Ok, so I was at this college goth club last night (I'm not college aged, but I used to go here a lot, there are some older people here, and I can pass for 18 or 21, so I have no problems in an environment like this).

Anyway, I am supposed to go out with my friends Brian and Mohammed - Brian comes, but he likes operating alone, and Mohammed gets stuck outside because one of his friends brings his ID - so I have nobody to really help me recover the situation.

Anyway, I start talking to this one girl - I include her friends, talking to them. I introduce myself to her first, and try to include her roommate as much as possible - I'm a nice guy that way and it works better. I did at one point break off and talk to another girl (who gave me her number later).

Anyway, I'm getting along with this girl, she invites me to go dancing with her and her friend.

Her friend just isn't into the dancing. But me and her are having fun. A couple of pathetic guys try to dance with her, I scare them off.

We all go downstairs, I talk to her, do a little bit of light KINO (should have done more) but my mid game is weak - I'm having trouble thinking of things to talk about - this is an area where I would LOVE resources.

Anyway, she gives me her number, and they go up to dance. They didn't invite me, so I'm like "Want me to come?" She's like "You can come if you want, I can't stop you" - I decide to go elsewhere and hit on the other girl.

Do so, get her number.

Come back to the dance floor - it's end of the night, find the girl and her roommate. Dance a little bit, lights come on, I invite them both for pizza - all going well as far as I can tell.

They have freaking pizza in front of the club. Annoying. Then I run into a friend of a friend - they also invite the girls for pizza and the girls decide to go, because they know one of the guys.

We all go to get pizza - me and the girl are flirting, being sarcastic and doing alright. I sit at a booth with girl, her roommate, and their male friend (who is super bearded).

Bearded dude is harsh when making fun of me - and I don't know how well I'm coming off with my jokes - he doesn't seem to like me. Me and the girl are still doing ok - but less so in my view.

We all walk out after pizza - there's a group. My friend of a friend is also flirting with the hot girl, which annoys me, but I can't think of a way to totally blow him out. Anyway, we all decide to leave. Their car is right next to the pizza place, so they go. I'm stuck, alone with the girls, on the way back to my car - not much to say, and it felt very awkward to me. This is an area I need help. They had all said good byes and I felt weird and like I was hanging on.

Anyway, the girl is cold, I'm a bit drunk and try to be a gentleman - offer her my coat, which was silly, she refuses. We get in front of my car. I'm like "What, you're not even going to say good bye!?" - again, drunk and stupid, being weak. There were multiple weak points at the very end here.

She says "Oh, is that your STANG (I drive a Mustang)? I didn't know."

She gives me a hug.

Another weak thing - I was like, "What, did you need me to walk you to your car or something?!" - trying to go for a joke, but it didn't work. They say "We can see it, I think we're ok!"

I'm like thinking "Shit, super awkward at the end here."

Anyway, I get in my car, and drive off.

I then text her a bit later (I've been told same night texting is good, though I think I'm doing it wrong) telling to tell her who I am, I also said her and her friend are hilarious.

No answer, but it's late - though they were supposed to be driving for a bit.

How can I improve my game so that these things don't happen? I have these awkward pauses - how can I get rid of them? And how can I recover when I say something stupid? Usually I just try to switch subject immediately - but when you're on the move, that can be tough.

Also, how do I recover from a situation like this over text?

I mean, she goes to this bar a lot - I could just go there again next week (but I usually have to wake up at like, 7 am for work, so staying out on a Monday night is tough for me) and it's like an hour away.

Any ideas? She does live fairly close, which is a benefit, so I could invite her to something and she could reasonably go.

It sounds like you're trying too hard. When you make a joke, you should train your brain to comb over it really quickly to ensure you won't sound like an idiot. It's something that you kind of develop over time with practice. You'll learn to subconsciously determine how well a joke will be received before it even comes out of your mouth. With that said, make sure your jokes match your personality. Be natural.

It also sounds like you're trying to be cocky and funny, but it's only coming out cocky. Cockiness isn't always a good thing even if coupled with humor; confidence is. Like I said, try to be a little more natural. You're fighting against your natural personality to act like someone you're not.

You could have won Beard over by establishing some comfort with him. Acting confident, not trying too hard, and not hogging the entire conversation is a good start. He would have been less likely to be a dick to you, and might have even helped your cause by laughing at your jokes. No matter how funny of a story you tell, it's NEVER funny to someone who doesn't like you.

Never ask a girl if she wants you to come with her, or whatever. If you wanted to dance, you should have gotten up and danced. Otherwise, grab a drink and start a conversation with someone, even if it's a stranger. Her response wasn't very good - "You can come if you want - I can't stop you" directly translates to "I find you extremely annoying, please fuck off". From there, you started pushing even harder which caused her to pull away even more. A spiraling mess.

Lastly, silence doesn't always have to be awkward. There's nothing wrong with a few seconds of delay before moving on to the next subject in a conversation. It's only awkward if you give off that vibe and start looking around and acting nervous.

I don't think the "I can't stop you" was an "I find you extremely annoying" - because why would she agree to go with me later for pizza? I wasn't hounding for her to go - I said "Do you want to go for pizza?" and she asked her friend, and her friend said she was a vegan, but the other girl kept pressing. And she was flirty during that time period too.

And when she said the line about dancing, I took it as you suggested, and fucked off for a half hour, and got the other girl's number.

Is there something good that I can use in a text message when I've gotten a # but feel my performance was off?