Search Results: how long to wait before asking out

Some background im a 21 year old guy working in a retail job. I would have gone off to college by now if not for COVID-19, but for the foreseeable future I'm here at this job. I've gone on only 2 dates before and never actually asked a girl out in person.

I've had a crush on one girl at work for quite a while but we never worked together and I'm pretty shy so we never talked. Recently I got moved up to full-time and she got moved to my department so me and her have worked together more and have had a lot more interactions.

I've made her laugh a few times with comments about work and we've had conversations, but they usually involve some other co worker. That being said, she has directly made jokes to me sometimes. Its hard for me to tell if she likes me, or has a neutral opinion and I'm reading too deeply into small signs. Regardless, I really want to conquer my shyness and fear of asking out a crush.

So, would it be bizarre to ask her out right now? Or should I try to become better friends with her first then ask her out? I don't really want to wait too long but I will if it gives me a better chance. Thanks in advance.

Like in those two months, go out for coffee, talking on whatsapp etc maybe lunch here and there

Or should I wait longer or ask out sooner?

I've asked this question before and got no female responses. I mean, I get that sometimes there are circumstances that influence it. Maybe she was afraid to say no, etc. However I've had this happen more times than I can remember where I meet a girl, we talk, everything is 100% cool. We text back and forth, eventually we agree to meetup (sometimes her idea, sometimes mine) and then as soon as we make a plan or like literally the night before we we meet up, poof, she vanishes. I've only ever had one girl in my entire life actually follow through with a meetup. (Yes at 28 I've literally only had one date ever and it turned into a wonderful 2 year long relationship) This most recent one we've been texting for about a week. She seemed very sincere.

We were supposed to meet up at her place at 1:30pm tomorrow. So today I sent her a snap asking for her address and she read it without replying. I waited a few hours and texted her again saying "?" and then I sent one more saying: "If it makes you feel more comfortable to send it tomorrow then that's understandable." She has yet to even read those latter two texts at all and it's currently 1am. Seriously what's the point? No I didn't say anything weird or pushy or creepy and no nothing was sexual. Everything was lighthearted, friendly, a lot of joking, laughing, etc. I even told her I was going to buy some alcohol for us which she seemed extremely excited about. I just picked it up when I texted her. Already wasted the money on it.

Do you do this alot? Why? It's super freaking annoying and it's to the point where now, every time a girl agrees to a meetup, in my mind I'm already telling myself "She's gonna ghost." I wish I was exaggerating but I promise you I'm not.