This has happened a couple times to me already.

The direct quotes are:

"I'm not ready for a relationship right now, let's just be friends"

and

"I'm just not in a position to be more than friends. A friendly relationship is all I can offer."

I've been around long enough to know they include the silent "with you".

So is there a strategy around this? Do I actually engage as friends and just have fun and assume nothing will happen, or is it best to just leave it completely alone?

Also, is there a way to prevent this in the future? Am I not escalating correctly?