Hear me out. Long story short I'm going to dinner with a girl I cold approached at an airport. First time I've ever done that - and it went super well. We chatted before our flight, and even met after and chilled in a lounge until her connection. Probably chatted like an hour and a half. I didn't really escalate, we just chatted a lot about random things until she had to go.

We casually kept in touch over instagram for the past year, and now I'm in her city for the next few weeks and we're meeting up for dinner/drinks tonight. I never specified it as a date, I just let her know that I was in town and we should grab some food (we're both foodies) - she agreed and so I told her to pick a spot (since shes the local) and i'll pay. Probably a stupid move but thats how my money brain decided to hint that its a date. She said I don't have to do that, but then pretty enthusiastically picked a spot and we're meeting in a few hours. I also suggested we go to a wine bar afterwards that I had recently found - and she seemed down for that too.

Thing is I obviously find her super attractive, and I'd like to smash tonight. But I also dont know how I should get about doing that. Do I treat this like a date from the start? Or will that be awkward if thats not her mindset? Am I overthinking and should just wing it? Should I try escalating during the dinner and see if she reciprocates?

I'm honestly too good at making friends and I suck at climbing the escalation ladder especially in situations like this. I really don't want to shoot myself in the foot and end up friend-zoned. Could anyone toss me some advice? I could really use a win tonight lol - thanks in advance!