TL;DR I want to tell my boyfriend I love him, but I am scared about how it will affect our relationship.
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I, 22F, have been dating 29M for about 8 months now. Things have been great and for the last few months I have been having the urge to tell him I love him.
The thing is, I am really really scared. I'm scared for how this will affect our relationship. This will either make it end abruptly OR further it and make us closer than ever, and both of these outcomes absolutely terrify me.
All I want to do is be around him. I have never felt like this with anyone. He makes me want to do better and helps me to be the best version of myself. I really love having someone in my life that I can confide in, and who can confide in me as well. He is there for me and I am for him.
I don't know why taking the next step in our relationship scares me so much. I find myself not wanting to meet and get to know his friends and family simply because it intimidates me. I don't think they would like me. I am always very shy, and I am nervous that they will not approve. Not to mention, our age gap. When I met my boyfriend's roommate, he was really nice and asked me questions like "Where did you grow up? What school did you go to? When did you graduate?" etc. However, when I told him the year I graduated high school, he was SHOCKED. I will never forget his reaction.
I have also never been in a very serious relationship before, so I am unsure how it works. I feel like I am just so nervous that I will fuck this whole thing up.