Tinderella's Awakening

I braced myself for the incoming door slam, but I still flinched, gripping the couch cushion tightly. Every. Time. Vivian dropped her coat and purse in the entryway, kicking off her shoes.

"Today was the worst."

"I'm sorry, Viv." I didn’t move from my seat, fiddling with my phone. This was our routine. She would come in, storm around the house for ten to thirty minutes ranting about her work, her sister, her boyfriend, or a combination of all of the above, grab a beer, and angrily come sit down next to me expecting sympathy.

Waiting until it was my turn to talk, I swiped mindlessly on Tinder.

Sometimes I imagined telling her to shut up. Just once.

"Oh my god. Are you seriously still trying to get a date? I told you—no woman is going to be interested in you with your boring ass profile. Plants and books are not hobbies." Vivian stormed to her room, slamming her door behind her.

I had regretted showing her my profile seconds after handing her my phone. She had critiqued every photo, as well as every line of my bio.

"This one’s not bad, but you don’t really look like that anymore, do you?"

"Get rid of this photo, that color washes you out."

"You really need a group photo, so you don't look like a loner."

"Your hair is... a choice in this one."

"Wow! You look great in this photo! When was this? Like high school or something?"

"You should really try to show off more personality. This just feels... bland."

"Do you have any recent full-body pictures where you don’t look so awkward?"

Instead of taking any of Vivian's suggestions, I clicked edit and added a new photo—one I really liked. A friend had snapped a candid of me walking during a recent trip to a botanical garden. Let Vivian call it boring; at least it was mine.

Not even a minute after I saved the changes, a new notification popped up. I stared at the screen, heart racing.

~~~~~

I glanced at my phone for the tenth time in as many minutes. I cursed myself for being so early. My eyes involuntarily flickered towards the door to the café before picking up my phone again. Look busy, I told myself.

Opening up Tinder, I went straight for her profile. Ava was stunning. Dark brown hair layered perfectly around her shoulders, sparkling brown eyes, contrasted with her fair smooth skin. Tattoos crept up her neck, and the slit in her eyebrow added an air of mystery around her. I was captivated the moment I saw her.

"Ella?" Her voice rang soft but confident.

I felt my cheeks burn as I clumsily stood, locking my phone and shoving my chair back. "Ava, hi!"

She leaned in for a hug just as I reached out for a handshake, and if it was possible, my face got even redder. "I-I'm sorry."

Ava just laughed. "Don't worry about it." She shook my hand. "It's great to meet you."

We both sat down—her with effortless grace, me with all the elegance of a baby deer on ice. I rubbed my sweaty hands on my pants, staring at the table while I tried to collect myself. Vivian's comments racing through my mind: clearly she'd been right. I was in over my head, and Ava was about to find out that I was just a boring, bumbling idiot.

Ava noticed me fidgeting with my hands and raised an eyebrow, a knowing smile tugging at her lips. "Relax," she said softly, "I don’t bite."

I gave a half-smile, trying to ease the tension, but my fingers still tapped against the edge of the table. For a second, the silence between us felt heavy, like I was supposed to say something, but I couldn’t remember what. I took a deep breath, trying to calm the storm of thoughts swirling in my head.

"What's good here?" Ava asked, breaking the awkward silence.

I might be gauche, but one thing I could do was talk about coffee and pastries. I showed Ava a few of my favorite things on the menu, and by the time the waitress had brought us our drinks and taken our orders, I could feel the tightness in my chest slowly easing.

Ava leaned back in her chair, effortlessly at ease, while I clutched my mug like it might fly away. Her eyes never left me, a small, almost imperceptible smile playing at her lips.

As we continued to talk, I felt my nerves begin to fade, replaced by a strange sense of calm. I hadn't noticed it at first, but Ava's gaze was still on me—steady and kind, not the judgmental glare I had expected. The way she leaned in when I spoke, the small smiles she gave in response... For the first time in a long time, I felt seen. And it felt nice.

My phone buzzed on the table, and I glanced at it instinctively.

"Has she figured out how boring you are yet? - Viv"

A lump formed in my throat, and Ava's voice faded away for a moment. Every idea I'd ever had about not being good enough came rushing back to me all at once. I'd just spent the last hour with this amazing women. I wasn't good enough for her.

I stood up abruptly. Ava looked up at me, brow furrowed. "Are you alright?"

"I'm sorry... I just- I need to go." I hurriedly pulled some cash out of my wallet, tossing it on the table.

"Is everything okay?" She called after me, but I was already on my way out the door. I was already half way home before I realized I'd left my phone sitting on the table.

~~~~~

It had been two days since the catastrophic date. I'd barely left my room, leaving my laptop open, watching messages come in and not bothering to respond. Sooner or later, I'd have to give in and buy a new phone.

I was mindlessly flipping through a book, not even registering the words on the pages, when there was a knock at the door.

I froze.

Not expecting anyone, I hesitated. My heart beat in my ears, as if my body was warning me. Slowly, I got up and peeked through the peephole.

There she was.

Ava stood on the other side, holding my phone in one hand, looking even more beautiful than she had at the café. Her brows were furrowed in slight concern, but there was a softness to her expression that made my stomach flutter despite everything.

My first instinct was to hide, to pretend I wasn’t there. But I couldn’t. She’d come all the way here for me—gone through who knows what lengths to find my address—the least I could do is talk to her.

I opened the door slowly, my voice barely a whisper. "Hi, Ava."

She smiled a little, though it was cautious. “Hey, you left this behind.”

I took the phone from her without thinking, the weight of it feeling heavier than I remembered.

“Thanks,” I muttered, unsure what else to say. I looked down at the phone, afraid to meet her eyes for too long.

Ava stood there for a moment, letting the silence stretch between us, before she spoke again, softer this time. “I was worried about you. I hope you don’t mind—I reached out to a couple of your friends on Instagram.”

I probably shouldn't have ignored all of those messages from everyone. Ava's visit might not have been such a surprise.

"I really appreciate you bringing this back. Did... did you want to come in?" I asked, uncertain.

Ava smiled and stepped across the threshold without hesitation. Her confidence amazed me. Before I could say anything else, she'd left her shoes by the door, her purse and jacket on a chair, and had sat down cross-legged on the couch.

Stunned, I quietly shut the apartment door before going to sit on the opposite end of the couch. I could feel her eyes on me, and I found myself staring back. We sat for a moment, quietly, just looking at each other. I didn't know how to break the silence.

Ava spoke first, a teasing lilt in her voice. "So... do you always run out on dates, or was that just a special occasion?"

A strange feeling bubbled up in my chest—something between relief and absurdity—and before I knew it, I burst out laughing. Ava raised an eyebrow but soon chuckled along with me. The nervousness I'd been drowning in had vanished, replaced by sheer incredulity at the whole situation.

Still catching my breath, I shook my head. "I'm so sorry. It's not really that funny. I've just been so anxious about all of this for so long, and now I realize how ridiculous it was to just... bolt like that."

"Yeah," Ava grinned, "AND you left sixty bucks for a tab that was, like, eighteen."

My face flushed again, but instead of the usual panic and embarrassment, something felt different. Ava was laughing with me—not at me.

Her expression softened. "I didn’t mean to pry, but I saw the text on your lock screen after you left. Is that why you panicked?"

There was no judgment in her voice, just quiet understanding. The way she looked at me—genuinely curious, genuinely concerned—made me want to be honest.

"Yeah," I admitted. "My roommate seems to think I'm not interesting enough to find someone. I'm sorry I let her get into my head."

Ava leaned over, putting her hand on mine and giving me a soft smile. "She's wrong."

~~~~~

I took one last look around the empty bedroom before shutting the door. The space felt unfamiliar now, stripped of the small comforts that had made it mine.

Vivian slouched in her chair, a half-empty beer dangling from her fingers. She didn’t look at me. “I still can’t believe you’re doing this to me.”

I set my key on the table, the metallic clink cutting through the low hum of the TV. “I’m sorry, Viv. I just need my own space.”

She scoffed, taking another swig. “Sure.”

I slung my purse over my shoulder, gathering my last bag, and pulled open the door—only to find Ava on the other side. Three months in, and I still got butterflies.

“You ready?” she asked, already reaching for one of my bags.

“Yeah. That’s everything. Thanks again for helping.”

She smiled, easy and warm. “What are girlfriends for?”

I stepped past the threshold, leaving behind old doubts, old habits—an old version of myself.

Outside, the sun hung low, painting the street in gold. I took Ava’s hand.

And finally moved forward.