My friend (we’ll call her Mel) and I casually hooked up for almost 5 years. This time period happened while we were between ages 19 and 24. Around the time I turned 19, I had only started to thrive in my dating life. Newly out of my shell, I was keen on experimenting, and was very direct about not wanting a relationship. Around the time Mel turned 19, she was of a similar mindset, but she had been living this way for years up to that point. She had a “high school sweetheart” (her words) but was in an open relationship with him since she was 17.
Given that we had similar mindsets, our casual hookups became a steady part of our routine. Her high school sweetheart went to another school, so she would spend weekends with him. But during the week she spent her time sleeping around with a handful of guys at our school. We had university lectures together, so we’d spend long days on campus together. I picked up on the fact that I was her favorite hook up on campus given how much more time she’d spend with me compared to her other hook ups. She would make a point to make sure we hooked up amidst our really busy schedules. If we had breaks between classes she’d suggest we skip the library and go fuck. When her period tracker app showed her period was coming in roughly 5 days, she’d text me a screenshot and set aside time in the next couple days to fuck.