Congratulations. You’ve worked up the nerve to ask the girl out and she said yes. You’ve convinced her you’re worth a shot. It is the night of your first date and you’re terrified of messing up. You’re not sure how to impress the girl. Well, thankfully you’ve found this guide, written by me, a girl.

Step one: Before
•Clean up before hand, no one wants a guy with greasy hair and an unappealing smell
•Don’t put on too much cologne. A little bit is fine but a lot quickly becomes repulsive. A tip: any amount of “Ax” is too much
•Come up with some ideas for conversations to smooth through awkward silences
•Have some ideas on where to go and what to do, it will make you seem more on top of the situation, but don’t decide of a place, she may not like it.
•Always, always, always have a jacket

Step two: During
•Show up no later than ten minutes late, and never be early. If you told her eight, she plans on having until eight to get ready, and if you’re late it will seem like you don’t care
•Compliment her! She spent a while getting ready and she wants to know it was worth it. Make it something from the heart, not “You look so sexy/hot”
•It never hurts to open up the car door.
•Say you thought you’d go to _______. Choose a place with a wide verity of food, so she can find something she likes
•Expensive is not always better, she will feel guilty if you drop a lot of money
*Don't make it a quiz, with a bunch of questions starting with what, how why, ect. Start a real conversationg, wit ha few questions sprinkled in. YOu will get to know her overtime
•Avoid pick up lines, though the fake-yawn to put your arm around us is tolerated, lines like “did it hurt when you fell from heaven” are not
•If it’s cold, the jacket you brought is around her shoulders. It’s a sweet gesture that will always give you props for the future
•Avoid talk about any “ex” she may feel used, or like a trophy. Both are undesirable

Step three: After
•If you’re planning to kiss her good bye or say something sweat, do so in the car. Her father is most likely waiting for a way to embarrass you and anything more moderate than a hand-shake will not be acceptable
•Make it clear you had a good time but don’t offer a second date unless you are sure she wants one too.
•Don’t kiss unless the mood is right, but make it memorable
•Walk her to the door
•After walking back to your car, take one last look at her house and smile. She’ll be watching and will most likely smile back.

Step four: The future
•Don’t treat her as a trophy, talk to her, be with her, but don’t parade her around
•Kissing/hugging in front of your friends means a lot, but in front of hers could be risky, like everything, test the waters before making big moves
•Stand up for her, ask her for advice, and make sure she never doubts how you feel
•If you cheat on her, you sure as hell will get your ass kicked, by both her, her friends, and the one you cheated with. She will find out eventually
•If you lie to her, you sure as hell will get your ass kicked
•Doing something sweet and romantic will almost always make up for forgotten birthdays/anniversaries
•Sometimes, she just needs a shoulder to cry on

Remember, you may think the work is done after the first date, but really the war has just begun. Girls are not some trophy to be won, sat on a shelf, and admired. You have to work to keep her. Do sappy romantic things, carry her books, and open her doors. Never lose sight that every time a girl says yes to a date, it is the best thing that ever happened to you.