Sometimes intimacy doesn’t have to be about sexual contact.

I had a date last week, and after we had lunch, we came back to my house and hung out on the couch. She laid down and put her head on my lap and we talked while I played with her hair, ear, neck, and shoulder. It was amazingly intimate, just running my fingertip over the curve of her ear, or brushing her hair out of the way to get a look at the tattoo on the back of her neck. All the while we were having a conversation that meandered all over the place.

Don’t get me wrong — I want more than just light touches and caresses. But we’re taking it slow, establishing intimacy patiently.

Of course, before she went home, we shared a spectacular kiss that left my fingers and toes tingling for quite a while afterward. Just another type of intimacy.