by Jennifer Eblin

Created on: June 12, 2009

There's an old saying that the way a first date goes indicates the way the rest of the relationship goes. They say that if you have a great first date, you'll have a great relationship and if the date goes badly, then you'll have a bad relationship. I don't believe that at all. In fact I think that the first date doesn't always set the stage for a relationship because sometimes the first date just lets you get the awkwardness out of the way.

Sometimes the first date does set the stage for the relationship, if you want to call it that. Take for example Anne who while on the rebound ended up going out with an attractive man a few years younger than her. They had a lot of chemistry to the point where at the end of the night when he suggested she come to his place for a night cap, she agreed. A days after the date he called and asked her over, not out but over. In his mind she went from a potential partner to a friend with benefits, all in just one date.

Then there's Eric who went out with a girl and noticed that she seemed overly friendly to all males in the area and not just him. She still seemed interested in him though so he kept dating her. Just a few weeks after they met, he found his date making out with another guy in the parking lot of the restaurant. Two dates with different starts that set the stage for the rest of the relationship.

However far too often the first date means nothing in the greater sense of things. How many times have we heard a girl ask her friends why he didn't call? They had a great first date and then he completely disappeared. We have lots of excuses about how he's busy or has a lot of stuff on his mind, but sometimes that's just the way things go. The date seems like it went well, but then the other person disappears.

Look at Kris who went out on a blind date with a guy her best friend said was perfect for her. He held open doors, asked questions about her life and seemed like the perfect guy. At the end of the night he said all the right things, kissed her goodnight and told her he couldn't wait to see her again. Then, boom, he was gone, off into the night. She never heard from him again and he never gave any excuse to her friend, he was just gone.

This scenario tends to happen more often than people might think. One date is one date and it doesn't really mean anything. It doesn't necessarily have to set the stage for anything except for giving both parties an excuse to get out of the house for the night.

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