Is it ok to ghost in this case?

I’ve been seeing a guy for a few months and we’ve taken things pretty slowly. We both have busy creative careers and travel a lot, and I genuinely really like spending time with him. When we’re together, we can hang out for hours and the connection feels easy and mutual.

The problem is there’s been a recurring communication pattern that’s starting to wear on me. He’ll ask to hang out or we’ll start making plans, then he won’t respond or close the loop. Eventually he reemerges, apologizes, we talk about it, things are great again, and then it happens again.
I’ve told him pretty directly that I don’t need constant texting. What bothers me is when we’re discussing plans and he doesn’t just say, “Hey, today isn’t going to work, what about tomorrow?” The uncertainty makes me assume he either doesn’t actually want to see me or is trying to give me a hint. He’s told me he has some communication/intimacy issues from a past relationship, which I’ve tried to have empathy for.

Recently we were talking about seeing a movie. On a Sunday I told him I was relaxing that day if he happened to be free, and I didn’t hear from him until Monday night. He apologized, said he’d been at the beach with his parents, and asked when I was free. I was frustrated and didn’t respond for a while, maybe five days. Not as a game but I wanted to see how I felt. He followed up again, and I figured instead of disappearing I should actually talk to him.

We had a heart to heart. I told him again that I really enjoy our time together, but when this happens repeatedly it makes me feel like he’s trying to give me a hint or doesn’t really want to hang out. He told me how much he loves spending time with me too, and we talked pretty openly about communication and both having some walls up.
He then said he’d be free Wednesday before leaving for a trip, or we could see each other the day he got back. Wednesday came and he texted me to say he’d washed something of mine that I’d left with him, but never mentioned seeing each other. The next day he told me he’d “hand deliver” it to me.
I just liked the message.

At this point, part of me wants to quietly unfollow/remove him and move on. We aren’t official, so there isn’t really a relationship to formally break up, but we have been seeing each other for months and have been intimate, so ghosting also feels a little weird.

I’ve brought this issue up twice now. I had an abusive relationship before this, and I’ve realized that inconsistency and uncertainty really aren’t good for me. Even if he isn’t doing anything malicious, I can feel myself becoming less excited about him because the dynamic itself doesn’t feel good.

It sucks because I genuinely loved the slow connection we were building and really enjoy him in person. I’m not even particularly angry with him. I think I’m just reaching the point where liking someone isn’t enough reason to keep participating in a dynamic that makes me feel unsettled.
Would you say I owe him a direct “this isn’t working for me” conversation/text at this point, or is it reasonable to simply stop engaging and remove him from social media?

Other things I’ve seen him like a lot of random girls pictures and unfollowing I think helps me not see his activity or feel insecure or deep into “why isn’t he choosing me”. When we’re together he’ll also talk about all these plans he wants to do together, but they don’t really materialize.