6 Things You Need to Know Before Dating a Girl Who Likes Her Alone Time

Not everyone likes to be alone. In fact, I would argue that only a handful of people genuinely enjoy being by themselves. I, for one, am one of them. I absolutely love tuning out the world and having my designated "me" time — no one around to distract or convince me to do something else. I need a good couple hours of this (or more) every day. Ostensibly, it's a standoffish, introverted quality. That may be mostly true; on the other hand, we can't all be social butterflies — the world would be chaos!

You may be dating a girl like me. Someone who's habitually alone because that's what's necessary for her to function. Maybe you don't quite understand how to handle the relationship (it can be tricky!). Here's all that you should know.

And you'll have to give it to her when she asks for it. She enjoys cuddling with you on the couch and watching White Collar, but she'll want to go home to her own bed at the end of the night.

You want to bar-hop the night away; she doesn't enjoy crowds and would rather stay home and sip wine by the fireplace. Compromise is key. Take her to one or two bars, then call a cab.

Seeing the latest flick together is a blast, but sometimes, she wants to turn on her iPad and watch Indiana Jones solo. Don't get offended — she'll come around soon.

If you plan to live together, chances are she's going to need her own room. That's where she'll have her alone time when she craves it. Don't make a fuss about this; she'll visit your room plenty.

If her schedule is tight and she's running back and forth, she's going to get a little grouchy (without meaning to!). Downtime is her power source. She'll recover when she gets it.

Superimportant: always, always remember that she cares for you deeply, even if she's not locked in your arms all hours of the day. She wants — no, needs — you to keep this in mind when she's off in her own little bubble. She'll pop it and return to you shortly.