10 Different Types of Sex Every Single Person Needs To Have Before It’s Too Late

1. Sex with a good friend.

Most heterosexual people have at least one friend of the opposite sex they secretly want to bang. No matter how fulfilling your relationship with this person is in its platonic state, and no matter how certain you both are that you’d make a terrible couple, you can’t help feeling sexually attracted to them on occasion. They make you laugh, after all, and they listen when you’re feeling down. You like them a lot. How could you not pine for their body once in a while?

Before you settle down with a life mate, rip your opposite sex buddy out of the friend zone for a temporary joy ride in the with-benefits lane. Then agree never to speak of the tryst again—especially not with the person you end up dating long-term, who will surely feel threatened by your dalliance with the person you continue to refer to as “just a really close friend.”

2. Sex with someone who doesn’t speak a word of the same language.

When you’re completely incapable of expressing yourself to another human being through words, magical things happen. Forced to innovate, you discover unique ways of communicating to the object of your affection that you find them beautiful, intriguing, and sexy. Stripped of the ability to convey your wants and needs through speaking, you will move more slowly and mindfully to start. Naked together in bed, the language barrier that cushioned you in the beginning empowers you to relinquish your inhibitions and enjoy each other ravenously. Few things are more satisfying than seducing (or being seduced by) a foreigner, in their land or yours.

3. Sex with a colleague.

A little harmless workplace flirtation can be an effective way to alleviate the day-to-day stresses of office life. When all of that unaddressed sexual energy bubbles to the surface, however, it sometimes demands attention. After months or years of repressing your urges, it might seem near impossible to go one more day without having sex with a certain colleague. If you’re going to act on the sexual tension between you and a fellow employee, you might as well do it when you’re single and the potential risks are merely professional rather than personal.

4. Dip-into-the-well sex.

By the time you’re an adult, a string of past failed relationships trails behind you. At different stages, you had a strong connection with each of the individuals you once called your boyfriend or girlfriend and that bond doesn’t necessarily die completely after you both move on. No matter how badly things ended, traces of past connectedness with a former flame tend to linger in the form of memories, photographs, knickknacks, and journal entries. It’s wonderful to sleep with someone whose body and mind you already know, especially when you’re single and that type of sex is difficult to come by. As long as you’re emotionally stable enough to dip back into the well, get your fix of hot sex with the person you once loved long ago. Then promptly go back to hating them.

5. Sex with your childhood crush.

Maybe you were an awkward adolescent who kept to herself but blossomed into a 20-something stallion, or you had a best friend of the opposite sex for years growing up whom you couldn’t work up the nerve to hit on. Do your childhood self a favor and actualize their wet dreams of hooking up with their very first non-celebrity crush. The sex might be terrible, but it’ll be worth it.

6. One-night stand sex.

Unless you’re given to cheating without feeling any guilt whatsoever, or you plan to have an open relationship, the window for no-strings-attached sex tends to close rapidly, when we least expect it. Before you know it, you’ll meet someone who inspires you to make the kinds of crazy lifetime promises you didn’t think you were at all prepared to utter, and you’ll look back and freak out a little because your one-night stand time has expired. Get your fill before it’s too late and you find yourself aching for the sometimes regrettable but usually thrilling sex act that is the badge of freedom singles wear.

7. Sex with someone you meet on vacation.

We may not be our best selves when unplugged from daily life, but we are generally our most carefree, fun-loving selves. What complements a massive helping of liberation from the drudgery of routine better than a side of sexy time with a stranger? Nothing! Vacation sex is a special subset of no-strings-attached sex that ends up being especially memorable due to its association with beaches and warm climates or culturally enriching activities and beautiful foreign cities. Yes, it’s nice to have sex with a long-term partner while vacationing. No, it’s not the same.

8. Internet sex.

Hooking up with someone you meet on the Internet is a rite of passage for young adults today. Check this experience off your sexual to-do list before it’s too late and you seem super old when you have to admit you’ve never executed a successful online-to-IRL sexcapade.

9. Third wheel threesome sex.

Some couples love to have threesomes regularly. But once you’re half of an official pair, you’re no longer well positioned to experience threesomes from the perspective of the third party. It’s worth getting your third-wheel threesome experience in while you’re still single so you can be sure you understand the joys of the ménage à trois from all possible angles.

10. Random sex on a bad day.

If executed properly, sex is a surefire way to feel good because orgasming leads to the release of endorphins. Couples familiar with the healing powers of makeup sex know this. What couples don’t generally get to do, however, is fuck someone random on a bad day just to feel good again. It’s rewarding to get a sense of your capacity to eradicate your pain by exploiting the mind-body phenomenon (and a consenting stranger’s body). Give it a try before you’re forced to rely on one person to fuck the bad day out of you for the rest of your life.