Honestly, he could have turned the whole thing into a big win for him if he had the half-a pint of wisdom needed to control or rework his phrasing/focus when he spoke. If it was more along the lines of "I'm just your toy and not your boyfriend, right?" or something that puts their relationship in an ambiguous light and puts the onus on her to define it, he could have got a confession or put up some resistance. Well, the real thing holding him back from doing that is a lack of self-esteem, so he jumps to the "people will mock you if they misunderstand" conclusion.