Both my flatmate and I had been single for a while when she introduced me to Tinder. She would show me all the profiles that would show up after filtering and we would swipe right and left as though it was a game. There was no real intention apart from some entertainment!
We would exchange phones and swipe for each other when we were bored. Not really taking anything forward as such. A lot of times, the same guys would appear on both our screens. We’d share a laugh and leave it at that.
Then, one day, she went on a date with one of the guys, and had some great things to say about the experience. So, I decided to give it a shot too.
I started talking to one guy – who after a few conversations I thought was kinda weird, so I unmatched him. Then came boy number 2, who was nice and all, but a bit overbearing – so he was unmatched after a few days too.
On a random Tuesday evening, I was in the mood for something spontaneous. Tinder seemed like a good option to explore! After a couple of swipes left, I found this guy whom I had a lot of common friends with. So I decided to chat with him, and it was a match!
A few conversations later, I asked him where he lived and whether he would like to go for some sushi! He didn’t reply for, like, 7 minutes. I had weird thoughts running through my head: “What was I thinking?”, “Does he think I am too forthcoming?”, “He obviously thinks I am desperate!”. After 10 minutes of me feeling stupid, he messaged back. “Hey, sorry! Was driving! I am a bit caught up today, can we meet tomorrow?” Phew…!
So, we met the next day right after work. I got pulled into a meeting so he had to wait for about 20 minutes. We hadn’t spoken on the phone yet, but I had managed to check him out on Facebook just to be sure!
He was sitting there, scrolling through his phone, when I made my way towards the table. We’d picked out a place that had a terrace to set the “date” atmosphere.
There was an awkward half-hug before I sat down – I thought it would be best to keep it casual and make it easy. We chatted about a lot of things over a couple of beers and some tiny bites. Since it was my first time, I asked him how often he goes out on these dates. He was an experienced Tinder user is what I discovered.
Our phones were kept away and we lost track of time. I am not really good at flirting, so let’s say we just had some meaningful conversations about life! The music was amazing, the kind we both liked – and so we were tripping over it! He had a special interest in music as he had been a lead guitarist of a band a few years ago. A couple of hours passed by and then a waiter came to us saying “We’re shutting the place in fifteen minutes.” WOW! It had been six hours! I had no idea how time had passed by so quickly!
We weren’t done yet – I was literally thinking of all the places that were open after 1 a.m. to go to! After much contemplation, we figured that we should probably hold on and maybe just meet again another day.
Thereafter, I was looking for a cab but just couldn’t find one! So he said he would drop me home. Hmmm, I thought, what does he have in mind? I was a bit hesitant at first, but agreed to this proposition since there was no other option!
He got out of the car to say bye when we reached and I didn’t know if it was appropriate to invite him over. Since I already thought that I looked very desperate in my first message to him, I decided to take this slow! I said goodbye and went up.
We spent the night talking and messaging on the phone. I have to say, he was interesting and good looking too! I was looking forward to meeting him again.
The next plan was to meet at his place – for rajma chawal, cooked by him. A dinner date with home cooked food and a jamming session sounded like a good idea – so I said yes.
But this was still a few days away – which meant more time to think and contemplate about what “going over” to his house for a date really meant! So eventually, after a few times of politely making excuses – this fizzled out. I didn’t go for that date, or eat the rajma chawal he had cooked! But I still couldn’t forget the wonderful conversations we had had. They were full of passion and meaning.
So once again, however desperate I was going to feel after – I texted him! One thing lead to another, and we became friends! We still are.
My first Tinder date may not have ended in a way that most people assume it should, but honestly, it was one hell of an experience! One that I will never ever forget.
Images: Shutterstock
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