Why he pulled back after you said you weren't ready to meet

When texting has no end point in sight, people naturally conserve energy. He's not necessarily upset with you or uninterested. He's just not going to keep building on a conversation that feels like it's going nowhere. The moment you said you weren't ready to meet, his brain did a calculation. Keep investing for an unknown payoff, or step back and invest elsewhere.

This is especially true if you were having good conversations but there was never a clear move toward meeting. He wasn't being strung along intentionally, but from his side, that's what it felt like was happening. The reduced texting is his way of resetting the dial, not a permanent door close.

Your reply needs to do two jobs at once. First, show that you're still interested in him, not just in the idea of talking to him. Don't make this theoretical. Second, give him a reason to believe there's actually going to be a meeting this time.

You don't need to lock in a date right now, but you do need to name something concrete. That might be a timeframe, like next week or in a couple weeks. It could be a condition that needs to happen first, or a specific scenario where you'd feel ready. The point is he can see a path that doesn't involve waiting indefinitely. Once he knows you're moving toward meeting rather than just stalling, his texting will usually come back up naturally.

Send your reply and give him 24 to 48 hours to respond. If he's interested, he'll typically reply within that window. If he's truly checked out, he might not.

If he does reply, let the conversation build for a bit, but move toward setting an actual plan within a few exchanges. Don't fall back into long texting stretches with no meeting date attached. If he doesn't reply within 48 hours, he's made his choice. Don't send a follow-up. If he comes back days later, that's fine to engage with, but don't keep reaching out after silence. The effort needs to be mutual.