Originally Posted by
golentan
Hey, I have a question for people. Do you differentiate between romance and friendship?
For me, it seems like romance is just a really intense friendship. I like having friends around, I actively seek out the company of people I am romantically interested in. I feel comfortable enough to wear casual clothes and hug friends, I feel comfortable enough with romantic partners to be naked or have sex. All of these things are things I would do with a friend with a sufficiently strong bond of trust and affection, at which point I usually call it romantic interest. It feels qualitatively different, but it's a difference of quality rather than nature: Friendship feels good, romance feels better.
Edit: Also posting this in the Questions Thread.