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" It&amp;#039;s odd but so damn true: When you and your boyfriend go out with another couple, it almost feels like the two of you are dating them. Sure, you&amp;#039;re not planning on shagging Lauren and Mike after dinner and a movie, but back at home, you&amp;#039;ll probably ask your man, &amp;quot;Think they liked us?&amp;quot; or &amp;quot;Can you believe they only chipped in on a third of the bill!&amp;quot; And you can bet your Vespa-built-for-two that L&amp;amp;amp;M are saying similar things about you. &amp;quot;Double-dating always seems easy and fun,&amp;quot; says Josey Vogels, author of Dating: A Survival Guide from the Frontlines. &amp;quot;But things can get really complicated really quickly. Insecurities, weirdness, touchy issues and even attractions can crop up with four people as easily as with two.&amp;quot; Whether you&amp;#039;re a DD-ing pro or just a beginner, these tips will totally prepare you to sidestep any doubles troubles.   Double-Dating Do&amp;#039;s &amp;amp;amp; Don&amp;#039;ts #1 Double-Dating Do: Knowing their tastes Yes, we know you and Honeybear love Indian food, but before you make reservations, ask the other couple if they have any no-no cuisines. You don&amp;#039;t want to put them in curry hell, do you? Here&amp;#039;s a good equation: &amp;quot;The longer you&amp;#039;ve been going out with a certain couple, the more adventurous the restaurant can be,&amp;quot; says Jennifer Worick, coauthor of The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Dating and Sex. So if it&amp;#039;s your first time out, &amp;quot;go to a place you&amp;#039;re all familiar with or that at least serves familiar food so you can focus on getting to know one another,&amp;quot; Worick says. And for the love of La Mancha, don&amp;#039;t push &amp;#039;em to share group dishes -- it may skeeve out the other couple to have to pick from the same tapas plate as you. Double-Dating Don&amp;#039;t: Pushing them to spend &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s easy to pick a dinner spot that sounds fun without realizing the prices are higher than the other couple&amp;#039;s usual budget allows, making them majorly uncomfortable,&amp;quot; says Vogels. And when the tables are turned and you&amp;#039;re forced to pay more than you want to, it&amp;#039;s even worse. &amp;quot;Check in with the other woman and ask, &amp;#039;Is everything cool with this choice?&amp;#039; says Vogels. &amp;quot;One of you will say whether you or your male counterpart has a cash problem or make up some excuse to pass. Then you two can pick another place, and nobody is embarrassed.&amp;quot; Another tip: Coordinate your dinner plans by email, says Worick. &amp;quot;Send them Web links about restaurants, like from Citysearch.com, so they can get an idea of the price without you explicitly telling them.&amp;quot;   Double-Dating Do&amp;#039;s &amp;amp;amp; Don&amp;#039;ts #2 Double-Dating Do: Seeing a flick first Sometimes your guy sets up a dinner date with his dear buddy Ben, and Ben&amp;#039;s girlfriend is as exciting as a pita pocket. Your strategy: &amp;quot;Go to a movie so you&amp;#039;re limiting the face-to-face contact and the pressure of talking,&amp;quot; says Worick. With a little Matt Damon or Martin Scorsese to chat about, Pita may suddenly get interesting. Double-Dating Don&amp;#039;t: Uber-reminiscing &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s a real danger when two of you have a connection that the other two don&amp;#039;t share, like if you are old girlfriends and you are bringing your boyfriends along to meet,&amp;quot; says Vogels. &amp;quot;You also have to be careful when you invite a coworker out. Yapping all night about the office will put the other two people to sleep.&amp;quot;   Double-Dating Do&amp;#039;s &amp;amp;amp; Don&amp;#039;ts #3 Double-Dating Do: Being adventurous If you&amp;#039;re tight with the other twosome, try something besides a typical restaurant. &amp;quot;Go to an afternoon baseball game -- something the guys will be engaged in,&amp;quot; says Worick. Or kidnap them for a picnic, says Vogels. &amp;quot;Surprise them with a spread that you and your guy (or the other girl) prepared. Say to dress casual and not eat beforehand, but don&amp;#039;t give them more clues.&amp;quot; Double-Dating Don&amp;#039;t: Overswilling when there&amp;#039;s sex in the air What, you? Flirt with the company? Believe it, baby, especially when you&amp;#039;ve been slurping down the merlot. &amp;quot;Some people, when they drink a lot, it&amp;#039;s like watch out!&amp;quot; says Worick. Strange things can slip out at the table, even hands. &amp;quot;If this is the case, make sure that the other date of the opposite sex is not sitting next to you,&amp;quot; Worick says. &amp;quot;You could wind up throwing an arm around the back of your chair, facing that person and shutting the other two out.&amp;quot;   Double-Dating Do&amp;#039;s &amp;amp;amp; Don&amp;#039;ts #4 Double-Dating Do: Creating a secret language with your guy &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s good for you and your man to have a prearranged routine for dates,&amp;quot; Vogels says. &amp;quot;You can create signals so that in sticky situations, you can communicate things without being obvious about it.&amp;quot; Worick suggests nailing down around five little codes, like when you start making circles with your wineglass, it means &amp;quot;Let&amp;#039;s wrap this up; I&amp;#039;m getting tired&amp;quot; or &amp;quot;Please change the subject.&amp;quot; Double-Dating Don&amp;#039;t: Getting too personal No asking about how much they pay for rent or when they&amp;#039;re getting engaged, and bite your tongue about top-secret info. &amp;quot;If you know a ton about your girlfriend&amp;#039;s relationship, it&amp;#039;s easy to let things slip, like &amp;#039;Oh yeah, Farrah was telling me about how you pulled your groin in bed last week&amp;#039; or &amp;#039;So, Adam, I hear you&amp;#039;re applying for a new job!&amp;#039;&amp;quot; says Worick. &amp;quot;He may not think you know as much about their relationship as you actually do, and even if it&amp;#039;s not something racy, people become annoyed when they know you know stuff about them that they didn&amp;#039;t tell you.&amp;quot;   Double-Dating Do&amp;#039;s &amp;amp;amp; Don&amp;#039;ts #5 Double-Dating Do: Playing Switzerland if you&amp;#039;re dragged into their psychodramas On the other hand, some couples feel that it&amp;#039;s fine and dandy to air all of their dirty laundry on dates -- G-strings included. For instance, the girl may look at you and say, &amp;quot;C&amp;#039;mon, help me out here, didn&amp;#039;t Stephen just check out that waitress?&amp;quot; And there you are, stuck like sushi rice. &amp;quot;Do everything you can not to be pulled into it, because then forevermore, you&amp;#039;ll be associated with that problem,&amp;quot; says Worick. What if they start full-on bickering? &amp;quot;Grab your guy and move to the bar and have a drink while they&amp;#039;re going at it,&amp;quot; says Worick. Double-Dating Don&amp;#039;t: Too much touchy-feeling You know better than to slip your man a little tongue between courses (right, right?) but it&amp;#039;s trickier (and grosser) when the other couple is groping each other and doing baby talk. Worick suggests lightheartedly quipping, &amp;quot;Gee, you guys are like newlyweds...you must have not seen each other in a long time.&amp;quot; Or the less subtle &amp;quot;Wow, I haven&amp;#039;t gotten porn for free in years.&amp;quot; They should get the hint.   Double-Dating Do&amp;#039;s &amp;amp;amp; Don&amp;#039;ts #6 Double-Dating Do: Leaving on a high note Let&amp;#039;s say the vibe has been so good the whole evening that you wind up back at the other couple&amp;#039;s pad for a nightcap (sluts!). &amp;quot;Before your hosts begin signaling that you&amp;#039;re overstaying your welcome, say something like &amp;#039;Well, we&amp;#039;ll let you guys go to bed,&amp;#039;&amp;quot; says Vogels. &amp;quot;They may say, &amp;#039;Oh no, no, it&amp;#039;s okay,&amp;#039; but at least you&amp;#039;re giving them an out.&amp;quot; Double Dating Don&amp;#039;t: Stalking them Oh, you laugh -- but it&amp;#039;s easy to do. &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s like that episode of Friends where Monica and Chandler met another couple on the plane returning from their honeymoon,&amp;quot; explains Vogels. &amp;quot;They&amp;#039;re all excited to have this new couple-friend, but the couple-friend isn&amp;#039;t all that into seeing them again. Monica screams, &amp;#039;Why don&amp;#039;t these people like us? We are so great!&amp;#039;&amp;quot; Cut the cord, woman. &amp;quot;If they don&amp;#039;t return your calls for a while or say they&amp;#039;re busy all the time, don&amp;#039;t keep inviting them out,&amp;quot; says Vogels. &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s like dating: Sometimes people have two different versions of reality, so if you&amp;#039;re getting the brush-off, just accept it and let it go.&amp;quot; There are more couple-fish in the sea (sniff, sniff).   Couples Trouble Hey, we&amp;#039;re not all as golden as Brad and Jennifer. Save your hide from turmoil-times-two with these fast fixes:  You&amp;#039;re Running Late Don&amp;#039;t make some heinous excuse like the dog ate your SUV (although traffic, working late and picking up dry cleaning do the trick). Call as soon as you know you&amp;#039;ll be tardy; it decreases your detestable factor by half.  You Start Snitting with Your Guy Excuse yourselves and go somewhere private to talk, whether it&amp;#039;s outside or by the bathrooms. Then decide fast: Can you both put this on hold and have a semi-good night? If you sense that you really can&amp;#039;t, call it a night.  You Damage Their Pad Spilled vino on the carpet? Fess up, apologize and say, &amp;quot;I&amp;#039;ll pay for any damage or replace it.&amp;quot; For a charming touch, throw in a &amp;quot;I&amp;#039;m such a klutz, maybe I should wreck people&amp;#039;s homes for a living.&amp;quot; And maybe, just maybe, your own date won&amp;#039;t pretend he doesn&amp;#039;t know you.  "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.cosmopolitan.com/sex-love/advice/a1554/art-double-dating/>