>>2
here.

Yes, you're right; I fell in to a trap and made up details that made our similarities "amazing". And really thinking about it, the only advice I can summon is pretty basic courting advice like maintain eye contact, act interested, be polite, don't vomit, etc.

In my own situation, I was too shy to really initiate anything, and pretty much gave "green light" signals to encourage him to move forward. Smiling, going out of my way to talk to him, trying to talk to him at least once each day, eventually agreeing to and making plans to meet, giving small gifts occasionally (like baked goods and hand made holiday cards, not expensive stuff that would have frightened him). I racked up some courage and started taking the initiative to make plans with him and give suggestions as to what we could do together when we met. I really, really want this to move in a romantic direction, but right now we're just friends. Close friends. And the little, tiny things we do for each other help to keep us close. I make a great effort to remember to wish him well when he has a doctor's appointment and to ask how far along he is on various class projects. I ask how his night at work went and inquire about ailing family members. I make lame jokes just to get him to laugh. He opens doors for me, asks follow up questions, occasionally compliments what I'm wearing, and offers advice whenever he can. Really, it's like we're dating, but nobody has come out and verbally (or physically) made it official. It's comfortable, but I want more, and oh so slowly I'm working on it without being obvious.

If what you want to do is take her out somewhere for an evening, get to know her well enough that you can initiate conversation with ease first. Might not want to ask her for a long walk or meal if you're still in the awkwardasfuck stage. However, the first time my friend and I met outside of work it was for a long walk around town for "exercise". I was still very hesitant to talk to him out of extreme shyness, and our first walk was sort of torturous for me. But today, eight months later, we just meet up, and it flows.

I really don't know if what I'm typing here is helping at all; truth is, I've never dated before. But good luck and keep us posted and hopefully you will soon have advice from more experienced posters.