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<p>I think you said it yourself quite well. The "romance or possibility of" makes it a date.</p>
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What if they are not in the same group of friends? </p>
<p>And the group to date thing ("deciding to go out")happens a lot in D's world , too. (In fact , I think that may be the more common way to find dates. But it's still a date, isn't it? What else would you call "going out"? (It's not a relationship. Heck, it's just a date. LOL)</p>
<p>It may also just be we are using words differently. To me "going out" is the same as a date, as in "going out on a date". And a date does not require a corsage or curtsy or even picking up each other at home or dorm. It's just a date. ;)</p>