George knows right when Candy tells him about Curley's wife that she's trouble. When he and Lennie meet her for the first time, his thoughts are confirmed. He tells Lennie to stay away from her and not to talk to her, ever. Because Lennie never wants to do anything to upset George, he does his best to stay away from her. Curley's wife is like a shark who circles the men all of the time, though. She is lonely and wants to talk to socialize, so there seems to be no way to avoid her. She seems to be circling closer and closer to Lennie throughout the story without realizing that he's a killer whale.
Once she finds him alone in the barn, the moment that George warned Lennie about is realized. This moment intensifies the suspense of the story because George isn't around to help Lennie if he can't get away from her. Furthermore, Curley's wife happens upon Lennie after he has just killed his puppy and he's already upset, so Lennie is even more unpredictable than normal. Thus, everything surrounding the moment that Curley's wife sits next to Lennie is aligned for the trouble George was worried about. Unbeknownst to her, Curley's wife sets herself and Lennie up for the worst when she says the following:
"Some people got kinda coarse hair . . . But mine is soft and fine. 'Course I brush it a lot. That makes it fine. Here—feel right here . . . Feel right aroun' there an' see how soft it is" (90).
When she takes his hand and puts it on her head, that is the end of it. Whenever Lennie touches something soft, it dies. Curley's wife is no exception. If she had not gotten close to him, and just left Lennie alone, she would have been fine. From start to finish, she seems to get closer and closer to him in the story, until finally she sits down right next to him and has him touch something soft. It is this moment that seals both of their fates.
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