Story Time: The First Time I Told Orion I Loved Him
TikTok video from 2022-03-22
This one’s about Orion—the first time I told him I loved him.
Orion and I have been connected for about three years now. He lives out of state, and we met while he was traveling for work. I live in Florida, and during his visits here, we’d meet up and spend time together. It started as something casual and fun, but over time, something deeper blossomed.
I remember the first time I told him I loved him. We were at a hotel in Palm Beach Gardens—one of those sweet, quiet evenings that felt easy and grounded. I looked at him and said, “You know what? I love you. I love you in the context of our relationship.”
That moment was important. I wanted to express the depth of my feelings without creating confusion or expectation. I loved him as he was and as we were. I wasn’t asking for more. I wasn’t trying to shift the dynamic. I just wanted to tell the truth: that I loved him, fully and openly, for exactly what we had.
Orion is a lot like my husband in many ways—steady, kind, grounded. It made falling for him feel natural. But what made it meaningful was the clarity: I didn’t love him because I needed him to change, or because I was trying to fill a gap. I loved him because what we shared felt genuine, even within its container.
We both understood and agreed on what our relationship was: a beautiful, loving, and mutually fulfilling connection—no more, no less. I was his side piece, (and he was mine - our song is Sidepiece, by PokeyBear) and that was enough for both of us. That clarity gave us the freedom to love without pressure, to be honest without fear, and to build a connection that still works to this day. There isn’t a need to escalate our relationship further than where it is. We are lovers, friends, family - all rolled into one. And the fact that my sidepiece also loves my husband as a friend, and I love his wife as a friend, means that we’ve expanded our tribe to add people who are important to us, and don’t interfere with the autonomy of our marriage.
Sometimes love doesn’t need to come with a label upgrade, a life plan, or a shared mortgage. Sometimes it just needs space to exist as it is.
And for us, that’s been more than enough.
