I remember you too!
The worry I have about finding an escort online is the possibility of being scammed, robbed or encountering a trafficked sex worker. I also don't know what a good or bad price is for one. Prices I've seen have gone from around £100/hour for incalls to some being several times more expensive than that. It's why I've honestly thought about going to the Netherlands or Germany, where there are actually legal and regulated brothels.
and another straight up snogged me. Never in my life did I think I would ever be snogged like that.
Reminds me of a Hinge date I went on a few years back that went incredibly well. We had cocktails, then I awkwardly pulled a chat up line which led to us snogging for about an hour straight. I couldn't crash at her place that night because she was staying with her sister and had to head to work immediately the next morning, but she invited me to come to her place in the next town over.
Then about three days later, she pulled the whole 'sorry, this isn't gonna work out, I didn't mean to lead you on' crap.
Other than that, closest I honestly came to losing my virginity was with a (MtF) trans lady who I met on Okcupid, who I sexted a lot with. She flaked on me shortly after we met and went full ghost afterwards.
In terms of escorts, I use Adult Work. You can put in a postcode and how many miles you are willing to travel, and there should be a list of escorts.
If you want to avoid the dodgy escorts, I would say go for £150-£200 escorts (for 1 hour). Anything more is incredibly expensive and is either some weird financial domination fetish thing or just a straight up scam.
Also - look for escorts that are heavily and highly rated. Especially those who are in the triple digits; they are very experienced. Do also check for recent reviews (like a few weeks ago). If it has been a few months, feel free to avoid.
Make sure what the escort offers is what you'd be up for doing as well as making sure that the escort does not offer anything that you wouldn't want (like bareback/unprotected sex).
Once you think you are good, add the number to your phone and WhatsApp them (check to see if they do allow WhatsApp - some prefer a direct call for some reason, but w/e).
Ah, it sounds like you've had some luck of your own! Well done you for getting a snog in! Most of my dates have been quite awkward.
I wouldn't worry about the other ladies that have either flaked or bailed. It honestly sounds like they don't have their shit together, and that isn't on you.