I came to everyone close/important in my life starting around December 6th, 2010 over a few weeks (~100 people). Here are the dates of my sexual encounters. Non-sexual simply refers to cuddling, kissing, being close, etc. December 12, 2010: casual hook-up type (sexual) January 4, 2011: date, slept over (non-sexual) January 30, 2011: casual hook-up (sexual and non-sexual) This accounts for all my sexual encounters at my age of 23. Yup, I feel I've been crazy and stupid, but I also feel that I have experienced enough of the "bad boy" world that I am prepared to move forward building lifelong friendships that may very well turn into spicy relationships. The first was met on Craigslist, but taken slowly over about a week of brief chats/talks (felt a tad less bad). The second was met online and entailed a full day of texting, all the while including no sexual activity, though he did sleep over. The third was purely a hook-up at a bar. All activities have been discussed in other threads of mine, with my focus for this thread being on moving forward. Supposedly the sexual-encounters were both clean, one said he was tested 3 weeks prior and in a monogamous relationship (sad, I know). Now I would like to proceed how I always wanted to (long-term-relationship), but I now have the knowledge and confidence necessary to do so. Sure, it took some time to accept the "right way to do things" but these experiences I had, praying to God I didn't catch HIV or another STD, really did mean a lot to me and have guided my thought process a lot. So, April 30th I need to go get tested, right? That is so long...primarily because I feel on pins and needles to some extent. The actual virus test takes longer, costs more, etc., but is accurate sooner, correct (compared to rapid anti-body test)? Should I go for this test? In no way am I interested in allowing myself to be sexually active sooner, I just hope I can put my worries to rest. I have a few friends who are hoping to meet people my desired way--of course they also told me that my relationship goals are much more common among thirty-year-olds and not early twenty-year-olds. I just, again assuming I didn't screw myself already, care too much about my health and well-being to taint myself so. In the meantime, I am going to contact some of the people I met in the bars and see if they would be interested in building a friendship with me. One of which was practically screaming to go home with me one week after my most recent encounter, but I simply said absolutely not. It doesn't help that a week after my last encounter I seem to have gotten sick, which is actually fairly typical of me given that I lost sleep and the changed/cooler weather conditions, but I hate reading those initial HIV symptom lists where I see some of my symptoms on there. I want to stop, think, assess damages, and proceed with the utmost caution. I'd like to add that I am sincerely and ecstatically thrilled with the non-sexual opportunities I have had (twice) and simply spending time with a guy is currently worth significantly more to me than any sexual activity, primarily because I've had closeness with guys twice in my lifetime. Thanks everyone!
