If you were invited to hang out with friends, would you assume that meant it was a potluck?

A 20-something office worker thought he was headed to a casual mid-afternoon hangout when his coworker invited him over to “come chill.” No mention of food, drinks, or bringing anything—just a low-key get-together.

But when he arrived, it turned out he was mistaken.

Now, he feels bad for not bringing something, but he’s also not sure if he did anything wrong.

Read on for the story.

AITA for not bringing anything to my coworker’s “chill” hangout and now being called a freeloader?

AITA? So a few weeks ago, one of my coworkers invited me (and a few others) over to his place over text to “come chill” he said to come over around 2 PM, so I figured it would be a super casual hangout and not a full-on party.

I didn’t bring any alcohol because I wasn’t planning to drink that early in the day.

When I got there, everyone else was having beers, so I accepted one from a coworker and later Venmoed him for it.

Everything seemed fine. We hung out, talked, and I thought it went well.

Too bad it doesn’t end there.

What I didn’t realize was that this “chill” was actually more of a cookout.

He grilled a bunch of meat for everyone, but I didn’t eat since I had dinner plans later with my girlfriend. Nobody said anything about it at the time, so I figured no big deal.

Fast forward to now and he’s hosting a Halloween party and told me I could come. But the way he said it was kind of patronizing, like “You should really bring something this time maybe beer, candy, or chips.”

I took it as him being a little irritated, so I apologized for not bringing anything before and explained that I didn’t know it was a cookout.

A good “sorry” should do it.

Then I found out through other coworkers that he’s been telling people I “never bring anything to parties” and basically calling me a freeloader.

Multiple people have mentioned it, so clearly he’s been talking.

Now I feel awkward about the Halloween party. I don’t want to seem like I’m overcompensating by bringing a lot of food and beer, but I also don’t want to prove his point.

AITA for not bringing anything to the first hangout? And what should I bring to the Halloween party to make things right?

Reddit’s judgment leaned toward NTA, with most people saying the misunderstanding was on the host for not clarifying it was a cookout.

This person said he should have suggested it.

This person said he definitely shouldn’t have left this detail out.

And this person says it how it is, and how they’d do it if it were them.

When someone says “come chill,” you don’t need to show up with a grocery haul to prove you belong.

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