Why does he only message late at night?

A guy who texts only after 10pm is often using messaging as the thing he does when he has nothing else going on. That is not the same as not liking you. But it does mean you are being slotted into leftover time. Look at what he says. If the messages are warm and specific, he likes the conversation. If they are short, vague, and built around how tired he is, you are probably a pleasant way to end the day rather than someone he is planning around.

The second thing to check is whether the late messages ever turn into anything. Does he mention something you said earlier? Does he ask about your week? Or does every thread end with him going quiet until the next night? A single late text tells you little. Two weeks of the same pattern with no movement toward a date tells you a lot. Pay attention to whether the conversation is growing or just repeating at the same hour.

When he messages late, a good reply is short, friendly, and leaves a door open. Your goal is to answer like someone who enjoys the chat without becoming available on his schedule every night. The reply should show you are glad to hear from him, and it should give him something to pick up that points toward the day or the week. A question about his plans, a comment about something he mentioned earlier, or a light suggestion that you should talk when you are both awake in daylight all do this job.

What the reply should leave out is anything that makes the late hour the default. Skip the long monologue, the flirty escalation at midnight, and the reply that says you are still up waiting. If it reads like you have nothing else happening, he will treat the slot as yours to keep giving him. The reply should feel like a normal message you would send at any time of day.

Send your reply the next day, not right away at midnight, unless you are already in an active back and forth. Waiting until the afternoon shows that you have a life and that the conversation is one thing among others. If he replies to that with more late-night texts, that tells you the pattern is set. If he picks up a daytime thread or offers a plan, that is the signal you were looking for.

Give it a week. If he keeps texting only at night and never moves toward a date after you have given him a few chances, you have your answer. Stop answering the late messages with the same energy, let the thread fade, and move your attention elsewhere. If he asks for a date at any point, say yes to a specific time and place, and if the plan falls through, do not chase it. A guy who is interested will make the effort to move things into daylight.