Did I misread the situation?

Hello,

I (23M, UK) went to the gym last week and noticed a girl (20F) wearing a brand of hoodie that I was looking for but was sold out everywhere. I’m really not one to approach women in the gym because I don’t want to come off as creepy and I genuinely had no intention of talking about anything other than the hoodie.

Anyway, I walked up to her and said “hey, I noticed you’re wearing that hoodie and just wanted to ask where you got it? I can’t find it anywhere”. She got it up on her phone and showed me, but as soon as I was about to say thanks and walk away, she said “do I know you from somewhere?”

I’d never seen this girl before, so I said that she probably just saw me around the gym. She then asked if I went to her school (which I did). I asked if we were in the same year and she said she was two years younger than me. It was my birthday that day so when she asked my age I slipped up and said I was 22, but I was 23 that day. Not wanting to look weird for forgetting my own age, I mentioned that it was my birthday. She wished me a happy birthday and we continued talking. I assumed she went to uni because she mentioned using her friend’s gym membership as a guest when she was back home. She said she went to a uni in the north of England to study law and dropped out to go back and study music next year in London. I love music so I could listen and talk about it all day.

So after talking for about 5-10 I think she’s just being polite, and I don’t want to distract her from her workout. She was a really nice girl and was attractive too (I didn’t see her face until I walked up to her, as the branding of the hoodie was on the back). I thought that the only way to know if she was interested was to ask for her Instagram, so I did. Again, I’m a very shy person with anxiety, so to do that was a very unusual thing for me.

Surprisingly, she gave me her Instagram and we followed each other. Later that evening, I messaged her to ask what kind of music she was into. She replied and over the next couple of days, we talked about different artists we liked etc. Her replies were quite slow, but I didn’t think much of it. I asked if she would want to meet and talk about the music she was making over a coffee. She said it would be difficult as she worked as a delivery driver Monday to Saturday. So I asked what she would be doing on Sunday. She said that she was seeing her boyfriend’s family that day. So, not wanting to be persistent, I just said “ah no worries, maybe another time” and she just replied “defo”.

I don’t really know what I did wrong, or why she gave me her Instagram if she was already seeing someone, but I think I misread the situation. Was I wrong to approach her etc? Or did she lose interest and use the good old “I have a boyfriend” as an excuse? I’m not sure why she didn’t just say that in the first place, but I’d like to understand what went wrong and whether I should just never message her again.

Any advice would be helpful, especially from a female perspective. Thanks!