I kinda experienced Homophobia for the first time...

In my entire life since coming out, and people just knowing from word of mouth. Surprisingly, I have never truly experienced homophobia. Aside from random jokes from friends and stuff like that, nothing truly. Well, you know.

This was at work, and I'm actually resigning this Saturday because I'm moving into my dorm for classes on my college campus the 21st.

It was a late shift, I work at a grocery store. There was almost nobody there. I had nothing to do, so I pulled out my phone and scrolled through the messages of my friends blowing me the :***: up about plans to hang out before everybody moves away.

Then, this guy. Who happens to be the son of one of my coworkers for that shift comes up to me (He was probably in his mid to late twenties) and starts talking to me. "I see what you're doing there!" In a friendly way, about me being on my phone when employees aren't technically supposed to be. So I'm talking to him like "Yeah, well, there's not really anybody here right now. I'm really bored anyway" Anyway, we're having a nice friendly conversation. I mention I'm resigning and I say where I'm going to school when he asked. Stuff that has never really been a big deal between two people just talking. Eh. SO I go about my business, I bust out laughing at a text from a friend. He turns around and I'm like "Oh nothing, just... and I motion to my phone"

A few minutes pass and my "Supervisor" who's actually a very friendly person and she's actually my friend was working in the cash office comes out to bring money to that kid's mom's register and exchange the coin dispenser. I'm just kinda wandering because we are dead for some reason. Eventually, she comes back and I start talking to her about random stuff. Something I say jogs her memory and she's like. "Oh! Were you flirting with (Such and such)'s son?" I was like Who? Because at this point I didn't know that guy was her kid. I said no. And she said "Well he thought you were and he said it really kinda pissed him off"

I felt so bad immediantly because I don't want anybody to get that impression from me. I was just being friendly and all. Nothing out of the ordinary in any way I talk to any other customer. Because I thought he was a customer and I was being friendly. I felt so bad. I started telling her this and she was all like "It's cool it's cool. I told him you probably weren't and were just being friendly. But he was like 'That kid really pissed me off' "

I'm sitting here like "What the hell made him think I was flirting with him?" Was it my hair? Because I'm dyed a dulled red right now because it's fading, it's an unnatural shade that a few people would consider 'gay' for a guy to do. I wanted to apologize, but he was gone. And I didn't want to get myself into a weird situation with his mom who was still here.

My friend/supervisor said that she was more dissapointed in him, she said it's probably because they're a really 'sheltered' family (code for conservative and not exposed to modern society too much) She said she got confused for that all the time, flirting when she wasn't just because she was being polite. When people do that she just thinks 'Okay. I can be a :***: if you want. It's easier"

I was genuinley concerned because you hear about bad stuff happening all the time. I carry mace anyway, it's on my keychain. I had to go get carts in from our dark parking lot where there aren't any cameras and there's a side lot that can get creepy. I had it hanging out of my pocket while I got it because you hear stories of people beating up others of the lgbt community when they're getting off of work or going outside, etc.

But I'm sitting here like "Wtf... I feel bad that I gave that off, but also there shouldn't be any way it could have been construed as me flirting!!"