I am 24, I am an engineer and I will be graduating from my graduate program next fall. I have been working in the manufacturing industry for almost 3 years and I do fairly well. Next year, by 25, I am planning to buy my first house by myself, so I am all in track to accomplish pretty much all I wanted to be by 25: a Master’s, a good career and a house. I recently broke up with my last boyfriend due to money (or lack there of) - he has his own business but he was terrible at administration and he constantly borrowed money from me. I helped him because I loved him, but he took 1.5 years to pay me off what was a pretty big amount of money (I am not in the US so giving you the amount wouldn’t make sense, but it was the equivalent of a year’s salary for a of national low/lower middle class), and that made me feel like I was taken advantage of, we would talk about living together and to me that sounded like I was going to be the main (could be sole) breadwinner because he is so in debt and I am not, which also made me very not at ease. Once single I decided to entertain some of the men that hit on me that I just wasn’t paying attention before, and they happen to be older men. And also, I am interested in having a relationship with somebody that is more financially stable after my last relationship and because I myself am in a comfortable position financially, which leads me to older men. I went on a date with one of them recently and it was lovely, we had a great time, great conversation and at the end I decided to have sex with him and that was also great. The next day he texted me pretty early and tried to have a conversation with me, but it suddenly hit me that he is 37 and I am 24, that’s a 13 year age gap, why would he be interested in me if it’s not the fact that I am young? I am not particularly interested in starting a relationship with this man in specific, but I am mostly being hit on by man around that age due to my job, how could I identify if they are being creepy or genuinely interested? I am fairly average in looks (like a 7.5 daily, 8.5 dolled up) 5’3 and 115 lbs, but I make up with a pretty good butt and an attractive + confident personality. I am scared of being taken advantage of, even if I am not dumb at all in fact I consider myself an accomplished, smart woman, there is some wisdom that age gives you that I just do not have. I guess if I put in bluntly, I am scared of being the little young toy of an older man. How can I deal with this? Also during dinner with my last date I felt so out of place because I looked so young, you could tell the ge gap - how can I deal with this feelings?Btw, I do want to have kids + get married and maybe leave the industry to work in an university of something that is less demanding.