😍 The secret to a second date

It’s Tuesday, Boston.

👶 Ever wonder how popular your name is? The Globe put together some charts tracking the most popular names in Mass. dating back to 1910. Spoiler: If you’re a John or Mary, you win. Check your name here.

👀 What’s on tap today:

• Rental bidding wars

• Magic mushrooms

• Local Tony winner

Up first...

DATING

The art of the second date

We hear a lot about first dates. But what about the second? According to Boston-based dating coach Michelle Wax, they require a very different approach.

So if you’re on a quest for summer love and have made it past the first date, here’s what to know:

💏 For starters, a first date and a second date have different objectives. “A first date is really to see if there’s any intrigue in any way,” Wax said. She recommends going on a second date until you’re 100% sure one way or another (unless there’s a major red flag). The second date, on the other hand, is an opportunity to have a bonding experience with that person and see a more vulnerable side of them.

🏓 The best way to bond is through an activity. “When you're doing an activity, there's a kind of mutual focus on one thing,” she said. And redirecting that focus from a pointed first date interview to an activity often allows space for someone to open up. “That's why you'll hear ‘if you're having an important conversation, go for a walk with someone’” since the lack of eye contact while walking side-by-side can alleviate the pressure.

🎯 There’s no “right” second date activity, but something hands-on is a good start. Many of her clients have enjoyed playing a round of mini golf at Putt Shack, throwing darts at Flight Club, or kayaking along the Charles. She’s also pro-picnic with a side of lawn games: The picnic gives you an opportunity to bring a favorite snack or drink your date may have mentioned during your first soiree.

😬 But there’s definitely a wrong way to do a second date. Her rule of thumb is no movies, nothing super long, and nothing super loud. Movies are often pegged as a classic date, but “you're not really learning anything about the person … you're just kind of sitting there in silence,” Wax said. She’s also had clients be taken to a loud bar or restaurant “... and they found themselves yelling right at [their date].” Keeping the second date contained to an activity with an optional post-drink/bite to eat is always the safest bet. That way you can dip if things go sour.

❓ One thing you should definitely do on a second date is ask fun questions. Wax has her clients ask their second dates more open-ended questions like: What’s your dream? How would you spend the summer if you didn’t have to do anything? And what’s your favorite part about life? “It allows the opportunity for them to answer how they want to and lets you see their reaction to opening up,” she said. “Center in on what would be important for you to walk away knowing about the person,” and the questions will come.

❤️ Want to learn more? Wax is hosting a class this Wednesday on meeting more people in person. You can sign up here.

TOGETHER WITH LE DINER EN BLANC

Giveaway alert!

💃 Heads up! The annual secret pop-up dinner, Le Diner En Blanc 2023, is taking place June 24, and we’re giving away two tickets. To be eligible, refer a friend below and have them accept your invite between June 12 and June 14. If you have already referred a friend to B-Side (and they’ve accepted), you're eligible! Full details below*

CITY

Quick & dirty headlines

🏠 Bidding wars have reached Boston’s rental market. Seriously. The market is so tight that renters have started offering landlords more per month than what’s listed. In some cases, several hundred dollars more. An analysis done for the Globe by Spot Easy found 5.4% of the apartments rented on its site went over asking during a 15-day period in May, some by as much as $400 or $500. Along the new Green Line Extension, that number is even higher: 13% of units went over asking in the last three months.

🍄 Magic mushrooms could soon be legal. A hearing today will take up proposed bills that would allow anyone over 18 to grow, eat, or share psychedelic mushrooms in Mass. And it’s not just for recreation. Supporters say this will offer residents another option to treat mental health and addiction disorders. And this idea isn’t new. Communities like Cambridge and Somerville have already decriminalized psilocybin, the active drug commonly found in said shrooms, it’s already legal in Colorado and Oregon, and the FDA allows companies to investigate the drug’s use in treating various disorders.

🐻 Just when you thought black bears only hung outside the 495 corridor … Two decided to make their suburban debut in less than 24 hours. A black bear was spotted wandering around Newton on Sunday, with one video showing the bear running through someone’s front yard, awfully close to their cars and front door. Another was spotted in Arlington on Monday, delaying the start of the school day. It’s unclear if these two sightings are the same bear, but either way, if you see one roaming around, keep your distance and don’t approach it.

🥯 J.P. Licks just dropped a new flavor for June. And it’s … the flavor you never asked for. Everything Bagel-flavored ice cream is officially available at all 17 stores this month, and is “the perfect combination of savory and sweet,” they say. The garlicky treat’s base is made from J.P Licks’ signature Sweet Cream ice cream, which is then packed with poppy seeds, sesame seeds, dried onion, salt, and pieces of everything bagel. Yummy?

QUICK POLL!

🍦 Would you try J.P. Licks’ new flavor?

ONE LAST THING

Local Tony winner

Tony Awards history was made this weekend … and there’s a Massachusetts connection.

Lynn native Alex Newell won the Tony for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for their role in Shucked, making them the first nonbinary actor to win a Tony for acting.

“Thank you for seeing me, Broadway,” Newell said in their speech. “I should not be up here as a queer, nonbinary, fat, Black, little baby from Massachusetts.” You can watch Newell’s acceptance speech here.

Luckily, Newell’s time as the only nonbinary actor with an acting Tony win was short lived, as short while later, J. Harrison Ghee won the Tony for Best Lead Actor in a Musical for their role in Some Like it Hot, an adaptation of the classic cross-dressing comedy film.

🤬 Thanks for reading! Curse CBS for not being on YouTube TV and forcing me to watch the Tonys the day after.

🥶 What’s Boston’s coldest June temperature ever? The correct answer is 41 degrees, a record set in 1945. Although only 40% of you get a gold star for guessing correctly, 100% of you now have a fun factoid to share when June is unseasonably chilly.