Question: what do you do if you were set up with another person and there is no obvious IOIs or ways to check for compliance?

Story: I was invited by my friend to spend Sunday afternoon together with his gf and her friend. We met at the beach where the environment was just perfect to show my progress after 7 month of hard work in the gym. I guess i got some positive feedback on that. We had some friendly interaction between four of us, but since it was just a social event without any hint of matching two of us, i just followed the flow enjoy the company, made some comments. I tend to be very active and talkative/silly around my male friends and more serious and mysterious around female (was told few times by girls, that they cannot read how i feel which confuses them as hell :D ).

Anyways, after the beach we grabbed a dinner and during the dinner i was trying to find the common interests with my date. So by the end of the date i was able to find topic that was resonating with her. The problem was - very often my friend and his gf were interfering our conversation or my date was distracted by their chat. Taking to consideration that my friend fell head over hills in love with his gf and they been very touchy-touchy which is different from my situation.

Was there any IOI from my date? Not very strong. Did i keep my frame? Yup pretty much try to follow push/pull technique, but it wasnt that successful because i could not properly interact with her.

Conclusion: I guess it was just a social event and i was there for balance. Would it be better to be more self amused? Maybe. Since i cannot assume attraction should try and escalate?