Talk about anything that's on your mind

[Rudy Tamasz]

But in my opinion friendship is also a part of the romance....
Can you start something with someone you don't trust and who doesn't share your moral values?

My former female boss with a long story of personal (often unsuccessful) relationships once told me that a man goes through four types of women who he loves in his life and the four corresponding types of relationship. First, it's the romantic affection, then sexual desire, then marriage and then, finally, friendship. Guess what, this is exactly what I've been through and each of those four stages was focused on a specific lady. With #2, it was exactly what I said above; we didn't think much about trust and values; we just enjoyed mutual attraction. Even when our relationship started deteriorating we still felt it. It took us four years to go the full course from the first kiss to breakup, and there wasn't much friendship between us. Even now, when we bump into each other, we immediately feel that magnetism that had bonded us together back then. But what happens next, we don't know what to do with each other. We've come pretty close to restoring our relationship once and it didn't work because of what I just said: attraction, but no real understanding between us.

Oh, by the way, I'll send you a PM about #4.