8 Rules For Being Friends With Benefits

We are all familiar with the term "friends with benefits". Sounds great, right? Like with anything though, it can get complicated real quick if there aren't some kind of rules to guide your way through this arrangement. The following 8 must-know rules will certainly come in handy for your next friends with benefits situation.

# It's All About the Sex!

Since the relationship is all about the sex, it should be amazing sex! Talk about what you like and what you don't like with your sex partner. Talk about your sexual fantasies and encourage them to talk about theirs. A friends with benefits relationship isn't romantic, so you don't have to get hung up on the standard, "what will they think about me?" issues. If it's something you've wanted to try but just didn't know how to bring it up in a previous relationship, bring it up now. You may be surprised at how open your friend with benefits may be at trying new things.

# Practice Safe Sex Rules

Safe sex means wearing condoms, 100% of the time. You're just having casual sex with your friend with benefits and this means they don’t have to reveal who else they are sleeping with. Multiple partners bring more risk for sexually transmitted diseases, so you will want to protect yourself. Even if you use condoms regularly, it's good to get tested. Also, you'll want to make sure there is adequate protection against pregnancy. Don't just stop at condoms; a combination of contraceptives, such as condoms and birth control pills, will leave you at ease, which in turn will allow you to enjoy sex more.

# Be Honest and Upfront With Your Friend With Benefits - Honesty Rules!

During the course of the friends with benefits relationship, it is crucial to always be honest with your partner and let them know what is going on. If either of you develops feelings for the other person, let them know. If you feel like you need to end the friends with benefits situation as well, do not hesitate to let your partner know. If you explain what is going on, there will be no hurt feelings and no misconceptions. Being open and honest really helps any relationship, so this one shouldn't be any different.

# Do Not Introduce Your Friend With Benefits To Loved Ones

Do not introduce your friend with benefits to your friends, parents, co-workers, acquaintances, or other family members. Think of your friend with benefits as your “dirty little secret.” You will generally meet up with them in the wee hours of the night or in out-of-the-way places, not to be seen/caught by other people. You don't want to introduce your friend with benefits to a family member because they may get the wrong idea as to where the relationship is going and start inviting them to family functions. Seeing them at family functions will definitely give YOU the wrong impression and make you start wondering where you can fit them into other areas of your life...which will ultimately ruin your friends with benefits relationship. It can also give your partner the wrong idea and they may start developing different feelings for you. If you don't want this to happen, it is best not to introduce your friend with benefits to anyone you know.

# Be Careful of Close Proximity to Your Friend With Benefits

When getting into a friends with benefits relationship, be careful of choosing someone too close, such as a neighbor. Close proximity can be a plus at the beginning of a relationship, but when the relationship is done, there may be some embarrassment if you have to continue seeing them on a regular basis. Also, one of the “sparks” of having a friends with benefits relationship may be some of the mystery they provide. If you can just glance next door and see what they are up to, the mystery goes out of the relationship very fast. Rules like this may be hard to follow when a really good looking neighbor moves in next door, but you will really want to think hard and fast on this one. If you have ever tried to date someone at work and had to see them at work after a break-up, you can understand why this is a good rule to follow.

# Do Not Cuddle

In a friends with benefits relationship, do not cuddle after sex. Cuddling is something that you would do in a romantic relationship, but it has no business in a friends with benefits relationship. It promotes intimacy, and friends with benefits do not need this complication. Rules like this one are vital to keeping the friends with benefit relationship on an even keel, with just the right amount of time and energy invested.

# Friends With Benefits Don't Have Sleepovers

Do not sleep over after sex. Sleeping over can lead to cuddling, breakfast, shared rides, etc. After sex, make for the nearest exit, or if you are already home, ask your sex partner to head for the door. When rules like this are established from the very first encounter, they are easy to follow as the relationship continues.

# Do Not Get Jealous

Jealousy has no place in a friends with benefits relationship. However, since everyone is human, you do want to be aware that this type of behavior can pop up in any situation. Being aware of your triggers when it comes to jealousy can help you combat it if it rears its ugly head. You have no business being jealous if you see your friend with benefits out on a date with someone else or if they fail to acknowledge you in public; you will want the same courtesy if you are out on a date and they see you. If you do feel some type of jealousy, this may just be a normal reaction and you may be able to stave it off. If you cannot, then perhaps the situation doesn't work for you and it is best to bow out.