Unspoken Dialogues

Intimate Language in books & film

I’m a lifelong reader, and recently I’ve made it my mission to prioritize books by BIPOC, women, and indie authors. I want to hear from voices I haven’t heard before—and romance has been my genre of choice as of late.💗

The journey has been transformative, though not without its challenges. Here’s the thing, I don’t love smut for smut’s sake. I appreciate spice, but what I truly value is intimacy as communication—an expression of what words cannot.

Join me as I uncover my own particular strain of romance—one that goes beyond the bump and grind.

— Jordanaé

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Queen & Slim will forever be memorialized for me as a moving work of art. In case you missed it, it’s a Black love story where a first date takes an unexpected turn, resulting in the unlikely pair running from the law. Somewhere between experiencing both the hardship and the beauty of being Black in America, the couple finds love and safety in one another before their tragic end.

Among its many breathtaking frames, Melina Matsoukas directed one of the most artful and captivating sex scenes I’ve ever seen. I watched it in the theater with my mom and—probably for the first time—I didn’t look away in embarrassment. Yes, I was fully grown, in my mid-twenties at the time, but let’s be real: there’s something about watching sex scenes in public that makes us all squirm, even as adults.

This one was different, though. There was a deliberate intentionality behind it, a raw honesty that felt unflinching rather than scandalous. In the words of Daniel Kaluuya, the film’s lead: “It wasn’t indulgent or crass—it was about them as characters” (EXTRA interview). “We had to treat it like any other scene. Sex is the language and dialogue of that scene,” he told Marie Claire UK. Curiosity, frantic desire, passion, and fear felt telepathically transmitted between the actors and their audience, as we waded through the waters of this momentary reprieve from the film’s ever-building tension. This intimacy felt sacred, healing, and free of shame.

While I haven’t quite experienced this level of resonance in a film since, here are a few of my favorite reads that use physical intimacy as a profound tool for communication:

DEMON’S DREAM: An Unexpected Love by Elle Kayson

[Link to purchase]
Classic Urban Love Story | Mafia Romance | Dark Romance

Damien Montana—better known as Demon—is one of the MMCs who unexpectedly falls in love with the FMC “given to him” as part of an agreement between crime families. Demon’s past trauma makes him reluctant to love or express his feelings, shaped in part by his complicated relationship with his mother. Whether he’s upset, happy, or sad, he channels everything physically.

Although Kayson goes to great lengths to showcase Demon’s erotic artistry, conflict arises when he falls in love for the first time and realizes he can only communicate through physical means.

What’s Being Communicated:
The FMC is saying: You’re safe.
The MMC is saying: I love you, and I want you here.

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Restore Me: The New Haven Series (Book 1) by J.L. Seegars

[Link to purchase]
Forbidden Romance | Grumpy x Sunshine | Second Chance at Love

If you’ve heard that this book is about a widow falling in love with her late husband’s best friend—yes, it’s about that. LOL. But on a deeper level, it’s about two grieving souls finding healing and love again in each other.

The MMC, Dominic, makes sure Sloan feels safe, celebrated, and cared for. He communicates love and reassurance through physical affection, creating a tender bond between them as they navigate forbidden territory.

What’s Being Communicated:
The FMC is saying: I need you.
The MMC is saying: I want to serve you.

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Room 214, San Juan by L.B. Gaines — Recent Release

[Link to purchase]
Forced Proximity | He Falls First | Novella

In just 90 pages, L.B. Gaines crafts complex, layered characters. The FMC, who lives with OCD and the weight of internal and external expectations, finds unexpected liberation after a steamy forced-proximity encounter with a stranger in hotel room 214.

Though their time together is short, their physical connection empowers her to rediscover herself and dream without judgment.

What’s Being Communicated:
The FMC is saying: I trust you enough to show you the real me.
The MMC is saying: You’re beautiful and capable.

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Ethic (Book 1) by Ashley Antoinette

[Link to purchase]
Forbidden Love | Anti-Hero | Turbulent Romance

Ashley Antoinette’s Ethic introduces us to Ethic and Alani—two characters burdened by heavy trauma. But the tragedy that binds them is unimaginable. At this stage in the series, only Ethic, the MMC, knows the full extent of the harm he’s caused Alani.

What Alani experiences as lustful, animalistic ecstasy during their first encounter, the reader recognizes as something more: a drawn-out apology, fueled by adrenaline, remorse, and conflicted passion from the MMC. Still, the moment isn’t one-sided—it’s charged, intimate, and surprisingly reciprocal.

What’s Being Communicated:
The FMC is saying: I want you, and I haven’t wanted anyone in a long time.
The MMC is saying: I’m not worthy of you, but while I have you, I’ll give you the best of me.

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These stories are just a few examples of how physical intimacy can be a powerful and nuanced form of communication—where words fall short, action always speaks louder. Whether it’s about love, loss, or self-discovery, the art of connecting physically in literature (and film) has a profound way of telling stories that words alone cannot fully express.

I’m looking for my next read—help me out: do you have any recs that fit the vibe?

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