I'll keep this one short.

I get a lot of interest from girls early/mid 20s, but I never escalate/approach.

Take these 2 examples,

Nightclub/Bar this past weekend, me and a few friends are sat down drinking beers, watching a group of girls dance, unbeknownst to us they had already been sat at this table, and when they finish dancing, the hottest girl in the group literally jumps on my lap and makes conversation about this being her chair jokingly or some shit. Admittedly I felt uncomfortable, not being used to that sort of attention in front of a group of friends/strangers so sort of played it down and after a few minutes I sort of excused myself.

And last night, me and a good friend sat in a casual restaurant/bar eating food. I'm getting constant looks and attention from the group sat opposite us, in particular one girl around my age. After about 15 mins, ALL of her friends excused themselves to outside and she was left sitting by herself for 5 mins, and she continues throwing glances. I knew that right then I needed to approach and chat with her but obviously I did not.

I am confident I can hold a conversation well and make people laugh. But I have some sort of approach anxiety, some sort of mental block, idk. Sometimes I even struggle with eye contact, especially prolonged stares with a stranger. As we left, my friend called me stupid, and asked did I not notice that girl haha.

I came out of a 5 yr relationship two years ago, and feel I might be somewhat "stunted".

How can I grow a pair of fucking nuts and start approaching and having more confidence?

I am wasting my life.