Come For The Girls, Stay For The Beer

Back when I was using an online dating service, I made plans to meet up with a girl at a bar. I got there a few minutes early and decided to sit at the bar to wait, since the entryway didn’t have any seating and the bar was right next to it. I didn’t get anything, just sat there watching the entryway for her to get in.

A person who looked like her came in and then went to a table with a group at it already. It happened again with another person, so I figured she just had a bit of a generic look. It got to about fifteen minutes later than we planned to meet, so I was just getting ready to order a nice beer to have and then leave — I chose a place with a great beer selection — when a server came over and asked if I was waiting for someone.

I affirmed and he took me over to a table in the bar with a girl and guy sitting at it. She said she was my date. She explained that she came in, saw me sitting at the bar, and thought I was maybe her date, but she saw her friend sitting and immediately went over to him. So, okay, whatever.

We went to sit at a different table, ordered drinks, and chatted. She couldn’t finish her drink, so she took it over to her friend and came back. About thirty minutes later, she looked at the time and said she needed to go because the last bus was about to come. She left immediately, sticking me with the tab for her friend’s drink.

It wasn’t a good date, either. She was always just waiting for me to stop talking so that she could talk about whatever she was thinking about, making no real effort at an actual conversation. At least I was in the habit of suggesting places where I knew I could get great beer, so it wasn’t a completely wasted night.