Making them dinner won't keep them, honey!
I decided to try something different from my usual Cheque Please format. So here’s to my first Substack post of 2025 <3
Food and love—love and food. A classic combo that brings two near-strangers together in a cozy, steamy kitchen. For the aperitivo: a crisp Caesar salad and bread, paired with an $11 bottle of wine that somehow tastes like something you'd pay $25 a glass for at a trendy city restaurant. You begin with light chatter and giggles, then drift into deeper topics with each sip, all while keeping the conversation at just the right level of comfort.
Now, onto the main course: a creamy Carbonara, made with pancetta instead of American bacon. It's served warm, topped with a sprinkle of cracked black pepper and a generous dusting of fresh Parmesan or Parmigiano Reggiano—whichever you prefer. A fresh glass is poured, and the romance starts to settle in as you both dive into dinner. By this point, a little tipsy, it feels like a Midnight in Paris—full of adventure and effortless banter, as if the person you're with was simply made for you.
The near-stranger becoming closer now.
It’s the next day…let’s say 2 p.m., and BOOM, it hits you—your mind finally registers it: baby, you’ve been ghosted, or maybe hit with the classic “I’m not ready for…xyz.” And of course, all of this via text! Dating today feels like a contract that includes signing our mental health away for 2 - 3 months or 2 - 3 weeks if you’re lucky.
Cooking them dinner will not make them stay, honey!
However, I will say that these small moments of intense romance are addicting. I mean that anxiously excited feeling you get in your chest that genuinely feels like the world has stopped around you — you know what I mean! A fervent rush of dopamine that makes you feel like human connection is worth it over loneliness in the end. HOWEVER (again)…if someone doesn’t stick around after you’ve gone through this effort (of cooking), it’s better to move on. At this age I feel that having any sort of situationship, or kinda broken up but not broken up limbo relationship gives me such an ick. I guess maybe everyone's right…love thyself first or some shit?
If you cook dinner and (s)he doesn’t stick around, find someone else or enjoy your own company—just make lunch instead, cause fuck them!
Questions for YOU reader:
Why does dating feel like I’m on an episode of PUNK’d?
Why is dating even that serious? Aren’t we supposed to have fun??
Why don’t we say how we feel more often? -fear of rejection is kicking our ass!
Anyways, that’s all I have for you today. Let’s get the check, I mean ChequePlease!
