No Alcohol On The First Date

First dates already have enough pressure to make a good first impression, to get over the initial discomfort, and to have a good time. Some people think meeting up for drinks on a first date can alleviate the anxiousness. Unfortunately, it has only been a disaster in my experiences. When someone lists that they are a social drinker, you think that it's just every now and then. You don't think it's every weekend, 3 days a week. I found this out the hard way. I should have realized that something was up when she asked me to meet her for a drink.

Even though I don't drink, I don't really have a problem heading out with an attractive lady to her favorite spot. And this lady was gorgeous. She also had a witty personality and a lot of spunk. I thought this could be a lot of fun. She asked me to pick her up around 8:30pm, which I had no problem doing. I look back on it now, and I should have realized that this was another red flag.

I arrive at 8:25pm and end up waiting until about 8:45pm before she was done getting ready. When she first came out of the house, I thought she looked gorgeous. I couldn't help but smile when she got to my car. So, I opened the door for her, and we were off.

We head into the bar and the doorman knew her name. We go up to the bar and the bar tender knows her name. A few of the patrons knew her name as well. I start thinking "how often does this lady come to this bar? What is she Norm from Cheers?"

We sit down and start talking; she begins to tell me about something that happened at work. She then proceeds to follow that story up with another rant about her ex-boyfriend. She only paused long enough to order another drink. This went on for at least a good hour and a half. Soon, I began noticing a slight slur in her words. She was pounding the hard stuff and all I could think was "Thank God, she wanted us to go 'dutch' on this date".

We passed the 2 hour mark and she finally asked about my day. As I started to respond, she interrupted with a vulgar laced tirade about her "baby daddy". I realized that she was officially hammered and that this is a weekly occurrence for her. She became more belligerent over the next hour and I began to see a side of her that was very unflattering. About 11:30pm, I asked if she was ready to head home. She stumbled out the bar and to my car.

I took her straight home and watched her stagger up to her front door. Before she left, she muttered something along the lines of having a great time. I swore to myself that I will never include alcohol on the first date. I also made it a rule to ask, ladies who say they are "social drinkers", how often they get drunk.