Recently, a few of my coworkers and I were discussing bad dates. Having much unfortunate experience with said topic, I offered up a few stories of my own, including this one:

A couple of years ago, Date and I were on a second date at an Italian restaurant. When the bill came, I did the obvious purse-reach at which point Date was supposed to say, My treat. Missing his cue, Date neglected to offer to pay, so I proceeded to reach for my wallet, assuming he just didn’t notice the purse-reach. I took out my money, of course expecting Date to finally wake up and say My treat. However, Date instead took my money and told me exactly how much I owe. Shocked, I quickly excused myself to the restroom where I proceeded to call my friend and relay what had just happened.

OK, so, back to the coworkers. My purse-reach story prompted a question and answer session about dating etiquette from a coworker in his early 30s, married, with two kids. He asked: Is it bad to use a restaurant coupon on a first date? We all responded Yes! in unison. What about a coupon for admission to Disneyland, is that bad? Nope, we all answered. Why is the Disneyland coupon okay but the restaurant coupon not okay, he asked.

It just is.

And in case you were wondering, yes, Date actually asked me out on a third date. I declined.