Let’s pretend that in the beginning we were both free agents. That you weren’t with her, and I wasn’t with him. Let’s imagine that somehow even without them, our orbits still crossed, and in the big wide randomness of the universe, we still managed to find one another.

Let’s start from there because it’s a better place to start, isn’t it? A safer place. A cleaner place.

So with a blank slate, I met you, and you met me. And I was drawn to you–how could I not be drawn to you? We’re so alike, you and I. Not on the surface, but underneath, where no one else can see. At our core–in all the ways that really matter–we are the same.

I still would have been shy around you, at first. I still wouldn’t have known what to say. You’re like all the handsome guys that had never shown any interest in me before. Funny, confident, popular and athletic–the thought that you might ever look twice at someone like me just wouldn’t have crossed my mind.

But let’s imagine that in this fantasy we still slowly got to know one another. You paid attention to me, for whatever reason, and I began to warm up to you. I started to see that there’s so much more to you than meets the eye.

Beneath the brashness and the humor, beneath the air of nonchalance you wear so well is a true depth of character that I grew to cherish and respect. There’s a soulfulness to you that I hadn’t anticipated, and when you looked at me in that captivating, contemplative way that you do, I became speechless around you for an entirely different reason.

Let’s imagine that our first kiss didn’t happen in secret. Let’s imagine that the first time we made love it was without an ounce of guilt or reservation. Let’s imagine that our friends and family knew everything from the beginning and were as happy for us as we were for ourselves.

Let’s imagine that no hearts were broken on our account.

Let’s make believe that everything outside of us was different and yet, between us, was exactly the same.