First date. I made it clear at the outset that I wouldn't be going home with him. I'm not normally opposed if I'm interested in someone, but I was on my period and felt more like an amorphous blob than a sexual being that day.

During the date, he thought it was a great idea to tell me about how he went on a date with someone a year or so earlier. He said it was clear that she wasn't into him, and he wasn't into her either, but he convinced her to go home with him anyway. He figured that since he paid for dinner, he "might as well get something out of it." He described how she'd basically fled his house afterward as if it was a funny anecdote. I hadn't really been feeling it with him to stay with, so by this point, I was looking for my exit.

I went to the bathroom after we ate. When I came back, he'd already paid the bill, and made a big show of pointing out how the server had drawn a big heart in red pen at the bottom. This is where the big alarm bells started. I was a regular at the pub we were at, and they always asked how to split the bill. I'd also never seen a red pen in the joint. I'd planned on paying for myself, but the guy refused to take my cash.

We both had to catch different lines from the same train station after, and to no one's surprise, he tried to get me to go with him. He even tried to physically pull me toward his platform. I ended up running away, and blocked him as soon as I got home.

This was about 10 years ago. These days, I'd have given him a piece of my mind at the restaurant and walked out, but at the time I was way less confident than I am now.