Piano Sonatas and Other Things I Never Meant to Play (Not This Far Into the Story, Anyway)
an excerpt

"Sure", she replies. There's not much Leticia can butt in; the whispers of course; only the whispers; but it's Leticia, and she's too shy a girl to really pry; and this is, she figures, why she follows with a very theoretical point of view; harmless and unharmed, unattached, far away from home.

"I think you're also projecting your fears on them. Not everyone thinks of sex as a big deal: and you know that, and you want to make them look like what they have is really important, because you feel bad about your— I don't know, whatever is keeping you behind- if you lump intimacy and sex together, and they're having sex, then they're sharing something really deep, and maybe they're not; by what you say about your friend I'd say they're not; I'd say she doesn't apprehend sex the way you do; and she's not worried, she knows what she's doing, and you just want to believe that- or you actually do just believe that what they have is deep and may harm them both if your friend really has the capacity to, well, as you said, fuck him up, instead of just- you know- and you just haven't considered that not everyone thinks the same way. Or you may have considered it and are afraid of that, and that's why you're projecting it on them, trying to make-believe that everyone finds sex a very important connection point, so when you have it it will mean something deeper than just sluttiness. If that makes any sense at all."

The line has moved on; has been moving as they spoke, obviously; and it's Paula's turn now for the fitting room; she asks Leticia if she wants to come in; that's what friends do; not that she mentions that; but Leticia refuses with a simple shake of her head, doesn't really have to explain why.

It's just like the no-touching thing; it's the same exact part they're playing here; and Paula knows from this speech and from these quirks of Leticia's that she thinks exactly the same about sex that she does; finds it equally intimate; for a girl who doesn't feel comfortable touching your hands must feel even more comfortable exposing herself entirely; and touching someone else entirely; and when she's finished trying on her stuff, she waits in line to pay, and Leticia comes right behind her; inertia; and they talk a bit more, they talk about what Leticia's buying, and a scarf she has picked up from one of the shelves, and a pair of tights; and Leticia mentions that she's never seen her in a skirt; and Paula answers that she gets cold quite easily.

She really, really does.