BROOKLYN JONES,

Mid-Wilshire, human resources director

Brooklyn Jones, 38, didn’t sign up for dating apps with the intention of making friends. But that’s what ended up happening when she moved to L.A. eight years ago and downloaded a handful of matchmaking apps.

“I would go on these dates where we had so much in common,” she says, “but there wasn’t really any of that romantic chemistry.”

Still, Jones, 38, believes in the power of the second date. “It’s like making pancakes,” she says. “The first date is like the first pancake — you always kinda mess that one up a little. You can still eat it but it’s a little weird and misshapen. The second pancake is pretty solid. On the second date, I can really determine what kind of relationship I want to have with a person.”

At the end of the second date, if Jones feels like she’s talking to a brother rather than a potential partner, she’ll say so and suggest platonic plans in the future. She’s made two close friends this way, and regularly meets up with them to watch Marvel movies, try a new burger place or go on Ikea runs.

“Whatever we have in common, I try to really stick with that,” she says. “It’s helped me build a bit of a community here.”

Instagram: @sheis.bklyn making one of the most meaningful connections I’ve ever made in my life.”

Webster and Diego have been getting together weekly for six years now. Webster still reads books to Diego, using his actor skills to put on the different voices. They attend each other’s family gatherings and they go on trips to different places around L.A. (Webster now brings along his son Jack, who is almost the age Diego was when Webster began tutoring him.) Most recently, the trio went to the lavender festival in Beaumont.

“It’s a relationship I never thought I’d have,” Webster says. “Everyone I knew up until about the age of 22 looked like me and sounded like me. To walk into a quinceañera with my wife and to be invested and welcomed into part of a much bigger world has been truly amazing.”

KAT ALFORD, Hawthorne, public relations consultant

In 2007, Kat Alford decided to join an adult kickball league. Every Sunday, she would gather with a group of 20-somethings, play a few games and then head to a nearby bar to hang out.

Fifteen years, a marriage and a couple of children later, Alford, 40, still plays soccer every Monday with teammates she met through the league. She’s also now an Angel City season ticket