Third date

“	first date: McDonalds, Burger King, Arby's, etc; it would be a mutual choice between the two of us. Second Date; CiCi's Pizza, Golden Corral, etc. and a movie and/or a walk in the park. Third Date: mutual choice restraunt, mutual choice shopping, movie, walk or other, and hopefully, if she wanted to, snuggle and beyond.	”
Chris, IRC (18 December 2008).

Chris, for once in his life, reacts the way anybody would to Bionic's faggotry.

The third date is the date upon which Chris has stated he believes hanky-panky must occur.

Background

Chris, like many autistics, tends to view the world in absolute values and quantify things which, by the rest of the world's standards, can't be measured with numbers or any other exact reckoning, due to his difficulty in handling abstract ideas. His heart level and his Scale of Respect are key examples. In the same way, despite the fact that in his entire life he has only been on three dates (and all three were troll setups), he has mapped out his dating plans precisely. The first two dates are spent getting to know one another, and the third date ends with sex.

Chris has often shown that his ideas about sex are just as skewed as his thinking about any other aspect of relationships. In this case, he seems to believe that sex is almost like a fee paid after the couple has been together three times. It's hardly unusual, as Chris has often seemed to act as if he views sex as payment (during his friendship with Megan, for instance) as opposed to a mutual expression between partners. It was not out of character that when he did finally lose his virginity, it was to a prostitute.

As with many times he's brought up sex, his fantasies sound a lot more like coercion or rape than what goes on between a loving couple.

Rationale

The "third date rule" or "three-date rule" is a notion common in popular writing about sex and relationships. Variations include the fifth-date rule, the second-date rule, and others, but it's most often remarked that one should wait until the third date at least before having sex, so as not to have an awkward relationship predicated on sex instead of TRUE and HONEST feelings (although one notable variation states that a relationship is not worth pursuing if both parties are not interested in sex by the third date).

While it's referred to as a "rule," no sane person would actually take the saying so seriously. It's a guideline at best. Chris, being a long way from sane, seems to have twisted the idea into a rigid, unbreakable law. If he can make it through three dates with one woman, he will get laid.

References by Chris

“	Sexual Education is good after Date #3, but how does one even get to Date Number One?	”
Chris, in bold letters on the front page of CWCipedia.

Because Chris puts so much faith in the notion that date number three means guaranteed sex, references to this idea show up frequently in his writing and conversations.

• On the CWCipedia Christian briefly mentioned that Dating education is needed because sex education is only useful "after 3 or so dates."
• Likewise, in his chat with Vivian Gee, Chris declared that "Sex Ed is good for date 3 or beyond, but what is it that has to be done before then?"
• In a fan chat from December 2008, Chris broke down his plans for three ideal dates, the third one concluding with "snuggle and beyond."
• Bionic expresses his belief in this rule before his second date with Megagi on Page 2 of Sonichu #7.
• In a phone call with Kacey, Chris hopefully remarked, "Ah, date number three..." He then went into far too much detail about what would happen there.
• In another call with Kacey, after Chris mentions the third date rule, as he understands it, Kacey states that if "somebody did that to me, I’d smack them, and I’d call them a pervert," causing Chris to quickly backtrack.
• The course number for the Dating Education class in Sonichu (Comic) is DAT-303.
• Chris repeats, almost word to word, the above-quoted rationale for dating education in Autism Tutorial Part 3.

Exceptions

Despite his frequent insistence that the third date mandates sex, Chris has proven himself unwilling to wait even that long. He is quick to remind a girl that they can always go further "if she wants to," though the insistence is evident. Even when he isn't specific about what time the sex will occur, he always brings up that he's looking forward to sex, and thus making sure she's well aware that he has expectations which must be met.

In his meticulous description of his plans for meeting Blanca Weiss, Chris proposed having sex on their second evening together. Ever the gentleman, though, he added that he would be willing to wait until the third time if she so chose.

Chris's OkCupid profile takes this obsession with immediate sex a step further, saying that women should message him if "they're willing to get to the bedroom as quickly as right after the first date." Given that the same profile also demands that women meet him in person as soon as two days after the first online contact, Chris has effectively shortened his expectations from three official dates to three days since the initial "hello." Needless to say, this aggressive stance on immediate sex has not gotten him anywhere.

Given how Chris is apt to take something that doesn't work and simply do it harder, it was only a matter of time until Chris started to demand absolutely no dates at all. In Jackie E-mails 22 Chris mentions how he realizes he is "not mentally ready for a relationship" and says that he "needs more socialization practice in real life for starters." However, even though he explicitly states that he doesn't want a relationship with Jackie, he still tells her that he wants to keep casual sex open as an option.