You begin to date someone. Your legs may brush up against each others' on your first date. You may hold hands walking from bar to bar on the second or third date. You give them a hug and quick peck kiss goodbye after the fourth date or so. How does…

When I was 16 years old, I didn’t tell anyone what had happened to me. I believed they’d blame me. Hell, I blamed me. So after I went on a camping trip in my friend’s parents' backyard, the one where my boyfriend tried to force himself on me while…

When I feel nervous on dates, I have a habit of fiddling with my hair or rearranging my arms. I don't mean to do it; I'm just excited about where the date will lead and worried about falling into a string of awkward silences. After my most recent…

Being in a relationship can come with a lot of questions along the way. When you first start seeing someone, you'll wonder if they like you back. Later, you might wonder like if they're looking for a serious relationship, or whether or not they…

A friend of mine — let's call him Ralph* — once told me about a musical experiment he was conducting with his girlfriend for a few months. "With" isn't the right word, but if I said he was experimenting on her, you'd probably have a lot more…

At the end of summer, I decided to take a much-needed break from dating. I had just ended a very emotionally taxing relationship that left me feeling completely spent. After taking a dating break for a couple of months, I tried to put myself back…

I have a really bad habit of comparing people to one another — myself included, TBH. I compare the way my friends treat one another to how they treat me, the relationships my parents have with my siblings to the one they have with me, and…

"When a guy is looking at you, how do you act?" The question may sound simple enough, but it took me by surprise when posed by a body language expert. When was the last time I thought about my body language? If I'm out at a bar, I'm not usually…

Brian and I met on July 2, 2016, at a bar in the Hamptons. He had a house there with his friends all summer; I was there with my friends for my birthday weekend. Most of the details are foggy but here's the TL;DR: He introduced himself, I made an…

It goes a little something like this. While standing at a crowded bar, you scan the room for a potential bae. Finally, your eyes land on someone who seems worth talking to. It’s not necessarily the stylish kicks they’re wearing, their perfectly…