I have to say that when I receive an invitation and someone then says 'call me closer to the time' I rarely do, because I'm worried that they may have changed their mind/forgotten/were just being polite. In my book, if you're the one doing the inviting, then you're the one who should follow it up with a phonecall to say 'Just checking you're still on for tomorrow night' or even better (and less obvious) call them to say 'I'm just checking that you eat fish/lamb/that you're not a vegetarian'. Be positive. Assume that they are coming until they tell you otherwise. The confidence you'll convey is very attractive to most people and they're more likely to say 'yes' to your invitation.

I say give the guy the benefit of the doubt. He may not be an arsehole. He may be as unsure of himself as you are.

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