I certainly know what you mean. I would never feel comfortable asking out women I just met either because I'd at least want to get to know them and hopefully would be able to know what their personality was like. The problem is this approach is a hit or a miss. The reason is because it seems most guys will ask girls out right away because if they don't, someone else will do it before them they could have missed out on a chance. I look back now and for some girls, I was very lucky I didn't ask them out because some of them really turned out to be quite awful. One women I was infatuated by two years ago, turned out to have a rotten personality and her past two boyfriends dropped her like a bad habit. At the same time, another women I became great friends with has a boyfriend and as I got to know her, I realized how great she really was and how happy I could have been with her. Because I didn't ask her out in time, I missed out on her completely.
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"The less I know about other people's affairs, the happier I am. I'm not interested in caring about people. I once worked with a guy for three years and never learned his name. The best friend I ever had. We still never talk sometimes."