The Three Degrees of Hand-Holding

The following comes from an e-mail I wrote to my cousin just after I had applied to join the Board.  I've had occasion to share it twice in the last couple days, so I figured I might as well let everyone else in on the fun.

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I once observed someone explaining to a friend that there are three levels of holding hands. (I contend that there are many more than 3 ways, but the levels idea probably works.)

The simplest, or lowest, form is with no interlocking of fingers. Basically, you're just holding their hand. This is great for preventing tickling and such, but generally doesn't imply serious romantic interest. (It probably does imply at least a friendship, though.)

The second form is holding hands with fingers interlocked. It provides a much closer connection between two people, and usually indicates romantic interest. This happened with [name removed] about a week before we actually started dating.

The highest, or most serious, form of holding hands begins as an extension of the second. It starts with interlocked hands, but adds playing-with/rubbing/caressing/pick-a-word the other's hand with your free thumb. This is where the explanation I heard left off. However, creative minds will discover that the idea of playing with the other's hand can be expanded much beyond interlocking fingers. It includes tickling their palm, tickling the inside "edges" of their fingers by half-interlocking the fingers and slowly moving them up and down, and holding the other's closed fist inside yours (works better if your hands are significantly bigger than yours). Generalizing, you could say this is non-static holding hands. If you're doing this with a girl, you're probably already dating her. If a girl starts doing this to you and you're not dating her, then that should be a big hint: she's interested.

So there you have it. My treatise on the emotional commitment involved with hand-holding. If they decide to let me on as a writer on that BYU 100 Hour Board, I hope someone asks a question about holding hands. I would probably just copy-paste what I just wrote. :)

Note to readers: There is no need to submit this question now.  I've already answered it.