What We Talk About When We Talk About Love by Raymond Carver (1981)

 Two couples drink and meditate on the meaning of ‘real’ love, sharing their own anecdotes and experiences. Raymond Carver's beautifully spare writing is an exercise in minimalism, and he gets to the heart of the matter like no one else can. This story - and the others in the collection - cemeneted the American's position as one of the all-time greatest short story writers.