Hello. I am F21 who is an international student in the U.S. I met this guy (M25) on Bumble a few months ago and the people I matched with talked casually for about a month. My reason for downloading this app was influenced by a movie I was watching with my roommate, and we started to use this for fun for a short period of time. Among the guys that I met, I found this really nice guy who is respectful and understanding of me. I am very introverted and I don't really like meeting new people unless it is necessary. Having said that, he asked me on a date during the first few weeks of us talking on the app, I politely declined since I was uncomfortable.

Then later, I decided to delete the app because it was just too much maintenance for me to keep on talking with guys I don't really know and it stressed me out. So, I asked for his social media handle and he gave it to me. We talked over there and suddenly he seemed to stop responding. After a month, he sent me a message saying we should meet up in person and talk when I updated him that I was so stressed with my college life. Since he is doing his grad degree, I thought it would be better to meet him and ask for his advice and I also declined his offer last time, so I decided to go just to get out of my comfort zone for the first time.

He was very very kind and intellectual, we talked a lot about academics in general. It got to a point where it was awkward for both of us to just be at the table in a cafe, so we decided to part ways (It was my first date too). I asked for the reason why he did not text me for a month was that he was so busy with his academics and that he ultimately forgot to reply to my last message. He also admitted that it was his fault. He continuously texted me afterward and cheered me for my upcoming exams. He is so respectful that he wants me to focus on my studying so he stops texting me for a full day. We also had our first call and we talked for over an hour to get to know each other better. I think our interests do not really have many things in common, which I am okay with. I would be willing to learn what he is interested in. He also usually texts me at night when he is also relaxing and he assumed that I am also done with school work.

So, my question is how does dating culture work in the U.S.? It is very different from Asian dating culture and I don't really know whether he is being serious or he just wants to be friends with me. He is also older than me so I am not sure what to expect from a person who is 4 years older and what does a relationship look like for them at that age? Any red flags?

Please help.