Readers sometimes share their Charlotte dating stories with us. Here’s one of them, as told to the editor:
“Girls just want to have food. And they’ll play you to get it,” Deon said.
Deon, 29, met Emily, 26, at a homecoming party in 2019, and, according to him, he found his “dreamgirl” that night. After about a year of texting and quarantine video chats, the two began dating in person.
A ‘chill’ start
Deon described their first date as “chill.”
He shared that he views the first few dates as an opportunity to “feel a girl out.” Rather than take Emily to an expensive restaurant, he opted for a weekday movie special, a meal at Chili’s, and a day date to a local brunch party as their first three outings.
“I’m generous, not stupid. I know some girls be out here dating for free food and I wasn’t trying to get played — at least not too hard,” he laughed.
After what Deon considered to be three successful dates, Deon decided it was time to “step things up.”
“She was a good time and we vibed. Plus, she didn’t complain about Chili’s or call me broke or nothing when we went to the five-dollar movie special, so I said ‘let me really show my romantic side’ and take her somewhere nice,” Deon said.
‘Order what you want’
Deon made reservations at Eddie V’s Prime Seafood, a fine dining restaurant in Uptown and picked Emily up.
“She was looking good, too. She had her hair all done and had a dress on. I’m like ‘oh yeah, she definitely feelin’ me.’ In my head, I just knew I was that guy,” he recalled.
When they arrived at Eddie V’s, Deon pulled out her chair and prepared for what he knew would be an “impressive” date. As they looked over the menu, he confidently announced, “order whatever you want. It’s on me.”
“And that’s where I messed up,” he said, thinking back to the date.
According to Deon, Emily’s eyes lit up. Before the waiter could ask what they wanted, Emily ordered.
“I’ll have the Lobster Bisque as a starter and then I want the surf-and-turf for my main. And asparagus,” Emily said. Deon calculated the cost in his head as he tried to keep the surprise from his face.
“Lobster bisque? Surf and turf? Bill was already at $100 and I ain’t even order yet. Honestly, the prices had me sweating but I ain’t want her to think I was broke. And I wasn’t finna be embarrassed or look uncomfortable so I told the waiter I wanted the same thing,” he said.
Deon says he immediately regretted it. Emily later ordered two cocktails and a dessert to go along with her meal.
Goodbye, budget
According to Deon, he initially planned to spend $200 at most but had already reached $300 without tip or tax. At some point during dinner, Deon left the table to use the restroom.
When he returned, the waiter brought the bill. His eyes widened at the amount: $415.
“I almost got up out my seat when I saw the total.”
Deon says that he looked over the items and realized he had been charged for a meal they hadn’t ordered.
“I actually relaxed a little when I saw it because they would take it off and [the amount] would be a little less. I told Emily about it and she looked me dead in the face and said she ordered the food when I was in the bathroom.”
“I ordered something for my roommate,” Emily said to him. “Is that okay?”
Deon said his pride got the best of him that night; he told her it was fine. And although he had completely blown his budget, he wanted to impress her.
He then drove her home, and Emily told him she had a great time. She said she looked forward to another date.
‘So embarrassing’
When Deon got back to his place, reality set in. “I had just spent more than $400, knowing I had to buy groceries and stuff, so I lowkey got mad at myself. And whenever I’m feeling upset, I get on Twitter so I can laugh.”
But this time, Deon had become the joke.
As he scrolled through his Twitter feed, he came across a series of tweets from Emily’s roommate — whom he knew from college — about a “dummy” Emily had “played for food.”
“I don’t remember exactly what she said, but basically she said that her roommate [Emily] had been on a couple dates with this ‘dummy’ who kept buying them both food. When she tweeted about food from Eddie V’s, I knew she was talking about me,” Deon said.
He shared that many people he knew responded to the tweets, laughing at them and even sharing them.
“That sh*t was so embarrassing, man. And I thought back to our other dates and realized she was always ordering a real big meal or extra food or whatever. But I wasn’t tripping, I thought she could eat. But she played me,” he said.
Deon said that he tried to “test” Emily to see if she really liked him and later asked where she wanted their next date to be or what she wanted to do together.
“She gone say ‘Flemings’ or ‘Steak 48.’ She ain’t say no activity like an escape room or a park or something. Just straight to the food,” he said.
The two remain in “casual communication,” according to Deon, but haven’t gone on any dates since — and he has no plans to change that.
Deon is still single and livin’ in Charlotte.
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