Have you developed feelings for a friend with benefits (FWB) and want something more? It’s common for a casual fwb situation to turn into deeper feelings over time. Many great relationships start from a foundation of friendship and sex.
Spending intimate time together makes it natural to fall for a friend with benefits. The key is figuring out if they can fall, too. If you want to move from a casual dynamic to an official relationship, there are ways to find out if they feel the spark.
This article explores 17 ways to strengthen closeness and attraction between friends with benefits organically. It provides tactical and emotional suggestions for nurturing intimacy in communication, quality time, sex, and affection.
Additionally, tips are included for smoothly gauging mutual interest in transitioning the casual situation into an exclusive, committed relationship.
From evaluating your connection and discussing commitment to expressing interest beyond the bedroom, utilize these friendly tactics. Soon, your friend with benefits may want to fall in love, too! Let’s dive in.
17 Ways To Make Your Friend With Benefits Fall For You
1. Reflect on Feelings
Before moving forward in your benefits fall-in-love situation, reflect carefully on your true feelings and motives. It’s common to catch feelings or confuse great sexual chemistry for something deeper.
Ask yourself – would you still be excited if sex was off the table? Do you have genuine interest beyond fulfilling sexual needs? Envision your future – do you see this developing into a committed relationship?
Don’t worry if you want a relationship; your FWB relationship can transition smoothly. Research shows that benefits can fall in love, too.
The key is communicating wants clearly while letting things progress organically, without attachment to a particular outcome.
2. Evaluate Connection
Spend time focusing on emotional intimacy, not just great sex. Plan activities outside of the bedroom to nurture your bond. Initiate affectionate cuddling after sex and make them feel special with compliments. Laugh together often.
Getting to know each other on a deeper level lays the groundwork if you want to take things to the next level later on.
Pay attention to signs that you have a friendship building, too. If that connection exists, a healthy relationship may develop down the road.
3. Create Mystery
It’s important to remember that even if you’re interested in a committed relationship, men don’t like to feel pressured.
Continue doing your things and gently tell him you’re open to more developing between you – but don’t have rigid expectations.
Creating a bit of mystery about your time apart can spark his interest in learning more about your life. Planning some activities with your existing friends is another way to build emotional connection while showing you have an entire life outside the casual sexual relationship.
4. Give Sincere Compliments
If you start to develop feelings in this type of relationship, give sincere compliments to make them feel good about themselves and the relationship with someone who respects their feelings.
This positive reinforcement releases oxytocin and reinforces your interest beyond a casual hookup or booty call.
But be careful about getting too attached. Your friends with benefits can fall in love too, but also might simply be enjoying the sexual needs without emotional connection. Respect that while showing you’re interested in more by limiting dating others.
5. Display Confidence
Regardless of your feelings towards your partner, maintain confidence in yourself. Avoid compromising your values or letting insecurity dictate your actions. If you ever feel unsure, get professional help to work through it.
Stay focused on pursuing your own life goals and friendships outside the relationship. This self-assurance demonstrates self-respect and gives you a strong sense of identity, which is essential for transitioning to a more serious relationship.
6. Show Interest
If you feel yourself getting romantically attached, use your intimate time to show interest in their life outside your no-strings-attached dynamic. Ask about their hobbies, dreams, and interests to highlight your curiosity about who they are.
This builds essential friendship, allowing an organic FWB to transition to a relationship later if you both want it. Understand that a romantic relationship entails genuine interest and care for each other’s relationship issues and goals – so focus on emotional intimacy first.
7. Laugh Together
Laughing together is a great way to nurture emotional intimacy, which is essential if a relationship develops later.
Humor makes you feel good and demonstrates you know one another well enough to find the same things funny.
Use inside jokes and callbacks to your unique adventures. This shared laughter strengthens fondness and affection without the pressure of discussing the future. Enjoy the playful banter; that connection means you’re starting to click.
8. Cuddle More
A little extra affection can nurture feelings during and after sex. Experiment with gentle caresses, nuzzling, and stroking your partner’s hair. These oxytocin boosts support bonding beyond a purely sexual experience.
Approach additional cuddling in a relaxed, undemanding way. Your friends-with-benefits relationship may one day deepen into romantic love. But for now, enjoy strengthening your intimacy and seeing if benefits fall in love, too.
9. Maintain Mystery
While you hope your FWB falls in love, too, avoid acting like you already have an exclusive relationship. Maintain parts of your independent life to sustain a bit of mystery and avoid hurting anyone if things don’t progress.
Keep up your friendships and interests. Say you have plans when they ask you out sometimes, even if you’re bored.
This balance of intimacy combined with a bit of emotional distance keeps things exciting and strings attached-free.
Have deep conversations and engaging activities when you do see each other. But don’t share everything or see them every day.
Stay a bit mysterious, so when you do reunite, it feels fresh. This combination of care with independence can nurture true friends with the benefits of falling in love.
10. Passionate Sex
Without any commitment, the sex likely feels exciting and passionate. And while this is enjoyable, the first thing you need to do is focus on spending time together outside of the bedroom. Plan activities unrelated to sexual activity; as a positive sign, you want things to turn into something more.
The best way to build a deeper connection beyond casual sex is by focusing on emotional intimacy. So, spend quality time together and make each other feel good through affectionate words and actions – even if it’s not sexual. This will release oxytocin and help turn your sexual relationship into something more serious.
11. Meet Friends
Meeting your partner’s friends is a classic step when bonds deepen. Start by suggesting getting everyone together casually, so there’s no pressure. You can always leave early if it doesn’t feel right.
But if the dynamic flows well, it’s a promising sign you fit into other areas of their life. Nurture this integration little by little.
Building bonds with their inner circle helps pave the way if you both decide on commitment with someone new.
12. Discuss Commitment
If things are going well, consider bringing up being exclusive. Choose a relaxed time and gently ask how they feel about commitment. Make it a conversation, not a demand.
Share that you enjoy what you have but aren’t interested in still seeing other people. See if they feel the same. If they balk, say no pressure, and you’re open to giving things more time.
If they agree to stop dating around, reaffirm together often. Check that you both feel happy with this arrangement as your relationship progresses.
13. Pursue Your Goals
As you nurture this new relationship, stay focused on your life. Keep up friendships, hobbies, and professional goals. This gives you a solid sense of identity beyond the partnership.
Confidently pursuing personal growth demonstrates self-respect. And maintaining your interests prevents you from getting overly obsessed with the budding romance.
Keep dating your partner, but also make regular time for personal activities. Finding this balance helps you build a healthy dynamic with realistic expectations. You support each other while retaining independence.
14. Let it Flow
Avoid pressuring your partner into committing before they are ready. You want genuine interest, not reluctant obligation. Ensure you both can still lead your separate lives while nurturing your bond.
Let things progress organically, and don’t set rigid expectations. Be patient and caring. If committed love is meant to develop, it will do so through consistent positive interactions over time.
Focus on enjoying each other in the moment instead of pushing for definitions or future promises. Follow this blueprint for facilitating a natural friends-to-lovers transition.
15. Test Affection
Try gradually adding more overt affection to see how your partner responds. Snuggle closer, give compliments about their personality, and hold hands more often. Suggest upcoming relationship-type activities.
If they consistently reciprocate this relationship behavior positively, it is a vital sign mutual feelings are present and growing. Keep exploring this with the reassurance you both want the same progression.
If it seems one-sided, pull back and reassess if now is the right time to transition from sex buddies to romantic partners. Regardless, direct communication remains key for clarity.
16. Verbalize Feelings
If you suspect your partner has caught feelings, take a risk and verbalize it. Choose an intimate moment and open up about enjoying what you have and wanting more. Start with, “I care about you and could see this going somewhere deeper.” Judge their reaction.
If they admit similar feelings, discuss what you both envision for a committed relationship. Are you on the same page? Outline hopes and relationship values to ensure alignment.
Regardless of their response, avoid a strong attachment to one outcome. You’ve taken the brave step of sharing your authentic emotions. See what unfolds while knowing you spoke your truth with courage.
17. Share Desires
If your partner resists defining things as a real relationship despite your efforts, it may be time for a decisive conversation.
Calmly share that you have developed romantic feelings and believe they have, too, based on your emotionally deepening bond. Explain you aren’t interested in remaining just friends with benefits anymore and want to commit.
This isn’t a request; it’s just you transparently communicating your desires after months of meaningful connection. Ask if they might feel the same way deep down.
Based on their reaction, you’ll determine if you are aligned enough to become an exclusive girlfriend and boyfriend. If not, or they express ambivalence, wishing them well and spending some time apart may be healthiest.
Regardless of the outcome, you can feel proud for putting yourself out there authentically. You took a chance on love based on positive signs from someone you care for. Now, you have the clarity to move forward openly and with confidence.
How To Smoothly Transition From Friends With Benefits To A Relationship
Lay the Groundwork
Avoid getting attached too soon or setting rigid expectations. But organically nurture more intimacy by spending quality time together beyond sex. Build up the friendship, share vulnerable conversations, and make each other a priority. If you lay this groundwork, things may naturally develop into more.
Test the Waters
Once a solid foundation of genuine care exists, casually bring up wanting more. Say you enjoy what you have and could see this friends-with-benefits situation becoming official.
Judge their reaction and suggest trying a few activities to test the waters. If they reciprocate interest, it’s a positive sign your FWB may fall for you, too.
Define the Relationship
When displaying romantic interest and behaviors, have “the talk” to define the evolving relationship. Communicate openly about wanting commitment and exclusivity.
Outline hopes for the future and overcome issues. If you align on vision and values, mutually consent to become an official girlfriend and boyfriend.
Take It Slow
After deciding to commit, don’t rush important relationship milestones like saying “I love you,” meeting families, or moving in together. Ease into a couple of habits slowly, giving yourself time to adjust.
This transition period needs patience and understanding as you figure out this new dynamic. Focus on open communication, respect, and having fun together before getting overly serious too fast.
Set Boundaries
Have an honest discussion about appropriate relationship behavior and fidelity expectations. Agree neither of you will keep hooking up with other people or act single in social settings once committed.
These conversations build trust and reassure one another that you want the same healthy, monogamous relationship. Setting mutually agreed-upon boundaries provides security during this transition from sex buddies to real partners.
Create Relationship Habits
Once you’ve defined the relationship, create rituals and habits reinforcing your new couple status. Have weekly date nights, visit each other’s family events, and communicate daily to nurture intimacy.
These new patterns help facilitate the friends-with-benefits to relationship shift. They signify mutual investment and a sharing of each other’s lives. Over time, the consistent coupling actions cement strong bonds.
Continue Growing Together
A relationship born from something casual requires ongoing effort, as any partnership does. Don’t take each other for granted just because you were once low-stakes sex partners.
Keep investing through trust building, communication around complex issues, and regularly expressing appreciation. See each obstacle as an opportunity to get closer and clarify compatibility long-term.
While uncertainty exists in any new love, embracing continual growth gives a friend-benefits-turned-relationship strong prospects. Expect beautiful surprises as you learn more about your best friend and lover!
Final Thoughts
It is possible for friends with benefits to fall for each other over time and transition smoothly into an exclusive, committed relationship.
By actively nurturing intimacy and trust using these tips, you can organically assess if you both want to level up from FWB status to official girlfriend or boyfriend.
Ultimately, we all desire a loving partner for more than great sex. We crave genuine care, understanding, and growth experiences shared with someone special. If you believe those sparks exist between you, have faith and courageously communicate your authentic feelings.
You may be pleasantly surprised to find the casual fling has secretly become that lover and life partner you’ve hoped for all along. The intimacy foundation is laid for escalating to the ultimate relationship – with your best friend by your side.
