Knowing you're on a date is key to a good date

I had this friend, her name is Marrie (short for Margaret). She was one of my friends ex-girlfriends. She was always trying to set me up with different girls. So one day she said that she had a girl to set me up with. I said I'd have to meet her first before I would take her out, since I hate blind dates, so she agreed and set up a night for us to meet. The following Saturday night, the 3 of us decided to go out to dinner. We went to Denny's and then ended up driving around for a while. It was just like 3 friends hanging out, nothing formal. Marrie ended up sitting in the front seat of my '69 Bronco. We had an alright time and we dropped the other girl off at her house. When she went inside, Marrie turned to me and asked, "so, how did you like your date?" I was shocked, because at that moment I knew that the other girl was under the impression that we were on a date. I felt horrible because I didn't really pay that much attention to her, didn't pay for her dinner, she didn't even sit in the front seat! I told Marrie that it wasn't a date, but Marrie said that she told her friend that it was a date, and Marrie thought that it went great. I said that i didn't know what kind of dates Marrie was used to, but that was probably the worst date that girl had ever been on. I was right, the next day Marrie called me and said that her friend didn't like me and didn't want to go out with me again. I asked why and Marrie said that it was because I didn't even act like it was a date and paid more attention to Marrie than her. I said that was funny, since it wasn't even a date, that I was aware of. What kind of a date is it where the 3rd wheel rides in the front seat, plus I didn't even know it was a date??? Knowing you're on a date is information that you need to know before the date starts!