I can flirt and build attraction, but once I know she likes me, I get weird. I start overthinking, which usually leads to either: 1) me awkwardly trying to embody whatever guy I think she wants me to be or 2) going cold and shutting down. It always feels like I’m gambling, and I want to make sure I “win.” Most of the time, I just end up avoiding these women.

I want to have sex, but I’m not sure how to make the leap from the plausible deniability of flirting to touching/sex. And I get upset that the woman’s making me feel like this, which leads me to start devaluing her.

In the past, I’ve just had full-blown relationships with women to make it easier to break the touch barrier, but I want to be able to just do something casual.