Recently I met a woman at a local restaurant and we talked for over an hour about common interests, then decided to exchange numbers. We made a date, had a great time, talked for hours, found out we share values, interests, life goals, opinions. After we listened to jazz and everything felt great. I followed up and we made a second date, again had a great conversation over dinner, laughed, enjoyed each other's company, went to another spot and talked for longer. She kissed me goodnight, generally a sign of encouragement I believe. This was the weekend before Thanksgiving, and she had family coming for the holiday. So when I followed up, told her I had a great time, I gave her a couple of options for a third date- offered to make her dinner or take her out again when she could depending on her holiday schedule. She accepted, said she was grateful we met- a sentiment I returned- and said she'd decide closer to the following weekend. No problem. Everything seemed to progressing naturally, and it felt we were on the same page. The day after Thanksgiving, I followed up to ask what she'd chosen so I could plan it. Generally I tried to show interest and willingness to devote time and energy into planning. She sent a text back saying she thought about it. I'll quote direct so as not to misinterpret: "I think you're wonderful and I love spending time with you, you're very interesting and I can have great conversation with you. I just unfortunately don't want to lead you on. I hope we can remain friends." I bumped into her at a coffee shop on Saturday, she sort of played it off like nothing happened, but I was caught off-guard. She did not want to sit and talk. I texted, asked what caused the about-face, she said: "really enjoyed our conversation, it was refreshing to get to know someone I could talk to and I still am grateful we met. I wanted to still give it a chance, but I just wasn't feeling anything romantically. ... I thought about it a lot and felt it was better to tell you sooner rather than later and to keep going on dates." So, I know there's some actuarial tables out there where experts say if you don't feel a spark by the second date, there's a 94% chance it won't happen. But my feeling (which she did not ask about) is we live in a society that expects instant gratification- better to cut your losses after date 2 than give something a chance. Despite both wanting to start a family, sharing values, sharing interests, and being able to maintain enjoyable conversation for hours without awkwardness, it's not worth the investment if its not an immediate spark. Am I so old-fashioned to think we could just enjoy each other's company without expectation and if it doesn't lead to a romance, we still enjoyed it? For me, connection leads to a spark, and connection takes a little more time and effort. I don't feel it's leading me on if she's honest and communicates. Heck- tell me you'd rather split the bill going forward and just have fun without worrying. But cancelling a date already accepted and ending any further plans feels a bit like something was withheld all along, and I just hit a dead end. Offering to remain friends feels like a boundary rather than a meaningful category. Can anyone tell me if I'm being too old-fashioned and not keeping up with the pace of today's world? Do you agree with her and going with the stats, or can you treat someone like they're worth the investment even if you don't feel the romantic connection immediately?