Woman shared her number after accepting a drink from a stranger at a lounge — when her reply was delayed, his $53 move left her stunned
A man approaching you at a lounge and offering to buy you a drink might seem like a harmless gesture. But you never really know what someone expects in return. One woman had a similar experience when a man bought her a drink, only to send her a message later that left her stunned. Ella Anderson, who goes by @theeellaanderson on Threads, shared her experience on November 10, 2026, explaining how a man approached her at a lounge, asked for her number, and offered to buy her a drink. She didn't respond to his first text right away as she didn't have time, but his next text caught her completely off guard.
Ella explained that she had been enjoying her evening with a friend and had already bought their own drinks when the man approached her. When he insisted on getting her number and offered to buy her a drink, she accepted. But after she got home around 1 a.m. and went to bed, she didn't check her phone right away. As the man didn't receive an instant response, he sent Ella a $53 payment request, which made her eyes pop out of her head. She also shared a screenshot of their text exchange, showing his first text was asking how her night was. When he didn't receive a reply, he sent the payment request, followed by a message saying, "Drinks." But Ella wasn't about to let him have the last word. She fired back with a sassy response, writing, "Are you not ashamed?”
What Ella experienced sparks a conversation about the expectations some people attach to buying someone a drink. A kind gesture should never come with an unspoken obligation, and accepting a drink doesn't mean someone owes the other person their time, attention, or anything else. Ella later explained that her Mondays are the busiest, which is why she didn't have time to respond. She commented, "I guess because I didn’t respond timely enough; this man requested money for the drinks that I never asked for." She ended her post by saying that men who expect something in return after willingly buying a woman a drink are “super weird” to her.
Ella's post quickly drew reactions from people who couldn't believe the man had actually asked her to pay him back for a drink he had offered to buy. Many felt he was treating a simple night out like a transaction. @zanaarene summed up the absurdity, writing, "You’re charging me for you bothering me?” Others were just as unimpressed with how some men treat an interaction with unknown women, and @diasporadash commented on this, saying, "Always transactional with them." @beauxsky joked, “Girl blocking is my favorite hobby. Stay clear of that lounge for a minute too."
Some people who spend on others attach expectations to it. A recent study looked at how paying for a shared experience affects people's feelings about it. Researchers found that people who paid the full cost for someone they didn't know very well were more likely to expect something in return. These expectations could also make the experience less enjoyable.
For more of her content, follow @theeellaanderson on Threads.