I was 16 when I first had sex.

We waited a year, and we both knew that if the other person didn't want to do it, we were at a point in our relationship where we could say, no, I'm not ready, and that would have been fine

I thought about it for a long time. I talked to my mother, I talked to my partner. I had sex because I really felt that it was something that I was ready to do, and it was something that I wanted to do and I wanted to share with Curtis.

We both loved each other and both respected each other and that was a way to further our love and to further our respect and our support.

It was a positive experience for me. It gave us an extra strength that we didn't have before. I don't think we ever used it to hold the relationship together.

I think everybody's expectations the first time are it's going to be wonderful. In all the movies, people are having sex on the beach and it's the best thing in their life, the best thing they ever did, and it's so physically pleasurable. I know my first time wasn't like that.

But I think we were close enough we were able to tell each other what we did and didn't like, what we did and didn't want, and that made a big difference.

I think guys expect it to be more physically pleasurable, and I think girls expect to be able to get closer to that person and to be able to talk that person a lot better.

All photos ©2010, Dan Habib