Actions speak louder than words

07/26/2021

Diving back into the dating pool at (almost) 30 has been exhausting. I have never been married and I do not have any children. I own my house. My car is paid off. I have no credit card debt. And I don't mean to sound vain, but I am not too terrible to look at. Dating should not be this difficult. My ex and I broke up at the beginning of May after being together for almost 2.5 years and living together for 2 of them. It was honestly the best thing. The amount of disrespect and manipulation I endured over those years still haunts me, but we'll save that story for another time. So anyway, here I am. 40 days shy of being 30 years old, but who's counting? I have been on a few first dates. They weren't all bad. I have made a couple of good friends from unsuccessful dates. However, only one guy so far as managed to make it passed the first date. We'll call him TK. At first everything was really great. We hit it off right away. We had a steamy kiss at the end of the night and I was SWOONING. We were talking every day. He would text me good morning. He came to my house for our second and third "date." For our third date, he slept over. It was a weekday and so cute because it felt like the future to me. I woke up to his alarm at 5:30am and walked him out. I kissed him goodbye and that was the last time I saw him. That was almost a week ago. He slept over, so I will let your imagination run wild with ideas of what we may or may not have done that night. Since then, he's been really distant. He has canceled plans with me. He has said things like "we'll hang out this weekend" and then ignored my messages (and I am NOT one of those people that will keep messaging. I refuse to beg for someone to talk to me). So yesterday he messages me and tells me he's just been so busy and he apologized. Obviously I forgave him, but I had to give him a hard time first. I asked if he even likes me because he doesn't act like it. He SAYS he does, but I'm a firm believer in "actions speak louder than words." He told me he was going to take me to dinner tonight, but now it sounds like he's canceling that, too. Do I call a spade a spade and leave with my dignity or should I give him the benefit of the doubt that maybe he really has just been really busy and continue to pursue something with him?