TLDR: Got some traction with a girl who turned me down earlier and is giving me mixed signal now. Not sure where I stand or how to handle it.

This is gonna be a bit unconventional here as it's not about a casual hookup or pickup attempt.

So I managed to get this girl who's been playing around with me and giving me mixed signals to agree to go out with me for dumplings. I didn't frame it as a date and simply joked that she owes me dumplings when she thought she had annoyed me ( she hadn't).

Ive known her for a little over a month now and i fumbled it very early with her by missing the few opportunities she gave me and being boring and scared of flirting/escalation.

This resulted in my inviting her to coffee and getting told she's busy and can't make it on that day but also not offering a different day.

I did what you're supposed to do by pulling back and moving on but she reached out twice and i ended up talking to her again since we share classes 2-3 days a week.

After that initial failed ask out ive been very intentional with how i interact with her by being flirty and teasing. I knew otherwise i risk the friendzone.

Over the last few weeks physical comfort has escalated a lot with her hitting me playfully often, footsie games and no longer having to worry about personal space too much.

The text banter also picked up and then eventually i ended up getting her to agree that she'll buy me dumplings to make up for some perceived offense.

For context she's only had 2 relationships before and both were quite long term. So she's not the easy hookup type and i don't think I can escalate too fast even on a date.

My question is what do I do on this dumpling date to escalate since I already have baseline comfort ?

And do i actually have a chance here or am i doomed to the Friendzone/ low interest zone?