Light enters the room through the blinds casting shadowy stripes across the bunk beds, the tiled floor, the tiny couch against the wall. Posters cover the thickly painted cinder block walls, images of favorite films and sexy stars and revered rock bands. Though small, the room is tidy, textbooks and homework neatly piled on the small desk tucked into the corner. A picture of her and her boyfriend sits atop the dresser.
Laughter echoes down the hall as two friends excitedly review the play they'd just seen. The show of a lifetime, a shared experience they would never forget. She takes out her key and unlocks the door, entering the dim dorm room. He follows closing the door behind him, not yet ready to go home.
Dropping her playbill on the desk, she awakens the computer. The glow of the screen illuminates her face as she chooses a song and spins in the chair to face him now lounging on the couch.
They speak easily, finding a comfort in each other's company unique to them. The conversation twists and turns until they realize that in a year of friendship, they have never touched. Not a hug. Not a high five. Not even a handshake. Laughing at themselves, they extend index fingers, each leaning toward the other finally touching - fingertip to fingertip. Their eyes meet, ocean waves and blue sky swirling with awareness. Neither able to deny the jolt that sprung from the contact.
