TLDR: I think my friend’s roommate may be interested in me. But, I pretty much only see her in group settings and hangouts. I don’t want to make her uncomfortable in those situations. What would you do to further gauge interest or show interest to her?
Background about me: I’m very socially anxious in the moment, I take meds to help it. Have very little experience flirting or making the first move with women. This year I have essentially been adopted by extroverts, and it’s the first time in my adult life \[24M\] where I get out and socialize almost every day.
Anyways, in the last month I’ve become really good friends with this girl Kayla who one of my roomates was hooking up with, and is now dating. I get invited over Kayla’s house about once a week on average along with my roommate, usually for some sports game, or because Kayla and her roomates decide to cook a big meal for everyone. Kayla has two roommates, one who’s boyfriend also regularly comes to these hangouts, and another roomate Ava who is single and is fair bit more moody and introverted than the other girls, she’s still hot and she’s confident about it when she wants to be.
Kayla speaks very highly of me to her roomates and I think this has kinda rubbed off on Ava.
A few weeks ago Me, my roommate, Kayla and Ava all went to a local punk show together. This was the second or third time I had ever met Ava, and it was the first time she seemed really comfortable around me. Kayla and her BF were pretty much paired up the whole time, and me and Ava were yapping at eachother a little tipsy. And when the band was playing we were getting up in eachothers personal space and she seemed to be very receptive to it. We went back to Kayla’s place, Ava pretty much ran off to her room immediately because she had to wake up in 4 hours for work.
Since, then me and Ava have been at these group hangouts, and spend a fair bit of them talking and cracking jokes at each other because everybody else is somewhat coupled off. I’ve been kinda having trouble figuring how to gauge her interest and flirt with her in a group setting. A few times we’ve been sitting on the couch with others we end up leaning up against each other, and she never moves away.
Last time, after I had just come back from a trip, when I was leaving to go home, she initiated the first hug we had to date, and then after we let go she grabbed squeezed my forearm for a second after. No idea if that was just friendly.
Anyways my question: What you do to gauge her interest? Ask her to go do something outside the group and just see what happens? Or should I try to flirt her more and these hangouts?