“Please explain.” Chi-Chi was highly aware about the growing number of sexual harassment claims. Chi-Chi was also curious about Cullen’s take on American male-female interaction. Where she came from, many marriages were arranged. And under Sharia law in the Zamfara State, a man could take up to four wives provided he treated them equally. Thankfully, her father had had the presence of mind and a decent enough education to know that was not what he wanted for his daughter.

“Ha. Where do I begin?” Cullen laughed nervously. “Over the years, there has been a tremendous amount of sexual harassment. Probably since the beginning of time, actually. But only recently has it become major news, with a deluge of lawsuits. Major executives losing their jobs, celebrities, you name it. And I can’t blame the women for blowing the whistle on them.” Cullen paused at a STOP sign to check the traffic. “Now men are overly cautious to approach a woman in any way so as not to offend them or have their intentions misconstrued.”

“I understand. So if a woman wants a man to kiss her, she needs to invite him to do so?” Chi-Chi was playing coy with him.

Cullen chuckled nervously. “Pretty much. Sorta takes the romance out of it, though.”

“So you cannot ‘make a move,’ as they say, without permission?” Chi-Chi asked.

Cullen let out a guffaw. “I know it sounds crazy, but this is what it has come down to.”

Chi-Chi sat back, pondering this new information. She had dated several men, but the relationships never moved forward enough to the point of sex. Likewise, her religious beliefs forbade premarital sex regardless where you lived. That was one of the few moral imperatives that her family had instilled in her. At thirty-four, she was still a virgin. She often wondered if she would ever fall in love, but she knew she liked Cullen very much. Maybe that was what love was supposed to be about. Liking someone very much.

As they pulled into the parking lot of the center, Chi-Chi kept her focus straight ahead. “So if I wanted someone to kiss me, I would have to ask them to?”

“Awkward, huh?” Cullen was expressing his own feelings at the moment.

“Indeed.” Chi-Chi thought about everything Cullen had said. She would save the invitation for another time. Someplace a little more romantic than a parking lot. She hoped that when she did ask, he would be happy to oblige. In the meantime, she would find out what kind of invitation was necessary.

Chapter Six

Chapter Six

Marion, NC
That evening