After saying that she immediately felt silly. She had known he was not yet a priest and was still six months away from ordination. But she had gotten flustered and surprised at his approach, and, had forgotten.

That was part of what made the whole situation difficult for her; because part of her wanted to see him as a full-blown priest already and that part of her was wrestling, no, was feeling compelled to tell him about her feelings for him, to get it out in the open and trust him and the Lord that it would all work out.

But that another part of her did not want to tell, did not want to confess to him or anyone. That part of her wanted to hold those precious feelings to herself, her secret trove in that special place which if never revealed would remain hers forever.

It was, too, that she liked telling  no one but, also, she suspected that she liked his very unavailability, his unattainability, That way her feelings remain perfect, pristine and inside her, reassuring her that in doing so she was being a good, no, a better person than if she let them have full reign in her heart.

To complicate things all the more yet another part of her felt, sensed, believed, that he too had a sense of her in the same way and might have as strong a feeling as she did.

If he did he was even more dangerous if he let those feelings out because if he did, she would not be able to hide her own, not be able to resist, that all of it would come spilling out, visible for all to see and she would be terribly embarrassed, and also, if others saw they would see and later claim, if he succumbed as she wanted him to do, that she was the cause of him not following through on his ordination--if he fell in love with her as she was with him.

So his saying "Hi" was a tremendous moment of truth and without saying another word other than "Hi" she knew, she knew with a shock that he felt exactly as she did.

As much of a temptation as he was to her, she was an equal temptation to him.

He said his "Hi" and she could see that flood of recognition in him as well and he suddenly turned from her, looking around the room as if some force had slammed into him and then slowly turning back to her realizing that the force had come from her and himself.

He shook his head, opened his eyes wide and she blushed red and so did he.

To be continued.