I'm surprised no one has mentioned this yet, but I would highly recommend buying used for your first bike. Especially if you have a friend who knows what to look for and can go with you to view the bike. That way when you decide what you REALLY want, you can sell it for about what you paid for it and not take the hit financially. Just a great way to get in… I bought a Trek 1.5 on CL for around $500 and rode that for a while before deciding I was going to stick with the sport and then bought another used bike - A Felt F2, much nicer bike with nicer components that sold new for around $5,000 and bought it with several accessories for $1,300, including an almost new pair of carbon road shoes that I'm still using several years later...
Anyway, look into a good condition slightly used road bike. There are SO many out there because people go in and buy a shiny new one and then use it a time or two and have great intention but never really use it. Wish you the best!