But don’t sign up for an exclusive dating arrangement until you want to and think you are ready. If a date gets jealous or possessive and starts to make demands, tell him or her you haven’t yet agreed to an exclusive dating relationship and you don’t feel ready. And by the same token, don’t allow your emotions or insecurities to push you into demanding your date agree to an exclusive dating relationship. Learn about your emotions and your partner’s, but don’t allow them to control your behaviors.
It is a very bad idea to tell one date about your experiences with and feelings about another date. You are only going to create funny feelings. The best strategy is to keep your dating experiences to yourself (and maybe share them with a close friend). If a date asks you whether you are dating other people, you should reply truthfully but provide few details. “Yes, right now I am dating” should be sufficient. Until your date gets to know you well enough to think about joining with you in an exclusive relationship, you do not owe him or her any further information about your dating life and it is not a good idea to share too much about it. You may just arouse negative feelings unnecessarily.
Just because you make dates with a boy or a girl to share affection, this does not make him, or her, your boyfriend or girlfriend. A person only becomes a boy or girlfriend when both of you explicitly agree to limit your affectionate attention to one another and become a couple. Until that time you are merely ‘dates’.
