You can't introduce them by a clear word

'My friend' isn't accurate and you both know it. 'My boyfriend' or 'my girlfriend' hasn't been agreed to and you're not sure it would be well-received. 'The person I'm seeing' is technically correct but sounds clinical and triggers a follow-up question you don't have a good answer for. When the language doesn't fit — when every option feels either too much or not quite right — it's usually because the relationship doesn't fit any clear category either. Language is a lagging indicator: we develop words for things that exist, and the absence of the right word for your situation often reflects the absence of definition in the situation itself. This isn't purely a labeling problem that can be solved by picking a term and agreeing to use it. It's a clarity problem that points to something more fundamental: that the actual nature of the relationship hasn't been established. The label can't fix what the lack of a label is indicating.