I’m going crazy overthinking this

Hey! Okay so this is my first time trying this out, sorry if I go a bit overboard and end up writing a novel 😅 So end of December I met this guy on tinder (I know, not the best place). He was in town visiting for the week and we actually hit it off really well. We hung out almost everyday during his week stay. We ended up sleeping together; now I’ve been intimate with guys before however I’ve never gone all the way. When he left I honestly expected not to hear from him and I was a bit okay with that but we still talk all the time. He lives on the other side of the country, and there’s a 12 year age gap (him being older). Like I said we talk quite a lot, we send pictures/videos, we’ve face timed a bit but here’s where my anxiety comes in. There will be times where I wouldn’t hear from him at most for one day, which doesn’t bother me cause I know life gets in the way. But recently it’s been for more days. If I message him he’ll respond like nothings up, continue that for a few days then not say anything again. About a month ago I told him that I was starting to like him and if he sees that this has the potential go anywhere. He said he feels the same but is scared to get into a long distance thing because he’s tried it in the past and it didn’t work out I guess. After he explained that to me I said that was fine but I was asking because I have people asking me out; I don’t know what to tell them and I don’t want to disrespect whatever is developing here. He just asked who was asking me out. And that discussion was kinda left at that. I did go out with other people as well as talking to them but it’s not the same. He’s still flirty and there’s still that attraction but I’m not sure what to do. A few days ago he told me he used to be married and has a daughter. That really took me by surprise and I feel like even now I have no idea how to process that information. I don’t know why part of me thinks he told me that to push me away or another part sees it as him opening up more. Two days ago I spent a picture and said goodnight, he responded but I didn’t, the next day he sends me a follow up message- again I say nothing, and a few hours later he sends me two videos. Near the end of the day I message back, a have and exchange where he responded and then me. To this moment I’m still waiting on a response back. Now he’s in the same area where his daughter lives (they live in different states) and he’s there on a work trip as well. I’m sure he’s spending time with her kid and he has other family there too. But I’m concerned that he’s gonna push me back. I’m trying to be optimistic and not naïve, I’m sure he’s been talking to other people and what not on tinder- although I hope he hasn’t- I’m just scared on losing him. I don’t think it’s cause he was my first time, I think it’s cause in the past the guys I’ve been with end up the same. I don’t want that to happen again, I genuinely like him. I want to take a step back from him because I honestly have no clue where his head is at and I don’t want to get more attached/invested if this isn’t going anywhere. But at the same time I want to be with him. What should I do?