I love word games. For about two years now, Wordfeud has been my game of choice. I used to play with one of my former coworkers frequently. One day, he decided to put the moves on me through the game's chat feature. He seemed like a nice guy and I was not opposed to getting to know him better, so I accepted his request for dinner.
We went to Outback Steakhouse. At first our conversation was a bit awkward. I found myself searching for discussion topics. Eventually we found our groove and even shared a few laughs. It wasn't a match made in heaven, but I was enjoying myself immensely.
The waitress brought us the check as we finished our meals. It was at that moment that our conversation picked up more steam. He was laughing, I was laughing - we were genuinely having a good time. We found that we had similar tastes in music and books. He certainly got a mental smile and head nod from me at this point.
As more time passed, our waitress came back and politely requested that we settle the bill. My date looked at me and asked with all sincerity, "You got half?" The aforementioned mental head nod suddenly turned into a head shake. Had it really come to this?
Here's the thing: I don't mind going Dutch. Some women find that to be a turn off. If it were agreed upon in advance or if it were a friendly outing, then that would have been fine. However, he asked me out. Unfortunately this appears to be a phenomenon. At least two of my friends have had similar experiences leaving me to wonder whether chivalry died with King Arthur's Court.
I slipped Amy (pet nickname for my Amex ) out of my wallet and smiled through gritted teeth. He made a few halfhearted attempts at continuing our conversation. I graciously responded to his inquiries while plotting a swift getaway. Needless to say Halfsies and I did not make it to a second date.
S/n: the crush and I are supposed to be doing lunch tomorrow. Details to come!
