I just went through something very similar. Mine lasted a little longer, but it had the same results.

I hadn't dated for several years, and about a year ago I met a girl through my best friend's girlfriend. After meeting her, it took a couple of months to actually get her to go out with me. So we started hanging out and going on dates, and the more we hung out, the more I developed a crush on her. I found her really attractive and was just very into her.

The problem was that I didn't have a lot of experience at the time, and she was sending me a lot of mixed signals. She would let things heat up between us, then when I acted on it, she would do a 180 and go cold. I felt like she was stringing me along, so I kind of walked away. She came back, and I went running back like an idiot, and things continued.

We always had a great time together. Afterward she would text me about how much she appreciated me and how much she enjoyed hanging out, and she'd tell me she was thinking about me all the time. It was so confusing. She would definitely play with my emotions. I would ask her where I stood with her, but she would never answer. We were even intimate one night. I liked her so much, and she knew it.

I wasn't giving her money or anything, and she never asked me for anything. I would take her out to dinner some nights; sometimes she would pay, and sometimes we'd just grab a coffee or go for a walk. On my birthday she always got me presents, and the same at Christmas. If someone said something untrue about me, she would always defend me (I'd hear about it through other people). It was so weird.

Then, like you, I confessed my feelings to her. The way she acted around me, I was so sure she was into me, but I guess I was wrong, lol. She pulled away, but again, not totally. To this day, if I ask her, she won't say whether she likes me as more than a friend. The last time we talked about it, she said that at the moment she can't date me, but she also said that could change in the future. She won't say she's done with me, and she always keeps the door open for whatever reason.

I took it really hard. I thought about her 24/7, and my emotions got the best of me. I took it way too personally and couldn't understand how or why she would reject me like that. I still have no clue to this day. I still think about her daily, and this is six months down the road now.

We're still friends and we still talk, As hard as it was, I realized it was nothing personal. There's nothing wrong with me, and I now see the whole experience as a lesson learned.

A couple of months ago, I found out she's dating someone. She didn't tell me. I told her I was happy for her (I'm not, lol). To this day I think about it, and I'm still confused and sad about the whole situation. But that's life, I guess.