My boyfriend, Jeremy, and I started dating during the summer holidays, after almost half a semester of lying to ourselves about our feelings for each other. Being in quarantine meant that our relationship, for most part, had been progressing over Zoom. In other words, we were having close to zero physical intimacy, which was intensely frustrating for a new couple like us. We had long given up on the idea of unveiling our genitals to each other for the first time in person, instead resorting to regular Zoom sex sessions to ease the tension.
The start of a new school year meant that Jeremy would be moving into his dorm. I was looking forward to being able to visit and finally spend some goddamn time with alone him without raking up massive levels of viral exposure by going on public dates. Unfortunately, my hopes were crushed when his dorm implemented a no-visitor policy. My heart sank when Jeremy broke the news to me during one of our nightly calls. “We could wait until the restriction is lifted,” he suggested hopefully, as I sighed in frustration. Who knew when that would be?