Between the Matches

After my second date with Jack, I headed off to pick up a keg for my sister's party. On the drive there, I called her to tell her all about the date and how well it had gone. I couldn't stop smiling. For the first time in a long time, I felt genuinely excited about dating again. The party was for my brother-in-law's birthday after he and a group of his friends had spent the day golfing. I knew many of them and had crossed paths with some over the years. Most were married or in long-term relationships, so I wasn't expecting anything particularly eventful from the evening. I helped my sister finish setting up before guests arrived and spent some time playing with my nieces and nephews as people gradually filtered into the backyard. My parents came, my brother showed up, and later my other brother stopped by with his wife and daughter. At one point, I was sitting at a table with my parents when one of my brother-in-law's friends walked over to say hello. We'll call...

Over the next two weeks, Jack and I texted every day. Some days our conversations were constant, with messages flying back and forth from morning until night. Other days were a little more spaced out as work, family, and life got in the way. Either way, I found myself looking forward to hearing from him. Getting to know him felt easy, and with every conversation we seemed to click a little more. My 29th birthday came and went during that time, and something surprising happened: I didn't feel lonely. For the first time in a while, I felt excited about what might be ahead instead of dwelling on what was behind me. We had our second date the Saturday after I got back from the shore. We chose a café owned by my brother-in-law's sisters. I was a little nervous about the location. It was a very public place, and there was always the chance that someone I knew would walk through the door. Dating again was still new territory for me, and I wasn't quite ready for unexpected run-ins ...

Today I created a Hinge account. I thought about making a Tinder profile, but after talking to my brother last night, I decided against it. Hinge is supposed to have better-quality matches. So I sat in the corner of my sectional in my basement apartment of my brother’s house and got to work. After filling out some personal information, selecting pictures and answering prompts in a “normal but also show my sense of humor” type of way, my profile was ready to go. Within a couple of hours I had dozens of matches. I guess that’s how it goes – guys stalk the app and immediately like any new profiles that show up around them. Some guys looked cute, others looked like fuck boys, and others were an immediate no. I matched with a few of them and started chatting. GUY: *Liked your photo* GUY: Hey, how’s it going? GUY: Why is a girl as pretty as you still single? GUY: *insert The Office quote in response to my prompt* GUY: Your coffee order is caramel and your next boyfriend will be n...