“Okay… I can touch my nose with my tongue.”
Chloe burst out laughing. “That’s terrible, Evan.”
“Maybe, but it broke the ice.”
She shook her head, still smiling. “Alright, you get points for effort.”
As our drinks arrived, she pulled out her phone. “I hope you don’t mind. I’m documenting my food journey.”
“Is that right? Impress me, then.”
“Go for it. My plate’s never looked this good.”
She snapped a photo, then one of us. “Smile. My friends will demand proof you exist.”
I grinned. “Tell them I survived the first round.”
Chloe winked. “Oh, it’s early yet.”
We clinked glasses, the room buzzing, conversation flowing like we’d done this a hundred times.
For a moment, I thought maybe I’d misjudged her. Maybe Chloe was just bold, not entitled.
“My friends will demand proof you exist.”
We finished eating, and I was almost relaxed by the time Maya cleared the plates.
Then the check arrived, placed in the middle of the table. Chloe did not reach for it.
I glanced at her, then at the bill. Her lobster alone was $150. Add in wine, dessert, and sides, her share was well over half.
I pulled out my card. “Alright. We’ll just split it like we said, right?”
Chloe leaned back, smiling like she was in on a joke I had missed. “I’m not paying.”
I stared, half-expecting her to laugh. “What?”
Her lobster alone was $150.
She shrugged. “You’re the man. Men pay, don’t they? That’s how I’ve always done it.”
My ears felt hot. “But… you agreed to split.”
She picked up her phone, scrolling absently. “Yeah… but I didn’t think you’d actually mean it. Men never do.”
A beat of silence stretched between us.
Something old and familiar rose up in me, memories of being made to feel small, like my feelings did not matter, like I could apologize for expecting fairness.
“You’re the man. Men pay, don’t they?”
But I kept my voice even, willing myself not to back down.
“I meant it,” I said quietly.
Chloe rolled her eyes, lips curled into a half-smile. “You’re really going to embarrass yourself over dinner, Evan? In front of all these people?”
“Why should I be embarrassed for wanting what we agreed on?”
She gave a light, almost pitying laugh. “Goodness, you’re stubborn.”
Chloe rolled her eyes.
I set my fork down. “We agreed to split.”
She looked past me, like searching for an exit, but found none.
“Well… maybe I changed my mind.”
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