My current situation;
I met a guy on a dating app 5 years ago, we started dating but life got busy for both of us and we stopped speaking. I ended up meeting someone else who I dated for a little over a year before breaking it off.
I reconnected with the first guy and we went on some cute dates and had some sleepovers but he told me he wasnt looking for anything long term. I took his advice and didnt pursue anything with him. I ended up in a different relationship once again with someone who i thought was 'the one', that ended after a year and a bit when things started getting serious.
Being newly single, i ended up reconnected with the first guy again. We reconnect all the time because we have a lot in common and genuinely enjoy each other (outside of sleepovers ).
We had the same routine again, meeting up, going on cute dates, but this time without sleepovers. I told him that I dont want to hook up because i want a relationship, he said that he isnt looking for long term, I said cool.
Its got a bit messy, I blocked him because i needed space, he reconnected with me because he said he cares about me and really wants to make things work for us being friends. He apologised for trying to make a move the last time we met up and said that he wants us to work as being friends. I asked him why we dont just date if we have such chemistry, he said that he isnt looking for long term.
I told him that we can try to keep things platonic but I might feel hurt if he does get a girlfriend, his reply to this was 'i wont make promises to you that I cant keep, I might meet someone in a week, a month or a year, and if it gets hard for us to stay friends though that then please let me know, we need to be able to talk things through, I really care about you and value you and dont want to hurt you, or for you to just abruptly disappear from my life'.
My running theories on why we arent dating is:
1. He doesn't want a 'serious' girlfriend, but wants something like a casual girlfriend.
2. He just doesn't want anything romantic with me… but that theory contradicts itself when he tells me how much he cares for me imo.
I did say that dating is like a trial phase anyway and i dont understand why we wouldnt even try it, but he said he doesnt want to hurt me.
Fast forward a bit and im in the talking stages with a guy who's really alligned with me with chemistry, religion, and goals. I havent told the first guy about him, I dont want to hurt him or make him feel regret for not making a move when he could have….
So, tl;dr,
Do people ever regret not committing to someone when you had the chance? Or does this not give any cause for further thought?