He gives a smile in return.

"New York? My... partner is from there." Another pause, but this time it isn't so much for hiding as for skipping over the word he wants to say and replacing it with one more widely socially acceptable. He's better about it than before, before he would have just said friend and had done with it, but partner is still off from fiancé. He may not have come upon any homophobia here quite yet, but as someone whose formative years took place in an environment of strict status quo and intolerance, he's hesitant to be so forward.