@SunsetSnuggles Your recent discussion "So I started cuddling" has prompted me to start one that some people here might become helpful.
As a kid growing up, I was extremely introverted. I had a few friends, but mostly other introverts. I had serious difficulty speaking in a group of more than four or five people. When I grew old enough to develop an interest in girls, I found it virtually impossible to talk to any girl who I might actually be interested in. In short, I was miserable.
One day during the summer between my sophomore and junior years in high school, everything changed. I had been in the park playing tennis. It was near the end of August, a very hot day, and after a few matches, I was dripping with sweat. To cool off, I took a walk over to the beach to take a swim. It was very refreshing, and on the way back to the tennis courts, I spotted Suzanne, all alone, laying on a beach towel.
I had had a crush on Suzanne for the last eight months or so. We we had some friends in common, so we knew each other, but had never exchanged more than a few words at a time. I can remember how I would dearly love to sit down and talk to her, but deep down, I knew that I wouldn't. I would just walk back up to the tennis courts, where I would be within my comfort level.
As I stood there debating with myself. I wondered "What would Fred do? Fred was a guy in my class, who was the ultimate extrovert. Fred was the class president. Fred wasn't especially handsome, but there always girls hanging around with him, joking and flirting. After I decided what Fred would do, an idea struck me. I was going to pretend (in my mind) that I was Fred.
I walked over to her and said "Hi Suzanne," and she replied. I spread my towel in the sand beside hers, lay down and starting chatting like I had never been able to do before. It was easy. It wasn't really me doing that. It was Fred. After a little while, it occurred to me that Fred wouldn't just lay there, so I put my arm over her. I was almost surprised that I didn't get slapped, or even hollered at. She actually seemed to like it. After about an twenty minutes, she asked to spread some more sun tan lotion on her back. That was absolute astonishing. I actually got to touch her.
About two weeks later, summer vacation had ended. I was in the school lunch room when one of Suzanne's friends came and sat down at the table where I was eating. She mentioned that Suzanne had told her all about our meeting at the beach, and that Suzanne would really like me to ask her out. I suspect that she new that I needed a little nudge. For the record, we dated pretty steadily for the next six years, until she moved across the country to take a job.
Now that could be the end of the story, but it isn't. I hadn't really changed all of a sudden. Things like that just don't happen. I was still every bit as introverted as I had ever been. The difference was that I no longer had to behave like an introvert. I had found a work around that permitted me to behave like a normal person. I began using the technique more and more often. In any social situation where I would expect to be uncomfortable, I just had to think of somebody who would be comfortable there. Eventually, the behavior became almost automatic. I couldn't begin to tell you how many job interviews it got me through.
Today, I am still just as introverted as ever. The only difference, is that I've learned how to pretend that I'm an extrovert. Hopefully, this might help a few of the other introverts here. Give it a try. It isn't difficult, and it really works.