ok /adv/ help me out I've been texting this girl I met

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ok /adv/ help me out

I've been texting this girl I met through a tinder-inspired app for stoners and so far, we have a fair amount in common. I seem to converse with her pretty easily, something that's rare for me because I find it hard to relate to most people. she seems like a genuinely chill person to be around and I want to see where this could lead.
but here's the problem: so far, our conversations have taken on a platonic tone, meaning I only talk to her as I'd talk to a friend. I'm semi-convinced she's looking for a romantic relationship too but the doubt in my mind stops me from fully committing at this point. in the off-chance that she has no sexual or romantic interest in this, I don't want to fuck up the chance at friendship since I don't know anyone in this town (just moved here) and desperately need some new friends. she generally tends to follow my lead in the conversation so it's up to me to escalate it to a more romantic/sexual level.
my dilemma: I don't know how to do that, because I've never been in a relationship before. How do you hint at a romantic involvement without compromising the current relationship? How do you smoothly transition from stranger to acquaintance to romantic/sexual partner? It feels strange to just straight-up ask her out after the conversations we've had, but at the same time the longer I wait the lower the chances are of it happening. How long do you wait before escalating? Or is it a case of "the earlier the better"? My starting point here is asking her if she has a boyfriend but I don't know where to go from there.
Any advice on the language used and the general tone of conversation would be helpful. Bear in mind I've been texting her since yesterday and we'll be meeting up next week, so I have a few more days to "test the waters" so to speak.

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