight and has a girlfriend, “Shelby.”
While it is 2019 and sexuality is very fluid, many people are close-minded and scared when it comes to exploring their sexual desires.
Roland was telling me about his recent adventures with Henry, and I told him he should talk to Henry about telling Shelby. It isn’t fair to her, especially if she has no idea her boyfriend is sleeping with another man.
He said he knew and every time he brings it up to Henry, he says he’s straight and the sex between them doesn’t mean anything. That it’s just a way for him to get rid of stress.
I left Roland and went to find Henry and talk to him. Henry had told me about one his hookups with another guy before, but said it was just a drunken night that he regretted.
Shelby and Henry were together inside, so I asked him for some help with my car. When Henry came to outside, I told him I knew about him and Roland and wanted to hear his side of the story.
It took him a good while, but eventually he told me he knew what he was doing was wrong, but he didn’t know who he should choose: Shelby or Roland.
I didn’t even know Roland was an option from what Roland told me. Apparently, Henry had developed feelings for him, but he didn’t know how to express them. He wanted to leave Shelby but didn’t know how to tell her without hurting her.
I couldn’t help but wonder: If you were confused about your sexual orientation, why not talk to your partner about it rather than cheat on them?
According to website ScienceAlert, sexual identity and attraction are subjected to extensive and often subtle changes during a person’s life. Being in your early 20s, one has increased independence when they begin to accept, explore, question and acknowledge same-sex attractions.
Henry got some liquid courage and talked himself into telling Roland and Shelby how he felt. He grabbed the two of them, and me, and went to his car. Shelby was in the passenger’s seat while Roland I sat in the back.
Henry was very straight-forward with it and told Shelby he was in love with someone else, Roland. Shelby laughed and looked at Roland to see if he was laughing too. When she saw him not smiling, she realized Henry was telling the truth.
After a long conversation full of tears and hugs, Shelby said she had a feeling about Henry when she stumbled upon his search history on his laptop. She said she can’t help but feeling heartbroken, but she wanted to support him on his journey of discovery and remain friends.
Roland and Henry are keeping their relationship on the down low until Henry feels comfortable making things public, but Roland said he wants to make sure they move at Henry’s pace since he is finding himself for the first time.
I feel for Shelby, but am glad that, surprisingly, everything turned out well. It’ll be quite a reveal when Roland and Henry make their relationship public, but Shelby already said she’ll be the first one to defend them which made all of us happy and grateful.
