The problem is that it’s difficult to get him to accept a "no" answer to his ideas. I would have to explicitly reject his invite to a group event (not a date) both in private and in front of our common friends for at least 7, 8 times until he puts a stop to asking. I watched the same thing happen to our common friend but she said she’s okay to his behavior. Well I am not. I feel frustrated and disrespected.

I don't think you are being unclear; I think he's simply refusing to accept your no for an answer.

In Mythcommunication: It’s Not That They Don’t Understand, They Just Don’t Like The Answer, the author quotes a 1999 study by Kitzinger & Frith:

Drawing on the conversation analytic literature, and on our own data, we claim that both men and women have a sophisticated ability to convey and to comprehend refusals, including refusals which do not include the word ‘no’, and we suggest that male claims not to have ‘understood’ refusals which conform to culturally normative patterns can only be heard as self-interested justifications for coercive behaviour.

If you dismiss this red flag in his behavior, there is no good reason to think he won't continue to push other kinds of boundaries, including sexual boundaries:

Finding love should never mean being uncomfortable and doing things you don’t want to do. We asked dating columnist and Kotaku contributor Dr. Nerdlove about dating red flags, and he recommends you watch out for “boundary-pushing behavior”:

 

“You tend to see this most often around sex—someone trying to convince you to do things you’re not ready for or interested in yet—but it can show up in a number of different ways. It can be as obvious as ignoring soft NOs, or not stopping when asked, to demanding reasons why. One way people will try to push boundaries is to use silence and disapproval, sometimes known as a ‘freeze-out’ in order to get you to agree to what they want.”

It sounds like you are already concerned about this, and I would listen to that warning in your head:

However, his behavioral change is not really matching up. He is now visibly more cautious with his words with me but in action would still text me when I asked for some time to myself to attend to a stressful life situation.

He is telling you what kind of person he is; this is a "red flag" warning: my advice is to shut the door on a relationship with this guy permanently.

The problem is that it’s difficult to get him to accept a "no" answer to his ideas. I would have to explicitly reject his invite to a group event (not a date) both in private and in front of our common friends for at least 7, 8 times until he puts a stop to asking. I watched the same thing happen to our common friend but she said she’s okay to his behavior. Well I am not. I feel frustrated and disrespected.

I don't think you are being unclear; I think he's simply refusing to accept your no for an answer.

In Mythcommunication: It’s Not That They Don’t Understand, They Just Don’t Like The Answer, the author quotes a 1999 study by Kitzinger & Frith:

Drawing on the conversation analytic literature, and on our own data, we claim that both men and women have a sophisticated ability to convey and to comprehend refusals, including refusals which do not include the word ‘no’, and we suggest that male claims not to have ‘understood’ refusals which conform to culturally normative patterns can only be heard as self-interested justifications for coercive behaviour.

If you dismiss this red flag in his behavior, there is no good reason to think he won't continue to push other kinds of boundaries, including sexual boundaries:

Finding love should never mean being uncomfortable and doing things you don’t want to do. We asked dating columnist and Kotaku contributor Dr. Nerdlove about dating red flags, and he recommends you watch out for “boundary-pushing behavior”:

“You tend to see this most often around sex—someone trying to convince you to do things you’re not ready for or interested in yet—but it can show up in a number of different ways. It can be as obvious as ignoring soft NOs, or not stopping when asked, to demanding reasons why. One way people will try to push boundaries is to use silence and disapproval, sometimes known as a ‘freeze-out’ in order to get you to agree to what they want.”

It sounds like you are already concerned about this, and I would listen to that warning in your head:

However, his behavioral change is not really matching up. He is now visibly more cautious with his words with me but in action would still text me when I asked for some time to myself to attend to a stressful life situation.

He is telling you what kind of person he is; this is a "red flag" warning: my advice is to shut the door on a relationship with this guy permanently.

I don't think you are being unclear; I think he's simply refusing to accept your no for an answer.

In Mythcommunication: It’s Not That They Don’t Understand, They Just Don’t Like The Answer, the author quotes a 1999 study by Kitzinger & Frith:

Drawing on the conversation analytic literature, and on our own data, we claim that both men and women have a sophisticated ability to convey and to comprehend refusals, including refusals which do not include the word ‘no’, and we suggest that male claims not to have ‘understood’ refusals which conform to culturally normative patterns can only be heard as self-interested justifications for coercive behaviour.

If you dismiss this red flag in his behavior, there is no good reason to think he won't continue to push other kinds of boundaries:

Finding love should never mean being uncomfortable and doing things you don’t want to do. We asked dating columnist and Kotaku contributor Dr. Nerdlove about dating red flags, and he recommends you watch out for “boundary-pushing behavior”:

“You tend to see this most often around sex—someone trying to convince you to do things you’re not ready for or interested in yet—but it can show up in a number of different ways. It can be as obvious as ignoring soft NOs, or not stopping when asked, to demanding reasons why. One way people will try to push boundaries is to use silence and disapproval, sometimes known as a ‘freeze-out’ in order to get you to agree to what they want.”

He is telling you what kind of person he is; shut the door on a relationship with this guy permanently.

The problem is that it’s difficult to get him to accept a "no" answer to his ideas. I would have to explicitly reject his invite to a group event (not a date) both in private and in front of our common friends for at least 7, 8 times until he puts a stop to asking. I watched the same thing happen to our common friend but she said she’s okay to his behavior. Well I am not. I feel frustrated and disrespected.

I don't think you are being unclear; I think he's simply refusing to accept your no for an answer.

In Mythcommunication: It’s Not That They Don’t Understand, They Just Don’t Like The Answer, the author quotes a 1999 study by Kitzinger & Frith:

Drawing on the conversation analytic literature, and on our own data, we claim that both men and women have a sophisticated ability to convey and to comprehend refusals, including refusals which do not include the word ‘no’, and we suggest that male claims not to have ‘understood’ refusals which conform to culturally normative patterns can only be heard as self-interested justifications for coercive behaviour.

If you dismiss this red flag in his behavior, there is no good reason to think he won't continue to push other kinds of boundaries, including sexual boundaries:

Finding love should never mean being uncomfortable and doing things you don’t want to do. We asked dating columnist and Kotaku contributor Dr. Nerdlove about dating red flags, and he recommends you watch out for “boundary-pushing behavior”:

“You tend to see this most often around sex—someone trying to convince you to do things you’re not ready for or interested in yet—but it can show up in a number of different ways. It can be as obvious as ignoring soft NOs, or not stopping when asked, to demanding reasons why. One way people will try to push boundaries is to use silence and disapproval, sometimes known as a ‘freeze-out’ in order to get you to agree to what they want.”

It sounds like you are already concerned about this, and I would listen to that warning in your head:

However, his behavioral change is not really matching up. He is now visibly more cautious with his words with me but in action would still text me when I asked for some time to myself to attend to a stressful life situation.

He is telling you what kind of person he is; this is a "red flag" warning: my advice is to shut the door on a relationship with this guy permanently.