We were introduced to each other by a mutual friend about 12 years ago and our first meeting was in a bar in Porto. At the time we were far from knowing that years later we would become a couple.
Henrique was a body piercer and had a very different look from most guys so it was impossible not to notice him. He had a boyfriend before and when we met, he was not really wanting another one. We lost contact at one point, since Henrique went to Lisbon to work, but in 2014 we ran into each other on a dating app again and decided to go for a coffee to catch up, since much time had past since we talked or saw each other the last time.
It was a simple coffee date without second intention. He told me he was now looking for someone around his age (he is 16 years older than me) since his previous relations were always with someone younger and didn’t seem to last as long as he would have liked. We updated each other on our actual lives, and after a few hours of conversation we went home, each to his own.
We kept in touch and decided, since we were attracted, to have dinner and spend the night together in a hotel. That’s when it all begun. We went to the hotel before dinner to leave our backpacks there. After we entered the hotel room, the first instinct was of course to undress ourselves and wait no more. The mood was completely set, and our attraction was confirmed in that moment.
We had our first dinner in a local restaurant where he used to go before partying and then went to a gay friendly bar to have some drinks and talk a bit. I had a bit more alcohol then I should have and ended up feeling unwell, but he was super adorable and cared of me instead of being annoyed, that’s when I knew we would get along very well.
From that night on, we spent every weekend together in hotels for six months until finally moved in together to our first house, so we could stay closer and start a life together that we’ve been sharing for the last 5 years. During this period we have learned so much more about each other, sharing our passions and growing together as a couple. It’s been always kinda easy for us since we have our families’ support and everybody is very happy for us. We share the same tastes, the same hobbies and collect the same things (we are kinda nerds). We work very well as a couple thankfully.
Despite it all, we still need to deal with things like every couple does, since with different ages come different goals too, but we aspire to continue traveling together, more than we have been able to, and fulfill our dreams of knowing every country, doing the things that we want to and never stop doing it for whatever reason, never letting our age gap or people tell us that we can’t. Henrique is training to be a hairstylist, and I’m already one so we can continue working together throughout life, helping each other achieve our goals like we’ve been doing for the past few years.
