When my best friend Mia set me up on a blind date, I wasn’t sure what to expect.
To my surprise, Eric showed up with a bouquet of roses and a small, thoughtful gift — a keychain with my initial.
During dinner, he was polite, attentive, and easy to talk to.
When the bill arrived, I offered to pay my share, but he insisted on treating me.
I went home feeling happy and thinking the evening had gone wonderfully.
The next morning, I woke up to a notification from Eric, expecting a friendly message.
Instead, he sent a playful but unexpected “invoice” listing the flowers, gift, and even opening the car door as
“date services,” along with humorous “charges” like compliments and a guaranteed second date.
While it seemed meant as a joke, some parts felt a bit too serious, and it left me unsure of how to respond.
I forwarded the message to Mia, who was just as surprised. She shared it with her boyfriend,
Chris, who happened to know Eric. To lighten the moment, Chris created a funny “invoice” in return, joking about
“introducing you to a wonderful person” and “believing kindness comes with terms.”
When Eric replied, he seemed flustered, and I simply sent a polite thumbs-up and moved on.
Later, Mia called laughing, apologizing while also saying it had turned into a story we’d probably remember foreve
r. I kept the keychain — not as a reminder of the date, but as a souvenir from a unique moment in modern dating. In the end,
I learned that even thoughtful gestures can get misunderstood,
and sometimes it’s better to keep things simple and communicate openly from the start.