Hey,
I'm a new poster on this forum, but not new to the PUA scene. I first got involved about 2 years ago with David DeAngelo's material, then moved on to other material, including Gambler's book.
These all helped me enormously - I was always chronically shy, even during university, and it was only after graduating that I really pushed myself to get this area of my life sorted. I'm certainly no master, but I am definitely far more confident, fun and successful with women, and even around people in general. To say my life has been transformed is an understatement, and I am a much happier person for it.
Anyway, my dilemma. I have been in love with a friend from university for a few years now, and after umming and aaing over it so many times when around her, I have finally decided the next time I see her in person (end of May) I will make a move.
The problem is that, around her and her alone, I tend to revert a little back to my old shy self. Certainly not as bad as I used to be, but neither as confident as I am when in the company of other women. In my transformation over the last couple of years, I have used the knowledge from places like this forum to be fairly successful with women, but I think my feelings for this friend have always been in the back of my mind and held me back a little.
To illustrate how bad I was a few years back, I texted this friend one time after we had been out for a few drinks, basically along the lines of 'Hey, we should go for a meal sometime'. Needless to say, this AFC behaviour got me a 'That's sweet, but let's just be friends' response.
I guess why I am posting here is to get as much advice as I can on what to say and how to approach this specific type of situation, given that she is a good friend, and as such I think I may be in that dreaded 'friend' category. If she says no, I can handle it, and it will be a weight of my shoulders, and I can move on with my life.
You may be wondering why I think I might have a chance given the fact she knocked me back via my text message fiasco a few years ago? The answer is I feel so different as a person now that I lead my own life, and am unrecognisable from the hermit crab that I was back then. It's no wonder she wasn't attracted to me back then.
Anyway, enough rambling, all advice welcome please.