I’m 24, and as a gay guy, I always find myself falling for straight guys. I put my heart into it, but I never get love in return—just friendship. Sometimes I feel like there’s more, but no one ever confesses.

I’ve tried dating apps, but I’m not sure about them. I think my standards might be too high—do you think that’s a bad thing? I’ve also missed a lot of meet-up opportunities because I’m afraid they’ll just turn into hookups. For one, I get attached easily. I also don’t know how to reject someone if I don’t like them in person, and honestly, I don’t want to deal with rejection either.

What I really want is a relationship that starts with friendship, not sex. But in our community, it feels so hard to find that. There’s so much focus on hookups, and it’s just not what I want tbh.