Magicians have a rule about showing their tricks: once is magic, twice is an education. Women have a similar rule about sex: three times is casual, more is dating. If you have trouble figuring out the status of your relationship, this rule may be what you need to clear things up.
Let’s say you’ve hooked up with her. There hasn’t really been a date, only three late-night booty calls. This is the point where you need to pause and decide if this person is interesting enough to be seen with publicly. If not, cut things off.
I can tell you this is difficult to do – nobody likes to git while the getting-off is good – but if you ignore this rule, bad things can happen. I share the following cautionary tale to illustrate my point:
I’m with a guy – let’s call him Luis – at his apartment. The rule is broken. Luis offers to walk me home. We’re heading back through Little Portugal when he asks, “Do you want to come visit my aunt?” I am still malleable from our session. Next thing I know, I’m on the wrong side of a door decorated with San Joao, eating sugar cookies and having my photo taken for the family album.
And as we all know, once you’re in the album, everything changes. It feels like you’re dating, which may cause a break-up and is therefore serious. The only way to keep things casual is to follow the “three times rule.” It may be painful at first, but it’s the only way to keep out of serious trouble.
