Since the fall, I knew I was moving away from Richmond. I made a conscious decision not to pause my life just because I would be relocating to a new city. That also included continuing to date. I was never convinced I would truly meet someone I wanted to stay in touch with, but I enjoyed meeting new people and making out.

About six weeks before my scheduled departure, I matched with “Hailey.” Hailey was a thoughtless swipe. She appeared cute and well-traveled, but that’s all I processed in the two seconds I spent on her profile. She messaged me first, and we engaged in the expected back and forth about hobbies, likes, and whether we had pets. As I often do, I disengaged after a day or two, but then I became bored and sent my typical apology alongside my number because “I’m much better at texting, believe me, I never check this app.” Hailey texted almost immediately and we recommenced our banter. At some point, I disclosed I was graduating soon, was very busy, and then dropped off the face of the earth again.