This may sound like a stupid problem, but it's really been eating at me for months on end -- I'd really appreciate your advice, seddit...

I've been in a monogamous relationship with a great girl for the last couple years. We're both quite wild about each other, and the relationship is pretty solid. However, she just moved a few states away to pursue her dreams, and I'm not set to join her for a few months -- basically, I've got the summer to myself. I'm really working on improving myself while I have this personal time. I'm lifting weights regularly, eating a healthy diet (soooo much easier without your SO around), waking up early, cutting way back on drugs/alcohol/caffeine, dressing better (thanks /r/MFA!), and feeling pretty damn great about myself in general.

My issue is that while yes, I have a girlfriend, I really don't feel all that confident with women in general. If a girl talks to me, it's not too hard to be somewhat flirty and have fun, but that situation is pretty rare. Just thinking about going up to a pretty girl and striking up a conversation makes me way more nervous than it should. I can tell that unless I get this taken care of, it will ALWAYS be nagging at the back of my mind. My approach and opening skills are probably pretty abysmal. I say "probably" because I've got close to no experience with this -- most of the women in my life have come from my social circle at some point, so I've never really had to practice this stuff.

Just so it's clear, I'm not trying to fuck anyone. We've discussed where our boundaries are, and the lines that have been drawn are something we're both okay with. I am trying to build my confidence with approaching and getting a woman interested in me. My girlfriend often tells me that she thinks I'm attractive, but that's not something that I have internalized, and no amount of her telling me is going to change that. It's something I need to practice, but I can't get myself in the right mindset to do anything without choking myself in fear.

In fact, my biggest fear by far is being recognized -- I live in a small town of ~60k and have been here for my entire adult life, and I know a LOT of people around here. This certainly works to my advantage with social proofing, but I feel like there's plenty of people that know I have a girlfriend who probably wouldn't approve of me trying to meet new women. It also kind of isolates my social circle, as I don't want to be bringing new girls into a group that knows I have (and are good friends with) my girlfriend.

As always, your advice is much appreciated.

tl;dr - Have a girlfriend who's gone for the summer and want to get my confidence up. Looking for the right mindset to do so.