Responding to being called "cutie"?

This is a ridiculous question at my age, in college, but how do I react to someone adding in "cutie" in a text?
We've been talking for a couple of weeks (over text), mostly about shared interests. Occasionally he'll add something that makes it seem like he's testing the waters for my response... i.e. "cutie." I never acknowledge it, because I'm awkward, don't know how I feel, and am not sure why he would be into me. 
In your experience, what do things like this mean? How should I handle them? He's a little hard to read in person, due to his personality, but he gets a little more animated through texting. But I also don't know if I'm the only one -- he seems to have a lot of female acquaintances/friends.