1. You aren’t afraid to be open with them about your personal struggles.
What used to feel difficult and uncomfortable to disclose feels easy and natural with them. You know that they aren’t judging you for anything you’ve been through (or are currently struggling with), so it’s easier than ever to let your guard down and let them get to know the real you.
2. Your silences don’t feel uncomfortable.
You don’t have to be constantly talking in order to feel at ease around each other. You can lapse into comfortable silences and still feel close and connected to them. Not all communication is verbal, after all.
3. You’re never left guessing about how they feel.
You aren’t on pins and needles waiting of them to text you back or initiate plans. They’re upfront about how they feel and they make you a priority within their bustling lives – just like you make them a priority in yours.
4. You can disagree without disrespecting each other.
You don’t see eye-to-eye on everything, but that doesn’t mean you’re constantly arguing. You respect one another’s points of view and see your differing opinions as interesting rather than infuriating. You can agree to disagree at worst, and challenge one another at best.
5. You’re turned on by them even when they aren’t being sexy.
The way they sip their coffee or talk about their interests is somehow as erotic to you as seeing them naked. You’re attracted to the very essence of who they are, rather than just the way they look.
6. You don’t worry about revealing your weird habits to them.
No Pants Taco Tuesdays? No problem! They not only accept the strange, indulgent habits you became accustomed to as a single person, they’re enthused about joining in on them. How soon can they take their pants off and get in on your seamless order?
7. You love their friends as though they’re your own.
You aren’t just grinning and bearing the social time when they introduce you to the people they love – you’re genuinely intrigued by the company they keep and find yourself wanting to spend more and more time around their friends. After all, great people attract the best company!
8. You are excited to introduce them to your friends.
You aren’t worried that your friends are going to disapprove of your new SO or ‘want better for you.’ You’re finally with someone who treats you right and you can’t wait to introduce them to your friends. You have no doubt that they’ll love him or her just as much as you do.
9. You enjoy doing nothing with them.
You can spend an entire day lounging around the house with them and enjoy every minute of it. You don’t constantly have to be doing something in order to relish your time together – being lazy around them is just as much fun as doing, well, pretty much anything else.
10. Touching them feels like second nature.
Whether it’s sexual or entirely innocent touching, your bodies are effortlessly in tune with one another’s. You can lazily rest your head on their shoulder, carelessly grab their hand or deliberately, passionately embrace them and it always feels perfectly natural. Their body feels like a second home and it’s one you’re settling into with ease.
11. Everything is hilarious around them.
It doesn’t matter if you’re catching an outrageous comedy show or just lounging around in your track pants – there’s nothing that the two of you cannot turn into a joke. Life is ten times more hilarious around them and you’re constantly in stitches when you’re with them.
12. You don’t have to filter yourself around them.
You aren’t worried about voicing the wrong thought and watching your whole relationship go down the drain. They like your strange, unfiltered thought process and you like theirs. It takes the anxiety out of, well, pretty much everything you do together.
13. The conversation flows naturally and easily.
You rarely find yourselves struggling for conversation topics – you love picking each other’s brains about absolutely anything and everything. You have natural conversational chemistry and once the two of you get started, the discussion often goes on for hours.
14. You can poke fun at each other without offending each other.
You aren’t walking on eggshells wondering whether something you’ve said has offended or been misinterpreted by them. You get each other’s sense of humor and you know exactly how to be playful with them without crossing any major lines.
15. You don’t have to stress about when to text them.
When you see something you know they’d find hilarious, you can triple or quadruple message them and not worry about ‘coming on too strong.’ Your communication isn’t a game – it’s a genuine form of getting to know each other and you’re both enjoying every minute of it.
16. You’re not worried about what others think of your relationship.
You don’t feel the need to broadcast your love on every media channel, obsess over vague texts with your friends, or nervously wait to hear if your parents think that they’re right or wrong for you. You know how you feel, full stop. You’re confident in the relationship and for the first time in a long time, you don’t need any second opinions.
By Heidi Priebe for ThoughtCatalog