Dating in college might actually be harder than attending college to begin with. Especially when you're a freshman that's just trying to figure everything out. You're a little crazier than you were in high school, and the boys you're dating are too.

That’s why God gave us roommates who double as our best friends.

For a short, but incredibly weird period of time during our freshman year, three of my friends and I got sort of obsessed with Tinder. If you’ve never been on Tinder, it’s terrible, and not to be taken seriously. One night (I’m not proud of this), we got into a competition to see who could get the most matches on the app. And (I’m also not proud of this) I was the only one that ended up with an actual date. This was mostly because I have a huge problem saying “no.”

It was early in the year, and the “Don’t go on Tinder dates with strangers” lectures from orientation were still really clear in my mind. So now I was having a dilemma, because I had made plans to go get coffee with this stranger, but I also didn’t want to get kidnapped by this stranger. How did I know this Tinder guy was who he said he was? At least I picked a public meeting spot. So, if you ever, for some reason, want to go on a Tinder date, be smart, meet at Starbucks. Your chances of being kidnapped are lower because you’re in public, and if Tinder guy is actually who he says he is, and if you’re expectations are dashed (they will be), you can at least enjoy your favorite overpriced coffee drink for the whole date.

But, I’m a naturally anxious person so obviously meeting at Starbucks wasn’t enough for me to feel safe. This is the part of the story where I realize I definitely should have canceled the plans to begin with…

My natural solution was to ask my roommate to come with me on the date.

She said yes.

I didn’t tell Tinder guy.

Roomie and I rolled up to Starbucks in her car, because my car was broken at the time, and waited in the car until we saw (who we thought) was Tinder guy to get out of his car and walk inside. We waited a little while, and then casually walked into Starbucks. I was in front, and she was a few steps behind me. Tinder guy immediately recognized me, and I immediately wanted to go home.

I had accidently set myself up with a Tinder guy who had largely stretched ears (see dinner plates), skinny jeans (tighter, or at least as tight as mine), the same Converse sneakers he probably had in ninth grade, and a sort of smelly hoodie. But in his defense, he was really nice.

So, Tinder guy and I sat down at a table, and roomie sat down right next to us at a different table. Tinder guy spent the whole time talking about cats (I’m allergic), his dirt bike (no thank you), that music where people scream instead of sing (???), and how he had never been to the gym before (bye). One of the few times that I got to add something to the conversation, I said that my car was broken and that my roommate let me use hers to drive there.

So yes, it was a disaster. There was not enough caffeine in the world to right the wrong of saying yes to that date. So I waited for an appropriate lull in the conversation and politely excused myself. So then of course, when I stood up my roommate also stood up. When Tinder guy realized that I knew her, I had to introduce them. I introduced her as my roommate (even though I had previously told him she had let me use her car), and he gave us both a kind of confused look. Roomie and I walked out of Starbucks together and got into the same car, and I’m sure he saw. It definitely felt a little bit like riding off into the sunset with your real prince charming. Roomie is the real one. Love you, Roomie.