​​Hinge Date Gone Wrong

This is a response to "Why I'm Grateful I Got Cheated On".

“To love is to burn, to be on fire.” – Jane Austen

I will be honest, my dating life has been a rocky road since 2018. With meeting people in person and online, it seems like a never ending battle to find love. Every now and then, I will put myself out there on a Hinge date to meet new people.

A few months ago, I had gone out with a guy that I had matched with. He seemed nice and I thought why not? We met at a local burger place Sunday evening to see if sparks would fly. When I walked into the restaurant, I gave him a hug and started to walk over to find a booth for us. Before I knew it, I had slipped on the floor and landed harshly on my butt. Everyone in the restaurant saw and I felt extremely embarrassed. I thought, what greater way to start off a first date than by falling on my butt and him having to swoop me up. It was actually a pretty hard fall and I was in considerable pain. I didn't think I could carry through with the date by utter embarrassment and how my lower tailbone was beginning to throb, but, I decided to anyways.

After the date I realized I had felt more friend chemistry than anything. We both decided we felt the same and breathed a sigh of relief. Sometimes, one person is on a completely different page and it can get awkward quick. When we decided how we both got along as friends well, I had the thought pop into my head of setting him up with one of my single friends.

A few days later I texted him and asked if he wanted to go on a date with one of my friends. I told him it wasn't awkward to me and that he deserved to find someone because he was such a nice guy. After a little hesitation, he agreed to be set up.

When I started thinking about all the single girlfriends I had, I didn't know which one would be best for him. But one day on a girls hiking trip with three of my other friends, I was telling them about my crazy burger date where I fell and made a fool of myself. I explained how the guy was so nice and that I was actually trying to set him up with one of my friends.

Then it hit me, I would set him up with my friend, we will call her Kate, that was on the hiking trip with us that day. I asked if she was down to go on a blind date and she calmingly agreed that she was up for it.

Randomly enough, the Hinge guy, we will call him Tod, was coming over after my girls day hike to help me move my walking pad into my room with my dad. You might think, why is he helping you with your dad? The thing is, we got along as friends and we both had communicated that we were only friends and that is all we were ever going to be!

Before Tod left to go home after helping me move my walking pad, I blurted out how I had found him a match to go on a blind date with. I gave him my friend Kate's number and said it's all in your hands now if you want to reach out! He seemed caught off guard I had found someone so quickly for him but I was so excited by the possibility of this match.

A couple days later I found out through Kate that they had a date set up to grab food. When they had their date and I asked for the details from both sides, it sounded like they both really enjoyed their time together and they were planning another date to a comedy show. After hearing how that date went well more dates were set up. One date was getting ice cream and another hiking. Before I knew it, I realized these two really liked each other and they had a lot in common. When I asked Kate about Tim, she was all smiles. Her eyes lit up talking about their commonalities, his peaceful presence, and his ability to really listen to her. I couldn't help but feel my heart melt.

I knew her past and knew how deserving she was to find someone worthwhile. Fast forward to now, they are officially dating. We all hang out together and they have even joined as a couple to my kickball team. I love seeing them laugh and they look so happy together. I am blessed that despite how awkward and rough it was for me on that first date with Tod, something beautiful still came out of it.

Just because it does not work out for you, does not mean that that person could not be the perfect someone for someone else!