Yeah, my guess is he has been extremely headshy about any normals getting close to him - maybe men more than women because he had Megan, but even with Paige, his first impression of her was her going above and beyond to be kind to someone and then Ralph was a big part of that too. But I still think because of his sister and the bullying we know he got from Thomas and Connor, it was probably a lot harder for him to let down his guard around men/boys, which makes his relationship with Ray extra special.