When You Love Someone, You Stay Loyal To Them

When you love someone, you don’t tilt your phone away from them when you’re texting because you’re worried they’ll see the words on the screen. You don’t hide contacts under fake names. You don’t delete messages daily (or strictly talk over snapchat) so your person can never find anything. You don’t answer phone calls in the middle of the night and lie about where they’re coming from.

When you love someone, you don’t download Tinder just to flip through your options, to imagine what it would be like if you were single again, to see how many matches you can get to raise your confidence. You don’t flirt with other people, even if it is harmless, even if you have no intention of taking it from over the phone to face-to-face.

When you love someone, you don’t act like you are still single when you haven’t been for a long time. You don’t lie about your relationship status to make it seem like you are available. You don’t give out your phone number to people who clearly want to sleep with you.

When you love someone, you don’t get drunk and suddenly lose all self-control. You don’t let a few beers or a bong become an excuse for cheating. You don’t become a totally different person, an unfaithful person, when you are under the influence.

When you love someone, you don’t text your exes and your attractive friends constantly so that you have a backup plan in case your relationship fails. You don’t lead other people on and make them think that they have a chance, even though you are already in a committed relationship.

When you love someone, you don’t dance with other people at the club when you know it would make your partner uncomfortable. You don’t hold hands with other people. You don’t kiss other people. You don’t sext other people. You save all of that for your person.

When you love someone, you don’t make your person jealous on purpose by flirting with other people in front of them. You don’t call them crazy for getting upset when you stare at other people’s asses. You don’t make them feel like you could do better, like they are lucky that you have stuck around for this long because you have so many other options.

When you love someone, you don’t run off to your ex whenever you have a small argument. You don’t jump into bed with the first person you see just because you are upset. You don’t ruin a serious relationship built on trust for one night of distraction.

When you love someone, you don’t cheat on your partner physically or emotionally, in big ways or in subtle ways. You don’t risk losing them because of your libido. You don’t hurt them like that. You would hate yourself for hurting them like that.

When you love someone, you don’t take that love for granted. You treat them with kindness. You give them respect. You never even think about cheating on them.

When you love someone, you don’t screw them over.