Still trying to figure out whether he loves me

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Alla
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26 Jun 2013, 1:38 pm

I've been dating my aspie boss for seven months now and I have just recently said "I love you" to him. Previously, about three months ago, he told me that he "really liked me". Because he is my boss, we have to keep the relationship quiet until I change departments in a couple of months and will no longer work under him.

When I told him "I love you" over Skype a week ago, he said "Wait, I need to answer an e-mail." He called me three minutes later to talk.
Is this sort of reaction typical of aspies?

I feel like he is giving me mixed signals. The sex is great and he says so after the event. He desires me physically very much. He sometimes initiates get togethers at his place and sometimes I initiate social get togethers. He usually shows up, or if he doesn't, he will explain why he can't make it. When I ask him to call, he always calls when he says he will (he's only forgotten to do so once). Recently, we have been seeing more of each other in a social capacity, chiefly because I organise get togethers and invite him along.

My question is that I feel an emotional disconnection with him most of the time. He doesn't tell me how he feels anymore and he blows hot and cold. Do you think this may be related to the fact that he is my boss and waiting for me to no longer be his employee or is it that he doesn't love me?
Do aspies go along with the other person's wishes if they don't have feelings for her?



Fnord
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26 Jun 2013, 2:30 pm

Alla wrote:
Is this sort of reaction typical of aspies? ... Do you think this may be related to the fact that he is my boss and waiting for me to no longer be his employee or is it that he doesn't love me? ... Do aspies go along with the other person's wishes if they don't have feelings for her?

Did you ASK HIM yet? We don't know him, and we're not likely to magically know his thoughts and feelings.

His responses are typical of any man who does not want to commit - they are not an "Aspie Thing".

See my previous posts about "Free Milk and the Cow" - if a man is getting what he wants already, there is no reason to take his end of the relationship any further. This is a "Guy Thing", and has no relationship to Autism Spectrum Disorders.

Why do you keep asking the same questions? Are you hoping to get a different answer?



Alla
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26 Jun 2013, 2:36 pm

Fnord wrote:
Alla wrote:
Is this sort of reaction typical of aspies? ... Do you think this may be related to the fact that he is my boss and waiting for me to no longer be his employee or is it that he doesn't love me? ... Do aspies go along with the other person's wishes if they don't have feelings for her?

Did you ASK HIM yet? We don't know him, and we're not likely to magically know his thoughts and feelings.


I don't think he can articulate how he feels.....perhaps he does not know.

Quote:
His responses are typical of any man who does not want to commit - they are not an "Aspie Thing".


Not, they are not typical of NT men in general, who will sugarcoat replies and such. He has actually been honest with me.

Quote:
See my previous posts about "Free Milk and the Cow" - if a man is getting what he wants already, there is no reason to take his end of the relationship any further. This is a "Guy Thing", and has no relationship to Autism Spectrum Disorders.


This doesn't make sense at all. You are advocating waiting until marriage, and this is not what most people want these days. I would never think about marrying someone if I didn't know what sex with him was really like. That is a big no-no in my book!



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26 Jun 2013, 2:42 pm

Alla wrote:
Fnord wrote:
See my previous posts about "Free Milk and the Cow" - if a man is getting what he wants already, there is no reason to take his end of the relationship any further. This is a "Guy Thing", and has no relationship to Autism Spectrum Disorders.
This doesn't make sense at all. You are advocating waiting until marriage, and this is not what most people want these days. I would never think about marrying someone if I didn't know what sex with him was really like. That is a big no-no in my book!

??? Where do you see any such advocation in my reply? I made no such claim.

I'm just telling you how men are inclined to behave when they're already getting laid on a regular basis - we're not likely to commit to a permanent relationship, or to even say, "I love you" as long as our needs are already being satisfied.

Whatever is written in "your book" may need some revision in the light of real-world behavior.



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26 Jun 2013, 2:44 pm

First of all, I'm not trying to be mean. Most people wouldn't consider Skype as a proper communication tool to say something meaningful. e.g. dumping someone in a text message is bad - asking someone out in a text message seems meaningless. Saying "I love you" on a messenger programme is not the way to say it, especially if it's for the first time - unless it's a long-distance relationship, which this isn't. Saying "I love you" for the first time should be done face to face if at all possible.

His response to your "I love you" on Skype sounded like he wanted to talk to you properly, over the phone, especially after you said something big. Which would mean that he cares, but it depends on what he said over the phone. As for asking you to wait three minutes - that's just a moment. He just wanted to get the e-mail out the way in order to clear his mind of current tasks, in order to concentrate on you and have a proper, meaningful conversation with you over the phone.

And if he's aspie and likes the phone, you've struck gold! :D

However...if you feel emotionally disconnected from him, for me that's bad news.

Aspies can be quite black and white - that's just who he is, and you would have to put up with that with a great deal of patience (which I don't have). He might be trying to figure out his feelings, but I can't tell how he feels. You would have to ask him directly, but with no expectations or demands. FTR, I can't follow my own advice. If you're a patient person then great. If not, you might have problems.

Good luck!



Alla
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26 Jun 2013, 3:03 pm

smudge wrote:

His response to your "I love you" on Skype sounded like he wanted to talk to you properly, over the phone, especially after you said something big. Which would mean that he cares, but it depends on what he said over the phone. As for asking you to wait three minutes - that's just a moment. He just wanted to get the e-mail out the way in order to clear his mind of current tasks, in order to concentrate on you and have a proper, meaningful conversation with you over the phone.


I never understood why Skype and SMS messenger are not seen as proper means of communication by most people. I am better at expressing myself in writing while he seems to prefer talking. Would you think less of my declaration of love if it came in writing rather than spoken in person?



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26 Jun 2013, 3:04 pm

There IS something you're experiencing that's fairly typical of NT/Autistic people relationships--you feel an emotional disconnection. As an Autistic person, he probably won't know/be able to express his feelings in a way that you would understand. My trouble used to be realizing that I have to tell other people my feelings when they seemed so obvious to me! Asking him would probably help.

Another thing--if he said he had to answer an email, he probably had to answer an email. He did call three minutes later. Autistic people don't tend to be manipulative like that unless there's something else wrong with them. Apparently this kind of manipulation is typical for Neurotypicals (tell me if I'm wrong)--but I doubt he'd be lying about that. And if he can't come to a gathering and always has a reason, that's better than you'd get from a lot of people. I'd say he's honest. As for the love, I can't tell; you'll have to ask him yourself. Don't limit him based on what you think he can do. Give him a chance to tell you his feelings; you might be surprised. And even if he can't articulate it, you guys can work together to figure it out. Sometimes I need that.



Alla
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26 Jun 2013, 3:12 pm

diniesaur wrote:
Another thing--if he said he had to answer an email, he probably had to answer an email. He did call three minutes later. Autistic people don't tend to be manipulative like that unless there's something else wrong with them. Apparently this kind of manipulation is typical for Neurotypicals (tell me if I'm wrong)--but I doubt he'd be lying about that. And if he can't come to a gathering and always has a reason, that's better than you'd get from a lot of people. I'd say he's honest. As for the love, I can't tell; you'll have to ask him yourself. Don't limit him based on what you think he can do. Give him a chance to tell you his feelings; you might be surprised. And even if he can't articulate it, you guys can work together to figure it out. Sometimes I need that.


You are right. For the longest time I thought he was making stuff up or trying to be manipulative and play power games with me. I am increasingly realising that I have not, in fact, caught him in an outright lie......at least not so far. He seems to be literal in what he says.



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26 Jun 2013, 3:24 pm

Alla wrote:
smudge wrote:

His response to your "I love you" on Skype sounded like he wanted to talk to you properly, over the phone, especially after you said something big. Which would mean that he cares, but it depends on what he said over the phone. As for asking you to wait three minutes - that's just a moment. He just wanted to get the e-mail out the way in order to clear his mind of current tasks, in order to concentrate on you and have a proper, meaningful conversation with you over the phone.


I never understood why Skype and SMS messenger are not seen as proper means of communication by most people. I am better at expressing myself in writing while he seems to prefer talking. Would you think less of my declaration of love if it came in writing rather than spoken in person?


I was not questioning your declaration of love. I am saying what most people see it as. Unfortunately most people (myself included) would be disappointed if someone said they loved you for the first time by text. And unfortunately, quite rightly so, as most people (not you) who do that are finding a quick and easy way of saying they love someone - meaning they don't care enough about the other person to do it in a proper meaningful way, in a romantic setting. For example, someone trying to get sex out of you might use a messenger programme because they can't be bothered to make the time for you IRL.



spongy
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26 Jun 2013, 3:47 pm

He probably loves you.


However there is something else going on that we have to take into account:

Quite a lot of us have troubles with our emotions.
As someone who just got out of a relationship because " she knows Im trying to change but I didnt open up enough for her taste" I would like you to consider how big of a problem him barely opening up is for you right now for a while and then let him know about it if it is a big issue thats probably going to make things hard in the long term



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26 Jun 2013, 3:48 pm

Alla wrote:
smudge wrote:

His response to your "I love you" on Skype sounded like he wanted to talk to you properly, over the phone, especially after you said something big. Which would mean that he cares, but it depends on what he said over the phone. As for asking you to wait three minutes - that's just a moment. He just wanted to get the e-mail out the way in order to clear his mind of current tasks, in order to concentrate on you and have a proper, meaningful conversation with you over the phone.


I never understood why Skype and SMS messenger are not seen as proper means of communication by most people. I am better at expressing myself in writing while he seems to prefer talking. Would you think less of my declaration of love if it came in writing rather than spoken in person?

I must be living under a rock but, what is SMS messenger?



Alla
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26 Jun 2013, 6:20 pm

smudge wrote:
Alla wrote:
smudge wrote:

I was not questioning your declaration of love. I am saying what most people see it as. Unfortunately most people (myself included) would be disappointed if someone said they loved you for the first time by text. And unfortunately, quite rightly so, as most people (not you) who do that are finding a quick and easy way of saying they love someone - meaning they don't care enough about the other person to do it in a proper meaningful way, in a romantic setting. For example, someone trying to get sex out of you might use a messenger programme because they can't be bothered to make the time for you IRL.
}

The more I learn about him, the more I realise that I have to work on communicating with him and spell things out. If I want our relationship to pregress after he is no longer my boss, how should I bring up the subject? I've already said "I love you" to him....should I say something like "My goal is to be in a relationship with a man I love." Or "You and I would work well in a live in relationship."
Also, is there a time lag when it comes to an Aspie thinking about how to respond to feeling questions? Does he need some time to think about his feelings?



Alla
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27 Jun 2013, 3:54 pm

Why do I feel like he does not care much about me? He always replies when I send him a message and calls when he says he will, but I find that he makes more of an effort when I am aloof or uninterested. He seems to be uneasy when I tell him how I feel or show a lot of interest.
Is this typically aspie or does he just want what he can't have?