I met a divorced guy online. We hit it off. After our third date, he started emailing me multiple times a day and telling me he was very grateful for me and that I made his heart alive.. and so on. He invited me over for Thanksgiving and cooked for me. We slept together that night. He still asked me out afterwards though didn't email me as much. During the time we were together (about one month), he just kept emailing me daily but never called me. I don't even have his phone number though he has mine. I also found from Google that his age seems to be older than what he posted on his profile. He was very expressive in emails but not in person.

The other night he invited me over to spend the night with him, and then dropped me off at work in the morning. But from that day he stopped initiating contact with me though still responsive. I asked him if he'd like to spend Sunday together but he said he was going to stay home. I then asked him calmly to be straight with me if there is something going on or he wants to call if off. He told me he really enjoyed my company, but he needed space and needed to be by himself for the immediate time being and asked me if I'm okay with it. I told him sure because everyone needs space sometimes, and that I'm glad he told me. But it's been a week since our last communication. How long should I wait? Am I getting played or he is just scared about telling me the truth about his age or moving forward?

He doesn't want a relationship, he just wants a booty call. I would have to say forget him, it isn't worth anything from what you describe.

He may have two or three women, he is messaging and dating, ( and nothing wrong with that, unless promises were made) in the early weeks of dating, there is just finding out about each other.

It does sound like he wanted a couple of sex dates but not a serious relationship.

Many men, can say things easier in email, than in person. I am one of them myself

We can only guess about him. Maybe he prefers to play the field and needs new excitement each time. Maybe he has someone else by now. Maybe he likes you but not as much as he did at first. Maybe he wanted you to reciprocate for Thanksgiving dinner with some cooking of your own. Who knows? He could have a steady girlfriend for all you know, someone who went home early for Thanksgiving.

You sound very straightforward. I'd email him saying 'OK, it was fun, bye, I won't contact you again.'

He told me he wasn't seeing others...

He seemed so genuine when he was with me and in all those emails he wrote me, and that's why it's difficult for me to think that he was just playing... Would guys in their 50s still play games like this? And why didn't he just call it off when I asked him if that's what he wanted, but asked me if it's okay with me that he needed to be by himself for the immediate time being? Could it be the pulling away phase people talked about?

Question 1: yes
2: Usually because they are keeping you in reserve while they date others
3: Yes, many people can't bring themselves to be honest and think they are letting you down politely, not realizing that it's worse

I don't think this is him using you, as much as it is you allowing yourself to be used.

After only the third date, you hop in the sack with him. Then you hop in the sack again with him.

Each time you allowed that to happen, he contacted you less and less. Why wouldn't he back off- you're too easy to put it bluntly.

You barely knew each other, and yet you shared the most intimate part of a loving, healthy relationship by having sex with him. But, the relationship wasn't a loving healthy one- it was barely a friendship.

Maybe he's thinking that it's just hard to put the cart back behind the horse so to speak. Maybe he doesn't want to work on a relationship with you, because he was just out of the starting gate in the 'getting to know you phase', and ending up in bed, the two of you skipped all the chapters in the book, except the prologue, and the ending page.

And you are naïve to think that online dating sites don't have people who present themselves truthfully. He's older than he said. Others describe themselves as super models with three university degrees and a house in the Bahamas.

All the more reason to get to know someone at least well enough that you have some idea who the person is- before you hop in the sack.