Looking back I can remember going out with some women as in a date in a subtle manner (this means, I did not tell them the whole time complements about their looks, and did not try to break the physical barreer until I saw they might be comfortable with it) and not seeing an equal response from their side. Then I found out that they thought we were going out as friends, and that they didn't noticed I was persuing that "romantic" porpouse of a date - that if they had noticed, they would have reciprocated that intention and things could have gone way better than they actually did.

Now I find myself wanting to go out with a girl who I know, but did not interact a lot. I think that asking for a date may be a little bit too much because yet she doesn't know much about me and the other way around. I think that the expectations of a date, from her side, is me wanting to kiss her and that may be a little bit too much to process and accept. So I was thinking about asking her out to know eachother, without mentioning the "date" word.

At the same time, if I like her during our "meeting" I'd like to let her know that, and perhaps breaking the physical barrier unexpectedly is a bit too much - so I was wondering if they were any kind of thing I could say or do so she "gets" my intentions and the thing I've explained before does not happen again.

Or maybe I should not do anything, and next time ask for an actual date? I don't want the first time we see each other to "condition" the bond for next encounters