How to get over the fear of being perceived as creepy?
Heyo!
(I hope I'm not breaking rule 11 with this post, because I'm not complaining and really don't want to be perceived that way :') )
I recently got out of a long term relationship (incompatible life paths/locations), and I kinda want to embrace my kinky side a lot more in this next chapter of my life. My ex was kind of kinky (breeding fetish, submissive, but not necessarily in the ways that I prefer to be dominant) but not as much as me. So I want to explore my own kinks and experience more sex with more people and get better at sex.
But. I don't really know how. By some miracle I was confident enough to actually attract my ex, but right now all that confidence is gone. And even back then, I don't know if I had the confidence that would've been needed for more casual relationships. I don't know how to ask for sex. There are many people I'm attracted to, but I have this constant fear that being flirty or just straight up telling someone they're attractive is a creepy thing to do. Like hell, I matched with an old college friend on Tinder who's in an open marriage and I _still_ don't know if they actually would want to do anything or were just matching to say hi. I'm just so scared of misreading people's behavior and accidentally being perceived as a creep.
Like I don't know if I'm autistic, many people in my life are and tell me I am, but even if I'm not, I can relate heavily to not picking up on social cues, so am I in the right place to be asking?
How can I get over the fear of being perceived as creepy, and how on earth do people know how and when to flirt?