nudity.slip

Portugal 2024 # Praia da Adraga

Added 2025-06-28 16:00:07 +0000 UTC

After we met in Paris in June — and after all my inner resistance to long-distance relationships and to men who say too many beautiful things — it only made sense to plan a second meeting. Assuming, of course, he wasn’t full of it.

Since my summer was already booked, Gary and I agreed to meet in Lisbon at the end of August. We stayed in touch constantly. Honestly, the number of Telegram video messages we exchanged could probably set a world record. Normally, that kind of persistent attention would overwhelm me — I love space in communication — but with him, I didn’t feel pressure. I felt… safe.

The closer it got to Portugal, the less I wanted to go. At first, I told myself that what I’d felt in June was just a flash of unexpected emotion — passion, excitement, the magic of Paris. I mean, come on, it was Paris — a romance was inevitable. But with time, I realized it wasn’t indifference I was feeling. It was fear.

Fear of calm. Fear of clarity. Fear of being seen and accepted — without needing to fight, fix, or prove anything. I was so used to emotional chaos and internal battles. So used to earning love.
Could something so grounded, so steady, really be love? Is that what love looks like? Is love even real if it’s not painful, dramatic, or hard-won?

Thank God my therapist is a smart man )))

So in early September, I met Gary again — this time just the two of us, on neutral ground. A proper second date… that lasted three weeks.

We stayed in a small town Colares, not far from Lisbon. In the next few posts, I’ll share fragments from that time — our lazy days in house, the beach, the day trips, the everyday joy.

These particular photos were taken during a one-hour hike to Praia da Adraga — a wild, beautiful beach not far from where we stayed. At the end of the trail, just by the shore, there’s a small seaside restaurant with the most delicious octopus I’ve ever had (and everything else was equally good). So we swam, we ate, we drank wine, and just tipsy enough — we walked all the way back home, laughing like teenagers. Unforgettable.

On the way back, the wind picked up — wild and furious — chasing us the rest of the trail.
But somehow, it only made the memory better.

P.S. As you already know - the feelings didn’t fade.
They only bloomed. 🤍