I really didn’t want to do the online dating thing. But why not? My BFF Cori said Tinder was fun! And Candice, heretoforewith known as my Fairy Godmother, offered [demanded] to approve anyone who wanted to chat with me online.

Swipe, swipe, swipe...

Danielle: “Candice! What do you think about this guy?”
Candice: “DANIELLE. He. Is. Perfect.”
Danielle: “He seems awesome right? Plays hockey, cooks, Jewish, CUTE...”
Candice: “You NEED to make this happen.”
Danielle: “He probably won’t even message me!”

Except he did! And he was really funny and clever! There’s no way he’d be great in person.

EXCEPT HE WAS.

He even bought me Moscow mules and Brussels sprouts.

We made plans immediately for the next night. But I was so tired from earlier birthday celebrations that I took a nap. Eric hadn’t confirmed during the day so he wasn’t interested, right? When I got a peace-out text from him I absolutely freaked out and asked Candice what to do. I followed her instructions to the letter and we made up for my missteps over wine and a Japanese subtitled version of Black Mass.

Despite my best efforts to mess up everything that first week, Eric remained amazing and we even saw each other for a third time in four days.

We went on our first trip to Denver in January of 2016 and I knew this was someone I wanted to keep traveling with. And laughing with. And pretty much everything else.

I'd love to say something uber-romantic about how I knew from the first time I saw Danielle's Tinder profile that this would be my future wife, but due to the limited information given, all I could deduce was that she was a cute girl in a cop Halloween costume and that she looked like a fun time (gotta keep those expectations low on dating apps).

Once we met up at a bar on the Westside, it didn't take long to realize that I was on a date with a woman, and not another sketchy, immature girl. She was beautiful, whip smart, didn't take herself too seriously, conversation flowed, and I felt like I had known her for years.

When it came time to leave, I walked her to the curb to wait for her approaching Uber. When it arrived, I gave her a kiss goodnight, to which she responded "Why didn't you do that earlier?"

"Earlier? It's the first date."

Since I was leaving soon for the holidays, we made immediate plans to meet up at a bar the following night. When she didn't show, I was confused and disappointed. I had never been stood up before, and things seemed to go so well during the previous night's date that I was excited to pick up where we left off.

Thinking: "Another dating app sketchball for ya", I txted "It was nice meeting you."

I'm glad we sorted that miscommunication out, because I would've missed out on a truly magnificent woman and partner.