Reading the Label

Somewhere between "the dude I hooked up with" and "baby daddy" is a wasteland of awkward references. If the "are you my...boyfriend?" conversation is put off, put on hold, or the intended target simply feels that your progressive (read: open) relationship doesn't need to be tainted by such base, conventional labels, how in the hell do you refer to each other?
Partner (lesbian?)
Lover (Lady Chatterly?)
Buddy (beer-swilling closet homosexual?)
Guy Friend (totally lamo, obviously using semantics to assuage fear of commitment?)
Master (now we're talking!)