Well, this is a weird one…
But you never know what to expect when you dive into a story from Reddit’s “Am I the *******?” page!
Read on to get all the details and see if you think this guy acted like a jerk.
AITA for not reimbursing my friend for an ingredient I used for dinner?
“So the gist of things is that I (m28), have a friend (f32) who I meet up with around once a week for dinner.
This will usually be at my home, since she doesn’t have much space at hers, and because I will be the one cooking. I love cooking, have been doing it since I was 6, and I’ll usually prepare us dinner with a mix of pantry staples and a few things I’ll add into my weekly grocery shop. It’s a nice little break in the week, and we both really enjoy it.
The issue arose when my friend contacted me and told me they would have other friends visiting from abroad on the day we were set to have dinner. She wanted to hang out with them, but also wanted to make our dinner.
I suggested if they were open to the idea, they could come with her and I would cook for all four of us. She spoke to them, and they agreed.
On the day of, I asked my friend if they had any requests.
She asked for a local dish that comes with a steak topping (baked Japanese curry rice with steak if anyone is curious), and I said that would be fine, I would get the cheese if the three of them could get the steak they wanted for themselves.
This guy is good in the kitchen and likes to please others.
I myself am vegetarian, but I don’t mind cooking meat for guests. She agrees. I also give her some suggestions for what she can ask for in Japanese to get a good, mid-priced cut of steak.
When they arrive, I’m already doing my prep. My friend hands me the steak, and I notice it’s a very high quality one – practically coated in marbling. I mention how surprised I am, and she laughs it off saying that the assistant she spoke to recommended it as a very good cut. I carry on cooking.
We end up having a great dinner, everyone was very complimentary about the food and I opened some wine I’d bought for the dinner too. We ended up chatting until quite late before everyone left. Things got a little awkward after they left.
But then he got a strange text.
I received a text from my friend saying they’d all enjoyed the dinner, and asking me to transfer her around 9500円 ($64) for the steaks.
I refused, pointing out that I hadn’t eaten any, and that I’d paid for everything else.
She then said that I should have told her I wouldn’t be willing to include the steaks in the dinner and prepared something else, and she wouldn’t have bought them as her finances were tight at the moment.
To me, this doesn’t really hold water.
She’s aware I’m a vegetarian and wouldn’t include steaks unless asked, but more so because she specifically bought a more expensive cut of steak than my recommendation, which feels very presumptive if she truly believed I was paying for it.
And not everyone is on his side.
However, responses from her and some of our friends have been mixed. Some support me, whereas others highlight that she’s been struggling financially, and that it’s unfair to spring a charge on her now after I covered the cost for all of our previous dinners, making her expectations reasonable.
A few have also cited the maxim of “the person who extends the invitation pays” which I’m not very familiar with, but is apparently a thing?
So, AITA for not paying this back?”
This is what Reddit users said about this story.
One person was blown away by what was going on here.
Another individual said he should never cook for her again.
This individual brought up a good point.
This reader has a good idea…
And one person said he shouldn’t let her take advantage of him anymore.
What a ridiculous request!
Some people, I tell ya…
If you liked that post, check out this post about a rude customer who got exactly what they wanted in their pizza.