Article of the Day: His Idea of Girlfriend Material

If you’re used to hearing the line “I’m just not ready for a relationship,” then please, keep reading. One important thing to bear in mind: Guys decide early on whether they’re willing to forgo their freedom to become monogamous with you. To prove to him it’s a sacrifice that he’ll actually want to make, be sure that you...

Pick Up the Check
Relax, we’re not saying you have to pony up for every meal. But if you reach for the bill, he’ll know you’re a self-sufficient chick who’s not just looking for a free ride. “If a girl looks away or suddenly gets distracted when the check comes, I feel taken advantage of,” says Sammy,* 25. “When a woman insists on picking up the occasional tab though, it shows she’s interested in me as a person, not in what I can give her.”

Have Friday-Night Plans
Sure, you want to see him, and he appreciates that. But when you bombard him with a steady stream of e-mails and text messages asking if he wants to do something this weekend, it’s suffocating. What he needs to move forward with you is reassurance that you have your own life — one that doesn’t revolve around him. “My girlfriend was the first woman I’d ever dated who repeatedly told me ‘Already booked’ because she had all this other stuff going on,” says Amir, 29. “Soon, though, I realized that if I wanted to see her, I’d have to make plans in advance. That made me want her even more!”

Love His Guy Stuff
“My idea of long-term material is someone who will give me a high five when I’ve had a great day on the golf course or night at the poker table and who will laugh with me when I tell her about all the stupid stuff my friends did at our bar crawl,” says Carlo, 31. Yes, it’s asking a lot (we don’t expect you to embrace our strip-joint jaunts), but guys don’t want a girlfriend who’s going to bitch and moan about our manly activities or the company we keep.

Unleash Your Lust
When a guy looks ahead to his future with a girl, he wants to imagine crazy nights of wake-the-neighbors sex. So if you’re already an eager little bed devil to begin with, he knows he has a lot to look forward to in a relationship. “I dated this girl briefly who was great in every way, but when it came to sex, she was really inhibited. Instead of enjoying sex, it always seemed like she was doing me some kind of favor,” says Lucas, 29. “I knew it would just get worse as time went on, so I decided that I had to break it off.”