How to text a guy and ask if he's still interested

A slow reply is not automatically a loss of interest. Some guys text in bursts, some are bad at keeping a thread going, and some are busy at work for a week and forget to answer. What the gap tells you depends on what came before it. If the last exchange was warm and he suggested something, the silence is more likely logistics than a verdict. If the last thing he sent was short and he never asked a question back, the silence is probably the answer.

Before you ask anything, look at the shape of the conversation. Did he ask about your week? Did he make a plan that's still open? Does his tone match the early messages, or has it flattened? That reading tells you how direct to be. You can afford a light, open question if the thread still has life. If he has clearly stepped back, the question is only useful to get a clean answer quickly.

The reply should give him room to say he's into it, that he's busy but still keen, or that he's pulled back. A good draft is short, names the gap without blaming him for it, and ends with something easy to answer. It should be casual in tone, the kind of thing you'd say across a table without making it heavy. Leave out anything that pleads, anything that quotes his earlier messages back at him, and any joke that sets up the question as a test. Don't put the question inside a compliment that he has to accept before he can answer. Keep the main point on its own line so it isn't buried.

You can also reopen with a concrete hook instead of a direct question, like a suggestion for a time you'd both be free. That can work if the question feels too exposed for you right now. The hook tells him you're still interested without asking him to declare it. It is less clear, though, so only use it if you're comfortable with a vague answer.

Send the message at a normal hour, mid-morning or early evening, when you're not tired or buzzed from drinks. A text sent at 2am reads as a feeling you need to get out, and he will respond to the feeling rather than the question. Give him at least a day, and usually two or three, before you think about a second message. If he answers warmly, keep the next exchange light and move toward making a plan. If he answers with a vague or short reply, take it at face value and don't rephrase the question to get a better answer.

If there is still silence after a week, one short follow-up is reasonable, but only if you are truly curious rather than hoping to force a reply. After that, stop. Silence after a clear question is the answer. Keep your own dignity by letting the thread end there, and redirect your attention to other people.