Am I Too old to Swim?

I'm a 37 year old man, a tad overweight, and for some reason my parents never taught me to swim as a child. I was wondering if it was too late to still learn because a lot of my friends say the best way to pick up a girl is at the beach or the lake but I'm too darn afraid to go there because I'll either drown or make a fool out of myself infront of everyone! Any tips on what I should do ?