i love love love

this piece by Helen Phillips in the new Diagram.

it starts like this: "I had this joke with someone I used to love. We'd say to each other: Saying I love you, that's our thing, our special thing, just for the two of us. Whatever becomes of us, you can't ever say that to anyone else. Or: Having sex, that's our thing, our special thing, you better never do that with anyone else, not even if we split up. You can do other things with them, of course, you can do anything you want with anyone you want at any time under the sun, but never that, because that's our thing."

you should read the rest because it's SO FUCKING GOOD.