How to Tell the Men From the Boys - And Keep Them

When a man asks for your number, it usually means one of several things. At the very least, it means that he's curious and would like to see if there's more to you than your initial conversation. Another possibility is that he's physically attracted to you, and he might be interested in hooking up with you in the near future. And the best case scenario would be that he's both physically and emotionally attracted to you, and would very much like to see whether you'd be interested in getting into a good long-term relationship together.

But how do you know which is which? For instance, when you think he's only curious, you might act polite and formal on your next date so that you can get to know each other better. But when he was actually both physically and emotionally attracted to you, then your polite and formal behavior might give the message that you only want to be friends.

So how can you find out? Simple - ask questions.

Not doing anything can be just as bad as doing the wrong thing when it comes to potential relationships with men. So don't be afraid to ask questions - when you do so in a mature, playful, conversational manner, it's the best way to separate the men from the boys. Immature men ("boys," if you will) tend to shy away or be offended when you ask such questions, while the real men actually like your openness and will draw closer to you.

Another way to tell the men from the boys would be to always know the context in which you say things. Let's take a simple example - the sentence "I hate you." When you tell him this with a dead-serious stare and your arms crossed at your chest, then he'll think that you really do hate him. But when you say it by leaning forward with a smirk, he'll think you're only kidding and that you're really into him. And when he plays your game and moves the playful conversation forward, you'll know that he's one of the few mature men out there.

Finally, a great way to tell the men from the boys is to find out what makes them tick. Remember that the way a man gets attracted to a woman isn't the same the other way around. Men are turned on by intellectual conversations, while boys shy away from them. Men love teasing and being teased, while boys easily feel insulted. Men like to talk about things bigger than themselves, while boys think it's all about them.

Once you can tell the men from the boys, you'll save yourself from the trouble of having to put up with any immaturity and instead spend all your time with the men that really know their place.