Mr. Manipulation Meets His Match

Submitted by Anna:

Carl picked a pretty nice restaurant for our first date.  He seemed nice and friendly enough, being a junior associate in a tax services office.

When the check came, he didn't go for his wallet.  I took mine out and asked, "Do you want to split this?"

He said, "Actually, I don't really have much on me, and I left my cards at home.  Would you mind covering it, and I'll pay the next time?"

Whoa now.  First off, it's really a shameful thing to ask me out to dinner and then assume that I'm picking up the entire thing.  Secondly, who says that there's going to be a next time?

Then, he asked, "Do you want to get dessert?"

I frowned at him.  "Will that also be my treat?"

He said, "Yeah, but I already told you that I'd pick it up next date."

"What if there isn't a next date?" I asked.

That caught him off guard, and I followed it up with, "And what if I don't have enough to cover this whole thing?"

For the first time, he seemed nervous.  He said, "Just use one of your cards."

I replied, "I don't have any cards.  I guess I left them at home, too."  This wasn't true, but I wasn't going to be taken advantage of.  This guy had asked me out, had KNOWN that he was going out to dinner, and he didn't bring any money?  What gives?

He asked, "Can't you just pay for it?  I'll hit an ATM once we're out of here and pay you back."

I said, "Why not go hit up an ATM now?  I can wait."

Carl threw down his napkin and left.

When he didn't come back for twenty minutes, I called the manager over, explained the situation, and said that I would be glad to pay for what I ate.  The manager was sympathetic, and I gave him Carl's number so that he could follow up on the unpaid portion of the meal.

Of course, I never heard from Carl again.  It's too bad.  I was really looking forward to that second date.  Asshole.