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One-night-stand etiquette

by Stefani Andrews

There is a fairly high chance that everyone has been in this situation. You meet a man at a bar, he buys you a few drinks and you talk until closing time. This man then turns to you and asks if you'd like to come back to his place for a bit. Seeing as everything went so well, and being attracted to him, you agree. That is where the questions start. Should you stay the whole night? Do you sneak out the next morning and do the Walk of Shame all the way home? Should you leave your number? What about breakfast in the morning?

One night stands seem to be fairly commonplace around the bar and club scene these days, and that is nothing to be ashamed of. You are your own woman, and therefore capable of making your own decisions. But, for women at least, one night stands are frowned upon. Good girls surely do not do things like that. Whereas the men involved are usually given a heart pat on the back and a congratulations from their buddies. If you go the route of the one night stand, just try to keep a few things in mind to maintain a dignified and respectable air about you.

Don't use the whole, "I never do this" line. More than likely as soon as that escapes your lips, he'll think this is exactly what you do on a regular basis. On the same note, he doesn't need to know just how frequently you do engage in one night stands. It's not really his business. If he asks, just throw him a flirty little grin and say "Well is doesn't come naturally to me". That is vague enough to let you keep it your secret and give him a legitimate answer at the same time.

Don't stay too long afterwards. If you are awake, you should be looking to go home. If he had wanted you to stay longer, he would have said something. Staying too long past your welcome will only make you look eager. Don't assume that he'd like you to stay around. If he is in the shower when you wake, this is a pretty good indication that he'd hoping you'll have left when he comes back.

Don't try to make conversation if you are a morning person. Some people are not, and it could make him even more uncomfortable. From a man's standpoint the idea of waking up next to a stranger and having some deep and in-depth conversation is certainly not desirable. If you do speak in the morning, don't mention anything about a date or hook-up in the future. If he wants to see you again, this will only intrigue him more about you and make him want to see you.

Don't offer him your phone number, or just leave it for him. Again, if he didn't ask already, he probably isn't interested. If he is interested later on down the road, he could reasonably ask around about you and attempt to find you again. If you ask, the most reasonable response is for him to say yes and not appear rude or upset you. Even if he has no intention of calling he will want to solicitous, and that will only make it harder on you if he never calls.

Don't ask him if he remembers your name. If he is interested past a one night stand, he probably does remember. Also, don't ask him what his name is if you can't remember. This will only make you look bad. If he has any further interest in you, he will probably not take kindly to not having his name remembered.

Whatever you do, do not ask him "how you were" the night before. This looks very clingy and needy, and he might not even remember anyway. See if he mentions it first, if things were really good he probably will. Men tend to be very straightforward and will say what's on their mind. There is not really a need to play detective to find out his thoughts. If he is interested, he will tell you.

Should he ask you to stay for breakfast, or invite you for a shower then you need to decide on your interest in him. Accepting the invitation will give the appearance that you are interested in him. If you're not interested then don't stay and hang out. It will give him a false impression. But if you are interested and want to sit across a table with last night's makeup still on, then by all means stay. The best course may be to graciously decline to stay but that you would love to take him up on that offer at another time.

If you still find yourself walking through his apartment with his roommates watching from the couch, with smeared makeup, rumpled hair, and a missing shoe then take this last bit of advice. Roll your eyes at the snickering roommates and walk out with your head held high. There is nothing to be ashamed of, so why act ashamed and embarrassed? Look straight ahead, walk with your head up, and call your girlfriends with the highlights of the evening when you get home.

Helium, Inc.
200 Brickstone Square Andover, MA 01810 USA