He wants to meet again…in the summer

Hi! So I went on two dates with this guy I met from Tinder. I’m pretty new to dating for what it’s worth (he’s an inexperienced dater as well). I really liked him but he’s really busy and has like three jobs/projects going on that all take up a lot of time. We texted for like two weeks after our second date and when trying to schedule a third date, he said that his schedule/the distance was getting in the way of making a connection and he didn’t want to keep me waiting. He then said he’d like to meet up in the summer as friends once “things have calmed down a bit.” I wished him luck on his projects, let him know I’d be open to seeing him again when he’s ready and we haven’t texted since.

I guess what I’m wondering is if it’s common for someone to turn someone down by saying they’d want to meet up again months later as friends? Should I expect to just never hear from him again? I know I should probably keep my expectations low, but I keep thinking about what would happen if we were to meet again and what I would say to him too. I feel like it could end up being really awkward even though I was interested in him.