6 sexy movie and TV moments that aren’t sex

It’s Summer Lovin’ Week here at Mashable, which means things are getting steamy. In honor of the release of Crazy Rich Asians, we’re celebrating onscreen love and romance, looking at everything from our favorite fictional couples to how Hollywood’s love stories are evolving. Think of it as our love letter to, well, love.

Sometimes movie sex is kind of sexy! Sometimes it is not. It’s kind of a toss-up. What’s fascinating is that in films where romance is the air, there are moments between romantic couples that read as very, very sexy…but they have nothing to do with sex. These longing looks, glancing touches, and sweet gestures are the things that real relationships are often build up, and it would be remiss to celebrate Summer Lovin’ Week without listing a few of those magic moments that are so, so sexy…and yet entirely divorced from the bedroom. 

1. Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet touch hands for the first time, Pride and Prejudice (2005)

This simple hand touch is a fantastic example of using a period piece’s social norms to create a moment that is both universally electric and of its time. After not ever touching Elizabeth’s skin ever, (because men and women touching was weird back then) Mr. Darcy helps her down from a carriage with an ungloved hand. The camera lingers on this first contact, and the future lovers make eye contact that proves they both notice the way their skin feels together. To top off this sultry moment, Mr. Darcy looks at and flexes the muscles of the hand that just touched Elizabeth, almost as if he felt literal sparks from a single moment of intimacy. 

2. Every time Sam said “I can fix that” to Katherine Barlow, Holes (2003)

For a man who sold onions, Sam was incredibly sweet. Each time he came to schoolteacher Katherine Barlow with his cart of onions, he offered to act as a handyman on her ramshackle schoolhouse. The two forbidden lovers fall for each other in the time it takes for him to complete his tasks, but it’s clear from the start that when Sam looks Katherine in the eye and says, so softly, with the barest hint of a smile, “I can fix that,” that there is some real-deal, gorgeous chemistry between them. 

3. Henry Higgs takes Eliza Dooley’s advice and holds her like he means it, Selfie (TV series, 2014)

This is the part where we lament the too-early cancellation of Selfie, the modern-day adaptation of My Fair Lady starring Karen Gillian as the social media–obsessed Eliza Dooley and a very handsome John Cho as Henry Higgs, the brand manager who attempts to reform her into a better person. The show had a rough first few episodes, but as the romance between Eliza and Henry developed so did the onscreen chemistry between Cho and Gillian. 

In one very memorable scene, Eliza attempts to teach Henry something for once — how to be more assertive with a woman he’s attracted to, and after goading him into making a move like he means it, Henry grabs Eliza around the waist and pulls her towards him, their faces barely touching. It feels right. It feels too good. They stay in the moment just a hair too long for it to feel like a game…and then Eliza flees, scared of her feelings for Henry. Pour one out for this romance that will never be resolved. 

4. Rahul and Anjali in the gazebo, (Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, 1998)

“Sexy things that aren’t sex” is basically Bollywood’s subhead, especially since most films until recently didn’t even have kissing. That requires some getting creative, often with the help of rain, music, and a little choreographed dance. In Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, two newly reunited friends act on their sudden physical yearning in a supposedly chaste but sexy-as-hell gazebo tryst, only to be jolted back to reality by the arrival of Anjali’s fiancee. –Proma Khosla

5. The contract negotiation, (50 Shades of Grey, 2015)

Look, 50 Shades gets a bad rep for its…almost everything, but if there’s one thing this movie that’s virtually all about sex gets right its the steamy contract negotiation between Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey. Once Ana decides to sign the contract, the couple meet in a sunset-toned room to discuss the exact terms of their sexual agreement. There’s something ferocious about the way Ana takes control of the discussion and has an opportunity to be frank about her desires and limitations. It’s consent laid out in the most crystal-clear terms, and with each amendment to the document both Ana and Christian seem more and more excited about what’s coming up once everything is signed and stamped. 

6. Peggy Carter shooting Captain America’s shield, (Captain America: The First Avenger, 2011)

Hell hath no fury like an agent scorned, especially when that scorn is unexpected. When Agent Carter finds Steve Rogers smooching a young lady (played by a pre-Game of Thrones Natalie Dormer), she is shocked, then betrayed, then shocked that she feels betrayed in the first place. Seeing the stoic Peggy figure out in real time that she has feelings for Steve Rogers and to have those feelings crushed in the same moment is a lot for anyone to handle, so who can blame her for wanting to test out Cap’s new vibranium shield by shooting a few bullets off it it…while he holds it…and is not expecting the shots. Peggy’s fiery jealousy and Cap’s slow realization that he messed up reads as the first time they semi-acknowledge their feelings for each other, and yet this was another romance that was never meant to be.