Am I about to be in a situationship

Re-entering modern dating has been extremely confusing and shocking to say the least. The past few potentials all had a common theme of why it never ended up going further. Anywhere from lack of connection, poor communication skills, as well as being inconsistent / hot-cold behaviour. Making it all the more difficult to really know if these guys are interested in a casual relationship or an actual relationship.

However the most recent guy has been a tricky one to figure out and I’m not sure if it’s because I just can’t see the signs / my previous experiences are making me wary or it’s because he simply does not see it with me.

Context: This guy and I have known each other for awhile and began going on dates more frequently in the past 6 months. I (25F) and him (33M) haven’t had any discussions about what we are or really anything about our feelings towards one another. He is a very nice stable guy, owns his own place, stable job, and has a good balance of social life as well as family life.

Initially he had put in more effort in our conversations over text and even called often which I enjoyed however lately that has it a sharp decline. Our dates were full of plans and spontaneity in the best way, some of the best and most memorable dates I’ve experienced. However in the recent dates there’s been a significant shift in how attentive he has been from being late, me having to repeat questions or what I have to say as he blanks out, and lack of energy overall.

He has mentioned that he told people that we are dating, but unsure what dating means to him. I personally feel like the term ‘dating’ is more so in a committed relationship with someone but we have not established that yet. He has said that he likes me and enjoys spending his time with me.

The reason why I’m confused if he views this as more casual is because:
– His change in energy and effort
– He doesn’t want to hold my hand in public
– Often conversations are usually only about him and what he is doing
– I’ve brought up conversations about us but he will often deviate from it to a different topic
– He is better in person when we are together but I don’t feel like he’s there when we are apart

I’m not used to a guy never bringing up the ‘what are we’ and am a bit uncertain if I should just let this one go. I will have a conversation with him eventually about it but wanted to get some different perspectives first.