Last month, I got an email from my Plenty of Fish account alerting me that someone wanted to meet me. Cautiously optimistic, I logged in and was thrilled to see someone who was very photogenic and had an extremely well written profile, showing humor and insight.

I left her a message that she responded to. After some witty banter, we swapped numbers and agreed to meet for a coffee date. The meet and greet went well, so, at her suggestion, we agreed to meet for sushi and sake.

We were both five minutes early, which is a tremendous turn on for me, and she was dressed to impress in a sexy black dress that showed off some scrumptious calves attached to some camera-ready feet.

Dinner went well and the conversation had a nice rhythm to it. She agreed to accompany me to an ice cream shop nearby, so I summoned the waiter, gave him my debit card, and showed him a 50% off Groupon on my phone.

When I returned my gaze to my date, her beautiful smile had been replaced by a disapproving scowl.

“Was that a Groupon?” she asked, sounding exasperated.

“Yes, it was. Is there a problem?” I asked incredulously.

“Well, it’s tacky on a first date,” she said dryly.

Needless to say, the date turned left, and neither of us was in the mood for ice cream after that exchange. I haven’t heard from her since.

The next day, I asked my Facebook friends what they thought of the incident and was shocked to see that it sparked a three day, 600+ comment debate that got so heated people actually unfriended each other.

Whereas almost all the men and most of the women agreed with me that my method of payment on a date should be strictly between me and the restaurant, there was a strong contingent of women who passionately believed that Groupons should never be used on a first date. If necessary, it should be done in a ninja-class stealth manner, so as to prevent the woman from ever knowing it was used.

Well, let me say this to my date and all her supporters: Groupons, (which are not a sponsor of “Life in the 20TEENS Online Magazine”) are, in this writer’s opinion, the greatest deal since Taco Tuesdays.

I will continue to utilize Groupons primarily on first dates, not so much to save money but to serve as a weeding out device like the locked car door trick that Sonny told his protégé Calogero about in “A Bronx Tale.” For those of you unfamiliar with the film, Sonny instructed the young man to dump any woman who wouldn’t reach over and unlock the driver’s side car door for him after he had opened the passenger side door for her.

My reasoning is that any woman who seriously believes I’m required to not only pay for the date but pay for it in the most expensive manner, for the sole reason of impressing her, does not respect money or me. So here’s to you like-minded ladies. May you find the gentlemen you seek, and may they all come equipped with Amex Black Cards.

Sushi, anyone?

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