Warning: I used to think splitting the check was cheap, until a date at a diner in Portland got weird
I always paid for the whole meal on dates because I figured it looked generous. Then two weeks ago I went to a diner in Portland with a woman who ordered a $22 plate of crab benedict and a $9 mimosa, and when the bill came she just stared at it. I asked if she wanted to split and she said 'I thought you were treating,' and the air got so thick you could cut it. We sat there for maybe 90 seconds of silence while the server hovered, and I ended up paying just to escape. Now I ask before we order who is covering what, and it has saved me from at least two more of those blank stares. Does anyone else have a go-to line for this that doesn't kill the mood?