If you were in a position where you liked someone but didn’t want to settle down or lead them on, what became of it?

24M here. I am currently thinking about asking someone out. I just got out of academia finally. I am out now and making decent money. I never had a problem dating but I purposely avoided it a lot in college because of how perpetually busy I was. I actually don’t want to settle down at this point. I want to explore the waters. However, I am anxious that I am going to miss the opportunity to date this person in the future. It is an old crush of mine. Can I get some feedback?