By Arpit Chhikara:
Everything was going well for Prerna and Ankit, until one day she told him that she wanted variety before settling in any relationship. Ankit shares his bittersweet story with Love Matters.
The Call
Prerna and I had been in a relationship since our school days. Last month, we celebrated five years of our relationship that included not just a fantastic sex life, fun, travel, and amazing dates, but also phases of staying away from each other during college, lack of communication during exams, career-related insecurities and much more.
The other day she called me up and asked to meet. As usual, we met at her flat for coffee. She told me that she had decided to take a break from me and our relationship.
That moment left me speechless. She asked me whether I was okay or not. I was not very glad about her decision but I gave in.
Sexual Variety
Prerna wanted to spend time with other men to have some sexual variety in her life. I was happy with one woman, but she wasn’t with one man. The only guy she had ever had sex with was me. She was also the only girl I ever had in my life.
She wanted us to distance ourselves. Our relationship was based on freedom, so we went ahead with her decision. We gave each other a time period of three months and planned to meet once every month.
After one month when we met, she told me that she was having sex with guys she met through Tinder. Initially, I was scared at the very thought of my girlfriend getting physical with a guy she had met only twice or thrice via a dating app.
However, she is smart enough to decide what she wants, and also bold enough to face the consequences of her choices; so I told myself to relax.
Enjoying My Company
During the time when Prerna was exploring herself sexually, I was happy masturbating. I also used that time to focus on my career.
Having sex with different people gave her the freedom to experience different bodies in a sexual manner. Being with a long-term partner was my thing, and having sexual relationships with a number of people was not what I wanted.
We finally met after our three-month mark. It was clear that we had to take a call on our relationship – break up or continue. I told her that I wanted to be with her, but she had no such plans.
“I have had my fair share of romantic experience with you, but I am at a point in my life where a long-term relationship can’t be maintained”, she told me. Prerna was going abroad to study medicine. After being physically intimate with guys other than me, she knew that she had more to experience in her life than being in a committed relationship.
Also read: My Girlfriend And I Had No Idea What The IPill Was Doing To Her Body
Exploring More
We parted ways and are not in touch anymore. The time we spent together was memorable for both of us. Sexually distancing from each other got us closer to our evolving priorities in life, other than love.
Now that we are not together, I have become more socially active, I attend a lot of public events related to my work. I am open to being committed in a new relationship, just like the one I had with Prerna. Till then, being single is working well for me.
Do you think young people should explore a few relationships before settling in one?
This article was first published on Love Matters India here.
*To protect identity, names have been changed and the person in the picture is a model.
*Ankit, 23, is a software programmer in Bangalore.