Casual sex between men is often understood as “freeˮ and devoid of any stakes beyond pure desire and pleasure. The study of the biographical story of a gay worker indicates that casual sex takes place in a broader system of relations according to a “sexˮ versus “loveˮ alternative, and including longtime partnership first with women, then with men, after a late coming out. On the whole, these sexual transactions depend on normative values such as men’s/women's roles, male identity and free will.