At the time, he was excited about going on a second date with you.

He thought that the first date was amazing too and was looking forward to the prospect of seeing you again.

Yet, he ended up randomly rejecting you, making the second date a nonstarter, and you, befuddled.

Why did this happen?

He got clarity after the excitement of the amazing first date wore off.

Even though he had a great time with you, he realized that he wasn’t ready for what was expected.

At the time, he saw how excited you were about him, and he was excited too, but this was while he was filled with dopamine and norepinephrine.

His body was energized.

It had been a while since he felt this good with someone.

His previous relationship didn’t end well.

Unfortunately, he has been reeling from that breakup.

When he went out on a date with you, it was different.

He was suddenly happy.

Happier than he had felt since his breakup.

Since this was new to him, he let himself get carried away in the moment, believing that this must mean that he was over said breakup.

Nonetheless, once the first date was over and you had gone your separate ways, the dopamine and norepinephrine, all feel-good hormones that are released in the brain and adrenal glands respectively, diminished.

He was no longer on that high.

As a consequence, he could think more clearly.

He realized that as amazing as the first date was, it was a feeling that didn’t persist for long.

It wore out.

Sadly, he had already asked you out on a second date by the time he came to this realization.

Unbeknownst to you, he was no longer on the same high as he had been on the first date.

You, on the other hand, continued to be on that high.

The dopamine and norepinephrine in your system was persisting.

You were already envisioning what a second date with him would be like, and was excited.

Close family and friends had already been informed by you about how much fun you had on the first date with him.

In turn, they fed into your excitement, telling you that this is the right guy for you.

As people who are close to you, they have had a front seat to your romantic endeavors.

They have been there through your ups and downs in dating and relationships.

Hearing positive accounts from you about this date only made them feel that much more encouraged that this guy was likely a keeper.

All of this made you that much more excited about him, powering up the dopamine and norepinephrine in your system with a vengeance.

Until, you got the unfortunate news that he was canceling the date and felt your elation plunge.

A befuddlement over why you were randomly rejected out of nowhere, after such an amazing first date, became the prevailing thought.

In these moments, it’s so tempting to blame yourself.

Don’t.

You did nothing wrong on the first date.

He had an amazing time.

So amazing, he asked you out on a second date immediately.

This rejection was more about his emotional disposition than anything else.

He wasn’t emotionally prepared to take on someone new in his life.

He thought he was, but he wasn’t.

Once the dopamine and norepinephrine wore off, he was right back to feeling glum about a past breakup that he has yet to recover from.

This makes him emotionally unavailable to you, and everyone else.