PETE Davidson's heavy PDA with Chase Sui Wonders may be for show — but that doesn't mean the pair's not genuinely into each other.
Body language expert Patti Wood says that Chase, 26, seems intent on showing others that she and Pete, 29, are in "this great romantic relationship" — but he's having fun and not resisting her touch.
Pete — whose roster of old flames includes Kim Kardashian, Ariana Grande, and Kaia Gerber — was first rumored to be dating Chase in December.
Since then, there have been multiple occasions on which eyewitnesses caught them packing on the PDA, including at dinner in Brooklyn on January 9 and at Universal Studios Hollywood in Los Angeles on January 19.
And now the Bodies Bodies Bodies costars are vacationing together in Hawaii and have been spotted getting touchy-feely and smooching in multiple locations.
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On Monday, they were snapped walking hand-in-hand on the beach, and Chase even ended up in Pete's lap for a kiss.
Patti Wood, author of Snap: Making the Most of First Impressions, Body Language, and Charisma, said the kiss was played up to seem super passionate — but that wasn't really the case.
Analyzing photos from the trip, Wood said that Chase is doing most of the "work" to project the image of a "strong romantic couple" even though at this point, they may just be having fun.
But while she's initiating that extra contact and pulling him close for the cameras, Wood pointed out that Pete isn't resisting — and seems to be "genuinely happy" with her.
"Not many people kiss like this in public," Wood said. "And this is a very intimate kiss because she's got one leg in between his legs. And she's sitting on his lap.
"Even though we think, 'Oh, she's sitting in his lap, that's so feminine and romantic' — she has a lot of control."
There are also some mixed messages that indicate this kiss wasn't quite as much of a spur-of-the-moment passionate display as it seemed.
"So you see this very sexual, in-between-the-legs, all wrapped around [pose] — but she's just gently placing her hand on his knee. And her right hand, the fingers are out straight and also relaxed.
"So I believe it's a sort of fake passionate kiss, and acting as if it's super, super passionate when it's just really a fun kiss.
"And I think there's some acting going on [...] because she's got her hat over the kiss."
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Wood said that other PDA-packed photos show a similar dynamic — Chase initiating the PDA but Pete happily going along with it.
In one, Chase had her hand up Pete's shirt as they walked down the beach.
"She wants to be on his skin, which is intimate and really sexy and what she would normally just do around the house underneath your man's pajamas.
"You wouldn't necessarily do hand under shirt touching skin out in public. It's usually done like after you've made love in the morning. That kind of intimacy."
Though Pete's hands were full and he didn't reciprocate the touch, "he has a big, nice smile that lifts up his face."
Chase also initiated "intimate touch" to speak closely in his ear.
"She could probably speak [out loud], it's not a crowded beach, but she wants to pull it in and he's fine with being pulled in," Wood said.
Overall, Patti said she thinks that Chase wants everyone to take note of them together and Pete's having a good time with it all.
"He's being fun and playful. She's saying, 'I want everybody to know we're a couple, I want people to think we're a real couple.'
"And he seems genuinely happy. He's having a great time. On his part, there's no artifice of any of this and he's not resisting. He's just having a great time."
Only time will tell if this turns into a long-lasting relationship, but Wood admitted that she sees more "matching" between Pete and Chase than Pete and his previous girlfriends.
"They both have sort of this dorky, 'I don't care how I look' attitiude," she said.
They also mirror each other as they walk, showing "a nice sort of fun, funky, nerdy energy around them."
"My overall impression is that they match and mirror on that sort of playful dorkiness and casual way of being ... but I do think she's doing more of the work to make them look like a couple."
Previously, Cosmic Fusion founder Michelle Bell predicted that Pete and Chase would have a "sparky attraction" but she'd get "frustrated with his introversion."
