Lately I've noticed a pattern on some of my instadates:

  1. I meet a girl on street/event etc.

  2. I compliment her and suggest an instant activity (lets grab gelato/go to an arcade etc.)

  3. I grab her hand and we skip the street like we've known each other forever..

  4. We do the activity, exchange numbers and I get ghosted.

I think the issue is that I have an overly friendly personality with everyone. This is good for opening girls but for closing, I've to escalate/flirt. I perhaps haven't made it clear to these girls that this is a date. So, next time I'm going to make that clear with "let's go on a quick date." Also, I need to flirt more. I typically flirted very little in these interactions likely because the girl was attractive (more than my usual) and I was just happy to spend time with her (I think holding hands is not considered a flirt by these girls due to my friendly personality).

Any thoughts from the community to help with this issue?

Side: Typically, I pay for the gelato/activity (it's a few measly bucks) but I wonder if I should stop that.