On a night out in July 2017, Wilson Payamps was playing wingman for a friend who thought Cameron Hall Kirk was cute. Their friend groups happened to merge at a rave at the Brooklyn Mirage, an event venue in East Williamsburg, where they were all dancing together. Mr. Payamps approached Mr. Kirk on behalf of his female friend.

But Mr. Kirk threw a wrench in that plan by informing Mr. Payamps that he was gay. “Me too,” Mr. Payamps swiftly responded, surprising even himself with his assertiveness. “And I’m single.” He then bought Mr. Kirk a drink. An hour later, they went for a walk on the roof, and Mr. Payamps’s streak of boldness continued when he inquired about Mr. Kirk’s relationship status.

“I put all my cards on the table right away,” Mr. Payamps said. Before the conversation was over, Mr. Payamps leaned in for a kiss.

Mr. Kirk, who was 23 at the time and had just graduated from High Point University in North Carolina with a bachelor’s in business, struggled with dating. “I feel like going to school in the South, there weren’t many gay guys there,” he said.

But, after his night with Mr. Payamps, he said, “I remember going to work on Monday and being so excited that I felt like I could barely eat.”

They met up the next day at a “Game of Thrones” watch party with Mr. Payamps’s friends, and then again the following day at Variety Coffee Roasters in Greenpoint, where Mr. Kirk lived at the time.

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