Evaluate the situation.
Are
you on a first date that is not going well? Is your date paying more attention
to the interloper than to you? Do you want to continue dating this person?
Determine the seriousness of the offense.
Is it a passing rude drunk, a persistent boor, or someone seriously interested
in leaving with your date? How big is the interloper? These factors will
determine your response.
Stand your ground.
Put your arms around your date, whisper in her ear and kiss and caress
her. Show the suitor that your date is enamoured with you, and you with
her.
Place yourself in the "pickup screen" position.
Wedge yourself between the suitor and your date, with your back to the
suitor. Try to block the suitor's path of vision. An "accidental"
bump or push with your shoulders or buttocks may be appropriate.
Ask the interloper to stop.
Politely but firmly explain that you are trying to have a conversation
with your date and that you would both prefer to be left alone. If the
suitor persists, use humor or sarcasm to diffuse the situation. Tell him
you can offer him a few phone numbers, or tell him that tonight she's
taken, but you will let him know when she's available.
If the suitor is with friends, enlist their help to rein him in.
Ask your date to tell the suitor to
back off.
Your date should tell him that she's flattered but not interested.
Try to leave.
If given the choice, choose flight over fight. Suggest to your date that
you both move to a table or go to a new establishment. A fight generally
doesn't make the evening go any better.
Make a cold compress.
Put crushed ice in a plastic bag and wrap the bag in a thin piece of cloth.
Alternatively, use a bag of frozen vegetables or a cold, raw steak.
Sit down, tilt your head back, and cover your eye with the compress.
Use minimal pressure. This position allows gravity to aid in swelling
reduction. If the compress is too cold to hold over your eye, use a thicker
cloth. Keep the compress over your eye for an hour.
Take a painkiller.
For pain, take acetaminophen or ibuprofen.