Dating apps weren't exactly my thing when I first moved to Boston in 2019, but the dating scene wasn't going my way. I was getting SO nervous on first dates, so I decided to try Hinge just for practice - a way to build my confidence so when I went on a "real" date, I wouldn't freak out as much. I decided I would go out with the first guy that seemed 'nice'. Enter Jak. Not necessarily the type of guy I would typically go for, but we had some good conversations and he seemed like the perfect guy to go on a practice date with. On my way to our first date, I called one of my friends and *almost* backed out. She convinced me to go by saying, "Let him buy you a couple drinks and then you never have to see him again." So, that was my mantra going into our first date - I was NEVER going to see him again after this date. When I walked in, my first thought was 'Wow, this guy is a lot cuter than his pictures,' but I quickly shook it off and thought that it didn't matter how cute the British guy was - I would never see him again. We sat down and started chatting (he laughed at all my jokes which was a first) and the waiter came by to take our drink orders. I thought that since I really didn't care what this guy thought of me, I'd order exactly what I wanted, which happened to be a hazy IPA from my favorite brewery, Trillium. Jak said, "That sounds good, I'll have that too." So now my brain is saying, 'super cute guy AND drinks IPAs?!' but no, no still a practice date. Conversation continued to be far too easy and the waiter came around to ask what we wanted for dinner. I said, "Ya know what, I really want chicken fingers" to which Jak responded, "Great, because I really want mac and cheese." And that's when I knew that this wasn't just a practice date.

After a great dinner I wanted to keep the date going, so I suggested we go to this "cool jazz bar" around the corner (yes I was trying to appear sophisticated). What I had forgotten, and failed to mention to Alex until we got there, was that it was down a flight of stairs and in a basement. For most people on a first date with a guy they'd just met, this would be a red flag. Thankfully for Alex it wasn't... After a couple more drinks it was home time (it was a school night after all). When we got outside, my heart was racing but I somehow plucked up the courage to hold Alex's hand so we could walk in the same direction together. Smooth. The next challenge was finding the confidence to kiss her goodnight. Thankfully I was able to summon the strength to do that too before we parted ways. The perfect end to the perfect date. I was actually supposed to have another date the following night (the single life is fun) but I cancelled it that morning. I didn't need to meet anyone else, I'd found my girl.