First kisses can be such a mixed bag. They can be epic¹ and sweet, or super awkward. First kisses can be mind-blowing AF or totally anticlimactic². But one thing is for sure: No matter what kind of first kiss experience you have, it always makes for an interesting story. Enter Katie Heaney, author of Would You Rather? In her book, Heaney explores the topic of coming out as LGBTQ+ in her twenties. From her first kiss to her first relationship with a woman, she walks us through what life looks like as a queer person in NYC. Here's an excerpt³...

初吻各式各样，有的如史诗般甜蜜，有的却超级尴尬。或让人兴奋到爆炸，或让人兴致骤减。但有一件事是可以肯定的：无论你的初吻如何，总能被说成一段有趣的经历。读一读凯蒂·海妮笔下的Would You Rather吧。在这本书中，海妮畅谈她20多岁出柜的话题。从她与一位女性的初吻开始讲述，直至她开始第一段同性恋情，她带领我们走过纽约市同性恋者的生活。以下是摘录……

The first girl I ever consciously had a crush on sat across the lecture hall from me in a class that might as well have been called Depressing Facts About Our Political System 101. I was in my second year of graduate school at the University of Minnesota, most of which was an extremely blur⁴. I was twenty-five. I don't recall her name, although I know at some point I figured it out by process of elimination⁵, cross-referencing the class list against Facebook. It feels like it might have been Taylor. If not, she would have made a good one.

我第一次有意识地喜欢上的那个女孩坐在我讲堂的对面，那门课好像叫做《令人沮丧的政治制度事实101》（Depressing Facts About Our Political System 101）。当时我是明尼苏达大学研二的学生，学校的大多数生活都已记不大清了。我当时25岁，现在已不记得她的名字了，尽管我知道我在某个时候通过在脸书上用交叉法排除点名册找到了她。好像是叫泰勒。如果不是泰勒的话，就是其它好听的名字。

Taylor came to school that fall with golden skin and a haircut that to me suggested there was at least a possibility she'd brought a picture of Tegan and Sara to the salon-long swooping⁶ bang in front, chopped short everywhere else. Dark blond, almost the exact colour of her skin. I know it seems crazy, but she was the first person I'd really looked at and thought, Huh. That girl might be gay.

泰勒在那个秋天来到了学校，白白的皮肤、金色的头发，就好像她带着Tegan和Sara的照片去理发店，剪了个刘海，再把头发剪短。深金色的头发，几乎接近肌肤颜色。我知道这看起来很疯狂，但她是我第一个真正看上眼，并觉得可能是同性恋的姑娘。

What I knew for sure was that she dressed amazingly. Some days she dressed tomboyishly-ripped jean shorts and Chucks with an oversized button-down shirt-and others she dressed more femme: a sundress and espadrille wedges, a bandanna⁷ tied Rosie the Riveter-style around her head. Our class met just once a week, and Taylor seemed to miss at least a third of our sessions. If we got more than five minutes into class and she hadn't shown up, I'd feel let down. Then the weather got colder and she started showing up in a leather jacket, and I became more forgiving.

可以肯定的是，她很会穿。有时候她会穿男生气的牛仔短裤、Chucks鞋，还有一件超大的纽扣衬衫。其他时候，她的穿着更加展现女性气质：一件背心裙、一双帆布鞋、头巾扎成铆钉女工萝西的模样。这门课一周一次，泰勒似乎逃了三分之一的课程。如果我们上课超过五分钟但她还没来的话，我会特别失落。后来，天气渐冷，她开始穿着皮夹克过来上课，我开始原谅她。