I am a 21 year old, bisexual female. I have had strong feelings for my best friend for the past 4 months. I don't know how she feels about me; it's really confusing.

I asked her out twice, and was rejected twice. But I have a strong intuition that she does like me back, but can't admit it to herself because I'm a woman.

Last semester, we saw each other every day, usually for meals. We never ran out of things to talk about. She called me "cute" in a clearly sexual context, twice, and "extraordinarily smart" on another occasion. Her body language also suggested that she was interested.

I haven't seen her in over a month, because I am studying abroad in Europe this semester. Her behavior lately has been nothing short of baffling. She has not initiated any contact with me, and when I reach out to her, she finds excuses to not talk to me. It's almost as if she is avoiding me.

I have two possible explanations for this behavior:

-she doesn't care about me, even as a friend; she just used me last semester to have someone to eat dinner with. She did think about me enough to make me a small stuffed animal over winter break, however. She gave it to her sister to give to me (her sister is studying in the same city as I am this semester).

-she likes me, but can't admit it...so she's avoiding me because she thinks that if she avoids contact with me, she'll get over her confusing feelings for me. However, she is nearly 22. Her family isn't religious. She literally has no reason to not embrace a queer identity if that is who she is.

I'm so confused! I know that I should probably just get over her and find someone who is willing and able to pursue me, but I've never felt this way about anyone before.

So, my questions are:

1. Based on the given information, is it likely that she has feelings for me, but is in denial?

2. What reasons would someone who grew up in a non-religious, tolerant home have for not coming to terms with her sexuality by age 22?

If it helps, she set off my "gaydar" before I even became close friends with her. Also, in the past when I talked about my sexuality, she seemed kind of uncomfortable. I straight out asked her if she liked girls in September; she said that she "wasn't sure".

Thanks!