This guy…

We met in July. Our first date was great, super easy conversation and banter. We went out again later that week for a movie and he kissed me. It felt like it was unfolding naturally and he told me he couldn’t stop thinking about me. I think he then asked me out for a third date, more kissing.

Then he kind of disappeared for a week or two without notice. He popped back up eventually and told me he’d been out in California taking care of business, but if he was actually sincere about pursuing me I think he would have communicated much better. After that I definitely cooled off. I was dating others the whole time and not too bothered. But he kept asking me out, maybe every couple weeks, and staying in pretty consistent contact until recently. We had a couple miscommunications about plans, and I decided to leave it in his court. Since then his communication has definitely faded. I know he’s going through stressful times, taking care of his mom, his cat died traumatically, his car got totalled, etc., but again, if he was actually interested, I think I’d know.

So now it’s been like 5 months, and we really haven’t made any progress. He keeps saying how much he likes my company, but either he’s super passive or he’s wasting my time. He still sends messages here and there, but I get the sense that he expects me to make plans and I’m not going to do that. I don’t want to confront him because I’m sure that would make it seem I’m way more invested than I am. I am curious and would like to know his perception of the whole thing, but maybe I should just let it go. What’s the best thing to do here?