The more we talked, the more physical we got with each other. First it was just our hands touching. Then we had our arms linked as we leaned into each other. To this day I can’t really remember how we got like that, but eventually I had one leg swung up over his and our heads were together. I caressed his arm as I complimented his tattoo. He smiled and flexed it for me, explaining they were fire salamanders bound together, a nod to his welding hobby and his love of real-life salamanders in general. The feeling of his muscles under my palm sent tingles through my chest. It felt so casual, so natural, as though we had known each other more than a couple hours. The urge to kiss him never really went away, but the habitual shame and anxiousness did, even after my buzz faded. Since I wasn’t dri
