brash, adj. But I loved the notion that the night was mine to spend, and I immediately decided to spend it on you.

breach, n. I didn't want to know who he was, or what you did, or that it didn't mean anything.

breathtaking adj. Those mornings when we kiss and surrender for an hour before we say a single word.

daunting, adj. The key is to never recognize these imbalances. To not let the dauntingness daunt us.

deadlock, n.

• .we found freedom in the third choices.

guise, n. How do you picture yourself? And I told you: I think of a photograph you took of me, up in Montreal. You told me to jump in the air, so in the picture, my feet are off the ground. Later, I asked you why you wanted me to do that, and you told me it was the only way to get me to forget about the expression on my face. You were right. I am completely unposed, completely genuine. In my mind's eye, I picture myself like that, reacting to you.

impromptu, adj. Had we tried to plan these excursions, they never would have worked. There has to be that feeling of escape.

ineffable, adj.

• .Trying to write about love is ultimately like trying to have a dictionary represent life. No matter how many words there are, there will never be enough.

jerk, v. I try to convince myself that it's the alcohol talking. But alcohol can't talk. It just sits there. It can't even get itself out of the bottle.

juxtaposition, n. It scares me how hard it is to remember life before you. I can't even make the comparisons anymore, because my memories of that time have all the depth of a photograph. It seems foolish to play games of better and worse. It's simply a matter of is and is no longer.

latitude, n. What a strange phase - not seeing other people. As if it's been constructed to be a lie. We see other people all the time. The question is what we do about it.

lover, n. For I have never wanted a lover, but I have always wanted to love, and be loved.

obstinate, adj. Sometimes it becomes a contest: Which is more stubborn, the love or the two arguing people caught within it?

punctuate, v. The key to a successful relationship isn't just in the words, it's in the choice of punctuation, When you;re in love with someone, a well-placed question mark can be the difference between bliss and disaster, and a deeply respected period or a cleverly inserted ellipsis can prevent all kinds of exclamations.

recant, v. I want to take back the piece of me that lies in you, to see if I truly miss it. I want to take back at least half the "I love you"s, because it feels safer that way.

rest, v. and n. Rest with me for the rest of this.

stanchion, n. When we embrace, one of us is always holding the other a little tighter.

tenet, n. At the end of the French movie, the lover sing, "Love me less, but love me for a long time."

traverse, v. "I'm sure. Isn't that enough?"

trenchant, adj.

• .the waiting is the hardest part for me.

vagary, n. The mistake is thinking there can be an antidote to the uncertainty.

yarn, n. Knit me a sweater out of your best stories.

yearning, n. and adj. At the core of this desire is the belief that everything can be perfect.