.........I should abandon Beatrice now that all I can expect is friendship.

Was I hoping for the relationship to develop further romantically? Yes. But one can either enter with a particular outcome in mind, or be open to whatever the relationship becomes of its own accord.

And judging from the number of adult relationships which end with those who professed love turning into enemies, I'd say that there are a lot of folks who set out with a fixed goal in mind, and can't handle its frustration.

But yes, I wholly agree that an LG should be accorded the same treatment vis a vis relationship expectations. I just don't have the same notion of what constitutes reasonable expectations.

Dante