When Mia introduced me to her boyfriend’s friend, I said yes mostly to stop her from insisting. Still, I was a bit hopeful — Eric could actually hold a normal conversation and treated texting like real communication. He asked me to dinner at a quiet Italian restaurant, and it felt like the kind of date that might restore my faith in modern dating. He showed up with roses, pulled out my chair, and gave me a small engraved gift with my initial on it. For a moment, I truly thought this could be the start of meeting someone special.
The dinner went perfectly — one of those nights that feels easy and enjoyable, where everything just flows. When the bill came, Eric stopped me from paying and insisted on covering it, saying, “A man pays on the first date.” He walked me to my car, waited until I left, and I even texted Mia afterward saying she might’ve been right about him. He seemed like a true gentleman. But then came the next day.
Instead of a sweet message saying he had a great time, I got an email titled “Invoice for Previous Evening.” I opened it thinking it was a joke — but it looked like a real bill, listing the cost of dinner, the roses, and the engraved keychain. At the bottom, it said I could “repay” him through planned acts of intimacy next time — and warned that if I didn’t, he might tell Chris, Mia’s boyfriend. It was creepy, detailed, and completely inappropriate.
I immediately showed Mia. She and Chris made a fake “invoice” in return and cut him off after seeing how he reacted. I blocked him and moved on — grateful that I saw his true colors before things went any further. What started as a lovely, romantic night turned into an important lesson: some people give not out of kindness, but to make you owe them. It’s better to see that early than to let it cost you more later.