Several recent dating studies have shown what most people already know intuitively: on a first date of a heterosexual coupling, the man pays almost three-quarters of the time. But what about people of different sexual orientations, or when a woman asks a man out on a date?
A simple rule of thumb to follow when wondering who pays on a date is: whoever initiated the date, is expected to pay for it.
Having said that, not everyone knows this rule or abides by it. So what do you do when the person who asked you out on a date hasn't made the move to pay?
Wait. Take some time to see whether or not your date intended to pay and they just hadn't picked up the check yet. If they don't pay within five minutes of the check being placed on the table, point casually to the bill and say, "Can I help you with that?" This should signal to the initiator of the date that they were expected to pay, but you're still willing to go dutch if the question of who pays was assumed.
