Not All Dates End in a Kiss

Date 2 Guy 2
I'll start by saying there was never any intention of romance in this date and then argue despite the fact that it was romance-free from the start it was still a date. Guy 2 is 79 years old. His granddaughters are my age. According to him people in my generation don't really date at all and that's why we "date" for so long only to find it isn't working. He met his wife, went on five "real dates" over the course of two months and then married her- they were married for over 40 years.
Maybe he's right. I've heard people talk about how fun dating used to be- how it wasn't a chore. How the first date was something to look forward to and how you did every thing you could to make the other person feel special. The way he talks about it- they way a lot of people talk about dating makes me feel a bit lazy. I like dating- I don't think of it as a chore or a requirement (talk to me again when I'm on date 63...) but I can't help but feel like I've been half ass-ing it.
When was the last time I went on a date where someones only focus was making sure I felt special?
When was the last time my only focus was on making my date feel special?
And could I pull it off without coming off as creepy?