When my best friend Mia insisted on setting me up with her boyfriend\u2019s friend, I only agreed to keep the peace. Blind dates weren\u2019t my thing, but Eric seemed different \u2014 polite, well-spoken, and genuinely interested. By the time we met for dinner, I was actually hopeful. He arrived early with roses, held the door, and even brought a small engraved keychain with my initial. The night was smooth, even charming. I remember thinking maybe Mia was right for once \u2014 maybe good men weren\u2019t extinct after all.<\/p>\n
Then the next morning, I opened my email and froze. Eric had sent me an invoice.<\/em> A real one. It listed \u201cDinner: $120 (covered in full),\u201d \u201cFlowers: requires reciprocation (one hug),\u201d \u201cKeychain: repayable via coffee date,\u201d and \u201cEmotional labor: holding hands next time to express appreciation.\u201d At the bottom, it read: \u201cFailure to comply may result in Chris hearing about it.\u201d Chris \u2014 as in Mia\u2019s boyfriend, his friend. It wasn\u2019t just bizarre; it was manipulative. I forwarded it to Mia, who immediately wrote back: He\u2019s insane. Don\u2019t respond.<\/em><\/p>\n But Mia didn\u2019t stop there. She told Chris, who decided to get creative. He sent Eric a mock invoice from \u201cKarma & Co.\u201d charging him for \u201cPublic embarrassment,\u201d \u201cEmotional disturbance,\u201d and \u201cSitting at the same table as someone out of your league.\u201d The last line read, \u201cFailure to comply will result in permanent reputation damage.\u201d Eric went ballistic \u2014 texting that we \u201ccouldn\u2019t take a joke\u201d and that I\u2019d \u201cmissed out on a great guy.\u201d I just replied with a thumbs-up emoji and blocked him.<\/p>\n Now, when people ask about my worst date ever, I don\u2019t hesitate: The guy who sent me an invoice.<\/em> It still makes people laugh, but for me, it\u2019s a reminder. Some red flags arrive with charm and roses \u2014 and others come itemized in your inbox. Either way, the lesson\u2019s the same: kindness doesn\u2019t come with a price tag, and self-respect doesn\u2019t issue refunds.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When my best friend Mia insisted on setting me up with her boyfriend\u2019s friend, I only agreed to keep the peace. Blind dates weren\u2019t my thing, but… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":27981,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27980","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n