Chapter 6

While DeeDee was enjoying a hot bath, Mel and Kim sat at the kitchen table, discussing the weather forecast. Both were somewhat pessimistic about the prediction of a quick snow melt, but for slightly differing reasons.

In Kim’s case, she was afraid of getting DeeDee’s hopes up too quickly - while in Mel’s case, he was enjoying their snowbound arrangement too much to wish for it to change. Even though Kim had tried on multiple occasions to assure him that she was interested in a long-term relationship, he still wasn’t completely confident that she’d feel the same once she was able to return to her normal life. He even caught himself silently praying to a God in which he didn’t believe. He was stirred back to reality by Kim gently poking him in his ribs.

“Are you even listening?” she asked with a curious expression.

“Of course I am,” Mel fibbed. “Why, what did you say?”

She snorted a quick laugh and replied, “You just kind of drifted off for a minute ... it looked like you were a million miles away.”

“Sorry,” he offered, “I was just trying to build a mental list of everything that will need to be done to actually make the roads passable.” This wasn’t a complete falsehood, but close enough, and Kim seemed to sense it yet chose not to pressure him about it.

“Uh-huh,” she said, clearly not buying his explanation. Instead, she chose to pivot the conversation back to where he’d mentally drifted away. “I was saying that I think it would be a good idea for us to stay clothed all day today, and even tonight.”

Mel tried to hide his disappointment, but wasn’t totally successful. She read his face and immediately tried to console him. Before he could speak in protest, she said, “Hey, I’m only talking about one day.” She found one of his hands and grasped it with both of hers. “Maybe tomorrow, we can go back to having some naughty fun again, but my poor vagina needs a break. More importantly, even though she’d never admit it, DeeDee needs to take a break too. For goodness’ sake, I don’t want her getting the idea that everyday will be like some sort of sexy times carnival ... that’s just not realistic.”

As much as he had silently wished it to be otherwise, he had to admit that a full-on hedonistic lifestyle simply wasn’t practical all day, every day. So, her reasoning seemed sound, and if he were being totally honest, he’d have admitted that his manly package was still a bit sore from the night before. Not too bad ... but tender, to be sure. He nodded his understanding and kissed her before answering, “Makes sense.”

“Whew!” Kim exhaled with a smiling sigh of relief. “I was afraid you wouldn’t take the message that well. Now, all that’s left is the really hard part: Giving DeeDee the same news.” She rolled her eyes in mock exasperation before offering Mel a weak smile. “It would really help if you backed me up. I know she’s gonna argue and pout and whine about it, but maybe it won’t be so bad if she knows you and I are in agreement So no matter how much she tries to make you change your mind, you have to be strong ... okay?”

“I can do that,” Mel promised, though he wasn’t 100% certain that he’d be able to resist DeeDee’s charms if the girl chose to use them. In truth, he knew that if the blossoming, hormone-laden teen really laid the not-so-innocent teenage seduction act on thick, he’d be a goner. And sure, he had been looking forward to playing with both ladies’ fun parts again, but based on what Kim was saying, he’d only have to wait another day or so. Hell, before he met Kim and DeeDee, it had been nearly a year since he’d experienced the joys of the female flesh – and that was during a lost weekend with a worn-out, middle-aged call girl on the outskirts of Las Vegas. He’d worn a condom even though the lady hadn’t insisted, and she said all the right things in an attempt to get him fully excited. But her mannerisms and lack of enthusiasm gave him the impression that she was just reciting a script ... badly. Compared to that less-than-stellar experience, only waiting one day to again sample the drop-dead gorgeous mother and daughter seemed like it should be easy. Besides, he didn’t want to push back, since he feared that Kim might Kim might choose to hold out longer if he tried to force the issue. There simply wasn’t any sense in trying to change her mind.

“I’m planning to take a quick shower whenever ‘little miss hot pants’ gets out of there,” Kim informed Mel, adding, “I washed up a bit after last night’s ... fun,” she smirked, “ ... but I still feel a bit sticky and clammy.”

Mel chose to keep his mouth shut and simply nod in acknowledgment. He had only reluctantly taken a shower himself earlier that morning. The scent of Kim and DeeDee’s sex had clung to his skin from the previous night, slowly mixing with his own smell, and he had been loathe to wash it off himself. But he had decided to clean himself thoroughly, afraid that the ladies would find his aura of fetid funk objectionable.

~~~ Kim’s prediction about how DeeDee would react had been, unsurprisingly, accurate. When her mother delivered the edict that no naughty shenanigans would be permitted for the entire day and night, DeeDee flew into a short temper tantrum, yelling and throwing an absolute fit. The teen accused her mother of trying to control everyone’s natural urges, and even went so far as to say, “You’re such a bitch!” to her mom, prompting an almost immediate open-handed slap across the face.

“Damn,” Mel thought silently, his eyebrows raised in shock as he purposely did his best to avoid getting between the two warring women. “Kim’s got some quick hands.” It was true. Kim’s disciplinary slap had happened so quickly that neither DeeDee nor Mel had seen her hand approaching the teen’s face.

“Don’t you ever disrespect me that way again, young lady!” Kim forcefully, and loudly warned. “I will not be referred to with such coarse language!” Kim then forced herself to walk to the other side of the kitchen so she wouldn’t be tempted to slap the girl again. She leaned her butt against the counter, shaking with anger as she watched her daughter’s expression quickly morph from shock to anger to genuine hurt.

Still, DeeDee’s body language showed that she’d learned her lesson quickly. She’d known better than to call her mother a ‘bitch’, but in the heat of her disappointment-fueled anger, she’d temporarily lost control of her tongue. Her mother had slapped some sense back into her though, and she nodded slowly while gently rubbing her face on the cheek where her mom’s hand print shone clearly. “Sorry,” she sniffled as she tried to maintain her composure in front of Mel. More than anything, she cared about his impression of her, and she didn’t want him to see her as a petulant little child, so she did her best to fight back her tears as her mother slowly composed herself and returned to her previous topic, speaking with an eerily calm and steady voice.

“We can all still hug and kiss each other, but no hanky-panky, you hear me? You better not try to act sneaky and get Mel all worked up ... that wouldn’t be fair to him,” Kim explained before turning her gaze toward Mel. With a smirk, “And that goes for you too, handsome. We all need a break, so don’t try to tempt me or DeeDee by touching our tingly parts, okay?”

“Scout’s honor,” Mel replied, holding up his right hand with the Boy Scout’s three-finger salute. He wasn’t intentionally acting flippant, but his response struck both ladies as humorous, and elicited giggles from them both.

“Were you ever in the Boy Scouts?” Kim inquired. “You seem like the kind of guy who made it all the way to Eagle Scout.”

“Not exactly,” Mel admitted with a sheepish grin. “Just a few months after I joined, we went on a camp out and I got caught drinking a bottle of wine in my tent ... Boone’s Farm Strawberry, I think it was. Anyway ... I think I was about DeeDee’s age and I had the bright idea to steal some of my mom’s booze so I could use it to make friends with the guys ... and nobody wanted to drink with me! Whew ... I was a dumb kid.” He shook his head as the hazy memories of that long ago time floated through his brain.

“So you got kicked out of the Boy Scouts just for that?” DeeDee asked, incredulous.

Mel nodded. “Yep. And when I got back home, I had to deal with the punishment from my mom,” he shuddered with the memory. “My dad was always kind of afraid to discipline me, ‘cause he thought he might actually hurt me ... like, enough that I’d have to go to the hospital. But my mom had no such compunction. She told me to ‘go cut a switch’ and when I came back with it, she made me drop my pants and bend over the kitchen table. She took her time in delivering those lashes ... I don’t remember exactly how long she took striping my backside, but I know I was bleeding by the time she got done. I remember that part like it was yesterday.”

“Dang,” DeeDee whispered softly, her expression showing her horror.

“See?” Kim interjected, looking at her daughter, “You’ve had it easy, missy.” She turned her attention back to Mel to explain. “I haven’t spanked DeeDee since she was a toddler ... never had to raise a hand to her... ‘til a few minutes ago, anyway,. And I sincerely hope that I won’t be forced to correct her again,” she gave DeeDee a stern look that slowly faded into a grimace, giving the teen the idea that her mom was silently asking for forgiveness. But the teen knew better – she’d earned the slap from her mother and didn’t dare disrespect her again.

~~~ Though it happened to be a Thursday, according to the calendar, Mel and the two ladies went about their day as if it were the weekend. After all, there wasn’t much that he could do outside until the snow began to melt – nothing productive, at least. So, the three of them settled in for the day, each doing their best to enjoy simply whiling away the time. Mel went back to his Vonnegut novel, while DeeDee planted herself in front of the television and watched whatever was offered on the two stations that came in clearly that day. Kim spent some time trying to decide how to spend her energy, and eventually decided on washing everyone’s dirty clothes by hand in the bathtub.

“You know, you don’t have to spend all your free time cleaning,” Mel told her, his face showing how perplexed he was. “It’s okay to give yourself a break once in a while.”

“It’s okay, I like doing this,” she had informed him. “It makes me feel good to know that I’m taking care of people I love. Besides,” she added with a smirk, “it gives me a chance to see what size clothes you wear ... you need some new boxer shorts, by the way. These are kinda ratty lookin’.” She held up one pair of his shorts as evidence and even through the soapy water that dripped from them, Mel could see some wear holes.

He nodded meekly. “Yeah ... I’ll be honest, it’s been a very long time since anyone has seen my boxers except me, so I generally just wear them until the elastic waist band is too stretched out.”

Kim chuckled while dropping the threadbare shorts back into the soapy water. “It shows.” She stood and gave him a brief kiss on the lips ... just a peck, really ... before returning to her washing. “Don’t worry,” she added, “now that I know your size, I’ll get you some new ones when I get back to Visalia.”

Normally, Mel would have been firmly against anyone else buying underwear for him – it just seemed too personal ... too private. But for the first time in his adult life, he realized that he didn’t mind at all. As a matter of fact, he welcomed her gesture, if for no other reason than it was another not-so-subtle hint that she was, in fact, serious about a long-term relationship. He returned to his book, sitting comfortably in the only reading chair, just a few feet from the potbelly stove. The nearness of the fire allowed him to sit there in just a pair of thin khakis and a tee shirt ... no extra layers or socks and shoes necessary. DeeDee, on the other hand, had chosen to put on a pair of jeans, a stylishly soft old sweater and fuzzy socks as she partook of soap operas she’d only previously watched when home sick from school.

And for the remainder of the day, no one tested Kim’s one-day naughtiness moratorium, though Mel did notice that DeeDee had chosen to sneakily refrain from wearing a bra under her v-neck sweater. Once in a while, she would shift her position on the sofa, or get up to refill her juice glass, or any of a thousand other small movements that made her perky yet full breasts wobble enticingly inside the confines of the soft garment. But, true to his word, Mel forced himself not to act on the predictable urges her cat-like movements evoked.

When Kim had satisfied herself that no other domestic chores needed immediate tending, she joined her daughter on the sofa, sipping a large cup of coffee and rolling her eyes at the absurdity of the daytime programming offered.

That evening, after supper and cleanup were finished, Kim told her daughter to say goodnight to Mel. “We’re gonna say our ‘good nights’ before we change for bed,” she explained. “There’s no sense in tempting ourselves by being half-naked in front of each other.”

With that, DeeDee hugged Mel tightly and shared a soulful kiss with him, but fought the urge to grind herself against him. The fact that she’d been close to him all day long, seeing him and smelling his scent while being forbidden from indulging herself had combined to leave her feeling desperately horny. The girl’s pussy was positively dripping with needful desire. But she kept her promise and didn’t try to seduce Mel. “I suppose that can wait ‘til tomorrow,” she begrudgingly thought to herself.

Once DeeDee pulled away from Mel, Kim stepped in and embraced him, mashing her weighty cans against his broad chest, unable to stifle a sighing moan as they shared a tender but hopeful kiss. “Sleep tight, handsome,” Kim said softly, then added, “don’t let the couch bugs bite.” They shared a quiet chuckle as she walked toward the bedroom. Then, just before she stepped in, she turned and said, “I do love you, Mel.” She had a slight blush on her cheeks and her eyes silently begged for him to reply in kind.

“And I love you, Kim,” he said, then watched the tension ooze from her frame. Momentarily, her blush deepened. But then, suddenly, she stepped into the bedroom and closed the door. After just a few seconds, she remembered his recommendation about leaving the door ajar to let heat circulate properly, and she reopened the door part of the way,

Inside, DeeDee was lying in bed wearing only her panties and one of Mel’s old tee shirts as she fumed. “I’m so stupid,” she thought, “I should have told Mel that I love him before Momma did.” She wrestled with the idea of using her fingers to pleasure herself, but decided to be strong and resist the temptation, though it wasn’t easy.

Mel poured himself a short glass of whiskey on the rocks and sipped it in silence. Eventually, sleep found him and he stretched out on the sofa before nodding off.

~~~ It should be noted that neither DeeDee nor Kim had ever entertained thoughts of touching another woman sexually – not seriously anyway.

There had been a time, when Kim was a teen, that her father had tried to sweet-talk her into licking her mother for his entertainment, but she had firmly refused. It wasn’t as if she was grossed out by her own body or Fran’s, but the truth was that she simply weren’t sexually attracted to the female form. To be fair, she was in awe of her mother’s absurdly large bosom, much as DeeDee had eventually grown to be, but purely as a matter of envy.

Still, in the cool overnight temps of the snowbound cabin, Kim and DeeDee cuddled for warmth. There was no kissing or caressing or anything else that could be construed as taboo – they did it strictly to share their body heat since the bedding that Mel had accumulated over the years simply weren’t as thick with downy stuffing as they were accustomed to in their own home.

In spite of her mother’s presence, DeeDee slept fitfully that night, her snippets of dreams filled with erotic tales in which she was the damsel in distress being whisked off her feet by the dashing and courageous Mel, and happily giving herself over to his lusty advances. In each of these dreams, he would eventually admit his undying love for her and the two would consummate their desires. All these notions so carefully delivered by the Sandman served only to heighten DeeDee’s pent-up arousal, a puddle of her own juices forming on the sheets below her panty-clad crotch.

By morning, it was abundantly clear that the sheets needed to be washed. And even though DeeDee did her best to hide the sizable wet spot from her mother, Kim noticed it easily enough. She chose to say nothing, hoping to spare her daughter the embarrassment, silently thinking, “Good Lord,” as she crinkled her nose, “even if I hadn’t seen the stain, did she honestly think I wouldn’t be able to smell it?” And though the scent didn’t immediately stand out to DeeDee, anyone else would be assaulted by the aroma of the teen girl’s tangy, sweet juices.

Mel certainly was...

~~~ Though he was not unaccustomed to waking with a hard-on, it was unusual for him to begin stirring because his pants were wet. Fearing he’d urinated in his sleep, Mel rushed to the bathroom for privacy and removed his loose sweatpants, investigating the damp spot only to find that it wasn’t urine at all. A minor wave of relief washed over him as he realized his cock was still dripping precum, large dollops of the viscous goop hitting the wood floor with audible ‘splat’ noises. “Jesus Tapdancin’ Christ!” Mel thought as he shook his head with disbelief, “this dick of mine has always been troublesome for me – and now I have to worry about wet dreams at my age?!” Still, even through his frustration, his dick and balls signaled their need. Everything was swollen and positively vibrating with an insistent hunger. Knowing the girls were still asleep and not knowing if Kim would amenable to his advances with the new day, he chose to hop in the shower and rub one out. Over the years, he’d learned that the tub was one of the most hygienic places to dump his load, simply for ease of cleanup. Of course, he had to remember to sit down before his orgasm neared and his knees started to tremble – he’d learned that lesson the hard way during his teenage years – but otherwise, a solitary shower was a fine enough location for him to pleasure himself and allow the copious amounts of seed to simply wash down the drain.

Once he’d emptied his over-swollen testicles, then washed his entire body thoroughly, Mel wrapped a large towel around his midsection and tip-toed into the bedroom to grab some clean clothes. As he stepped into the space where the ladies slept, he was accosted by the same smell that had he noticed upon awakening. Though it was quite ripe, the scent hit his nostrils with a welcome strength. He stood silently in the doorway, inhaling lungfuls of the spicy aroma. It was familiar to him ... somehow. Then it hit him -- a faint hint of something indescribable ... sweet and tangy, but pure. “That’s DeeDee,” Mel thought as his cock began to rise under the towel that girded his waist.

Suddenly, he began to fervently hope that Kim’s ‘no naughtiness’ rule would expire when the girls awoke. If not, he feared he’d be locked in the bathroom all day, jerking himself into the tub. As quietly as he could, he grabbed some clothes from the dresser and made his way to back to the bathroom to dress himself.

~~~ The aroma of DeeDee’s juices collecting on the sheets hadn’t just made Mel stir, it had woken Kim from a dreamless and restful slumber. And while the wafting smell of the teen’s sex had spurred Mel’s libido into overdrive, it simply caused Kim to chuckle to herself. “Damn,” she thought, “that girl is just begging to get railed at this point.” She reflected on her own pubescent years and how driven by hormones she’d been and felt pity for her blossoming daughter. When informed that she wasn’t allowed to take Mel’s fleshy dong inside herself, the poor girl had put on a brave face and hadn’t protested nearly as much as Kim had expected her to. She began to debate herself in silence. “She certainly has shown that she’s mature enough,” Kim thought. “And it would be cruel to make her – or Mel – wait too much longer before letting them really go at each other. Not to mention the fact that the thought of seeing her experience a real man for the first time would be so ... thrilling...,” she shuddered as a wave of electric tingles passed through her body. “But still, if either one of them tried to rush into it, his big ol’ donkey dick would tear her little pussy to pieces.” Unable to make up her mind, but erring on the side of caution, she chose to let things remain as they were ... at least for a little while longer.

When she saw Mel’s silhouette in the doorway, she felt her breath catch in her throat. Through half-lidded eyes, she took in his shape. His hair looked damp, like he just got out of the shower, and he smelled clean, like the Ivory soap he kept on the edge of the tub. Noticing the towel around his waist, she guessed that he had only come in for a change of clothes, but as he stood there in the threshold, she watched him close his eyes and raise his nose to the air, inhaling deeply. “He’s got DeeDee’s scent,” she thought to herself, “like a wild animal, he can smell how turned on she is.” Her own mind boggled at the thought but she did her best to hide the fact that she was awake from him after spying movement under his towel. “He’s getting hard just because of the way my little girl’s pussy smells ... from across the room!” She watched his cock twitch under the towel until he moved to the dresser, at which point, she closed her eyes tightly, feigning sleep. When he stepped back outside the room, she exhaled slowly and immediately threw out her earlier decision. She began trying to devise a plan for her to get another ride on Mel’s thick meat, and for DeeDee to safely enjoy him too. “And it better happen soon,” she thought, “‘cause DeeDee ain’t the only one with soaked panties right now.”

~~~ “I’m gonna go use the bathroom,” Kim told her daughter as they both arose from the bed, “and you can have it as soon as I’m done.”

DeeDee nodded sleepily at her mother, barely paying attention as she grabbed a fresh pair of panties from her suitcase. “And you won’t need those yet either,” she heard her mother say. “After you get done in the bathroom, go ahead and take off your clothes.” The teen’s eyes popped wide open, her face a mixture of surprise and elation.

“D’you mean...?”

Kim nodded. “At least for this morning, we’re gonna try being naked around Mel ... just being ourselves like we would at home. But keep in mind that this is all new to him, and he might not be completely comfortable with it. So we can’t assume that it will last, okay? Do you understand?”

“Yes ma’am,” the suddenly exuberant girl answered. Though she still had sleep in the corners of her eyes and her hair was a tangled mop, DeeDee was as fully alert as she’d ever been. “Is he ... are you gonna ask him to be naked too?” she asked, the hope in her eyes evident.

“Well, of course,” Kim replied with a tone that suggested that it was the silliest question her daughter could have asked, “but we’ll have to wait and see what he wants to do. It is his house, after all.” With that, Kim made her way to the bathroom, where she tinkled and then took a few minutes to wash her face and brush out her long hair. When she emerged from the bathroom naked, DeeDee was standing anxiously in the hallway, nearly bouncing on her toes with excitement. Kim offered her daughter a quick smile before hugging her briefly, then padded toward the sofa, allowing her daughter into the bathroom. Looking toward the sofa, she could see the back of Mel’s head. He was reading something and sipping a cup of coffee but hadn’t turned toward her yet. She cleared her throat. “Do you think we could wait a while before we have breakfast?” she asked, her voice taking on a sing-songy, lilting quality.

Mel’s tummy hadn’t started to rumble, so he couldn’t find a reason to argue the point. “Sure. Whatever you like,” he replied, still keeping his eyes on his book.

Then, very softly and quietly, Kim rounded the end of the couch and stood in front of him. Even though he’d seen her naked body before, the vision still took his breath away. Standing there in the full light of day, her shape was intoxicating. She wasn’t purposely posing for him, but naturally took a graceful stance as she allowed his eyes to drink in her curves. He began at her face and was once again pleased by her gentle but sparkling eyes, a faint blush on her cheekbones and the ripeness of her plump lips. Nothing about her suggested smug pride, only a barely-concealed giddiness. With one hand on her hip, her slender figure canted slightly to one side. His gaze slowly traveled southward, where the sight of her heavy breasts caused a jolting thrill all over his body. They were just so very lovely and enticing with their large, rubbery nipples fully erect, centered in her wide, dark areolas. They looked ... delicious. Forcing himself to continue down her body, he reveled at the sight of her womanly delta, shaved smooth for his enjoyment. His mouth began to water. This process took nearly a full minute, during which time, she carefully watched his face, but her eyes darted toward his crotch several times also, just to make sure her body was truly exciting him. It was.

The book Mel had been reading was forgotten and literally tossed aside as he sat spellbound by her bare beauty.

“So I was thinking,” Kim began, “since we were all so well behaved yesterday and nobody tried to break the ‘no naughtiness’ rule, maybe we should reward ourselves today.”

Mel nodded dumbly, only half-hearing her words, but willing to go along with just about anything.

Kim continued, “With that in mind, I’ve given DeeDee permission to go naked ... just for this morning ... so she can be herself like she’s at home.”

Mel’s brain was only partially processing the words that he heard. He nodded again before mumbling, “ ... want everybody to be comfortable ... sure.”

“And since I gave her permission to go without clothes, I thought it was only fair that I do the same.” She smiled and lifted her arms up above her head, presenting her body to his eyes formally. “I mean, if that’s okay with you...”

Mel nodded again, “Uh-huh.”

“Would you like to...,” Kim began, intending to ask if he would disrobe also, but was quickly interrupted by his hands on her, wrapping around her waist and pulling her down onto his lap. “I was going to ask if you’d like to be naked with us,” Kim said as she giggled. “I mean, it is your house, so all of this is really up to you anyway.”

He deftly lifted her body off his and deposited her gently on the couch next to him before he began scrambling to remove his own clothes, nearly ripping his shirt in the process. Heck, she thought he might actually tear his double-ply work pants off too, he was in such a frenzied rush. Buttons and zippers were hastily undone and very soon, he sat next to her in his birthday suit, his eyes full of animal lust and a smile on his face.

Kim noticed some movement in the hallway and turned toward her daughter. She was pleased that DeeDee was naked also, thought she shouldn’t have been surprised by it. “Bring some clean towels, sweetie,” she requested, “we’re gonna need ‘em.”

In Mel’s mind, the only reason to need towels in the sitting area was to mop up spills, a thought that made painfully hard erection twitch. But Kim’s purpose had been two-fold; Yes, she intended to protect the furniture from any of their hedonistic juices, but she also wanted to make sure they followed some basic rules of hygiene. They needed to stick to the habit of sitting on a towel when naked, just like she and DeeDee and Fran always had at home. Her teen daughter quickly complied and grabbed a few towels from the bathroom before making her way toward the sofa.

DeeDee had been eager to share her nudity with Mel, but as she approached the couch, she slowed a bit, a wave of uncertainty running through her. “It’s awfully bright in here,” she thought silently, biting her bottom lip. “I mean, he’s seen me naked before, but always at night, and without all the lights on. What if he doesn’t think I’m pretty enough, or sexy enough?”

Her fears were unfounded though, for as she stepped in front of Mel, he let out an audible gasp. In the light of day, her body was even more delightful than he’d previously thought. The slender but toned lines of her arms and legs ... her coltish, narrow bubble butt ... her full yet perky breasts which were already over-sized for her frame ... and that hairless pussy, with its puffy vulva that glistened with her juices and hid her inner lips completely – Mel’s head was spinning with lust. His cock was so hard it was almost visibly quivering. DeeDee noticed it and began to blush with pride.

“How did I ever get so lucky?” Mel mumbled to himself in disbelief.

“So,” Kim began, “is it alright if we try going without clothes today? I don’t want to make you too uncomfortable or anything, but this is the way we’re used to being while we’re at home.”

Still captivated by DeeDee’s youthful body, he could only nod dumbly again. “Yeah ... fine with me.”