The Thrill of Silence

There's nothing more exciting than a budding romance. The anticipation of that next date. The euphoria of an unexpected "wish I was kissing you" text message. The daydreams that take you out of the conference room and back to the bedroom. The blush that floods your cheeks when a friend asks you why your chin is chapped and peeling.

All the passion and the newness is enough to power a strand of Christmas lights from here to Hong Kong.

But as those petals all unfurl, and your little love bloom settles in under the sun, things head in a very different but equally thrilling direction. Into the comfort zone...

You discover that you can ride together in the car without talking—and it's okay. It doesn't mean you've run out of things to discuss or that there is distance between you two, you just both understand that there's peace in the quiet.

You can spend a date night assessing the look and fit of different dress shirts. He would have gone shopping on his own, but he wants your opinion. And your company.

You can lie next to each other, engrossed in a novel or the newspaper, and almost forget he's there until he touches your feet with his to remind you.

You can climb into bed together, cuddle up next to each other...and sleep.

The prescribed behaviors and guarded responses begin to unravel and you realize that this isn't just someone with whom you have amazing chemistry, it's someone you can be with. Be yourself with. You don't have to be the sexy, dolled-up dating version of yourself, you can be PMS-bloated, makeup-free you and he'll still like you. A lot. If that's not completely exhilarating, I don't know what is.