I'm curious, did something like this ever happen to you? To like someone but deciding not to go out with them? It could be that they asked you out and you said no, or you decided not to pursue them yourself.
And if so, what was the reason?
I'll start (F in 30s):
The first one, we were classmates (both early 20s). I had a proper crush on him but he was too aloof. I don't think he was with someone else, but I didn't get the impression that he wanted to be with me either. Even when I organised group activities for class and invited him too, he wouldn't join. 3-4 years after we graduated, one day he randomly messaged me on FB (back then FB was still used!) telling me that he liked me and wanted to get to know each other. But, by that time I had immigrated, and those old feelings weren't there anymore. The time and place were no longer right…
The second one, we were colleagues (both early 30s), I was potentially interested, but didn't have a crush on him. Quite early on, he asked me this hypothetical scenario that "if I were to ask you to this boardgame night, would you be interested?" And I said sure. Then for months, he went into this hot-cold behaviour, some days starring at me in the office, other days not even replying to my hellos. I maintained a polite friendly attitude towards him. But one day I decided enough is enough, and just retreated to being distant with him. Only then did he go into some sort of a panic mode and started treating me differently. But I could no longer trust him as someone who's emotionally reliable.
Ok, your turn!
P.s. stories with (not) getting back with exes count too.