What is a situationship?

Somewhere between casually hooking up and meeting the parents there lies a secret relationship purgatory -- where a simple "what are we?" can take you from leaving your toothbrushes at each other's places to never speaking to one another again. It's called "the situationship."

You don't have a title but you're not nothing. You see each other a couple days a week, you act like a couple, but... Welcome to the gray, murky "What is this thing that we're in?" world of the situationship.

Lori Zaslow, co-founder of Project Soulmate, calls it the end of courtship and the end of having to commit. She says both parties are playing the field and keeping options open.

It is like being an alternate juror. You put in just as much time but you don't get the glory. Now, some people might see that as a good thing. Maybe it works out for you.

What about the rest of us in these so-called situationships? How do we know when it is time to take a stand and take things to the next level?

Zaslow says when you decide it is not working for you, you have invested real feelings, and you want more, then the other person's actions will show you if they want more, too.

By then if you're still worried about rocking the boat, maybe it is time to drop anchor and start looking for other fish in the sea.