Man Explains Why He Chose To 'Dine And Dash' & Leave His Date Hanging On Their First Outing
"Do you think I'm stupid? I'm not."
Dejan Dundjerski | Shutterstock Everyone who has ventured into the world of online dating likely has their fair share of horror stories.
One man shared his recent Hinge-date-gone-wrong on TikTok, revealing why he left before the date even came to a close.
He explained why he chose to 'dine and dash,' leaving his date before the meal was paid for.
"I dined and dashed on a Hinge date; let me tell you why," Johnny began in his video.
He explained that after matching with a woman, he messaged her to plan a lunch date, thinking they'd do something casual like get sushi or coffee. However, she was insistent that the two of them go to a Hibachi restaurant.
Not wanting to argue, Johnny agreed that the two of them could eat Hibachi. He showed up at the restaurant on the day of their date and immediately got his first surprise — the woman was not alone and had brought a friend to join them.
Now, it's not completely unreasonable for women to want to bring along a friend or two when meeting an online date for the first time. Things can happen, and while dating apps have become the norm, there are still safety risks involved.
The problem though, is usually that friend would sit a couple of tables away and keep a low profile to not raise any alarm bells. They wouldn't sit directly at the table where the date was happening.
More common, however, is simply meeting in a public place, letting multiple loved ones know where you are and who you're with, and doing periodic check-ins. The fact is, Johnny was right to be on his guard when his date brought a friend as if she was offering her a free dinner.
"So, we sit down, and we start kinda hanging out, talking, getting to know each other, stuff like that. Both of these women start ordering a bunch of drinks ... then they start ordering appetizers," Johnny recalled. When it came time to order their main dish, Johnny ordered chicken and rice while both the women told the chef they wanted the surf & turf.
photo.jpeg | Shutterstock
Johnny admitted he knew that these women were ordering the most expensive meals on the menu because they assumed that he'd pay for their dinner. He, however, didn't let the women know that he'd caught onto them, and the rest of the date continued.
"Time goes by, and we're ready to pay the tab," he said. The chef asked them how they would like to split the bill, and before Johnny could speak, one of the women simply said that it was all going on one check.
"I tell her, 'Hey, do me a favor, will you just box up my food real quick, and I'm gonna go to the restroom.' Guess where I went? I didn't go to the restroom; I went to my car and went home," he revealed. "Do you think I'm stupid? I'm not. You paid my bill. Thanks."
Johnny returned to the restaurant the day after the ill-fated date to make sure the check had been paid.
Truthfully, dining and dashing on a date doesn't just affect the person you're on a date with but the restaurant staff as well. While Johnny wasn't wrong to leave a date whose purpose seemed to be to exploit him, he didn't want the restaurant staff to suffer.
"The next day, I go over to the Hibachi restaurant, and I find the Hibachi cook, and I go, 'Hey, did those girls ever pay their tab? I want to make sure they didn't leave the bill on you guys,'" Johnny said. The cook told him that the two women did indeed pay their bill, but it wasn't with their own money.
Confused, Johnny asked what he meant and the cook informed him that 30 minutes after Johnny left, another man came into the restaurant and paid the two women's bill for them. Then, all three of them left together.
Johnny insisted that these two women weren't "good people" and sent the Hibachi cook $20 for the trouble. Unfortunately, this seems to be a common theme among online dating, but hopefully, Johnny will have a bit better luck in the future!
Nia Tipton is a Chicago-based entertainment, news, and lifestyle writer whose work delves into modern-day issues and experiences.