Oh, yes, I think I quite understood your meaning as far as that dating bit goes; I think I would probably call 'dates' some things you wouldn't, though figuring out exactly what and why would be part of the unpacking I mentioned.
And yes, outwardly, there can be some confusion between 'friend' and 'girlfriend' in my world-view -- I openly admit it and, actually, I'm quite unsure what the difference is exactly, myself. This is the other bit of unpacking, I think. (As a general basis, I don't believe you can build a 'romance' without first having a 'friendship,' and it's my general inclination that a friendship holds more importance between the two, but there's a lot more unpacking that would go into a full analysis of that...)
But if this is a case, and the time I spend with my friends becomes suspect, then it is a matter of trust, which can be dealt with appropriately. I'm an honest, up-front, honorable man; I've no intentions of doing anything that would compromise that, and the time I spend with my friends is as friends and nothing more. If you can't trust me to hold to that then (1) you don't really know me, or understand how I function and (2) nothing can be said or done, no rule can be mandated, to improve the lack of trust; mandating rules of behavior don't improve trust, they just remove the possibility of fears coming to fruition.
no subject
And yes, outwardly, there can be some confusion between 'friend' and 'girlfriend' in my world-view -- I openly admit it and, actually, I'm quite unsure what the difference is exactly, myself. This is the other bit of unpacking, I think. (As a general basis, I don't believe you can build a 'romance' without first having a 'friendship,' and it's my general inclination that a friendship holds more importance between the two, but there's a lot more unpacking that would go into a full analysis of that...)
But if this is a case, and the time I spend with my friends becomes suspect, then it is a matter of trust, which can be dealt with appropriately. I'm an honest, up-front, honorable man; I've no intentions of doing anything that would compromise that, and the time I spend with my friends is as friends and nothing more. If you can't trust me to hold to that then (1) you don't really know me, or understand how I function and (2) nothing can be said or done, no rule can be mandated, to improve the lack of trust; mandating rules of behavior don't improve trust, they just remove the possibility of fears coming to fruition.