Sweet, man. You're making some headway if you landed a date within a week of making that thread on the Mature Men forums.
she went for the handshake, but i gave her a friendly hug that was well received.
Very good, subtly break the physical barrier ASAP.
On a first date, you two are just strangers. The whole building attraction comes down to creating an image in her mind that you two are compatible for intimacy. The first step is making your date comfortable. Ask her questions and then follow up your answer with a similar story.
What's the most exciting thing you have done this year?
Oh I went to Vegas on New Years and was in a gangbang.
That's awesome! I was just in Vegas two weeks ago and thought about doing that...where were you getting gangbanged?
In the parking lot
Yeah, the parking lot reminds me of.......
You're basically agreeing with her, but at the same time, you are building a path to where the conversation leads. That way, if she talks endlessly about her career, you can interrupt her and bring it back to your conversation GPS. Building comfort should be 15 minutes to 30 minutes, not two hours. When you think she is comfortable, change the venue. Take a walk. For me, I simply say - Have you been to X Bar? Let's take my car.
If she is let's you drive, you're in a good spot. If she takes her car or says "it's getting late." You didn't build enough comfort or that 'spark' in conversation wasn't there.
The conversation was excellent from the start. I was genuinely interested in her research, and could hang pretty well with her intellectually. It was one of the better, more stimulating conversations I have had in a good while.
Reading what you wrote, you are putting her in a higher position than yourself. She most likely picked up on that vibe and knows her value is higher than yours at the moment. Building rapport is necessary, but when your conversations are mostly logic and intellect just like in your case, you are f.v.c.k.e.d. If you feel like the conversation is drifting that way, change the venue. It's better to start over on a clean slate than be her long lost friend.
What I learned was that I was too focused on building the 'connection' than to just be flirty. Tease her. I bet you no other guy stepped up to her bullsh!t. "I like my dates to have a little bit of fat, speaking of which I had the most amazing philly cheesesteak for lunch at XYZ" You've read in PUA site and blogs, maybe on here. You MUST make her qualify herself to you. This means she does most of the talking and you never say more than necessary.
Sooner rather than later, you want to have seductive conversations. . Atom Smasher had an AMAZING way. "Can you purrrrrrr?" It's in the tips section. Once the flood gates are open, it's very easy to get her mind in a trance.
ALWAYS GO FOR THE KISS. I can not stress this enough. If she has interest in you, it will DOUBLE her interest. I fvcking guarantee you. Wyldfire had a tip where you put both fingertips on the nape of her neck. I haven't tried any other way for the first kiss, but these chicks were in ectasy mode after. I'd say it works, even though some of them never contacted me again.
"it was nice to meet you"
These are the words you never want to hear. It's an LJBF in disguise.
Looking at the thread title, you are putting way to much effort in dating. This chick knows and nothing turns women off than being a try-hard. Dating should be fun, spontaneous and exciting.
Here is my elevator pitch on first dates:
http://www.sosuave.net/forum/showthread.php?t=207067
Read this:
http://heartiste.wordpress.com/2010/08/12/the-difficulty-of-gaming-women-by-age-bracket/