I lost a plate today that was outside my control and I am trying to learn from it.

We were out having a drink with her friend. We had a little group of people but from the start it was obvious that my plate had little to say. Needless, my plate and I were having a good time and had a few drinks. Nothing extreme. There was a group people next to us who were obviously drunk. They kept involving me and our group in conversation. They kept starting very educated conversations and I think it made my plate feel awkward. In hindsight, it was obvious she didn’t know as much as everyone else did with all the topics brought up.

I think the conversations the group had intimidated her. I was trying to be friendly and not an asshole to the other group by chatting with them briefly then focusing my attention back to my plate. She told me she wanted to go eat and I agreed. As we were about to head out, she told me she had a good time but she couldn’t continue what we were doing. I didn’t understand and she clarified that she enjoyed our hook ups but didn’t want to continue and just head home instead of grabbing dinner. It was completely out of left field and unexpected. I thanked her for her time and we parted ways.

I don’t like to lose plates uncontrollably but I know it happens. My question is could anything have been done to prevent this? I hate losing plates under circumstances that could have been avoided and I want to learn from this to avoid it in the future.

Side question: I was trying to plate someone in their early 20s. (Something new to me) They immediately asked if I could be their sugar daddy. I declined their offer. It was a weird moment but I’m curious how common this is. I want to be sure to find good quality plates and it seems it’s a crap shoot these days.