So each date was with a different girl.

The 1st date, we met for dinner. I was way too in my own head and felt worried about being judged when I talked about myself.

The 2nd date, we met for drinks. I was more talkative, but I wasn't building attraction. At the beginning I was putting in effort to maintain eye contact and was often surprised by how long she was holding it too, but it never felt like it was building attraction for either of us and soon I stopped trying and went back to my normal amount of eye contact.

I found myself during pauses in the conversation often staring off into the distance until I thought of something to say or more likely she asked me a question.

We each only had one drink and we talked for almost 3 hours, but it felt like interview-mode from both of us. Like a checklist of places we've travelled to and stories we've told other people.

Maybe there was just no spark, but no matter what, next time I'd like to try for a venue change, stick with eye contact and voice tonality, have more fun, and try for a real connection instead of near-empty talk.

Thoughts? Advice?