So you want to embark on a casual, no-strings-attached relationship? Great, as long as you know what you're getting into. Here's how to navigate what should be a fun, hassle-free friends-with-benefits (FWB) experience.
1. Don’t fall in love. This is the biggest rule and the easiest one to remember. Don’t fall in love. But then again, this is also the hardest one to follow.
2. Have emotional maturity. Understand what kind of relationship you’re getting into right from the start. There isn’t supposed to be a happy ending. Be satisfied with a satisfying ending.
3. Set ground rules. How often should both of you call each other and how often should you meet? These rules aren’t set in stone, but both of you must make a conscious effort to follow it.
4. Don’t get clingy for attention. Your friend with benefits isn’t your lover. Don’t constantly call them or try to make a conversation when you have nothing better to do.
5. Keep it a secret. Don’t talk to your friends about it. Gossip has a funny way of spreading within minutes after you tell a friend about it. You’ll end up pissing your friend with benefits or getting a bad reputation.
6. Don’t sleep with two friends from the same group. It’s too risky and you may get caught, especially if both of them are trying to exchange sly smiles and sneaky glances with you, or worse, trying to reach out to your crotch from under the table at the same time.
7. Don’t be overenthusiastic. Yes, you get to have a no-strings relationship with someone. Yeah, good for you! But keep that libido and enthusiasm down or you’ll end up getting bored or scaring your screw buddy away.
8. Don’t go on a date. You may be intimate with each other, but that’s no excuse to see each other in any place other than a bed. You’ll ruin the relationship.
9. Distract yourself. Get interested in someone else as soon as you start having sex with your friend with benefits. It’ll take the option of falling for them out as long as you’re infatuated by someone else.
