7/13; Grocery Store, Restaurant

Went to the grocery store, scanned the place to look at the crowd, saw a gorgeous girl, did some dancing around, but got to nervous to approach, she did a few things like entering the aisle I was in to pause, etc. - my fault. Anyways, shrug it off, catch a girl in work out clothes, do the same thing, but this time I use a lingering touch when I get near her, she snaps her head at me, I look over and say "Hey, if you're going to walk past me like that, you should at least say Hi." and she's kind of surprised and googly eyed, "I don't know you, who are you!?!", and before I introduce myself I tell her she's pretty cute. Small talk some, get her talking about job and career choice/college, "What do you do instead of work out and look pretty?" she teases me "What do you do instead of walk around grocery stores and tell girls they look pretty cute?", funny, testy hook, but still a hook. Vibe a bit more, and I qualify her and touch the small of her back, she kind of recoils and says she has a boyfriend, I shrug and tell her it was nice meeting her, and tease her about not telling me earlier so I didn't lead her on.

Get out, because I feel a little flustered because it'd be a few days since I went out to just socialize. I'm not sure why but I felt judged by everyone after the approach, maybe it's a self esteem issue, but it was definitely novel and I don't remember feeling that way normally. Anyways, I grab some food, stand in line, behind a couple of cute girls, they seem closed off, but one of them keeps glancing back at me, I recognize her. Get up to the counter, vibe with the employees, can tell at least one of them's watching me, and a girl who works there and I lightly tease/flirt with for fun pokes me and I tease her some, "You're wearing your belt again, do you want another compliment?" she smiles and walks away.

Friends want me to grab the same food with them, I see this artsy looking girl with black hair, some gorgeous tattoos on her shoulder, and a very sexy outfit. I show my friend the girl, and say I'm going to talk to her, and he leaves me there. I sit at a table just calm and aloof, then she walks past, my heart starts beating some because she's pretty fast. I get up a little after so it's not obvious, and jog over, yell "Hey!", and motion her over (something I never do, yelling @girls, but it was necessary because she was about to get into her car). Walk up, tell her "Hey, my friends stranded me here until I told you you were adorable" I introduce myself, she thanks me for the compliment.

I'm pretty nervous because of how bold the move was, but I stay present and ask her about her tattoos, says she drew them, and I say they're gorgeous and asked if she was the artsy type to which she confirmed. I asked if she had any art on her phone, she said she didn't, but I saw her background was sexual so I made some innuendo "What're you thinking about?" and touched her shoulder. I needed to qualify her or at least show interest in her passion, rather than move on with rapport building. See where she works, where she lives, and then do something which I've been stuck on for awhile since my break up, asking her out - "When're you free next? So I can learn more about you?" She tells me, I point at the coffee shop across the street and I set up logistics, grab her number. But once again I get a gut feeling it wouldn't be on, which I was right, 4h before the date and she hasn't confirmed, oh well. I know hooking isn't everything with girls, because I've had girls come home with me because they knew what they wanted and didn't care to waste anymore time - my ex was like that - but she never hooked.

All in all, it's good I'm putting myself out there, trying to improve again, I'm doing good with opens, and hooks. But I definitely think some of my sticking points are striking up quick, meaningful connections like I used to, running a more sexual vibe and getting dates out of numbers. Any feedback is appreciated!