the slightest passion between us, just juices

[Coffee Break]

Hello everyone. I encountered this expression, "the slightest passion between us, just juices", but am struggling to understand it. Could you please let me know what it means in the following sentences:

[Beryl speaking] “Thank God there are others to stop us,” she said in the end.
[The protagonist speaking] “I suppose,” I repeated.
[Beryl speaking] “Don’t suppose. You don’t really want this any more than I do.”
There had been, neither on her part, nor on mine, the slightest passion between us, just juices.
When I left the coatroom with my coat, I saw Clara talking to someone in the corridor. Something in me hoped she had seen us together.

- André Aciman, Eight White Nights, First Night

This is a novel published in the United States of America in 2010. This novel is narrated by the nameless male protagonist. The protagonist meets Clara at a Christmas party in Manhattan. Here, just before leaving the party, the protagonist kisses Beryl (Clara's female friend) in a coatroom. When Beryl says that it is thankful that there are others so that they cannot do anything more, the protagonist says "I suppose". But then Beryl says "You don't really want this any more than I do," because she knows that the person the protagonist really wants is Clara, not her.

Here, I wonder what the underlined expression means.
Would that mean that there was no passion between them, not at all (="not the slightest"), but there were just juices (whatever those "juices" might mean)...?

The only relevant meaning that I could find in the dictionary was that "juice" here could mean "bodily secretion", but I am not sure...

I would very much appreciate your help.

 

[Skrej]

You're on the right track. Since all they did was kiss, then 'juices' refers to saliva. There was no passion in the kiss - it was just an exchange of saliva. Using the term 'juices' makes it sound very unromantic, which is the author's intent.

 

[Coffee Break]

@Skrej,

Thank you very much for the explanation.
So it means that there was no trace/hint of (=slightest) strong emotion/desire (=passion) on her side, and on his side. All that existed between the two was just bodily secretions/saliva (=juices, with the following meaning).

juice

Definition, Synonyms, Translations of juice by The Free Dictionary

www.thefreedictionary.com

b. A bodily secretion: digestive juices.

And the word choice of "juice" is to describe the scene in an unromantic mood.

Also, here, the negative expression in "neither/nor" is only applied to "the slightest passion", and it is not applied to "juices" because juices existed on her part and his part.

I sincerely appreciate your help, for letting me understand.