"Hey handsome," she purred, "you look like someone just killed your favorite puppy. How about letting Lola buy you a drink." Bo didn't even look at her, he just replied in a disinterested voice.

"If you don't mind I would rather you didn't. I want to be alone." Lola, a woman that was close to Bo's twenty-one in years but light years light years ahead of him in experience, knew that this young man had woman troubles stamped on is forehead in bold, black ink for all the world to see.

"What is her name, Hon?" she asked softly. Lola always did have a soft spot for men with women troubles. Bo just scowled and sighed. Part of him wanted to just be left alone with his monumental failure but then there was that other side, the one urging him to confide in this stranger.

"Her name is Shirley," he said quietly. Lola just waited. She could almost predict what he would say next, it was always the same. The girl was always an angel or a goddess depending on who was telling the story, and she was always the only girl they had ever loved. But Bo surprised her. "She was annoying," he said with the first grin to split his features in days. "And bossy, she also knew everything about everything. She had blonde hair, deep blue eyes, cute but not beautiful. And her fashion sense, well lets just say it's unique." Lola's face had taken on a stunned look; she was not only sympathetic now, she was intrigued.

"She sounds, um, interesting." Bo finally looked at Lola. She was a stunning he realized with a start. With deep chestnut hair, exotic green eyes, and a body to die for. Still she didn't hold a candle to Shirley in his mind; he had a sinking feeling no one else ever would.

"She is .... see with Shirley it was her quirks that made life an new experience. I mean I have meet more beautiful women, more sophisticated ones, even dangerous women, but in the end I found my way back to her. We were childhood friends, had a lot of .... adventures together. It wasn't until I moved away and then came back that our relationship changed, became something more. And now..........." he trailed off choking on his own words.

"What happened?" Lola prompted thoroughly entranced with Bo's story now. Bo just shook his head in a negative gesture, and then took a swig of beer to fortify himself.

"It had been building for awhile, I see that now. I had been working more, she had been studying, we were losing track of each other. Three days ago it came to a head. I ran into an old girlfriend of mine, her name was Heather. She was having some problems so we went back to my and Shirley's apartment. One thing led to another and soon after, well Shirley came home early. I remember her face, it was a mask of stone. I rushed after her, trying to explain but she wouldn't even look at me, I could see the tears, but I turned away from her. I thought I knew her so well, but I didn't know her at all. When she came back later that night I had been drowning my sorrows in a bottle of wine. I said things, cruel things....I ......" Bo had to stop for a minute a sob tearing at his throat. "I called her cold and unfeeling, a robot with........" He couldn't continue. Lola was just starring at him in shock, now she had a feeling of dread running down her spine to her toes.

"Can you fix it, find her...grovel. A woman does love a good groveling," she half joked. Bo didn't laugh, he just looked more miserable. "She left after the fight ...... realizing what I had done I followed her. I called her name, she turned ..... there was anger blazing in her eyes. She didn't see the car, they didn't see her ...... and when I got to her it was already too late." Bo was numb again, the last words were said softly, barely audible to anyone who wasn't waiting for them. Lola's face had taken on a stricken, horrified look. For once in her life she was struck completely speechless. She left Bo as silently as she had come. Bo didn't even notice.

"My God what have I done," Bo thought helplessly to himself. "I never even told her that I loved her.

THE END