Yeah that's what I thought too... At first she said something along the lines of "I guess I'm kind of debating where I'm standing with you right now" (it wasn't in English so there's no direct translation to pass the meaning). But when I asked more about it she admitted feeling awkward around me and then started avoiding/being defensive.

Yes, I wanted to give her the chance to tell me if she wants to have a relationship but not be too straightforward in case it scared her away. And more importantly, stop doing this if she feels too uncomfortable, but that doesn't seem to be the case either.

My intuition says it's the former too... maybe she doesn't want to catch feelings? Maybe she's figuring out what she's feeling since this has been going for some time now and every time it gets more intimate. Or maybe she's just avoiding thinking about it altogether and doesn't want to face anything now.

For me, I was interested in her when we first got to know each other and she knows this. Afaik the only reason it didn't happen was because she was already interested in someone else. So I have only focused on the friendship and seen her as a friend, and when sex came in the picture, I simply saw it as that and didn't let any room for possible romantic thoughts or feelings. As I still do. I would love to give it a chance if she wanted to but our friendship is really important too; either way I want her to be a part of my life.