What SHOULD you say on a first date?
Why, the words every man wants to hear from a woman, of course: "I'll pay."
Now of course it's not like this with every guy, but I've been on a few dates where the man was complaining so much about women using men as ATM'S that when the check came, I just told the waiter to hand it to me.
I saw it as a no-win situation. I always offer to pay my own way as it is, but in this situation, it felt like no matter what I did, I'd still be seen as just another evil money-grubbing woman, so I would feel an obligation to pay the whole thing because I somehow had to prove that I wasn't like all these other women he was going on about.
But I also never went on a second date with the guy, either. As delightful as it sounds to spend another evening listening to someone complain about people I don't know and stereotypes I try to have nothing to do with, I'll have to pass.
Which of course, is probably why I'm still (sometimes happily) single.