This is a true story that happened to me in the second summer of the pandemic, when Covid cases had dropped substantially and vaccines were available. I had downloaded a gay dating app to my phone, completed a profile, and browsed other profiles admiring the other guys.
There was one man who lived fairly close that piqued my interest, so I sent him a message. Over the next week or so, we would exchange messages as time allowed. Based on what I could tell, he was a nice guy and would make a good friend with benefits.
I have a (relatively new) rule that I never meet a man in private unless I meet him in a public place first, preferably a place with cameras. (That is so that police will have a suspect in case something happens to me.) Since I go to the store on a regular basis and my absence is easily explained to the wife, I arranged to meet him the next time that I was going. I told him what I would be wearing and exactly where and when to meet me.