When my best friend Mia set me up with her boyfriend’s friend Eric, she promised he was a total gentleman.

On our first date, he proved her right—roses, a thoughtful engraved keychain, charming conversation, and unwavering attentiveness.

Dinner was perfect, and when the bill came, he insisted on paying with a firm, almost old-fashioned finality.

I went home thinking I’d just had one of the best dates of my life.

The next morning, I woke up to a message from Eric—

not a sweet follow-up, but a professionally formatted invoice titled Date Night Invoice – Amount Due:

1 Outstanding Balance. It listed “charges” for his gentlemanly acts: a hug for the flowers, a coffee date for the gift,

holding hands for pulling out my chair, and, for covering dinner, a guaranteed second date

. At the bottom, in bold, it read: Payment expected in full.

No refunds. Failure to comply may result in Chris hearing about it. My jaw hit the floor.

I sent it to Mia, who immediately showed her boyfriend Chris.

Outraged and amused, Chris made a parody invoice in return—charging Eric for

“introducing you to a gorgeous woman” (payment: a permanent block) and “not exposing you to the internet” (payment: eternal gratitude).

We sent it to Eric, who responded with a flurry of indignant messages about how he was just “setting realistic expectations.

” I replied with a single thumbs-up and blocked him.

Later, Mia apologized, but I couldn’t stop laughing. We’d all gotten a story we’d tell for years—and a personal dating rule I’d never forget:

if a man insists on paying the bill, make sure it’s not because he plans to send you an invoice.

As for the keychain? I kept it. Not as a token of romance, but as the funniest souvenir from the weirdest date I’ve ever had.