Just for some context...I've been lurking this subreddit for a while since my relationship ended with my girlfriend 8months ago. I've been soaking up everything you guys have had to say and I've been making steady progress as far as inner game and transforming myself into a person I could respect.

Now when I say "first official approach" I mean first time that I actively spotted a woman I've wanted to game, walked up to her and opened with the intent to game (all the times where I've been approached don't count in my book). All I can say is: it was absolutely exciting!

I spot this beautiful HB8 standing against the wall of the bar/arcade I frequent. She was with a group of her friends, but was kinda off to the side, not really in the moment. My first thought was "Yes, a poor baby antelope has been separated from the herd; time to go in for the kill". I had noticed throughout the night that she was being approached very often and had been left standing there bored every time (after she had dismissed every guy who had made an approach), so I decided to give it a try. Without thinking, I walk over to her after I notice she was just on her phone. Surprisingly I had very little AA, I just went in with the mindset: she is just another human being, she is nothing special.

ME: What are you doing on your phone at an arcade with beer?

HB8: I pay my phone bill, so I believe I have the right to be on my phone.

At first I was freaking out because I was totally not expecting that! I tried to keep my attitude positive even though her response was a little bitchy (my perception).

Me: This is true (2seconds of silence)...But this is a bar arcade, there is no reason to not be having fun. Let's go play some games. Which is your favorite?

HB8: Mortal Kombat.

ME: Alright! Its in the the corner over there.

I gesture with my hands that she move in the direction of the game. I probably should have led her, but she walks over to the game ahead of me. And as I'm walking All I could think was, "OMG this is happening"! This is when things start to turn to shit. I'm no longer in the moment. I'm in my head. In the 15 seconds it takes to walk over to the game I start sweating, because that's what I do when I get nervous, and I start freaking about what it is that I'm going to say next when we get over to the game. At this point my mind is moving a mile a minute, I cant focus, and my frame is totally ruined.

We start to play the game and she is kicking my ass btw. As it turns out she kinda really loves mortal kombat. We start talking while we are playing and everything seems to be ok. But everything just feels so unnatural. I'm sweating and I can hear my voice go up a few octaves... As it turns out she ran a marathon that morning, and she was out to celebrate her cousin's birthday. At this point I am really just struggling to maintain the conversation, because it doesn't seem like she is trying to keep our interaction going. She is smiling a lot and laughing at my playful negs, but she says she needs to get back to find her cousin. So I say ok, and go out for a smoke. Clearly I made a mistake somewhere. It was probably somewhere in the lulled conversation sigh.

But when I left that night, I can say that I officially made an attempt to improve my game, even though it went horribly. How do I keep a conversation going that seems to just die? Also, should I have gone for a softer target for my first approach, maybe approached her less attractive friend first? I don't know, but I can't wait for next weekend!