Try not to get super up in your head about this. If you like them and they like you, they’re going to be happy you’re asking them out! You can absolutely continue to wait if you want them to ask you out first, but just know that you may lose some of that romantic momentum you’ve been building.
You can ask them out when you get home from the second date if you’d like. If you do prefer to wait, there’s nothing wrong with doing it the next day. You can even ask them out on a third date at the end of your second date if you’d like! If the first two dates were incredible and you wait too long, you may accidentally send the signal that you aren’t as interested as you originally seemed.
If the first two dates were kind of lukewarm, they may be waiting to see what you do first. If you are interested in continuing to date, don’t hesitate to speak up!
This is especially likely to not be a big deal if you’re both on the older side. If you’ve got a career or you’re wrapping up college or graduate school, the third date may not be the most pressing thing right now.
If they never ask and things just kind of fizzle out, then you have your answer—there was probably never going to be a third date. That can be kind of upsetting, but at least you can move on and find someone ever better now that you know.
If they say yes, it means that they’re just as into you as you are into them! If they say no, at least you aren’t sitting around wondering what could have been. Do not assume you can’t ask first if you’re a girl. If you like a guy, it’s totally okay to ask him out. He won’t take offense to it; in fact, you’re probably going to make his day by asking first, since guys aren’t used to that. [7] X Research source There used to be a lot of social etiquette and rules surrounding dating. That’s not really the case anymore, and it’s extremely common for women to ask men out first.
This isn’t to say that you should go out of your way to be anything other than what you are. Be yourself! You already got this far, so it’s safe to assume things are going well.
Just to clarify, this is not the same thing as the “three day rule,” which refers to how long you should wait to text or call someone after you’ve met them (although that one is also outdated, too). [11] X Research source
How long you wait is entirely up to you. There’s no concrete “sweet spot. ” You might wait for 5-10 dates to pass, or hold off for 1-3 months. It’s entirely up to you.