I befriended a girl ~2 years ago and we slowly went from sports acquaintances to good friends mostly through sports and pre/post sports lunch/dinners. Group hangs turned into 1v1s sometimes but it was always platonic because we were both in relationships at the time. She became single around 15 months ago after a 2-3y LTR, dated a few random guys online without success, and then I recently became single ~3-6 months ago after a long 8y LTR.
During this time, she was a voice of reason and made a lot of interesting points; we both talked about our relationships and partner/ex's a lot and got to know each other very well emotionally. I don't think she necessarily loved or agreed on how I handled my eventual/inevitable break up, but I did it the way I wanted to for my own peace and closure. I just needed time to get it out of my system and dragged it on longer than anyone else would have.
We haven't hung out as much in the last 3-6 months and I purposely gave myself space to resolve my own issues. so when I became single recently I started thinking about her differently. Not in a rebound way (I've never dated a rebound), but in a LTR way. In late April I started a new wellness program to better myself physically and mentally; I invited her out twice and she surprisingly committed to a class package soon after. We started hanging out again; got some 1:1 time with her, caught up, and had lots of good vibes and good laughs. She asked a lot of questions about me; most were personal relating to dating preferences, hygiene, marriage / kids, traveling, and random hypotheticals. I got the chance to ask her the same topics and even though her answers changed over time, I felt like we were both genuine/aligned and that she is more compatible now than when I first met her. She talked about wanting to travel with me and "trusting me" to lead the way and even share the same room (to save $). Last week I got her an early bday present for something she expressed interest in so that she could wear it, and when I gave it to her she was genuinely ecstatic and hugged me. So unless she's lying to me, we actually naturally fulfill 90% of each other's checkboxes and we have close to zero dealbreakers! When I look at all the single female friends around me, none are as "dateable" as this girl so of course I had to give it a shot.
And so I did.... the day after I gave her the early bday present, I sent her a text after work expressing my interest in her as "more than friends". It was worded in a way that gave her zero pressure and still allowed us to remain friends. It took her 27 hours to come back and say "No, she's happy to remain friends". I'm not upset, but I really thought the signs were there. Am I right or am I wrong to act on these signs? I'm not jaded, but this was the first time I've "reached" for a friend who I think has great long term potential wifey material.
