If These 7 Things Hit A Little Too Close To Home, It's Time To Send Your Man Packing
Signs he's not willing to make an effort in a long-term relationship.
César O'neill | Pexels You're with a guy. You're falling in like, maybe even in love. The conversation is good. The intimacy is great. He's starting to steal your heart, and you're hoping this is the start of something good. Something long-term. Because he's cute, and he's nice, and you seem pretty compatible.
Back it on up. Stop those dreams of babies (the ones you'd die before you'd cop to). This dude might not be in it for the long haul. He could be in it for the right now. You might see next year, but he only sees as far as next week. This isn't a relationship, it's two steps up from a one-night stand.
If these 7 things hit a little too close to home, it's time to send your man packing:
1. He hasn't introduced you to his friends
When you go out, it's always either the two of you or you meet your friends. You never meet his buddies and their partners. In fact, you barely know their names, let alone their faces.
If he were serious about you, he'd want his guys' approval, and you'd find yourself in a bar meeting all of them at once. Or he'd take you to a party where he's the only familiar face to you, and you're the only person he hasn't known since college. If he's keeping you and his friends separate, he's not in it for the long haul.
2. You never or rarely spend the night together
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He wants to see you looking good with all your makeup on or in your bedroom. He has no interest in the panda-smudged, blotchy morning you who farts when she wakes up and stumbles off to the shower. He's not interested in you seeing his haystack hair in the morning, either.
But most of all, he's not interested in spending the night with you because he's not interested in anything lasting. He doesn't care to cuddle with you all night, and if he spoons you, it only lasts as long as the afterglow.
3. You've never been to his apartment, or he's never been to yours
You've picked one location for brief hangouts. Afterward, either he leaves or kicks you out. If he comes to your place, you've never been to his apartment. Oh, there are excuses — it's too far from the city center, it's a mess, his roommate is weird — but you've never been there, not even to drop off some dry-cleaning.
If you've decided to meet at his place, he's never made the effort to come to yours. No amount of asking or inviting will get him over there, and there's always some excuse he can't make it.
4. You don't shower together
So much for the afterglow. After getting sweaty, you hop off to the shower while he scrolls on his phone. Showering together is an exercise in cooperation more than an intimate time; someone's always avoiding shampoo spray in their eyes or sliding past the other to get their share of the water.
It's intimate but less titillating. If he were in it for the long haul, he'd get in with you. But he's not, so you shower one at a time.
5. He doesn't let you borrow his clothes
A guy who's in it long term thinks it's cute you're wearing his t-shirt. He almost wants you to wear it because it's alluring. But a guy who's in it for the right now doesn't want you in his clothes. He might bolt at any minute, and then where would his Phish tour t-shirt be?
So either he leaves your place with all his clothes, or when you leave his place, you're wearing nothing but what you brought with you. Letting you steal his clothes is a form of possession, something Mr. Right Now isn't interested in.
6. He doesn't get jealous
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Got plans with your friends? It's cool with him. Have to go away for the weekend? He doesn't care. A guy who's in it for the long haul will express some annoyance or regret. But Mr. Right Now doesn't care; it's his chance to do what he wants, which might include going out with some other person.
He'll tell you he's glad for the alone time. But you want a guy who wants to be with you, and who at least expresses some regret when he can't.
7. You haven't met his parents
If his parents live anywhere nearby, he should have introduced you to them. A guy who's in it for the long term would take you over for dinner, or out for dinner, or have you all over to his place. If he's a right now kind of dude, he avoids having you run into his parents at all costs.
There's no point, and when he breaks up with you next week (or likely just stops taking your calls), his mom will ask about you until the end of time. If his parents don't live nearby, you'd have heard a long-term guy on his phone saying something like, "Yeah, I'm out with so and so." A guy who's in it for right now will just say he's out, avoiding any mention of your name.
Mr. Long Term and Mr. Right Now behave very differently. Know the differences so your heart doesn't get broken.
If he won't introduce you to his parents, he hasn't been to your apartment, and he hasn't introduced you to his friends, he's not a long-term prospect. Ditch him before he ditches you — and when you ditch him, note his reaction. If he doesn't seem too upset, you were right on.
Alissa Scully is a freelance writer and frequent contributor to YourTango who focuses on dating and relationships.
