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if Trina would commit to Stanford. But Shannon was not only getting on his nerves, she was getting really pushy about sleeping with her. He told her that he wouldn’t do that until he was in love, but she kept pushing anyhow. He was afraid that if she kept throwing herself at him he might, in a moment of weakness, give in. After all, he was just an ordinary guy. It was only the circumstances that were extraordinary. Despite the fact that he really couldn’t stand to be around her, he was still a normal guy being propositioned regularly by a not unappealing young woman. Despite what Shannon thought, he wasn’t some virgin who had no real idea what he was missing. Lovelle new very well what he was missing, and he hadn’t had to miss it like this in a very long time. Continuing to subject himself to this pressure seemed less and less advisable in light of his primary goal of remaining faithful. So when Trina signed on with MSU, despite his efforts, staying with Shannon seemed pointless.
    Once again, he was wrong. His relationship with Shannon may not have kept Trina from going to college with him, but it was keeping her at bay. After the breakup he was not only available, but he no longer had the cover of his “mystery girl”. And this time Trina wasn’t going to hint and flirt, and wait patiently for him to get it. This time she wasn’t operating under the notion that she was the object of his desire, and only needed to send him the signal that it was okay to ask. This time, despite the fact that she was still dating his friend John, she let him know exactly how she felt.
     
    *****
    Trina asked Lovelle to pick her up after work one Friday. He knew then that he was in for it. John had been doing this for months, but suddenly Lovelle was called to duty without explanation. Sure enough they didn’t get half a mile down the road before he found out exactly what was on her mind.
    “Aren’t you even going to ask me why John didn’t pick me up tonight?”
    “I didn’t think it was any of my business,” he played dumb.
    “We broke up.” She was very matter of fact. There was no hint of the typical drama you would expect from a teenage girl. She seemed determined not to give him the impression that she wanted his shoulder to cry on.
    “Oh, I thought you guys were doing good.” He tried to sound surprised.
    “We were okay. But it was never serious. He’s going away to Ferris State next year, so it was gonna be over anyhow. Actually, I like someone else.” Now she was teasing him. “I didn’t want to string him along when I really want to be with another guy.”
    Lovelle’s heart sank. This was it. She was about to drop the bomb. The only girl he was genuinely afraid might be able to steal his heart. The one person he was desperate not to get involved with, was about to tell him that she liked him. Probably, more than just liked him. His emotions were swirling. At any time before he had met Katie his heart would have jumped for joy at the very proposition. But now, Trina was simply the ultimate temptation when temptation was the last thing he needed. Of course, he knew he would resist. His real fear at the moment was that he would somehow hurt her. Or, that he was about to lose a friendship which meant so much to him now. He had no idea what he could say to her that wouldn’t seem like a rejection. After all, it was a rejection. It was a rejection with good cause, but he could not explain that to her.
    He said nothing, and they sat silently for what seemed a very long time. Then she tired of waiting for him to ask who, “You know I like you, don’t you?”
    “No,” he lied, trying to sound surprised, “I didn’t think we had that kind of relationship.” He knew that she would know that he was lying. But he was flying blind, unsure of how to proceed.
    She let the lie go. “We could,” She said softly as she touched his hand and his heart fluttered uncontrollably. “Can we go somewhere and