If you promise to love me the right way, and actually follow through on that promise, then I’m going to return the favor. I’m not going to make it hard for you to pull secrets out of me. I’m not going to make it a challenge for you to get me to communicate with you, to commit to you.

If you love me the right way, I won’t ask you to fight for me. I won’t play games with you. I won’t resist tearing my walls down around you.

I have a hard time opening up to most people, but if you show me you’re different than the rest, I’m not going to make it hard for you to get to know me.

I’m not going to expect you to stick around for months, trying to figure out what my mixed signals mean. I’m not going to expect you to guess what’s on my mind, what’s bothering me, what’s going on inside my head.

I’m going to be transparent with you. I’m going to explain what emotions are coursing through me and what triggered them. I’m going to be detailed with you about my excitements and my annoyances. I’m not going to leave you out of the loop. I’m not going to leave you lost and confused.

If you love me the right way, I won’t make it hard for you to crack my shell. There might be times when I clam up, when self-preservation gets the best of me, but I’ll try my hardest to stay honest with you. I won’t dodge deep questions. I won’t tell little white lies. I won’t fight against you whenever you try to get me to open up to you, to be vulnerable with you, to be real with you.

As long as you show me you’re someone I can count on, someone who would never harm my heart, then you’ll be able to count on me too. I’ll fight against the skeptical side of myself that wants to stay closed off. I’ll trust you to treat my thoughts, opinions, and secrets with respect. I’ll trust you not to betray me.

If you love me the right way, I won’t make you fight for me — or compete for me. I won’t make you wonder whether my dating apps are still active, whether my exes still have a chance with me, whether my status is still set to single. You’re going to know exactly where I stand with you. You’re going to know exactly how much you mean to me.

I won’t let my feelings for you get lost in translation. I’ll make sure you understand exactly what my expectations and hopes are for us, so we stay on the same page.

If you love me the right way, I won’t make you fight for my attention. I won’t make you compete for my love. I won’t make you guess what’s on my mind. If you love me the right way, I promise, I’ll love you the right way too.