Marcus had a questionable history of matchmaking, but when he promised that Andy was polite, intelligent, and single, the narrator agreed to one date just to stop the constant questions about her love life. To her surprise, Andy seemed like everything her brother had promised.
He arrived with wildflowers, opened doors, made her laugh, and listened attentively. At the end of the evening, he offered to drive her home and waited until she entered her building before leaving. The narrator went to bed believing Marcus might have finally made a successful introduction.
The next morning, however, her phone buzzed at exactly 7:13. Andy had sent her a PayPal request for $37.25. At first, she assumed it was an accident, but the invoice listed expenses from their date, including gas, parking, vehicle depreciation, and even a cleaning fee for puddle splash marks.
She stared at the bizarre bill before deciding to turn it into a joke. Instead of paying exactly what Andy requested, she sent him $50, adding a note that the extra $13 was a tip for opening the doors.
Then she blocked him. Marcus was initially horrified by what had happened, but he also found the situation hilarious. Things became even funnier when he discovered that Andy had been telling his pickleball friends about the date and portraying himself as a perfect gentleman.
Marcus shared screenshots of the conversation with the group, and everyone immediately began laughing at the ridiculous invoice. Andy’s carefully constructed image of himself as a romantic gentleman quickly became the subject of jokes.
A few weeks later, another woman posted a TikTok showing an almost identical itemized invoice she had apparently received after going on a date with Andy. The narrator immediately sent it to Marcus, giving them another reason to laugh about the strange experience.
Although the date certainly did not lead to romance, it gave the narrator a memorable story and revealed exactly what kind of man Andy was. She realized that genuine romance should never feel like a business transaction.
In the end, she never found her perfect guy that night, but she gained a great story instead. Her final lesson was simple: if someone sends you a bill for romance, tip yourself by walking away.