story time-"what is love?"

So I got to thinking the other day the very same question that I've asked myself at least, 3 or 4 times. and i know i've asked it to many of the people in my past and present. "What is love?" So I get this call the other day and it's from a good friend of mine. she sounded rather peculiar. her voice was shaking, but not trembling. very voice was loud, but she wasn't shouting. I was like, "slow down, please!" quickly she apologized and restarted. she tells me "I'm getting married!" I was shocked, but happy for her at the same time. "How did it happen?" I asked. apparently, he asked her in the middle of the night at a beach somewhere that i can't actually remember at the time...haha some friend i am. well, i guess the reason i was shocked was because I used to date her. funny, right? in my eyes i kinda felt like she was finally out of my reach. and in a way i held a little resentment towards the guy, even though i don't really know him. i knew everything was fine though because the feeling passed within a few minutes. that's when the "i'm happy for you" phrase finally came into play. I felt then, what we like to call peaceful. reason being that she used to be head-over-heals for me, and believe-you-me it wasn't a pretty sight at the end of our era.
so a few days passed and i started thinking again...(cursed brain waves)
well, i'm dating this one girl and she's great!!! she puts some excitement in my life, for the most part. we go out one night and after, what feels like forever, she proposed to me the "L" word. yeah, she told me she loves me. I was, again, in shock!! I didn't say it back. and i felt kinda bad, but i don't want to say these things just because she said it. I thought i was in love once maybe twice in my life, but both of those times ended up disasterous. it traumatized me to the point where i felt as if i was never going to feel that way again.
so that night, i went home and pondered about it. i asked myself that question "what is love?" meaning, do i really love her? took me awhile to answer it, but i thought about it enough to realize maybe i do. so then came a time where i thought it was the best time to say it. I was scared and almost didn't tell her, but something just clicked and BOOM! it came out. "I love you." she couldn't stop smiling at me and I couldn't help, but to think, "ok, now what?" haha, yah it was funny, but seriously i felt so nervous. since then, i use it sparingly just because i don't want to overdo it, but i guess you can say that i use it when it really counts.
so back to the beginning, "What is love?" apparently, i can't really put it into words right now, but the girl that just got married told me and maybe i'll share it with you all another day.
gotta get some rest now. maybe next time i'll have an answer for you in my own words too.
thanks again for listening.