another age gap topic., sorry guys, i guess i lack originality. Options

[mytangerine]

i know shortnsweet88 posted a topic not too terribly long ago about this, but can you please give me advice anyways? that would be so helpful

the situation isn't entirely the same, since i am 17 & he is 23. we have the most incredible connection and chemistry that i really cannot see myself finding anyone else with that degree of compatibility. we can talk about anything and everything, and physicality is not a focus at all. sure we kiss/makeout, but we talk significantly more than we do that.it is also incredibly apparent that he is not just a jerk that wants some young booty or anything, he is actually legit.

main dilemma;
telling my parents. do i or don't i? i feel horrible for hiding such a major thing like this from them, it seriously kills me. however, just today i told my mom i had gone to dinner with some older college guy friends of mine & some of their friends and she said "i don't know if i feel comfortable with you hanging out with older guys like that" that just kind of killed my hopes that she will actually be okay with it if i were to explain properly. but is hiding it from her longer really going to be better than just letting her know & perhaps dealing with the wrath that might ensue? i really expect to stay with this guy as long as possible, he really is as close to perfect as i have come to finding.

[*absinthe*]

Age shouldn't matter of course, but if you're afraid of what your parents would say, maybe you should wait until you're 18 to tell them. Perhaps then you'd feel more comfortable.