"Hey, I think you're really cute [smile] so I just had to stop to talk to you. Or I'd never get to meet you."

Tried that direct approach a few times. Sometimes works, sometimes doesn't.

What do I do if it fails? Suppose the girl says:
1 - "That's really sweet of you, but I'm really not that interesting of a person [pulls out cell phone to text]" or
2 - "Love to chat, but my boyfriend will be back any minute" or
3 - "Cute, but you're not really my type"
Or anything similar to that.

Maybe she is testing for my congruence, to see how I handle shit tests. Maybe she honestly just wishes that I left.

1 - What should I do?
2 - If I must leave eventually (after failing), does it even matter how gracefully I exit? How / should I manage some level of dignity when I exit?

I want to do something that will make me learn, to become better. I don't care if I fail ultimately after going back and forth with her 3-4 times. I just want to make the most out of any approach, even if it crashes in the end.

Thoughts? Thanks!

If you truly fail and have no option but to exit, then make sure you do so gracefully. If your gut is telling you that you've come off creepy in some way, then the most important things to remember are to not get emotional, take a step back, and just (confidently) say something simple such as "Ok nice to meet you, take care."

You only want to do this if you're certain you will go no further... generally your body will let you know the difference between a girl who's creeped out and one who's just giving you a hard time, because it responds to her body language and you will feel it if you've really done something non-recoverable.

And Da Veed's opener is a lot more comfortable... they might seem really similar, but they give very different impressions. Remember too that when you're really good at this, you can successfully open all the time with "What's up??" Women pay far less attention to your mouth than they do to your body... it's very helpful to remember that in case you ever think too much about what to say.

Keep it up!

_________________
"Jerry Lee Louis is the true king of rock n' roll."