Was she serious when she asked me if I wanted to brush her hair?

[Anonymous]

I've (20M) been texting my friend (20F) daily, however lately she's been in a mood so I'm letting her approach me she even deleted her social media account so I don't think she's talking a lot. I asked her if she wanted to do something and she said yes and hopefully Thursday is her next free day (depends if she has work). Whenever we're together we have a bunch of moments of flirting: staring and smiling, laughing while looking at each other, teasing, compliments, she laughs at a lot of things I say, and she was punching my arm. I want to say though I asked her out on a date last month and she said she isn't interested in a relationship because she doesn't have the energy (single mom, school which she's failing, and work) and doesn't want to confuse our friendship (she called me her best friend) so I don't know if she wants to take it slow or something? I remember one time when we were FaceTiming one time (I think a little over a month) she was playing with her hair and she asked me if I wanted to brush it, I said sure but it'll take a while (her hair is fluffy and tangled). So I don't know if she was joking about that or not? Also would it be a good idea to bring that up (as a way to get more physical with her)?

[amadimal]

What's the real question here? If women actually enjoy having their hair brushed by a guy? (Personally, I'd love that) OR If she's into you or not?

[Asker]

Uhhh I guess both? Like I want to know if I should bring up me brushing her hair and actually do it (I actually do want to do that, her hair is really soft as creepy as that sounds). But overall I’m getting major mixed signals from her so I don’t know if she’s interested in me.
A quick summary is we used to text everyday last year (Oct-Nov), she sent nudes and said she thought it would lead to more and I agreed ( I don’t think it lead to more), we stopped texting (finals and winter break) but she would text about once a week to check on me, we started texting again beginning of the year, I asked her out on a date (twice accidentally) she said she’s not interested in a relationship because she doesn’t have the time (single mom, school and she’s failing, and a job) and doesn’t want to confuse our friendship (she called me her best friend, now she deleted her social media account and texts me most days mainly asking about school stuff.
So I don’t know if she’s not texting anybody or if something is wrong between us or what? I just told her if she needs someone to talk to I’ll be there for her and now I’m giving her space and letting her text me. She didn’t text yesterday or reply to my text on Monday, so I don’t know if I should text her good morning and try to text her because we’re supposed to get together tomorrow?

[Asker]

Actually I texted her today and she told me she has to work tomorrow. I don’t know if I should continue texting her or wait for her to start the next conversation? Or should I text her tomorrow saying good morning?

[amadimal]

If I were you I'd just go and start brushing her hair. Maybe she'll be pleasantly surprised by you taking initiative. If not, and she'll back off, you'll have a clear picture about the situation.