I had a few first dates under my belt, so I felt prepared. I knew I wanted a walking date to avoid awkward eye contact, lulls in conversation, and breaks in concentration. I also wanted the home-field advantage. Riverside Park was my stomping ground, and it fit the bill. I hadn’t done a date there yet, but I expected it would be my best date yet, which wasn’t saying much.

My day leading up to the date was a blur. My mind was constantly buzzing with thoughts of different scenarios and details for the date while I was at work. At this point, we had been chatting for almost a week and had one phone call all through the Hinge app. We hadn’t exchanged phone numbers. After planning the date, I intentionally played aloof. I avoided messaging her thinking it would help me seem less desperate. I was afraid to screw it up and was surprised I hadn’t yet.

When I finished work, I finally allowed my mind to focus on date preparation entirely, and my nerves hit hard. I messaged her asking if we were still on for the date. When I was getting ready, she confirmed the date was a go! I finished getting ready and then stood around, waiting nervously for when I could leave. I wanted to be there early, just over three minutes and under five. The overly thought-through and specific time finally came, and I drove over. Before leaving, I suddenly remembered the park has three entrances and even more parking lots. My stomach dropped. I fought the feeling that I had ruined the date before it began. I messaged her, clarifying where we’d meet—then headed over in a rush. I pulled up, parked, then grabbed my phone to check if she got the message. My stomach dropped again after I realized the clarification I had sent was not very clear. I frantically sent another message and tried to calm my nerves while I waited, hopeful she would arrive at the right parking lot. I prayed for the last few minutes before the agreed-upon time.

I was feeling like a mess when she got there. I saw her pulling in, so I got out of my car. She parked at the other end of the small lot. I awkwardly waited for her to close the distance since I was near the head of the path we’d walk. She was super cute; she skipped over to close the distance smiling the whole way. That eased my nerves tremendously! Then without hesitation, she went for a hug. At that movement, I was honestly shocked. I didn’t expect that; after all, I was a strange man from the internet. I held out my hand for a handshake! That’s right, I turned down a hug from her, and I felt like an idiot! Bless her heart, she shook my hand and then said she was hoping for a hug. I told her I didn’t want to be presumptuous and explained my hesitation. She then said she was fine hugging me and asked if we could hug. I wasn’t going to let a second chance like that pass! After that, I finally got out of my head and let out a sigh of relief. She seemed unphased and excited for the date despite me feeling like I had gone through three trainwrecks in just as many minutes.

We walked and talked. I was so pumped full of adrenaline and cupid’s arrows I can hardly remember the specifics. I can say that we talked about the important stuff with a dash of comic relief. We covered our college experiences, faith, politics, and family. It was the real stuff to talk about, and it was refreshing! I was surprised twice by her desire to keep the date going. Riverside Park is reasonably long. We started at the South end and walked North. Around the halfway mark, I interrupted our conversation to ask if she was ready to head back. She wanted to keep going! We reached the North parking lot before heading back. On the last stretch, she asked if we could sit and keep talking! It was dusk, and I was being eaten alive by mosquitoes; sitting wouldn’t help matters, but I agreed. With how the date was going, I would have sat smiling through bee stings while donating blood. I didn’t want to stop talking with her!

Conversation with her was so easy and enjoyable. In hindsight, her great questions with follow-ups made the date go smoothly. I felt like I was able to share deep things about myself and that she was taking it all in with genuine interest. Though I didn’t ask as many questions without missing a beat, she often answered her own questions once I had finished. She also jumped straight into things I mentioned before I even had a chance to ask a question related to it. The conversation felt balanced and gave me the impression our interest in each other was mutual and growing. It was my best first date, hands down.

When we were getting back to the parking lot, I was mustering my courage. I told her I loved how things were going and that I’d love to go on another date with her. She was visibly excited, agreed, we figured out a day to aim for, and said goodnight with a less awkward hug than the first.

I was over the moon!