First gay date - some advice needed!

Well, if you know to act as normal and truthful as you can, you already know the most important thing there is to know. Any date is really best approached as "Just two people getting to know each other", and working from there.

That said: I do think you have some very normal worries! While my advice might not be the one true answer, the following is how I would try to tackle them.

Generally, I think honesty is the best way to go. At the end of a date, I don't think it's bad to give a short appreciation.
If you liked it a lot, it's perfectly OK to say "Hey, I must say I liked tonight a lot, and I think you were awesome company! How would you feel about meeting up again?"
If you didn't feel a click, then it is still OK to say: "You know, while it was fun, I'm not sure if I'm really feeling all that sure about whether we'd want to continue doing this"

The very important thing here is to make your position clear. If he likes you more than you like him, it's not unacceptable to let yourself be talked into one more meetup, but you should at least make your doubts clear. If you like him more than he likes you, it's best to take it as graciously as possible (and don't see it as a "failure" either. A date going nowhere doesn't say anything about you personally. It just says something about you not meshing with this particular guy).

Despite what some people say about "going for the moment", I'm a fan of doing things very slow here. First time my boyfriend kissed me (or I kissed him, it was kind of simultaneous ), it started with a "so, would you mind if I...?" (okay "kiss" wasn't literally seid, but it was very much clear that was what meant).
And I think it was perfect. It gave me the chance to say "I'm not quite feeling ready for that, yet", or to withdraw, or to say "let's just hold hands" or whatever. And it was still plenty romantic.

If he goes for it too quickly, do also feel free to withdraw and say you're not quite up for doing anything yet. Be friendly about it, but don't allow yourself to be pushed. And if anyone ends up momentarily shocked, don't make too big of a deal of it. It happens. The more casual you are about the "not now", the less likely it is going to be a major issue.

Well, as it could potentially influence anything coming from this date, I think you should definitely bring it up. Maybe lead it in with being open how you feel about it.

Oh, it is nice to show you're taking a date seriously! It's one of the best compliments you can give to the guy. Don't do anything you're not willing to keep up, though. Losing 10 pounds might impress on a first date, but if you then quickly gain another 10 by the third date, it looks as if you were misrepresenting yourself. So be presentable, but don't go to extreme lengths either!

In any case: best of luck with the date!

 

As everything else was said in the previous post... GOOD LUCK (!!)