If there's one thing men love, it's finding diplomatic ways to weasel out of actually having to deal with commitment. Much like a magician's apprentice, men have a ton of tricks up their sleeve. Boy, do they know how to use 'em, too!

The most insidious one, if you ask many girls, is the phrase, "Let's see how things plays out." It's a phrase that's so simple, yet comes loaded with a million little implications — all of which can stress out even the most clear-headed of women.

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It implies that you need to prove your value to him, and that he might choose you. It implies that he just needs time. It implies that asking him for a direct answer or a direct commitment is being too demanding. It implies that you're being unreasonable just by even bringing up the idea of not having sex, because it may somehow "ruin" the ambiance.

If you're like most girls, you've probably done a lot you didn't want to do just because you didn't want to deal with the implications of this phrase. You probably have dropped the subject of commitment, even though it was what you really wanted. You also probably got dumped after a while or later found out that he was a f*ckboy, too. Don't worry; we've all been duped this way.

Truth be told, I have to admire the slickness of this phrase. The thing about this saying is that, while it implies a lot, it doesn't actually say anything about where you really stand. In no part of that sentence does it say he's actually considering you to be his girlfriend. In no part of that sentence does it even suggest that he'll stop talking to other women. In no part of that phrase does it even suggest that he likes your personality.

Actually, the only thing that he's really telling you is that he wants you to see "how it plays out" — as if it's a theatrical spectacle of sorts. I don't know about you, but I don't think I can recall a single play or musical I've seen that had no end.

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I can, however, think of a bunch of plays that had a script that actors played along to. In other words, when a guy says, "Let's see how it plays out," he already knows how it's going to play out.

When a guy is telling you to "see how it plays out," he's already decided that you are just short-term dating material. What he's hoping you'll do is play along with his goal of getting laid and play along with being OK as a placeholder. He's also banking on calling you unreasonable if you ask for more, or even just saying that he never said you two were official if you catch him with someone else.

Love can be like a romance movie but that doesn't mean you have to play a role in the story of a fling that ends in heartbreak. If he's already told you that he wants to "see how it plays out," it's time you make a decision.

Saying this means he's probably not looking long-term, and it's perfectly fine to cut that storyline short if you're not just looking for a fling. After all, he never said he was the director, did he?