Real, genuine love that’s capable of standing the test of time is something everyone has heard of, of course. Yet few people know how to recognize it definitively when it comes to their own adventures in the dating pool. (Naturally, it doesn’t help that lust and infatuation can look remarkably like love.)

What’s a sugar baby to do when she finds herself wondering whether her current sugar daddy is really the one? Here’s a closer look at how to tell the difference between a temporary infatuation that will eventually run its course and the type of love truly worth exploring further.

1.      You care for the person unconditionally

Infatuation tends to come attached to conditions that will easily implode the connection if they’re not met to the tee. True love, on the other hand, is unconditional – closer to the love you likely have for your relatives or your very best friends.

If you’re truly in love with a sugar daddy, you don’t just enjoy being around him. You feel a strong need to be there for him through thick and thin, come what may. And assuming what he’s doing isn’t harmful to himself or others, you’re generally prepared to support him in whatever he wants to do with his life, as well.

2.      You don’t mind making sacrifices

Although it’s important to make sure relationships are balanced and that you’re not the only person making sacrifices for the sake of the other person, that is generally a sign you’re genuinely in love. When you love your sugar daddy, you not only understand the need to sacrifice sometimes, but it’s something you’re happy to do to see him happy.

This is an especially telling sign if you’re normally not much of a giver. Love has a way of changing a person and making them view giving as much more appealing than they ever did before.

3.      You can picture the person in your future

Any sugar baby who’s been dating long – whether in the sugar bowl or otherwise – knows that when you’re merely in lust with someone (or infatuated with them for the time being), you can easily picture the other person in your bed. But when it comes to the distant future, it’s hard to say.

When you picture your long-term plans for your relationship future – whether that includes marriage and children or not – is your current sugar daddy part of the picture? Is it difficult to impossible to picture a future where he’s not part of things? If so, you definitely love the guy.

4.      You consider them when making decisions

It’s not healthy for anyone to live and die according to what their partner likes and prefers. But when it’s true love, you can’t help but consider how that other person will be affected by the decisions you make. You don’t want to disrupt their life, and you certainly don’t want to hurt them.

If you find yourself considering your sugar daddy when making decisions that could affect him (whether big or small), the chances are pretty good that you’re way past the infatuation stage. In fact, you’re probably falling for your partner.

5.      Being with them just feels right

Have you ever had a friend or relative say that the relationship they have with their partner just “feels like home”? Did you instantly know what they meant by that, or were you confused? And if you did know what they meant, is that how you feel about your sugar daddy?

Someone with whom you share true, lasting love is someone who feels wonderfully comfortable on a soul-satisfying level. Being with them in general really does feel like coming home in that you can relax and be your true self around them in every sense of the word.

6.      You want them in your life (versus needing them in it)

One of the most common mistakes people make when trying to figure out whether they’re truly in love with their partner is confusing love and need. Contrary to what some believe, it’s possible to need someone in your life – emotionally, financially, or otherwise – without actually loving them. Need isn’t healthy, but true love is.

A sugar baby who loves her sugar daddy may very much love all the things her daddy does for her, but she’s also a whole person on her own who doesn’t need him to make her life worth living. But she does want him in her life, as everything is just so much better with him in it.

So if the above points found you smiling and nodding as you thought of your sweet sugar daddy, you can rest easy in the knowledge that what you feel for him is much more than just infatuation. And if he feels the same way about you, you’ve got something special going for sure.