Looking to buy my first manual car. Suggestions would be appreciated!

Never thought I would care about cars at all. However, my partner is all about them! He owns an Evo GSR and a FK8 and truly enjoys working on them both and driving. He has been pestering me for a bit now to learn and I’m only hesitant because I do not want to cause any damage to either of his vehicles, but contemplating making a purchase of my own that I can destroy worst case.

I’m not experienced in manual driving, and the only vehicles I’ve owned and enjoyed were a 93’ Accord and an 09’ Accord.

What would be a fun, easy to learn, and easy to maintain car that I could buy as a surprise to my partner?