Bad Date Hall of Fame: Emily

As a college sophomore, I was having the time of my life. Lots of good friends, good times, and plenty of guys to go out with. I had some really great dates during that phase. One not-so-good one stands out, Mr. Lose 20 Pounds.

Mr. L20P was on my dad's track team and I'd had a crush on him for ages. A big girl's choice dance was coming up and I decided to ask him. I devised a really cute way to do it, and he thought it was great. Looking back, I wonder if he was playing along for fear of losing his spot on the team. Anyway, he answered me in a cute way, and we made plans to double with one of my best friends. I borrowed a fabulous hunter green dress from a friend (don't laugh, this was the 90s when hunter green was hot!) and got my nails and hair specially done. In a word, I looked hot.

The day of the dance, we went to Yellowstone Park. It was freezing cold, so Mr. L20P was cuddly and I was in heaven. We had a great time wandering through the geyser basins and spotting animals. On the drive back, he reached under his seat, pulled out a rose, and handed it to me. *Le Gasp!* Wow. Here was a true gentleman. Not only did he surprise me with the rose, but he also opened car doors (I was driving) and let me go through store doors first. I was pretty sure I was going to fall in love with him.

We got back home and dropped the guys off to get ready, with the promise that we'd be back in an hour to pick them up. During the ensuing hour, I'm pretty sure that aliens abducted my date. When I showed up to get him, he gave me the once over and said, "I suppose you'll do." WHAT?! I'll 'do'? I went all out for this guy and I'll DO?! He made a point of complimenting my friend on her look. Nice.

When we got to the dance, he walked several feet in front of me like he was suddenly embarrassed. I was feeling rather disgruntled and wishing that I was anywhere but there. That's when he dropped the bomb. He turned, grabbed my hand, and led me onto the floor for a slow dance. He leaned in all romantically, and I thought maybe I'd been mistaken about the earlier conversation. Nope. He smiled at me and said, "You know, you'd look really amazing in a swimsuit if you lost 20 pounds or so." Um, WHAT?! Seriously? You really felt the need to comment on my weight?! I was about a size 8 then, and at 5'9", that's pretty thin. And what business of his was my swimsuit-clad body?! I shoved him off of me and told him to find his own way home, then left.