Pisces coworker and his disappearing act, will he come back?

Hey guys..

So I have had this longtime crush on my pisces coworker for about a year. One day he asked me if I could cover a shift for him, and it was the day before my vacation so I told him I would let him know. He asked if he should contact me by email, and I said well you could just have my number...

He has always been shy and aloof at work. I never imagined that he would be interested in me. He started texting me everyday, and finally asked me out. Our first date was a concert and meal in the city. Everything was great. He was so sweet, a gentleman. He seemed a bit off at the concert, so I asked him if he enjoyed it. He said yes and no. That the whole time he wanted to give me a big bear hug. I asked him why he didn't, and he told me it was because I was the first girl he has been out with in a year, since his ex of two years. On a different date, he told me that they broke up after a year of him isolating himself. That he could have slept around, but that it just wasn't in his personality.

We went on a few dates after that, and he was so enthusiastic in the beginning. He would constantly text me, check in to see how was work, how I was doing, if i needed anything. During my breaks he would come into the break room just to share his food with me. So nurturing and caring. I am involved in dance, and so he would ask if he could join me (even though he can't dance) and started looking up future concerts to go to together.

Then things progressively got worse. He got flakey and more distant. After date 3, which was kayaking and a meal, he invited me over to this place to watch a movie. We were both shy and held back, but eventually he cuddled with me. I could feel his heart beating fast, and he seemed a bit tense overall. After that day, we continued to text. He made a suggestive "joke" about sending each other nude pictures. I found that to be off-putting, because it was so early on in the relationship, when we weren't even intimate in person yet. I confronted him about it and he said sorry, that he didn't mean it to be offensive, but finds that to be an exciting element of an intimate relationship. He also told me, "I think life is all about spending your time with one partner" I told him its fine, I just wanted to make sure his intentions were good and he wasn't just looking for one thing.

Then he texted me less and less. He would still pop back up every few days, but it was definitely a different vibe. It's the end of summer, and I know he has a lot more going on in his life now. He is about to start his last year of college, and he is taking care of a lot of things on the side, while working nearly every day of the week. He would make plans with me, but then cancel at the last minute. Or I wouldn't hear from him the night before, and always have to ask, "so what are we doing tomorrow?" It got very frustrating. I am very flexible and understand you may have a busy schedule, but at least be considerate of my time. If you have to cancel, just give me a heads up. Don't leave things up in the air.

I confronted (always calmly) him on his flakiness, and he apologized. Told me he was overworked, overly tired, and has so much stuff to take care of every week, and only has one day off. I told him I could help him out, and he thanked me for being understanding. He told me he wasn't trying to "squeeze me in" and actually was looking forward to spending the whole day with me. After this incident, it did seem like he made efforts to change, but they were only temporary. I had to ask him again about the plans, and he made excuses like "I am not sure, I have a procedure tomorrow after work.." So I told him to forget it.

Problem is, I do believe his reasons/excuses. On our first date, he did show me what was to be operated on. I work with him, so I can see how tired he is and how many hours he puts in.

The very last time we hung out, I made the plan. He was running on three hours of sleep after work, so we ended up cuddling for three hours and then going out to eat. At dinner, he seemed really spacey and I asked him if he was okay. He also brought up his ex again. How he never raised his voice or called her names, and she basically "ran away screaming and left". How he always tried to fix things. I asked him if he was over her, because he has brought her up almost every time we hang out. He said he was, but he could be in denial. Its been over a year, and I have seen her have a few boyfriends after him including a seemingly happy relationship right now. I know her too, because she was also a coworker. She has since left the job and moved to a different state. As we walked back to his car, he apologized for bringing her up so much. He didn't realize it, that he stopped bringing her up to his friends.

After that date, I wished him a happy trip. He went on vacation to his hometown for an entire week, and I didn't hear from him. I left him alone to enjoy his trip and relax. When he came back, he made no efforts to reach out to me. Overall, its been two weeks since he initiated anything. I have had to initiate everything. So I decided that maybe he is just not into me anymore, and indirectly telling me. Weird, because the last time we hung out, he said things like, "next time we will do more things". And also, "I only date one girl at a time. I don't date multiple girls at once, that's just stupid." "I don't leave a girl just because she doesn't have sex right away". His words are reassuring, but his behavior is strange and unpromising!

Everything seemed wonderful at first. We were both equally excited, caring, considerate, and kept in good contact. I wasn't clingy, I gave him space when he needed it, and still put in efforts by initiating once in a while. Whatever happened, I don't think its on me. He wanted to get intimate pretty early on, and I told him that it was too fast for me, and that I wanted to take things slowly. He supposedly was fine with it and understood that everybody moves at their own pace. I don't think he was only looking for sex; it doesn't seem like his personality. The other day he smiled very sweetly to my mom, and asked if she was okay with us hanging out. He never pressured me into anything either when we cuddled. We haven't even KISSED actually (after hanging out about 6 times). Well anyways, I am not sure what happened, but I have decided its best to move on. It hurts, but I have no other choice. I have been giving much more than I have been receiving in return lately.

Maybe he isn't over his ex even though he thought he was. Maybe in the process of taking things slowly, he got distracted by his busy life and a little bored. Maybe he isn't ready to commit yet. Maybe he just lost interest in me (which is odd, because he always looked happy hanging out and wanted to take things further). It is just so strange for things to suddenly burn out like this, with no explanation. Do you think he will come back? I am not going to sit around waiting for him, I will move on and focus on myself. But if in the future he is ready and I am still single, I am willing to try again..