Talking to Strangers

Nerve asks deeply personal questions to people we just met.

Chelsea, 23

What makes a good date?
I play music, so if I can find someone who will play music with me, and it really clicks, that's awesome. You don't even have to talk really.

What's the craziest place you've had sex?
I had sex on a stoop on Bourbon Street.

How did that happen?
Well, I was sitting on my boyfriend's lap. People would walk by and we'd pretend I was just sitting on his lap and making out. Then they'd walk away and we'd go back to it. That was really an adrenaline rush.

What would you change about the opposite sex?
This is something I've been thinking about a lot lately. They can't talk about things the way that girls do. They can't say what they're feeling. If they're pissed off, they'll just start acting pissed off and angry, and you can't quite figure out what's wrong, and they can't like specify what's going on. I feel like females can identify their feelings. Lately I've been interested in guys that might actually be good for me. Creepy exes can be stalkers. They'll drive by my house, park out front, and sit there and watch me.

Have you had multiple guys do this to you or just one?
Multiple. They get obsessed. One guy would call my friends and find out where I was hanging out and then go there, and if I was hanging out with another guy, he would just stare creepily across the bar.

Are you from here?
I'm from Baton Rouge originally.

How does the dating scene compare?
Baton Rouge is kind of limited. The bars there are all college bars. Here, there's a little bit of everything. There's a lot more good stuff going on. There are people who are passionate about things here. In Baton Rouge, everyone complains about being stuck there.

Josh, 23

What's the weirdest place you've ever had sex?
In a shed.

How did that come about?
Well, I don't know about people who just go around looking for crazy places to have sex, but the only place other than a bed that I've ever had sex was purely out of necessity. That one time it was a shed. The only other thing that's close to weird was a car, and that wasn't cool at all. Sex in a car sucks, unless you've got an awesome car.

What was the level of comfort in the car?
Fucking low. There was a lot of maneuvering.

So do you approach girls, do they approach you?
Well, you know, they approach me if I'm very lucky... yeah fuckin' right. It's even nice if they're being obvious. I mean this is only if you're interested in them. It sucks when a chick is coming on to you and you don't like her. I feel bad. I'm sure it's the same exact thing for girls, except it happens a lot more often for them, because they get hit on way more.

How often do you blow those girls off?
Well, I never blow anyone off. I still engage them in a friendly manner like I would anyone else, but I never give them any clue that I would be remotely interested in having sex with them.

What do you look for in a girl?
I never have had any sort of sexual contact with anyone that I didn't really like. I've never done anything with anyone I wasn't attracted to physically, but also I haven't done anything with anyone who I thought was a fucking moron or didn't respect as a person.

Do you believe in love at first sight?
All that would be is extraordinarily good luck. Seeing someone, thinking, "Holy shit, I love the way this girl looks," and by some amazing stroke of luck you happen to be very compatible people... you only really fall in lust at first sight. It's really just a recognition in your brain like: I want to fuck her, possibly forever. Then when you get to know her, you really find out if you want to fuck her forever.

What's one thing you wish you could change about the opposite sex?
As a whole? There are things that I wish were different about individual women, but I can't think of even one thing they have in common. I wish they didn't have periods, for everyone's sake. That's the only thing for women in general that I think I would want to change.

Erin, 35

Where are you from?
My parents were in the military, so I'm kinda from everywhere, but I was born in Fort Walton Beach, Florida.

What is your profession?
I am a server and I clean houses.

Do you have any good hookup stories?
I'll give you my juiciest story. I can't believe I'm telling you this. I was sitting on a plane, and this guy was sitting next to me. We were talking, and it turned out his mother had passed away and he was going home for the funeral. Well, we both had the same layover in the same airport, so we got off the plane together and had sex in the stairwell. Then we had another drink at the bar and said, "See ya later."

What would you change about the opposite sex?
Nothing. Men are great.

So what do you look for in a man?
I just want somebody to be real. I don't play games. I tell people how I feel and what I want, and I usually get it.

What's the craziest thing you've ever done in bed?
I mean, I've been with women. It's not that crazy. The first time was with a girl named Berkeley. She was in the Navy. I was curious, you know, and she was like, "Let's be bad."