I'm in my early twenties have been in a long-term relationship with my first girlfriend for well over a year. Aside from a single rough patch that almost broke us up in the summer, things have been going very well. She's smart, attractive, a great conversational partner, and is supportive of me and my "nerdy" hobbies even though she has little interest in partaking. She's also great at communicating, and we're almost always able to openly address and improve upon aspects of our relationship that aren't working as well as they could be. All things considered, I really don't think I could have asked for a better first girlfriend.
Despite being in a monogamous relationship, we both still use the Tinder app. She does it for the occasional interesting conversation and the hilarious messages from thirsty guys, and I do it for the self-esteem boost that comes from matching with attractive women and to practice my social skills (social anxiety game too strong). Some of you will probably say that I'm a chump for thinking my girlfriend isn't using the app to try to fuck other guys behind my back, but for various reasons, I can say with 100% certainty that she's been faithful throughout the entirety of our relationship and has never attempted to start something with another guy. However, as of this week, I can no longer say the same of myself.
Just a couple of days ago, I matched with a very attractive girl around my age. Speaking strictly in terms of physical appearance, she was exactly my type, and frankly, I found her to be more attractive than my girlfriend. Riding the wave of euphoria that came from matching with such a beautiful girl, I decided to shoot her a message with the intent of practicing conversational skills and possibly scoring nudes (my girlfriend would have been okay with this). It's pretty common for me to receive radio silence after messaging a match on Tinder, but to my surprise, the girl responded to me. Before I knew it, we were engaging in a consistent back-and-forth conversation. The messages started off pretty innocently, but I quickly began slipping some subtle-but-unambiguous hints at my sexual attraction to her, hoping I could steer the conversation toward my goal of obtaining nudes. She responded favorably to the hints, and as the conversation became increasingly flirtatious, we exchanged numbers.
I couldn't pinpoint when exaxtly it happened, but at some point I found myself caring less and less about just getting nude photos of this girl. She was confident, interesting, and beautiful, and we had fantastic chemistry. I genuinely enjoyed the conversation, and the feeling of making her like me and want me more and more with each text was intoxicating. I'm usually a fairly awkward fellow, even over text, but somehow I must have activated my ultra meter and tapped into a well of charm I never knew I had. She commented on how smooth I was. Hell, even I was surprised at how smooth I was managing to come across. It came with an effortlessness that was so unfamiliar to me as a person who has dealt with anxiety issues for years.
By the end of the day, we had exchanged well over a hundred texts, a few selfies, and she sent a me a risqué photo that showed off part of her butt (it was so good). As we confirmed our mutual interest in continuing to talk the next day, I felt weighed down with lust, excitement, and guilt. I realized that I didn't just want to see photos of this girl, I wanted to have sex with her. I wanted to run my hands across her body as we kissed. I wanted to lick and fondle her ample breasts. I wanted to make my tongue dance along her pussy and feel her shiver and moan with each wave of pleasure. I wanted to squeeze her waist with both hands and pull her closer to me and feel my pelvis smack against her bottom as I fucked her from behind.
And you know what? If I hadn't come clean and cut things off with her, I likely could have done all of those things.
After that first day, we texted for two more days and were becoming more comfortable with each other. Our communication became deeper and more personal, and our mutual sexual desires more explicit as the conversation continued. She sent me a photo of her cleavage and teased me for wanting her while simultaneously promising there was more to come. I openly expressed my appreciation for her body. She liked to think of herself as a prim and proper lady but couldn't help but admit that she reveled in teasing me with sexual photos and hearing how much I loved what I saw. Despite the existence of my girlfriend, the urge to meet her in person seemed more reasonable with each text we sent each other.
Now some of you may be wondering where my girlfriend was while I was texting this other girl. Simply put, she was busy with work. We both have jobs with conflicting schedules, and I'm still in school, so it's been difficult to see each other for the past three-or-so months. We've tried to hang out at least once a week, but on a few occasions, we've had to go two or three weeks without seeing each other or talking much at all because our schedules were just that incompatible. I matched with this other girl on Tinder during one of those periods.
Fortunately, near the end of my brief stint chatting with the girl I met on Tinder, my girlfriend and I were able to get together again. During that time, I remembered exactly why I was with her to begin with. The two days we spent together were filled with laughter, cuddling, and some of the best sex we've ever had. It reminded me of how much I loved her and how lucky I was to have found her. Our time together made me feel ashamed that I had ever considered cheating on her. Shortly after that, I came clean with Tinder girl and informed her that I couldn't speak with her while I was still in a relationship, but that if we were ever single at the same time, I'd love to resume to the conversation. She expressed disappointment but ultimately said she'd respect my relationship.
I won't say I'm proud of myself for not cheating on my girlfriend - I came way too close to destroying her trust and everything we had built together - but I am glad I did the right thing in the end. However, this situation has given me much to think about. I've been doing a lot of changing over the past few months. My efforts to grow and claw my way out years of depression and anxiety are finally coming to fruition. The painfully awkward high schooler who didn't know how to dress himself or talk to people and who never received attention from girls isn't who I am anymore. Attractive women notice me now, and if I'm being completely honest, there's something incredibly satisfying about knowing that people can find me charming and sexually desirable. There's a part of me that wants to be able to let loose and fully indulge my sexuality; that believes another year or two of the single life might do me good. But at the same time, I cherish the feeling of being loved by my girlfriend. The smile that spreads across her face when I show up at her door; the way she giggles whenever I kiss her on the cheek; the feeling of her face smushing against my chest when she cuddles with me; these all mean the world to me. The thought of giving them up makes my stomach lurch.
I don't know what the right path is. I doubt these conflicting desires will just settle and resolve themselves neatly. I'll need to do a lot of thinking about who I am and what I want in the foreseeable future. But I do know one thing for sure: regardless of whether I choose to stay with my girlfriend or branch out on my own, I won't ruin what I have right now by cheating.