the friend buffer

The other day, at the Lady Danville show, I noticed this girl lean in and whisper to a guy. As she did this, though, she placed a hand gently upon the back of his head. Now, I'm pretty sure that's not common when it comes to whispering etiquette, so I took note of it.

At first, I just figured they were dating, but then when they were standing next to each other, her hand (the one closest to him) was in her pocket, and she was standing a little away from him. That distance is also known as the "Friend Buffer" - the physical space between two people in which no accidental touching will take place.

His hand (the one closest to her), meanwhile, was dangling by his side, expectant and maybe a little hopeful that an accidental touch would lead to something more, even though there was a clear Friend Buffer between them. Poor guy looked like he would jump through hoops for her.

It's amazing how subtly manipulative girls can be with just a single touch, and how stupidly guys fall for it.

(("Why won't you touch me??"))
img from: istockphoto.com