Let $\cC$ be a set of curves in the plane such that no three curves in $\cC$ intersect at a single point and every pair of curves in $\cC$ intersect at exactly one point which is either a crossing or a touching point. János Pach conjectured that the number of pairs of curves in $\cC$ that touch each other is $O(|\cC|)$. We prove this conjecture for $x$-monotone curves.