On July 9, 2019, Dustin Phillips met a woman that he had met on an online dating site. The woman was reporter Lulu Falconeri, who had arranged the date in an effort to find the person who had been using the website to target women, lure them out, then robbed their homes, while they waited for a date that would stand them up. When Dustin arrived for the date, Lulu realized that he was not the burglar. Dustin was disappointed when he realized that Lulu hadn't been romantically interested in him, and she was married.

Despite the unusual meeting, Dustin and Lulu ended up chatting for a bit. Lulu was surprised to learn that Dustin was a high school teacher, who moonlighted as a ride share driver to help make ends meet.

A few weeks later, on July 23, Dustin ran into Lulu at the Floating Rib. Lulu had been out with her friend Maxie, and it was clear to Dustin that Lulu was troubled. Lulu confessed that her husband had filed for divorce. Shocked, Dustin assured Lulu that her husband was a fool. Maxie joined the pair, and they sat down for a drink, but Lulu wasn't in the mood to socialize or drink. Maxie paid the tab then took her friend home.

A few weeks later, Maxie decided that it was time for Lulu to get out and have some fun. She arranged for Dustin to be their ride share driver when Lulu and Maxie attended a wine-tasting event in the park. Dustin stayed with the ladies and happily fetched them various samples of wine. Lulu enjoyed herself, and she continued to bump into Dustin.

To Dustin's delight, Lulu's kids enjoyed spending time with him. He was on hand to entertain the kids at Rocco's birthday party, and he had played baseball with the Rocco in the park. Charlotte was equally charmed by her mother's new friend.

On September 13, Dustin bumped into Lulu at Charlie's Pub when he stopped by to pick up lunch. He was surprised when he learned that she owned the Haunted Star because Dustin had a fondness for ships and boats. Lulu offered to give him a tour of the ship, since it had been closed for repairs. Dustin happily followed Lulu to the ship. He admitted that he hadn't had much growing up, but his grandfather had owned a small boat, which he and Dustin would take out fishing.

Lulu was impressed when Dustin told her about the local legend of a British sea captain searching for his lost love who had died in a shipwreck off the coast of Port Charles. She was certain that Rocco and Charlotte would love to spend the day sailing with Dustin. Laughter quickly turned to passion, and Lulu and Dustin ended up in one of the staterooms where they made love. Their tryst was cut short when Lulu's mother, Laura Collins, and Curtis Ashford walked in on the couple.

Despite the awkwardness of being caught in bed together, Lulu and Dustin parted on good terms, but it soon became clear to Dustin that Lulu was reluctant to explore a relationship. Disappointed, Dustin focused on teaching. The new school year had started, and Cameron Webber, Josslyn Jacks, and Trina Robinson liked their new teacher, who had quickly demonstrated to the teens that he genuinely cared about his students.