Got to keep trying

You spent high school and college afraid to talk to girls. You only talked to Amber because you were tutoring her in a failed attempt to make some money (although you lost your virginity so that counts for something). But do you really want to continue like that?

You resolve that you're starting over. From now on maybe you won't be ultra-macho guy and, frankly, you're still shy and introverted but you're going to try.

You notice one of the girls has caught your eye and give her a smile.

She stares at you like you've got something between your teeth then turns and returns to her streatching.

Yeah, that worked... not.

Well, shit. You're not giving up. There are a lot of girls and you've got the rest of your life.

The next time a girl pauses nearby you greet her. "Hey... uh..." fuck, what to say. Surely you could have thought about next steps while you were waiting. Lesson one... have a conversation topic in mind. You're pretty sure random comments about their bodies only work in porn games.

By the time you're ready to go on, she's long since gone on.

Okay, topics. The weather? Boring. Exercise? You don't know anything about it. Maybe that's the angle. Ask for advice.

The next girl to pause nearby is a cute black girl about your age. She looks completely buff and you're utterly certain she could pick you up and tie you into knots. Which probably means at least she won't feel threatened by you.

"Hi, I'm Mike and just getting started in my workout. Any suggestions on how to begin?"

She looks at you and your stomach drops. "Run," she says. Then she takes off.

You're not sure if she was giving you advice or just telling you to move on. Still, as advice it does seem like a reasonable place to start. Jogging with your knapsack is awkward but you can't exactly leave it on the park bench... there's a reason homeless people keep their stuff close to them and, as of yesterday, you're one of the homeless although you're a lot luckier than most of them in terms of having a friend you can leach off of.