How would you interpret his behavior?

I’d appreciate some male perspective on a dating situation.

I’ve been seeing a guy for several months. We both on late 30’s. We’ve gone on multiple dates, talked regularly, and seemed to have a good connection. We have a lot of shared interests and conversations always felt easy and natural.

At the beginning, we both talked about wanting a serious relationship. After that, we never really had another serious conversation about where things were going.

I had been thinking that we probably needed a check-in conversation at some point, but before that happened, he became distant and we went over a week without talking.

I eventually reached out, and he apologized, saying he’d been dealing with a lot of stress in his life and had been focused on that. He seemed genuinely happy to hear from me, asked about my life, shared what had been going on with him, and the conversation felt warm and engaging like nothing had happened.

The confusing part is that after reconnecting, he hasn’t really initiated contact again, and it’s been almost two weeks.

From a man’s perspective, how would you interpret this?

I genuinely enjoy spending time with him and talking to him. Honestly, I think that even if we don’t end up as a couple, we could still be friends. Based on what I’ve learned about him over the past several months, it’s hard for me to believe that he would simply pull away without any explanation. I don’t really want us to become strangers.

My current thought is to give him some time and space, then eventually reach out and see if he’d be interested in staying friends if dating isn’t what he wants. Bad idea?