Dating : What was the point?

Dating : What was the point?

So I (22f) have never dated anyone before, but there was a guy friend (21/22m) from my college that I encountered when I visited early this year. We talked and caught up for a while, and he dropped me off to my friend’s dorm. Before we departed, we exchanged numbers to keep in touch. Since then, I texted him once, and he texted back. Admittedly, he is someone that I’ve liked for some time, but I suppressed my feelings since he was in a relationship at the time, and I didn’t want to be that type of person.

As far as I know, he is single, and I did get a chance to see him at his graduation and I gave him a small gift for congrats. I also did my best not to show him my feelings for him when writing in his card, because I’m sure that he might not want to date anytime soon. But, I would like to get to know him more as a friend and see where that is to go over time.

But now, I’m just confused. I have called, but I took a break from calling him and texting, thinking he might want a break from a lot of things, and I understand. I sent him a text today just to ask how his break is going, but I didn’t get a response. And, this was just me asking as a friend.

So, I’m just asking: what is the point of a changing numbers if a response doesn’t occur, whether as friends or as a possible partner? I’m trying really hard not to think of how his interactions were with me that day, or even at times when he was in a relationship (he gives great bear hugs, and he hugged me three times that day during my visit, but we haven’t seen each other in almost two years, so I try not to overthink it), but right now, I just want to know. I’ve been ghosted before, and I’d rather people just give an explanation of how they feel about someone instead of leaving them stranded, confused and upset.