If a guy is rejecting you while he obviously likes you, it might be because his mind is wandering to thoughts that he's just not good enough for you; he might wonder why you like him and think that you'll leave him for someone else eventually anyway.
Most of the time, the simplest answer to why he denies liking you is that he's not ready to be in any kind of relationship. This could be the case wherein he likes you, but he doesn't want to date or be in a relationship with you for some reason.
There could be a variety of reasons, including regret over rejecting you, lust, possessiveness, teasing to keep the sense of having power over you or to continue to feel attractive, temptation to use you for sex alone, obsession, or something else.
because he feels a sense of insecurity whether he made the right decision to reject you, he hasn't come to terms with him rejecting you, and is trying to convince himself he did the right thing.
You might be tempted to ignore your crush to avoid any awkwardness. However, the best way to feel comfortable around them again is to act like nothing happened. Chances are, your crush wants your friendship to feel normal again, too. Try to remember that everyone experiences rejection, even your crush!
Be yourself.
And clearly you got close enough to him to know that he likes you too (at least as a friend). Don't change who you are just because you got rejected. Continue dressing the same, talking the same, and liking the same things that you did before the rejection, but also continue your normal activities online.
In general, he just seems to be energetically drawn to you in the room—as if his focus, body language, and general energy all just seem to be kind of focused on you. Even when he's off talking to someone else, there still seems to be the vibe that he's paying attention to you.
3. He likes you. Avoiding eye contact is a sign of attraction, as we have already discussed early on. When a guy avoids establishing eye contact, it could be because he likes you or has a crush on you.
Why do guys act interested then pull away? The biggest reason for men to pull away is the fear of their own emotions. The thought of a relationship is appealing to them but the effort scares them.
He Holds Your Gaze Longer Than Usual
For instance, you may find him looking at you more frequently and often trying to make eye contact with you. Rather than being very flirty and hitting on you, his subtle actions reveal that he likes you but is trying not to make it too obvious to those around him.
If someone pays attention, compliments, makes an effort, and spends time with you, those are some of the frequent indications to watch for to figure out if the guy likes you.
Smiles and sparks
You will often witness a spark in their eyes when they are looking at you or having a conversation with you. They will smile at you as if you are art personified. You can tell if someone likes you if you can sense them looking at you even when you are pretending not to notice.
A guy feels an ego boost after rejecting a girl. That's the first response. Or he could feel sad if there's another reason he's not telling you. If he is keeping in touch it's only because you two are still friends.
He wants to know how you really feel and if there's anything that he can do to get back together with you. If this is the case, you should listen to his feelings and try to understand what he's going through right now. He might also try hanging out with you as friends, just like how it was before.
“Men have been taught since the earliest of times to protect their masculinity," says psychotherapist Jaime Gleicher, LMSW. "When they're rejected, they associate it with their masculinity. When that's threatened by an outside source, they tend to fight for it—also as a way to re-prove their manliness.”
Rejection can cause us to feel a slew of emotions, ranging from confusion to sadness to rage. Oftentimes, people don't understand exactly why they've been rejected, which can lead to a downward spiral of negative introspection and an overall sense of not feeling “good enough.”
Understand maybe he isn't ready to date or be in a serious relationship, but asking you to be friends or hang out is a sign he likes your company and shows he has a good time with you. Once you become friends you may get closer and then begin a more serious relationship.