30 Things That Are Undeniably Intimate

by Rhen

1. sharing earbuds, the kind with cords that tangle between you 

2. sitting close enough that your shoulders forget where they end 

3. sharing a cigarette, passing it back and forth like a secret neither of you says out loud 

4. reading something they wrote 

5. meeting their favourite stuffed animal 

6. a scent that lingers long after they’ve gone 

7. looking up at the same moon and pretending it means something 

8. smiling until your cheeks ache because you don’t want the moment to stop 

9. helping them stumble home drunk, their weight trusting you completely 

10. reading to someone 

11. being introduced to their pet 

12. being handed their favourite book 

13. retelling memories and each time they change just slightly 

14. “I had a dream about you” 

15. sharing lip balm without thinking twice 

16. being caught right before you fall 

17. lighting their cigarette like a quiet act of devotion 

18. someone waiting while you tie your shoes 

19. warming their hands in yours 

20. teaching someone what you love and watching them try 

21. drunken dancing in a bedroom like the world doesn’t exist outside it 

22. singing together, badly, loudly, perfectly 

23. sitting in silence and not needing to fill it 

24. car rides where the road feels endless 

25. “What do you want to be when you grow up?” 

26. stealing songs from the people you love and never giving them back 

27. laughing until it hurts 

28. wiping someone’s tears like it’s instinct 

29. dancing in the rain 

30. listening to someone talk about their passions