I canceled the date, even though nothing was wrong on paper. The connection was there. The conversations were deep. He was kind, grounded, and emotionally aware.

And still, a few days before our third date, I felt something in my body starting to close. The sense that I would have to push myself to show up.

A few years ago, I would have ignored that. I would have gone anyway, called it nerves, and moved through it.

This time, I didn’t.

Learning to recognize that feeling didn’t start with dating. It started in my pleasure practice. Slowing down enough to ask for my own consent, and actually listen to the response.