The question of who should pay for dates has been a huge debate for ages, but the one rule that makes the most sense, to me at least, is that the person who asks the other person out on a date should pay. It seems that this just isn’t common sense, because that’s how Regina found herself trapped paying for her date’s meal and drinks.
It was a Friday evening and she was ready to have some fun. She had been talking to this guy called Ethan. He was quirky and fun to hang around. Having been single for the last five years, she wanted to change things and so she gave dating a chance once again. Ethan called her and invited her to his house. It wasn’t too far from where she worked, so she decided to stop by once she was done. It had been a terrible week and she needed a breather.
“Just one disclaimer, I’m super broke for now, so I probably won’t be able to pay,” he said over the phone.
“Well, I’m just coming to your house, right? We won’t need much money.”
Regina arrived at Ethan’s house a few hours later. He stayed by himself at some apartments. The house was just enough. It was well-decorated and neatly arranged. In her mind, Regina thought that she had found the one for her. H was responsible and organized. A dream come true.
They sat down, and he didn’t offer her anything to eat or drink. Not even water. An hour passed, then two, and while Regina was enjoying the conversation, her stomach couldn’t help but betray her with rumbling sounds. She hadn’t had a proper meal during the day. But after some time she had to say something.
“You won’t offer me anything to eat?” She asked.
“I told you, I have nothing. I’m really broke at the moment,” he answered.
“Well then, let me order food because I’m hungry,” Regina said, reaching out to her phone and dialling the number.
“Uhh, could I order as well? I’ll have the same as you,” Ethan interrupted her as she made her order.
The food came within half an hour, and Regina was excited. As the doorbell rang, Ethan asked her to pay for his meal, and she didn’t see how she could turn down the request. She paid him quickly, unwrapped the fries as fast as she could, and started to eat. Ethan did the same.
Once they were done eating, they continued with the conversations which they had started earlier. Regina noticed that he was actually really good company. There was only one problem, and that was the fact that she wanted to drink some alcohol that day.
“You want to drink?” She offered.
“Yeah, of course,” he answered.
Regina picked up her phone again to order alcohol from a delivery company, and thirty minutes later the alcohol was there. She thought he would offer to pay, but again, the same story. She opened the door and paid for the alcohol.
It was now getting late, and Regina knew she couldn’t keep drinking because she was driving home. They had been watching a comedy show on TV for hours. She picked up her car keys, stood up, and started to stretch. Ethan, on the other hand, started to clear the table and took the bottle which she had bought to the kitchen. She was surprised but decided not to ask about the bottle. She went home.
A week later, she saw on his Instagram account that he had gone for a massage at an expensive spa nearby that was well-known. She laughed because this was the same guy who had claimed he had no money just a few days before.
“I see that nowadays you are treating yourself?” She asked him the next time he called her.
“Yeah, you have to take care of yourself, or else who will?” He responded.
Regina laughed as she narrated the story to her friends a few weeks later. The same guy who claimed he was too broke to buy a plate of fries, too broke to offer her food at his house, could now afford to treat himself to a fancy spa.
Check out some of these stories in the Singlehood series
Her Fling Hid In The Kitchen To Eat Food By Himself While She Was At His House
How I Got Stuck With The Bill After A Date With A Broke Guy
I Went On A Date With My Instagram Stalker Without Knowing It
She Showed Up To Our First Date With Her Ex-Boyfriend
I Was Cooking For My Boyfriend During Lockdown And He Was Eating My Food With Another Woman
She Learnt The Hard Way To Despise The Free Lunch
