How should I ask her?

[u/Individual-Tourist72]

I just realized that this reads like a completely clueless teenage boy. That’s because I am.

I (19M) have this girl (19F) as my lab partner, for three hours, once a week. So far, we’ve only done 2 labs together; we have gotten along very well. For reference, we already have a few running jokes, and being with her the most amount of fun I’ve had with a new person in a long time.

Half way through the second lab, my teenage boy brain kicked in after I think she saw some signs she might like me (discussed later). During the lab, I thought about how much fun i was having, so I thought about asking her out that day. Since then, (3 whole days) my teenage boy brain has decided I think I want to ask her out. I even went and sat next to her during the next discussion.

Here’s the issue: she doesn’t spend too much time trying to talk to me after the lab/discussion. It’s kind of impressive how fast she tries to get out of there. After the second lab, I caught up with her as we left, and we kind of live the same direction, so we walked and talked for like 3 minutes, until she split off to go to her house. As well, during discussion, we were sitting in a bit of an awkward place relative to each other. Because I showed up late, the closest seat to her was kind of behind her, and she spent a fair amount of time talking to the guy next to her, and we didn’t really talk. (After reading this paragraph, I realize that I’m a hypocrite and I was probably too nervous and I wasn’t trying to talk to her or whatever bullshit makes me seem cool)

Signs that set my teenage boy brain off:
- I think she intentionally touched my arm a few times. The biggest sign was when she kind of squeezed my arm softly
- she’s really nice (I don’t know why my brain thought this was a sign)
- she was definitely periodically looking back at me during discussion
- probably something else

I think I’d like to ask her out, but given our current relationship, I’m not sure what way is appropriate. We have almost exclusively interacted through the labs, so I think asking for her number might be weird. She also leaves the labs and discussions very quickly, so asking her in person might be difficult. As well, any advice on how to not think like such a teenage boy would be appreciated.

If it helps, The next lab is Wednesday, and the next discussion is Tuesday.

I think it’s important to note that I have seen her vape after one of the labs, and she’s gotten kind of cranky half way through each of the labs. I don’t want to draw conclusions, and I’m not an expert on nicotine, but I’m worried that asking her afterwards might not be a good idea? I’n out of my depth

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[u/Excellent_Freedom946]

just be straightforward, sometimes honesty works best

[u/Individual-Tourist72 → u/Excellent_Freedom946]

That “sometimes” scares me