Dinner ran three hours. She laughed at everything. You walked her to her car thinking this one's locked in.
Then: nothing. Two texts. No reply. What happened?
You did what most men do on a great date. You filled every silence, answered every question, and left her with nothing to wonder about. No mystery. Nothing to sit with when she got home.
Rule 3 of the "22 Rules" changes the ending: tell her a little, hold back the rest, and let her imagination do the chasing. The ghosting stops too.
You've replayed it a hundred times. She stood three feet away, scrolling her phone. You had an opening. You composed the perfect line — after she was gone.
For all you know, she's married now. To some guy who said something. Anything.
Openers are cheap. Almost any sentence works when it's delivered within three seconds. The expensive part is the standing there, drafting and deleting, while the window quietly closes.
The "22 Rules" stripped out my hesitation. What to open with, how to keep it alive, and the one habit that costs guys more women than anything else: waiting for perfect.
POINT THERE IS NOT A SET PATTERN FOROriginally posted by BGC:
Then she said that since I plan to go into politics, she was thinking that if she became my wife she'd have to get into politics too.
--BGC
POINT THERE IS NOT A SET PATTERN FOROriginally posted by BGC:
Then she said that since I plan to go into politics, she was thinking that if she became my wife she'd have to get into politics too.
--BGC
Deagleclaw,Originally posted by Deagleclaw:
Well,
there have been numerous replies to this post and I doubt you'll read through enough responses to finally get all the way down here for my opinion, but here it is.
You have a bad situation here. She wants him bad. I can pretty much guarantee if he said he wanted to sleep with her, she wouldn't go for it, but if he said he wanted to get back together... you'd get the short end of the stick. You can't forbid her to talk to him, you can't tell her what to do. Let her know that you do not tolerate divided affection. She'll say she doesn't think of him that way anymore. Tell her it doesn't matter. She is Your girlfriend now... he had his chance, and he should go out and get his own girl. Women do not understand guys the way guys do.
You KNOW he's trying to get in her pants again. Of course this is gonna make you possessive? If it didn't you wouldn't be a man. She is Your girl now. He can get his own. I'd explain it to her in these terms. You bought a car off a guy, but that guy still has an old set of keys... and lately he's been hovering around the car again... The hell are you supposed to think? Of course he's thinking of stealing it, and whether it's for a joy ride or whether he really wants it back doesn't matter.
Dude, I'm afraid you're going to have to give an ultimatum here. She ceases contact with him, if he initiates a call she tells him not to call anymore, if he persists YOU tell him not to call anymore, if he continues, burn his house down. Just kidding. She has to know that in order to stay with you, she has to have NO contact with this guy.
She'll probably give you a "He's a part of my life" speech, which is where you say "And that part's over, move on or move out. I don't need the drama."
Later,
Deagleclaw out
Next Monday you'll feel more confident. After the gym you'll feel more confident. After one more drink you'll feel more confident. After you get a better haircut, a better jacket, a better job.
You've been "getting ready" for two years.
She's standing ten feet away right now. She'll be gone in four minutes. No amount of preparation will manufacture the courage that only comes from moving your feet.
Walk over. Stumble through the first sentence. Let it be clumsy. Let it be imperfect. You will feel more alive in those ten seconds than you have all month.
She asks it casually, mid-sip. And you feel the floor open up, because the honest answer is work, gym, and a couple shows you're half-watching.
Women rarely say this out loud, but a man with a life is attractive before he says a word. The guy who spent Saturday deep-sea fishing and came back with photos and a story — he walks in already interesting.
The "22 Rules" pushed me to build a life worth talking about. Turns out the fastest way to be interesting to women is to be interested in your own life first.
Originally posted by maranathaman
I wouldn't throw a tamtrum and demand she not see him anymore, because she will do whatever she wants. BUT, I WOULD say something like: "You are a big girl now, you are entitled to do whatever you want, however, know this! that there WILL be consequences to your actions! If you mess around with other guys, I will walk! I want a gf who is NOT trying to see how much she can get away with as you are doing, but instead I want a gf who wants to get as close to ME as she can, and girlie, right now you are skating on thin ice!" She has to know that you demand RESPECT. If she insists on trying to get away with flirting with this or any other guy, then the consequence is that you will have no problem finding a girl who can be loyal instead of an untrustworthy be-acth like her. Maranathaman has spoken!
Your buddy Dave has been single for three years and thinks "hey u up" is a valid strategy. Your other buddy Mike just got dumped and told you to "just be yourself."
You showed them her text. You asked them to decode the emoji. You drafted four responses and sent the screenshot to the group chat for a vote.
She's been waiting forty minutes.
Put the phone down. Stop crowdsourcing your love life. Type something that sounds like you. Hit send. Then go do literally anything else with your evening.