holywood model: Falling In Love With My Sorority Sister

I can do better, I thought, berating myself and making a mental list of guys to publicly kiss the following weekend.

In another lifetime, maybe our sorority sisters would have teased us to "get together already." But in our Southern sorority in the late aughts, it was unacceptable. Despite being submerged in the pain and humiliation from the original rumor and subsequent ones to follow, Alissa and I fell in love.

For the past decade, I've recounted our origin story with levity. I tell people we initially found having a secret relationship thrilling. Some of that is true, but in reality, we were hiding. Feeling like you need to conceal who you are—and the person you are falling in love with—is scary and dehumanizing. It's also heartbreaking to fall in love for the first time with no one to witness it." title=""Who let those dykes in here?" a sorority sister asked, pointing at me and Alissa from across the dining room. Earlier that day, we had become the unwitting targets of a "dyke" rumor that spread like wildfire to the entire sorority. As we shoveled baked spaghetti onto our plates in shame, another sister assured us she didn't believe it. The irony of that moment is that Alissa and I weren't even dating yet. We hadn't had our first kiss or held hands, but the chemistry between us was palpable enough that our sisters could sense it. Guess I wasn't hiding my feelings well enough.

I can do better, I thought, berating myself and making a mental list of guys to publicly kiss the following weekend.

In another lifetime, maybe our sorority sisters would have teased us to "get together already." But in our Southern sorority in the late aughts, it was unacceptable. Despite being submerged in the pain and humiliation from the original rumor and subsequent ones to follow, Alissa and I fell in love.

For the past decade, I've recounted our origin story with levity. I tell people we initially found having a secret relationship thrilling. Some of that is true, but in reality, we were hiding. Feeling like you need to conceal who you are—and the person you are falling in love with—is scary and dehumanizing. It's also heartbreaking to fall in love for the first time with no one to witness it.">

Falling In Love With My Sorority Sister

"Who let those dykes in here?" a sorority sister asked, pointing at me and Alissa from across the dining room. Earlier that day, we had become the unwitting targets of a "dyke" rumor that spread like wildfire to the entire sorority. As we shoveled baked spaghetti onto our plates in shame, another sister assured us she didn't believe it. The irony of that moment is that Alissa and I weren't even dating yet. We hadn't had our first kiss or held hands, but the chemistry between us was palpable enough that our sisters could sense it. Guess I wasn't hiding my feelings well enough.

I can do better, I thought, berating myself and making a mental list of guys to publicly kiss the following weekend.

In another lifetime, maybe our sorority sisters would have teased us to "get together already." But in our Southern sorority in the late aughts, it was unacceptable. Despite being submerged in the pain and humiliation from the original rumor and subsequent ones to follow, Alissa and I fell in love.

For the past decade, I've recounted our origin story with levity. I tell people we initially found having a secret relationship thrilling. Some of that is true, but in reality, we were hiding. Feeling like you need to conceal who you are—and the person you are falling in love with—is scary and dehumanizing. It's also heartbreaking to fall in love for the first time with no one to witness it.

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