Bench

To "bench" someone, romantically speaking, is to put them in relationship limbo without telling them. Let's say you have a sneaky feeling that you might want to break up with your partner soon, but you're not 100 percent sure, and in the meantime you don't want to screw things up just in case you're wrong. A grownup might confess these feelings of uncertainty, but that would lead to a Big Talk (not to mention an extended period of unreciprocated oral sex if you stay together after the B.T.)--and all that melodramatic over-analyzing is precisely what you're trying to avoid right now. So you bench your partner and kind of hang out in relationship stasis, marking time until you've made up your mind whether to stay or go. During this period, there are 8 basic rules you should follow: Read More »