What To Do When Someone Leads You On

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Maybe the girl of your dreams is your friend, but you want more. She acts as if she likes you sometimes, but you cannot tell. You'd like to ask her out, but she's sending you mixed signals and you're not sure if she just wants to be friends. To help you deal with a girl that may be leading you on, look for clues, talk to her, and either define the relationship with her or move on to other girls.

1
Notice flirting cues. It may be hard to determine if she's actually flirting with you or just being nice. It's easy to misinterpret girls' friendliness for romantic interest.^[1] Some ways you can tell if she's flirting include:^[2]
- She leans toward you, smiles, and touches your arm while you're talking.
- She often compliments you, especially how you look.
- She talks about being able single or wanting to date in front of you.
- She often tries to spend time with you one-on-one.
- She plays with her hair or tries to get you to notice her.
2
Pay close attention to what she says. A girl may be flirting with you, but her words are more important than her actions. Keep in mind this could be difficult or confusing because girls tend to try to be too nice and indirect when they're not interested.^[3]
- If she mentions a boyfriend or that she's not interested in dating, she's likely not interested in you in that way, even if her body language is flirtatious.
3
Watch out for signs she's just leading you on. There are many signs a girl can give that she's not that interested in you. She may send mixed signals intentionally or unintentionally because she enjoys your company, but in reality she's likely just keeping you around out of convenience. You might notice that she:^[4]
- Is vague in making plans with you, or calls or texts you at the last minute.
- Never reaches out to make plans with you first.
- Does not share a lot about herself with you.
- Takes a long time to get back to your texts.
- Talks about her ex-boyfriend a lot in front of you.
- Only spends time with you when you pay for things, like nice dinners or going to the movies.
4

Talk to friends. Before you talk to her, talk to your friends or people you trust to get a fresh perspective. Chances are, you're probably over-thinking your relationship with her, reading into every little thing she does or doesn't do, and using a lot of energy thinking about her. Consulting with friends will help you get a more clear idea of what her behavior looks like from others.^[5]
5
Talk to her. Confront her about her flirtatious or leading-on behavior. If you're interested in her, you need to know if she likes you or not. You may be scared to talk to her for fear of being rejected, but you'll never know how she really feels or what she really means by her flirting until you directly ask.^[6]
- If you talk over text, online, through a phone call, it may be less awkward or uncomfortable. Sometimes it's harder to be clear about how you feel over text, so keep your language clear, simple, and direct. You can say, "I am attracted to you and I thought you might be too, because you wanted me to take you to the movies, complimented me a lot, and said you wanted to hang out with me more. I feel confused lately though. Are you interested in dating or not?"
- If you meet in person, you'll have an easier time reading her face and body language. Talking in-person will sometimes give you a more honest reaction.^[7] However, sometimes girls try to be too nice and indirect when they're not interested. Keep in mind you may not even be able to get her to meet you in person if she's being flaky or not responding to you.^[8] Still, be clear and direct. You can say, "I want to date you, how do you feel about that?"

1
Give her time. Once you've made your feelings clear, it's important to listen to and respect her feelings. Be patient and don't expect an immediate answer from her. Be sensitive, but be clear that you want her to stop leading you on and to date her exclusively. Don't argue with her if she needs time to think it over.^[9]
- You can say, "I want to be with you, and I hope you feel the same, but I know you might need some time to think about it. How about we get back together next week to see how you feel?"
- If she seems ambivalent or isn't being direct with you, take some time for yourself to think about if you really want to be with her. Usually ambivalence is a "no," but she's just being too polite to say so directly.^[10]
2

Deal with rejection. Does she only want to stay "just friends?" Try not to take it personally. She may have something going on in her life that you don't know about that's making her send mixed signals, so it might be better for you to stay away. You deserve someone who can be completely available for a relationship.^[11]
3
Set boundaries. If she just wants to stay friends, and you think you can handle that, set some boundaries around how you spend time with her from now on. Because she was flirting with you or leading you on to feel like she was interested, you'll want to change the way you do things so that you can avoid her leading you on again. Keep in mind that you might have difficulty being "just friends" with her since you've developed feelings.
- Spend some time apart.
- Unfollow her on social media. You'll feel better if you don't have to see everything about her all the time, especially if she's flirting with other people.
- Call her out when she flirts with you.
- Avoid answering her phone calls or texts right away. You don't have to be so convenient to her.
- Spend time with her in safer group settings.
4
Get over your crush. If you are able to stay friends, you'll need to get over any feelings you developed for your friend after she led you on. This may be challenging and may take some time, but it is possible. It will be up to you to decide if it's good for you to have her in your life as a friend. You can work through your feelings by:^[12]
- Venting. Talk it out with your best guy friends, your parents, or someone else you trust.
- Focusing on your other interests and friends.
- Meeting new girls and new people.
5

Learn from this experience. So that you don't get hurt again in the same way with another girl friend, remember and learn from this experience. You're only responsible for you and can't make someone change their flirting. But, you deserve a girl who is willing to be available for you and not use you. Don't take what she did personally, but do remember how her actions made you feel. Now you'll know what to watch out for with other girls!^[13]

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Girls flirt for a variety of reasons, sometimes just for attention, and sometimes without even meaning to. Learn to read her signals.
Talk to your friends! They are your greatest support system in this and can not only help you figure her out, but will be there for you if things don't work out with her.
Be patient and don't get too down on yourself if she rejects you. You've now learned something valuable for your next experience with a girl!

It is never okay to physically or verbally attack the girl for rejecting you, even if you feel like she was leading you on.

Things You'll Need

Good friends
Emotional stamina
Positive attitude

About This Article

Article SummaryX

If you think a girl is leading you on, try talking to your friends before speaking to her directly about your feelings. It's possible you may have misread her signals, like not realizing that she was flirting with you. Common flirting techniques include regular compliments, light physical touching, and lots of eye contact. Your friends may be able to give you a fresh perspective on whether she is actually interested in you or not. You should also talk to her directly about your feelings. Tell her that you're interested in dating her and want to know how she feels. Try to have the conversation face-to-face, since you'll get a better idea of how she reacts to you. Remember to respect her feelings and give her time to answer, because she may not feel ready to do so right away. For tips from our Relationship co-author on how to deal with being rejected by a girl, keep reading!

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