There’s a delay in his friend’s response that gives him pause and, in that pause, allows him a moment to consider what he’d just offered. Had he meant to give his ring?

Yes…yes, he supposes he did, it just hadn’t occurred to him before today. He didn’t regret it-

At least not until Kim spoke of a memory. A memory Chris wasn’t sure he recalled every detail of himself, but certainly one that would have been during…a particular time in his life.

A time he hadn’t necessarily been ready to share with Kim. He wasn’t…inclined towards those of a feminine persuasion…and he’d been…newly…not that.

His breath catches and a coolness sweeps unpleasantly through him. “I…I see. I…apologize. You’re right, I didn’t know that was going to happen.” He considers, for just a moment, pretending there was nothing odd to notice…but Kim deserved better than that. He wasn’t a stupid man. He offers a lopsided, vulnerable, smile.

“You saw, then. How I…used to be. I was seventeen then…and just finding my feet out of the home I’d been kept locked in for over a decade.”