Confusion

So, I have a situation that is particularly challenging for me. I have a guy who I met back in 2018. The moment I met him I knew he was in my life for a reason. I am a pretty spiritual person and I talk to God about this often but am feeling a bit stuck. My relations with this guy was steady for 2 1/2 years but around the 3rd year it got rocky because I was not in a great mental space and ended up portraying a lot of trauma onto him. He really tried to be there for me during that time but just couldn’t do it to protect his own mental health. So we ended up parting ways and long story short I began to seek therapy….(Need I say more?! Life changing). So fast forward to now and he is in my life in a very weird way. We spoke a few days ago and we had a great conversation about the past and how the time away from each other was great for our individual growth. I really do want a relationship with him but I want it to come natural. In our conversation he explained to me that I will always hold a special place in his heart and whenever we do see each other it “feels like home”. I feel the same way but the problem is that I feel like he is avoiding me in someway. Like he says all of this but he doesn’t text me, call me etc. and when I ask if I could take him out he says okay but never follows through because he says that he has “pride” issues on not being able to take me out bc he is short on money. I explained to him that I absolutely don’t mind paying if we go for drinks or whatever if I am the one asking him out. Anyways, should I be giving him some time ? Or keep pressuring him to just let me take him out. I really don’t understand men….