"Ah," Marie said. As much as the poor-little-rich-person bit could bother her at times, she wasn't blind. Their problems were real problems to them. "No one likes feeling used," she said simply. "I guess you know I'm not going out with you for your bank account."

As if the place she'd picked hadn't communicated that already, Marie took it a step further. "If you really want to break that pattern, I'll pay for my own dinner."

She might just have to order something different than her waffle craving, and having someone else pay would certainly be nicer, but it's not as though eating at that diner would bust her bank account.