1. Buy you meaningful gifts. You shouldn’t have to drop hints about how your best friend’s boyfriend always buys her flowers and you’d love it if you got flowers. He should do nice things for you without you bringing up the idea.

2. Include you in his life. If there’s a Christmas party at his office, he should invite you. If his mother ends up in the hospital, he should call you to let you know. You shouldn’t be the last one to find out about his life.

3. Send thoughtful texts. You shouldn’t have to convince him to send you sweet good morning texts–and you definitely shouldn’t have to convince him to text you back. He should always have an answer for you, and a few cute emojis to go along with it.

4. Behave himself around your friends and family. He shouldn’t show up to Thanksgiving dinner drunk. He shouldn’t comment on your sister’s breakup when he knows it’s going to upset her. He should make an effort to get your friends and family to like him.

5. Initiate sex. You shouldn’t have to make the first move all the time. You deserve to feel beautiful. You deserve to be seduced.

6. Ask about your day. He should be eager to hear all about your life. If he never asks you about work, then he clearly doesn’t care about work.

7. Plan dates. Once in a while, he should come up with an exciting idea and then execute it. It doesn’t matter if it ends up being a flop, because it’s truly the thought that counts.

8. “Like” your social media posts. It sounds silly, but it’s always nice to see a notification from your boyfriend. After all, if he doesn’t like your selfies, then who else is going to?

9. Compliment you. You shouldn’t have to fish for compliments. If you get a new haircut, he should notice. If you wear a new dress, he should tell you how beautiful you look in it.

10. Wear the clothes you bought him. Even if he hates the shirt you gave him, it wouldn’t hurt for him to wear it around the house or to the gym. After all, you picked it out especially for him. He should realize that.

11. Cuddle with you. He shouldn’t have sex with you and then roll onto his side of the bed. If you want some cuddle time, he should give it to you. After all, snuggling up to someone can feel just as intimate as sex does.

12. Clean up after himself. He doesn’t have to scrub the kitchen floor clean, but he should at least wash the dishes that he dirtied up and pick up the underwear he threw on the floor.

13. Listen to your music. When you’re in the car together, you shouldn’t be stuck listening to songs you hate. You should take turns choosing the music or meet in the middle. It shouldn’t be his way or the highway.

14. Treat you with respect. Even if you have wildly different opinions on politics or religion, he should respect your views. You can’t be with someone that thinks they’re superior to you.

15. Cut his ex out of his life. He should be smart enough to know when he’s crossing a line. If his ex-girlfriend is acting flirtatious in her texts, then he should delete her number without thinking twice about it.

16. Tell you how he feels. If he loves you, then he should tell you. If he’s pissed off at you, he should tell you that, too. Knowing where he stands is the only way that you’ll be able to keep your relationship healthy.