Long-term friend, dating?

h1v0lt4g3

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TLDR:
Been friends with girl for long time. Thought she was sending me signals (at the least, mixed). Asked her out, she said no, let's just stay friends, thank you though. Haven't talked since asking her out. Where to go from here to win her over in the future?

Howdy all,
This forum is great, first off. I'm mostly an AFC, working on fixing that. My goal for the next few months is to read the DJB and get it down-pat! I found this site more than 7 years ago, and it's been helpful to me on and off. It's amazing how much I've grown since then, but I wish I would have worked a little harder.

Anyways, my predicament. Haha. A few years ago (3+), I met this girl, let's call her Mary. She's pretty cute, good, well-rounded individual, a bit of a (self-described) attention *****, but authentically nice and overall great. I initially had a thing for her when we first met, but she was just starting to date another guy (my friend) and I was like "oh, well, ok then." Over the past few years, I've done some dumb things to express interest, but through it all we've remained pretty solid friends. We both went to the same school, I'm still there, she's in her hometown working (a few hours away).

Well, let's go to a few months ago. I broke up with my (now-ex-) girlfriend. Things weren't good (or healthy) between us, and it's very good we ended. Over the past year and a half, I'd say, Mary and I have gotten to be a bit closer than normal. She had a potential guy move away, and she's been single for a long while.

So, Mary ends up coming to town for a weekend. We hang out (in a group, with a few mutual friends), and we're drinking and having a good time. Well, she seems to get a bit more flirty with me, and then she brings up (a few times) how she really wants a boyfriend and all that other jazz. So, I think to myself "hey, cool, let's keep an eye out."

Well, a few weeks pass, we exchange some flirty texts and other messages that seem to express some interest/desire on her part.

Then, she comes back into town and I'm like "woot!" So, we spend the weekend together, her and a bunch of my friends (a whole lot of people came back that weekend). She says, when not-drinking, that she's fine being single, but takes seemingly-offense at when I compliment another girl for being cute (compliment fishing, most likely), but I try to save it by saying I like girls more like her anyways, and not the other one (she brushes it off as brown-nosing, haha). But, when she does drink, she expresses her desire to date someone and have someone there. And, she also described how her first few dates should go, what she expects in a relationship, that she'll never make the first move for a guy, and that if a few people asked her out right now, she would probably say yes.

Well, the following day, her and I spend a few hours together, some alone, some with others, and when alone she tells me how she can't end relationships, she's glad her previous flame ended things for her, and that everyone teases her about still being single. She also said she had some interest in a guy, but he's a vegetarian and a liberal so she wouldn't go for it.

Then, that evening, we go out with her bestest girlfriend and two guys (husband and guy friend) (I've only met them once or twice before). I'm a great host (eliciting comments from her friends both to me in public and to her in private), and we temporarily part ways to get to the bar.

As we pull up to the bar, she texts asking where we are. I responded that we're right outside and will be inside in a few minutes. She responds "OK." Then after that text is sent she sends a text "can't wait to see you." Me, being the dumb clueless oaf I am, am like "???" but decide to not respond since I'll see her in less than 2 minutes.

After an hour of some light drinking (I'm still sober, she's less than sober), everyone else starts to text (we're all rather attached to our phones, haha). I decide to reply in a language we both know (that isn't English) something like:
"Hey girl, really? We had just seen each other no more than 30 mins before you sent that" (Yes, I am that dense.)
So, I see her read the text and she sends back "you are very special." However, when I read that, I mis-translated, and responded "You just sent me "you are very especially?" Hrm, ok. Well, your prior comment was kinda funny." (Oh so dense).

So, we hit the next bar, and it's just her and my friends. At one point, the topic of weddings and engagements and other such things come up (some bachelorette was at the bar), and she starts giving me pointed looks when she's talking about those things.

Then another one of my friends asks the story of my previous relationship. I relay it, and mention how she had parental issues, and I wasn't getting near that again. Well, this girl Mary has issues with her mom, but none with her dad. So she's like "well, what do you think about girls with mom issues but great relationships with dad?" And I'm like "Well, Freud would say the father-daughter matters more" and she responds "I don't care what Freud thinks." So I reply "I agree heavily with Freud."

We eventually leave the bar and head back to the house we're crashing at. Then we sleep. Then she leaves (she seems kinda cold when she leaves).

Well, the following day, I convince myself to ask her out, even though she's back at home and I'd have to do it on the phone. I ask if she wants to catch dinner and activity over a week I am off, and she says no, but I am still welcome to visit her and my other friend where they live.

So, that brings me to now. If you've stuck through this, awesome. If not, you suck! :p haha, not like you read that anyways.

Some of my friends think she may like me/be into me, but she has a higher interest level in someone else, and is "waiting" for that situation to pan out (ie, she's keeping me as a backup). One friend says I need to just forget it.

I'm inclined to do stupid things. We only see each other once every few weeks, as a note.

So, my questions for the forum:
1) Do you think my friends are right that she might be into me but is waiting on someone else?
2) I haven't talked to her since asking her out, whereas we normally talked every other few days. What should I do? I thought about contacting her and being like "Hey, don't worry about Monday night, everything's all good. Figured you were worth a shot anyways. I'll see ya around. ;)" Then I was thinking of slowly pulling away, focusing on myself a sh!tton more (working out, getting more work done, taking care of a few things), and then when I see her next, be a bit more flirty/flirtatious with her and see what happens (oh, did I mention hit the DJB hard?). (something like the "Gangi game" from here?)
3) Any other advice or thoughts, aside from "NEXT!" (which is the obvious, and far less-fun choice... ;) ). Maybe anything I can learn from this situation? Things to do/not do? Did I ask out too early? Should I have waited? Let's use this, at the very least, as a learning experience. :)

Thanks in advance all!
h1v0t4g3 (hivoltage, lol)
 

Iceberg

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1) Do you think my friends are right that she might be into me but is waiting on someone else?
She might be into flirting with you, as girls will do that out of boredom. But I'm not really seeing signs that she's "into you". All that flirting via text...I mean, girls do that by nature.


2) I haven't talked to her since asking her out, whereas we normally talked every other few days. What should I do? I thought about contacting her and being like "Hey, don't worry about Monday night, everything's all good. Figured you were worth a shot anyways. I'll see ya around. " Then I was thinking of slowly pulling away, focusing on myself a sh!tton more (working out, getting more work done, taking care of a few things), and then when I see her next, be a bit more flirty/flirtatious with her and see what happens (oh, did I mention hit the DJB hard?). (something like the "Gangi game" from here?)
Nope. Do NOT talk to her about it. Don't tell her to "Forget about monday." Just don't mention it.

Definitely work out. Definitely get more work done. Definitely pursue your hobbies and interest. But NOT because of her. Do it because it makes you a better man, more confident in yourself, and a better overall prospect to ALL women.

3) Any other advice or thoughts, aside from "NEXT!" (which is the obvious, and far less-fun choice... ). Maybe anything I can learn from this situation? Things to do/not do? Did I ask out too early? Should I have waited? Let's use this, at the very least, as a learning experience.
Well, NEXT is the obvious advice because you've been buddies with her for 3 years. It's hard to break out of that and turn her friendly feelings toward you into sexual feelings.

The lesson you can learn from this is:
1. You've been friends with her for 3 years. You can't "ask her out". Your best shot was to "Take her out," have a few drinks, and escalate sexually. As in, go for a kiss, hey maybe even sex.....and THEN let HER try to tie you down into a relationship.

Asking a girl out (although I dont know exactly how you did it), conjures images of you wanting to be her boyfriend. She doesn't want that. She wants something sexual and fun and carefree, and then, maybe after a few months of that, she'd start wondering where things are going. Basically, she wants to chase the man (it's my personal belief that ALL girls do). And you eliminated the chase by asking her out.

I'm not saying to never ask a girl out. I'm just saying, in a situation where the girl is already friends with you for years, you can't "ask your way into it". You just gotta make the move and see where it goes.
 

Desdinova

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Why are you hanging out with her in a group? When you've got a woman in your sights, you need to isolate her. Create an activity for just the two of you to do. NEVER call it a date in front of her. If you're worried it may come across too much as a date, plan something extremely casual like your need to go shopping for some new shoes. Regardless, you need to have her complete attention instead of having her disperse it to everyone in a group.

Second, you waited too damn long to ask her out for a one-on-one date. If you sense there's some sort of attraction on her part, you need to take action immediately. Hesitating will cause her to think you're not interested, find a different guy, and have her IL in you drop.

It's entirely possible to date a woman you've known for a long time, especially when you haven't seen her for a year or so. If you get ANY sort of buying signals from her, you should automatically assume that she's interested in you. If you're wrong and she's not interested, she'll let you know.
 

h1v0lt4g3

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Iceberg said:
She might be into flirting with you, as girls will do that out of boredom. But I'm not really seeing signs that she's "into you". All that flirting via text...I mean, girls do that by nature.
Ah. Hrm. Gotcha. As you can *probably* tell, I'm not too eh, experienced (?) with the ways of women. I've dated two chicks before, but those just kinda... happened. haha

Nope. Do NOT talk to her about it. Don't tell her to "Forget about monday." Just don't mention it.
Ok. Do I re-establish contact with her? Do I want until she contacts me? Any advice on this?
Also, I'm I pretty much screwed (and not in the good way, haha) with her in the future in terms of a more-than-friends relationship? Any way/chance to salvage things?

Definitely work out. Definitely get more work done. Definitely pursue your hobbies and interest. But NOT because of her. Do it because it makes you a better man, more confident in yourself, and a better overall prospect to ALL women.
Yeah, this is definitely all for me. I've wanted to get off my @ss and get things going; I think this is a good impetus for that to happen.

Well, NEXT is the obvious advice because you've been buddies with her for 3 years. It's hard to break out of that and turn her friendly feelings toward you into sexual feelings.

The lesson you can learn from this is:
1. You've been friends with her for 3 years. You can't "ask her out". Your best shot was to "Take her out," have a few drinks, and escalate sexually. As in, go for a kiss, hey maybe even sex.....and THEN let HER try to tie you down into a relationship.

Asking a girl out (although I dont know exactly how you did it), conjures images of you wanting to be her boyfriend. She doesn't want that. She wants something sexual and fun and carefree, and then, maybe after a few months of that, she'd start wondering where things are going. Basically, she wants to chase the man (it's my personal belief that ALL girls do). And you eliminated the chase by asking her out.

I'm not saying to never ask a girl out. I'm just saying, in a situation where the girl is already friends with you for years, you can't "ask your way into it". You just gotta make the move and see where it goes.

Good advice, I think, especially that last section. It makes a lot more sense, too. I guess the only thing on my mind still, then, is if I'm donezo completely with her or if there's maybe some chance in the future. I mean, I won't be waiting by the phone waiting for her to call me, but that's also no reason to completely blow her off and forget about her. If that makes sense?

But, thanks Iceberg. :) I honestly expected a bit more... harsh response from the forum. Maybe you guys have gotten a bit more mellow/easy-going/less-blunt as time has gone on. haha!
 

h1v0lt4g3

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Desdinova said:
Why are you hanging out with her in a group? When you've got a woman in your sights, you need to isolate her. Create an activity for just the two of you to do. NEVER call it a date in front of her. If you're worried it may come across too much as a date, plan something extremely casual like your need to go shopping for some new shoes. Regardless, you need to have her complete attention instead of having her disperse it to everyone in a group.
Well, in the weekend I was thinking about, there were about 9 people visiting, and we're all rather close. So we did things in a group. The going out bar-hopping was her idea and it was with some of her out-of-town friends. I will take note of this, though, to keep her isolated.

Does that mean to *not* ever hang out in groups with a woman I'm interested in? It makes sense, but I'm not sure I could pull it off (or could have pulled it off with her, at least that weekend - just too much stuff to do!).

Second, you waited too damn long to ask her out for a one-on-one date. If you sense there's some sort of attraction on her part, you need to take action immediately. Hesitating will cause her to think you're not interested, find a different guy, and have her IL in you drop.
Hrm. Ok. How much sensing are we talking about? As can be seen by my OP, I considered flirting interest. lol. :(


It's entirely possible to date a woman you've known for a long time, especially when you haven't seen her for a year or so. If you get ANY sort of buying signals from her, you should automatically assume that she's interested in you. If you're wrong and she's not interested, she'll let you know.
I guess I'll ask the same question to you as I did Icebreaker. :) Am I pretty much up a crick with no paddle with this girl? I'll definitely be backing off and "taking a break" from her, but should I completely write her off? I mean, as I've read... I think here, haha, women are not known to be pillars of stability. LOL

And thank you for the advice. Definitely want to use this as at least a learning experience. :)

Oh! How do I get back talking to her? At the least, she is a good friend, but if I eventually want to be dumb and try something again, I don't want to blow ALL of my chance/hope. So, should I just wait til she contacts me or contact her and be like "yo girl yo."
 

Desdinova

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Does that mean to *not* ever hang out in groups with a woman I'm interested in? It makes sense, but I'm not sure I could pull it off (or could have pulled it off with her, at least that weekend - just too much stuff to do!).
No, but you cannot effectively seduce a woman in a group setting.

Hrm. Ok. How much sensing are we talking about? As can be seen by my OP, I considered flirting interest.
When a woman starts doing that, that's when you get her number. If you've got her number, set up a date with her. Hesitation will keep you dateless.

Am I pretty much up a crick with no paddle with this girl?
Well, let's see...

I ask if she wants to catch dinner and activity over a week I am off, and she says no, but I am still welcome to visit her and my other friend where they live.
Your date suggestion was rejected. It's time to move on.

BTW, I would NEVER suggest dinner for a first date. And suggesting "an activity" is just an excuse to secure a date while having no fvcking clue what you're doing. Pick something that's good to use for a first date. Every time I take a woman out on a first date, we do glow-in-the-dark mini-golf. No dinner, no movie, just golf. My standard line to use is "Hey, I've been meaning to check out this glow in the dark mini-golf place. Would you like to join me?" I always act as if I've never been there. It's a harmless suggestion for a fun activity, and it comes off sounding as if you'll take someone else if she says 'no'.

should I completely write her off?
If you want another chance, cut contact with her for a year or two and pursue other women. That's when you'll have another chance. You can date a woman multiple times as long as you do it after a long period of no contact. I did it to a woman three times, and guess what? I still don't fvcking want her!
 

h1v0lt4g3

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Hey Desdinova,
Gotcha. Yeah, it makes you can't seduce someone in a non-one-on-one setting. At least effectively.

When she was ramping up the flirt it was via text. So, I mean, I guess I could have kept up the flirting via text, brought it up to, y'know, face-to-face once I got her one-on-one, and then made some type of move. That's a bit further than I would have ever expected, haha.

I actually had an activity (walking in the park after dinner, and then stargazing, because I know she's into... y'know, stargazing), I'm just sometimes paranoid about a public forum and such, so I withheld a few details.

I actually took my most recent girlfriend on a date to dinner (Indian - yum! she liked it a lot) and then we did... glow-in-the-dark mini-golf! I just figured I shouldn't repeat first date ideas. Turns out, I am wrong. haha

I guess, among other things, I need to re-hash the concept of a first date. In retrospect, my wording was kinda dumb...
"I'd love to take you out on a date to dinner and a walk in the park afterwards" (her hometown is known for their parks, and "walk in the park" is a lot less gay-sounding than "stargaze").

(Rationale behind wording: The rest of teh Interwebs said I should be clear and direct.)

Thanks man.
 

Desdinova

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h1v0lt4g3 said:
I actually had an activity (walking in the park after dinner, and then stargazing, because I know she's into... y'know, stargazing)
Yeah, that's something you do on like a fifth date, the weekend after you fvck her. Women get offers like that all the time. (Don't believe me? Create a female profile on POF.) The first date should be different from the universal standard to have any effect.
 

h1v0lt4g3

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Desdinova said:
Yeah, that's something you do on like a fifth date, the weekend after you fvck her. Women get offers like that all the time. (Don't believe me? Create a female profile on POF.) The first date should be different from the universal standard to have any effect.
Ha, gotcha man.

That's why I'm here, I suppose. :) Learn all about this. :woo:
 
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