What does the kissy face emoticon mean when he often uses it to say goodnight?

[Anonymous]

So, my boyfriend and I decided over a month ago that we would "take things slow" because he's not ready for a commitment yet because he's gotten used to having all his freedom.

He was cheated on in his last relationship with a controlling psycho (trust me, I have had firsthand experience with her), so he's not ready yet to give in to me.

It took me some time to come to terms with his need for space, but I've finally learned to be okay with giving it to him. We see each other once a week, sometimes once every 2 weeks depending on our schedules.

In the beginning, we got intimate pretty quickly. Our texts were very flirty, and we used kissy emoticons VERY frequently, even for just casual texts. But since he wanted to slow things down, flirty texts have pretty much gone out the window. This type of flirting is on his terms.

I've noticed that he'll often use kissy face emoticons in goodnight texts, even if I don't use them to say goodnight.

Does this mean something?

[Idontknowmyusername]

It could just be a small amount of flirtation or meant as something sweet to add the the goodnight. Like reassurance that though he's not ready for full commitment he is still interested. For example I have 3 different types of kiss emojis and the one I consider flirrational is the one with the wink. If it's one with a kiss ithe could be something nice to add. Regardless of his reason I would believe it is a reassurance tactic, enjoys can be used to lighten up a text for example a "hi" can be seen as something plain and a "hi =)" as something more friendly or kinder.
If it bothers you, you could bring it up to him. If it doesn't bother you maybe just take it as a compliment that he is keeping things slow, he's just adding a little something you first connected with or used to do.

[Asker]

Thanks! It definitely doesn't bother me that he sends me them. It's reassuring to know that he's showing some kind of emotion, and that he's making an effort. 😊

I'm a little insecure, so when he said he wasn't ready for a commitment, I assumed it was me. But he continues to show affections, so it helps.

[longjohndan]

It means like a kiss goodnight, not much meaning in it.

[Asker]

But it shows sone genuine affection overall.

He's a bit hot and cold since the talk, so I'm like holding onto bits and pieces of his affection when I'm not able to see him. Plus, his texting sucks haha

[longjohndan]

Just keep in mind one thing, gestures are worth the effort put into them. It doesn't take much to enter an emoticon.

[Asker]

That's true, but he almost NEVER sends them, so I like to think they mean something when he actually does use them.

[longjohndan]

I imagine that it came in a moment of affection.