My Friends Set Me Up On A Cruel Prank Date — Then It Gloriously Backfired

Part 1

My supposed best friends spent weeks plotting an elaborate blind date setup just to break my heart.

They wanted me to show up at a nice restaurant and get brutally rejected the second the guy saw my body.

Their cruel little prank might have worked perfectly.

It just required the guy to be as terrible as they were.

I had recently moved to a new city to start completely fresh.

Making friends as an adult is notoriously difficult.

I joined a few local hobby groups and eventually crossed paths with a woman named Heather.

Heather and I became fast friends over our shared interests.

She quickly introduced me to her wider social circle.

Everyone in the group seemed welcoming and incredibly kind.

Heather’s closest confidant in the group was a tall, model-esque woman named Brenda.

Brenda always had this perfectly curated aesthetic and a slightly intimidating aura.

I thought I had finally found my tribe in this unfamiliar place.

I spent weekends attending their park picnics and weekly trivia nights.

I genuinely believed these women had my back.

One evening, we were all grabbing drinks when the topic of my love life came up.

I mentioned that I had been single for a couple of years following a nasty college breakup.

I had zero interest in navigating the modern hellscape of dating apps.

Brenda’s eyes immediately lit up with an idea.

She insisted that she knew the absolute perfect guy for me.

His name was Dan, and he was apparently a great guy from her extended social circle.

I had never been on a blind date before.

The idea honestly terrified me a little bit.

I eventually caved to their enthusiastic pressure and agreed to go.

I did have one very specific condition before Brenda finalized any plans.

I asked her to send Dan at least one full-body picture of me.

I have been plus-size my entire life.

It is something I am completely comfortable with.

My weight has never negatively impacted my confidence or my ability to date.

I also exist in the real world and know that I am not everyone’s cup of tea.

I wanted Dan to know exactly who he was meeting beforehand.

The last thing I wanted was for either of us to feel awkward or misled.

Brenda promised me that she would send him a great photo.

She even showed me a few pictures of Dan from his social media profiles.

He was undeniably gorgeous.

I started letting myself get genuinely excited about the possibility of a fun evening.

A few days later, Brenda confirmed that Dan was entirely on board.

She forwarded me the lunch reservation details he had arranged at a trendy downtown spot.

I spent entirely too much time picking out the perfect outfit that morning.

I tried on at least six different dresses before settling on a dark green wrap dress.

I wanted to project nothing but confidence when I walked into that restaurant.

I even texted the group chat a mirror selfie of my final look.

Brenda replied with a string of heart emojis and told me to knock him dead.

Heather told me Dan was going to be completely obsessed with me.

Their encouragement was the only reason I didn’t lose my nerve and cancel.

My stomach was doing anxious backflips the entire train ride to the restaurant.

I walked through the heavy glass doors and immediately scanned the crowded room.

I spotted Dan sitting in a corner booth, nursing a glass of water.

He looked even better in person than he did in his photos.

I took a deep breath to steady my nerves and walked directly over to his table.

I gave him my best smile and introduced myself.

Dan stood up politely, but his brow instantly furrowed in visible confusion.

He hesitated for a painful second before speaking.

He told me that he was actually waiting for a blind date.

I let out a nervous little laugh and told him that Brenda had set us up.

I repeated my name and mentioned Brenda again to jog his memory.

Dan’s expression shifted from polite confusion to total bewilderment.

He slowly realized that I was not some random stranger crashing his lunch.

He pulled his phone out of his pocket with a shaky hand.

He unlocked the screen and opened his text thread with Brenda.

Dan explained that Brenda had sent him a picture of his date a few days ago.

Dan flipped his phone around to show me the photo Brenda had sent him, and the blood drained from my face.