Someone I've met online

Thanks for the tip, but that's probably not going to work. He's not in the US, so that particular site will not find him. For curiosity's sake, I've googled to see if there's a European equivalent, but so far haven't found any. I think records like that (criminal, SORs, bank records, home ownership) aren't as public here as they are over there.

Yes, if I do go through with it at some point, my nerves will be mainly preoccupied with the thought that he may not like me, and much less with the issue of trust.

If at some time I perceive that he doesn't like me, that in and of itself shouldn't be such a big deal, I know. There's other fish in the sea. But there's a strong likelihood that I'll generalize his attitude and think that I'm not interesting to anybody. I've never gone out on a date, nor have I been to many other social gathering in years. So the attempts I want to be making in the near future will likely inform the perception I have of my own desirability for whatever kind of relationship.