He actually flinched, covered his ears, and said 'Whoa, dial that down, hyena' right in the middle of a packed bar. I always get loud or snort a little when I'm nervous, but now I’m sitting in the bathroom stalls dying of mortification. Is my laugh really that awful, or did I just get stuck with an asshole? I don't even know if I should go back to the table or just slip out the fire exit.

Take a breath and look in the mirror: your laugh is completely fine, but his manners belong in a dumpster behind the bar. Nervous laughter is just your autonomic nervous system blowing off steam—it is pure, involuntary human wiring. When someone responds to that by publicly shaming you on date one, they aren't just rude; they're showing you an Olympic-level lack of basic empathy. You're not auditioning for a silent film, and you never have to shrink your joy or your nerves to fit into someone else's fragile comfort zone. Don’t sneak out the back like a criminal, either. Walk back out with your head high, grab your coat, drop ten bucks for your drink, and say: "I'm going to spend my evening with people who actually like how I sound. Have a good night." Then walk out into the fresh air. Save that glorious, noisy laugh for someone who wants to hear it from the front row.