I (28M) got close with a woman (24F) over the summer. We spent lots of time together, became very good friends, and I felt like she was dropping hints that she wanted me to ask her out. I just asked her on a date, confident she'd say yes.
Instead, she told me she was flattered but the timing was unfortunate; she had just agreed to a first date with someone else literally four day ago. She said if I had asked a week earlier, she would have said yes.
I told her I understood and that she’s welcome to reach out if things don’t work out. She said she knows where to find me.
Now I’m feeling confused and lacking closure. I feel like she could have simply said she was seeing someone else, she saw me more as a friend, or anything else. Why did she give me such specific level of detail? That honestly made it sting even more, and I can't help but wonder if this door might reopen. To me, if she was interested a week ago, I don't see why she wouldn't still be interested, especially if she hasn't even gotten serious with this other person yet.
We’ll still see each other through mutual friends and shared group activities, so I’m trying to figure out how to handle this as respectfully as possible.
Here are some options I'm considering:
A) Accept the no and move on.
B) Stay friends, don’t push anything, but casually check in with her in a month or two.
C) Send a text clarifying my feelings; reaffirm I respect her answer and promise I won’t bring it up again, but let her know I think highly of her and reiterate that my door’s open if she ever has a change of heart.
I want to be respectful and avoid crossing any lines or making her uncomfortable, but I’m also unsure if I’ve gotten real closure. Am I just clinging to false hope, or is there a potential path forward here?
EDIT: thanks for all the responses. Upon further reflection I do think I was quite clear with her, and she was pretty clear with me as well. We'll remain friends and if she ever has a change of heart the ball is in her court but I agree it does seem like a clear no and I will move on without holding on or trying to pursue this any further. I appreciate all perspective that people shared!