The Seven Unspoken Rules Of Casual Sex

Whether it’s a friends-with-benefits situation or a Tinder date gone right, here’s how to ensure everyone wakes up happy the next morning.

While it goes against conventional wisdom, I’m a staunch opponent of the idea that sex is always better with someone you love. To me, sex is like tennis: a pleasurable activity you can do alone or with others, with varying degrees of formality. And it can be quite invigorating.

After four years with an exclusive, committed partner, they usually know at least four to six things that you like doing. You’ve probably brought up your kinks and turn-offs. You’re unafraid to say, “A fraction to the left.” But sex with the same person, with whom you currently have a minor standoff over who’s going to call the landlord about the water spot on the ceiling in the kitchen, can also become rote in a way casual sex cannot.

Casual sex, of course, can occasionally suffer from its newness or lack of intimacy – we all have lacklustre, one-night-stand stories. But casual sex offers novelty. In the same way that it’s fun to stay in a hotel, even if you have no desire to live there, there’s something inherently sexy about getting down and dirty with someone new.

Here are some guidelines for making casual sex, well, casual.

1. Be prepared