An Interesting Observation

I just back from dinner with my friend, A. I was talking about my date with Bachelor #1 and mentioned that we split the tab. She was a bit perplexed by this, but said I should go out with him again as it's clear I'm way into him; however, if he doesn't pay for dinner this time, give him the boot.

Now, I'm a bit of a non-traditional gal who feels that if I reach for my wallet on a date (which I did) I should expect to pay my share. But even so, I listened to her advice, and we proceeded with dinner.

A few minutes later, as we were getting ready to leave, we were approached by two men. They shared their bottle of red with us, and we got to chatting with them about relationships; the subject of my date entered the conversation. I again mentioned that we split the tab, and both men immediately gave me the thumbs down sign. No if's, and's, or but's with these two. I should NOT give Bachelor #1 a green light for a second date.

Of course, I don't take advice so quickly from strangers in restaurants; Bachelor #1 and I have a second date scheduled for this Friday. However, it's gotten me thinking whether this seemingly-outdated rule of courtship is still the norm. After thinking about it, I realized that I can't think of the last first date I've had where the man didn't pay, even though I've always taken my wallet out and offered my share. I figure I can't judge Bachelor #1 when I initiated paying, but it is interesting to observe that my 3-person research sample all had the same reaction: Kick that man to the curb!