That One Time I Took My Boyfriend on a Date

{Stemless champagne glasses at The Pearl Spa. I turned down the offer of a brownie. I'm still regretting it.}

In my entire life, I've never asked a guy on a date. My dad once told me that when girls asked him out in his single days, he would always say yes, no matter how disinterested he was because he thought it would be mean to say no. WHAT?! We're gonna cover the whole topic of the human species' inability to differentiate between honesty and meanness another time, but WTF? 

My dad's story of teenage cowardice was all it took to convince me for a lifetime that a girl should never, under any condition, ask out the guy, because inevitably it would mean he actually wasn't interested. Or that he was. Or something. I don't know. Guys are complicated. And so for over two decades, I stuck by that guiding principle, until this past weekend, when I swept my boyfriend of 4 years off his feet and took him on a spa/sushi date.

Notice I didn't exactly say that I "asked" him on a date, because in fact, I did not. Instead, I surprised him with an amazing trio of treatments (including a DIY mud room/sauna situation and a 60-minute massage) at the ridiculously luxurious Pearl Spa and sushi at, and I kid you not when I say this, the BEST sushi restaurant I've ever been to, Sushi Sono.

Would you like to know how good both of these establishments actually are? They're in Columbia, MD. From my DC-area residence, it's a good hour drive away. And not on big, spacious freeways with 60+ MPH speed limits. No. Sixty minutes on long stretches of city streets, running rampant with traffic lights, narrow lines, and pedestrians with a death wish. And yet, I still wanted to go there.

Beyond the amazing treatments themselves, The Pearl also has a few over-the-top touches that make you long to repeat the experience, kinda like Amanda Bynes with vehicular accidents. The customer service was indulgent-- they offer champagne and brownies post-treatment. They even have their own signature fragrance of bath products: Moonflower.

If the spa experience wasn't enough to land me the Girlfriend of the Year Award, then the dinner that followed totally was. 

 {Head Sushi Chef King working his magic}

Okay, so just believe me when I say these pictures don't hold a candle to the actual experience of eating this sushi, so you're gonna have to pretend a bit. What makes Sushi Sono so great? Oh, I dunno, how about EVERYTHING!!! 

To start, they have some of the most unusual and adventurous rolls I've ever seen. Not to mention, they have the best fish I've ever eaten. I've even read that they've flown in fish from Japan. I don't wanna suggest that we should use our non-renewable resources for something as frivolous as fish, but I am suggesting that we use our non-renewable resources for something as frivolous as fish.

{Squid appetizer}

 {One of their amazing rolls--the brown rice was actually crispy!}

 {This roll was fresh and light, wrapped in lettuce instead of seaweed}

 {I'm sick of hearing myself use the word "best" but I can't help it--this was the BEST roll I've ever had. Named after the restaurant, this roll had tuna, salmon, Japanese squash, spicy mayo, and tempura flakes.}

 {ZOMG}

{One of the other reasons I love Sushi Sono is for their tempura fried ice cream. As if that weren't bitchin' enough, it was green tea ice cream. I KNOW, RIGHT?!}

I'm happy to report that not only was Kyle thoroughly surprised and loved his date, but he actually DOES like me! So, there's that.

How do you feel about asking guys out? Have you ever taken your guy out on a date?? And does he ACTUALLY like you if you did???