Then came the end of the night. When the waiter subtly slid the check onto the edge of the table, Sarah did what she always did out of polite habit—she reached into her purse for her wallet to offer to split the bill.
It turned out to be a big mistake, at least in Mark’s eyes.
“Absolutely not,” Mark said smoothly, gently sliding his credit card down onto the bill before she could even unzip her purse. He offered her a warm, definitive smile. “A man pays on the first date.”
Sarah didn’t argue. In a dating culture where splitting tabs down to the exact cent via apps had become the norm, Mark’s firm insistence felt refreshing and chivalrous. They said their goodbyes with a sweet kiss on the cheek, and Sarah walked away thinking it was, without a doubt, one of the best first dates she had ever had. She went to sleep that night feeling a rare sense of optimism.
That was until the next morning…
