At first there is the sudden and quite unexpected attraction. Then one of the two parties subtly tries to beckon the other by way of some gesture; perhaps a wink or an outright stare. If this goes well and chemistry is established then they could proceed to the dating stage. If there are fireworks aplenty then be sure of an exchange of phone numbers, Facebook IDs, twitter handles, etc. Only the adventurous dare to do some good ol’ flirting. Every now and again there’s the occasional gift in the form of flowers (for no particular reason), or phone recharge vouchers (if your partner keeps ending each conversation with ‘I’m running out of credit’). It’s only fair to assume that the gift-buyer has now earned the right to do some holding – of the hands, of the curves, of your favourite body part (whatever that is). Some of us go one step further and offer an invitation to have a home-cooked dinner (true intentions concealed, of course). Right before one of you makes a move, you get the jitters (some call it butterflies in your tummy while others just call it a bad case of gas). The climax of the night is reached when you’ve successfully kissed your partner (I mean Hollywood-kissed with lots of tongue!). Inevitably the two of you fall hopelessly in love…and if both sets of parents approve (or are deceased, as the case may be) then it’s a good time as any for marriage…and  that’s when it starts to get a little bit complicated.

Stay tuned for Part 2 🙂