Hearing this may be one of the most annoying things about making plans with a woman, and most guys respond to it wrong.

The reality is that 90% of the time this word means “no” and is basically a soft rejection, but there are times when I’ve noticed it’s somewhat of a test. The logic behind being: “does this guy want me enough to chase even when I tell him to his face he’s not a top priority?” Many guys hear this word and assume it’s a “yes” because they project their attraction for the woman onto her and don’t look at things objectively thanks to that.

Regardless of the reasoning for her saying this, your response should match that energy: she’s pulling back, you gotta do the same. Say something like, “Don’t sound too confident about X or Y date/time. Maybe we should rethink this.”

This indicates that you won’t accept being a back up option and prompts her to come clean or ghost, in which case you can move on without having gone out chasing.