I went on a date with a woman and thought we hit it off really well. When she couldn’t find her phone, I called it for her, and to my surprise, someone at the restaurant answered. I went back inside to retrieve it, and the waiter gave me a strange look before handing it over. Then, with a sympathetic smile, he turned the screen toward me. There it was plain as day. In her contacts, my name was saved as “Free Dinner Guy.”
My stomach dropped. I replayed the evening in my head. The way she had ordered the most expensive dishes on the menu, the way she barely asked me anything about myself, and how quickly she mentioned she had “forgotten her wallet.” It all clicked. I handed the phone back and thanked the waiter.
Instead of confronting her immediately, I decided to play it cool. When I got back outside, she was waiting by the car, all smiles. “Find it?” she asked sweetly. “Yeah,” I said, forcing a smile. “Everything’s fine.”
On the drive back, she started talking about where we should go next time and casually mentioned another high-end restaurant. That’s when I knew what I had to do. I pulled up to her apartment, and as she started to thank me for a “perfect night,” I calmly said, “By the way, I saw what you saved my name as in your phone.” Her face went pale. Before she could speak, I continued, “I hope the meal was worth it because this is the last time you’ll be seeing me.”
I got out, opened her door so she could leave, and drove off without another word. The next day, I went back to the same restaurant and left a generous tip for the waiter who had been kind enough to show me the truth. Sometimes, a little honesty from a stranger saves you from a much bigger heartbreak. And as for me? I’ve decided that next time, my date will have to earn the title saved in my contacts not the other way around.