A couple of days later, I returned from my run to find Christy and Wren sitting at the kitchen table. They were talking in light tones, but they’d been speaking about something serious a moment before. They had that air about them. Besides, Christy had “conspiracy” written all over her face. Wren followed my glance and immediately jumped into the breach.

“So, we were thinking…,” she said. “It just doesn’t seem like Christmas without a tree.”

I poured a glass of orange juice and leaned against the counter. We’d all agreed that we didn’t want the hassle of a tree since none of us would be home to enjoy it. So why the change and why now? I took my time and sipped juice while the girls wondered if I’d go along with their scheme, whatever it was.

“What do you think?” Wren finally asked. “Maybe after Trip’s had his coffee, you guys can go buy one.”

Christy nodded and said, “Lights and ornaments and decorations too.”

“Right,” Wren agreed. “All that.”

I took another drink and gazed at them silently. They could tell I wasn’t buying it, but neither of them cracked.

“Sure,” I said at last. “Sounds like fun.”

Christy’s relief was almost comical, and even Wren blinked as the tension faded.

In the spirit of being helpful, I asked, “Do you want us to pick up anything else while we’re out?”

“Maybe stuff to make eggnog,” Wren said.

“Can do. Make a list.” I drained my glass and set it in the sink. “I’d better go roust Trip and then jump in the shower. Sounds like we have several hours of errands.”

“At least,” Christy said. She wasn’t the worst conspirator in the world, but she wasn’t going to stage a coup any time soon. Still, she bounced up and offered a kiss. “I’ll make it worth your while,” she said. “I promise.”

Wren didn’t say a word, but her I-told-you-so grin was more than enough.

Trip and I left about an hour later.

“So,” I asked mildly, “any idea what the girls are up to?”

“Yeah. Can’t tell you though. It’s a surprise.”

“No shit, Sherlock.”

“It’s a Christmas present. From Christy.”

“You okay?” I asked with a sideways glance.

“Bit of a hangover,” he said. “Last night was my night to drink too much. Wren had to drive us home.” They’d gone to a honky-tonk bar to hear a band and had been out until the wee hours. “It’s okay, though,” he added. “I needed to get out today anyway.”

“Oh? What for?”

“Stop by the bank. Christmas present. For Wren and me.”

“Sounds like something big.”

“Yeah. I didn’t tell you ’cause I didn’t want it to get back to Wren. Sorry.”

I was mildly annoyed that he didn’t trust me enough to keep a secret, but it wasn’t worth an argument.

“So, what is it?” I said instead. “That is, if you don’t mind sharing now.”

He glanced at me guiltily. “Yeah, I had that coming. I tell you everything else. Dunno why I kept this to myself.”

“Neither do I.”

“Well, this is more than just a gift, so I guess I had to get used to the idea first. You know how I am.”

“Yeah.”

“Anyway, I’m buying a new car for Wren and me.”

“Wow! Okay… that is a big deal.”

“Told you.”

“Hold on,” I said as I connected a couple of dots in my head, “is that why you’ve been so uptight about money lately?”

“A little, yeah. Been looking at finances. Problem is, Wren still acts like daddy’s little princess with a credit card. She’s getting better, but it still bothers me.”

“Remember to compromise,” I told him. “Also, don’t expect her to change overnight. I’m dealing with the same thing with Christy. I want everything to happen now, but I can’t force it.”

“You got that right.”

“Just be patient with her. You remember how patient she was about swinging.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” he said. “It’s different when you want someone else to change. Have to remember that.”

“Mmm hmm.”

“Yeah, so, anyway… We’re getting a new car. Mine gets lousy mileage and started burning oil recently. Hers gets great mileage but needs a new transmission, new tires, and a bunch of other things.”

“So… what’re you going to buy?”

“Don’t laugh,” he said. “A Volkswagen Rabbit.”

I did my best not to snicker, although I wasn’t very successful.

“Yeah, I know,” he said. “That’s what I thought at first. But lemme tell you, this new GTI is fast, man. It’s even made in America. The salesman was telling me…”

He was still singing its praises as we pulled into the bank to get a cashier’s check.

“I’m going to surprise Wren tomorrow,” he said as we returned to my car, check in hand. “Then we can drive home for the holidays in the new Rabbit.”

“Sounds like fun. Sounds like your hangover’s gone too.”

“Amazing how a check for eight grand will get your adrenaline flowing, huh?”

“Ain’t it, though?”

We bought Christmas decorations at Kmart and then picked out a tree from their lot. Trip was finally ready for food, so we ate lunch at a barbecue place nearby.

“How long are we supposed to stay out?” I asked when we finished.

He glanced at his watch and did some math. “Let’s have another Coke. We should be fine as long as we don’t get home before… two o’clock.”

“Fine by me.”

He signaled the waitress and we settled in to wait.

I figured out pretty quickly that my surprise was upstairs in my studio. Christy shadowed me anxiously when I went up to my bedroom, and Wren had blocked the third-floor stairs with a basket of laundry. Subtle they weren’t, but I played along and acted like I didn’t have a clue.

Back on the main level, Trip put on a Christmas album—John Denver and the Muppets, I swear—and then joined the rest of us to hang lights and ornaments. Wren had made mulled wine earlier, so the house smelled like Christmas, especially with pine from the tree. We completed the festive little scene with a dozen wrapped presents.

Wren was trying to clean out the fridge before we left for ten days, so we had a feast of leftovers for dinner. For dessert we lingered over bourbon-laced eggnog and talked about the different things our families did for Christmas.

Eventually we switched back to wine and moved to the living room to open presents. Christy was like the proverbial kid on Christmas morning (almost literally) as she pulled gifts from under the tree and placed them in front of each of us. Then she sat Japanese-style on the floor beside me and surveyed hers.

She saved the ones from me for last, and her eyes lit up when she opened the first, a leather-bound sketchbook with her initials embossed in gold on the cover. She reached for the bigger of the two remaining gifts and wasn’t the least bit surprised by the rose silk babydoll nightie. She and Wren had been looking at it in the shop, and Trip had given Wren a similar one in white.

“Open your last one,” Wren said. It was a small box, obviously jewelry. “Let’s see what you got.”

“This one requires a little explanation,” I said. “Go ahead and open it and then I’ll tell you.”

Christy tore the wrapping from the box. It was too large for a ring, but she still glanced at me uncertainly. Then she opened it and immediately grew emotional. She showed Wren, whose eyebrows rose with curiosity and disbelief.

“It’s perfect,” Christy said. She withdrew the small gold cross and chain. “But I thought…”

“I’m not an atheist,” I said. “Besides, your faith is important—to both of us—so I wanted something to remind you.”

Wren smiled and gave me a nod of approval.

Christy’s eyes were still shining as she handed me the necklace and swept her hair out of the way. I clasped it around her neck, and she looked down to admire it for a moment. Then she leapt onto the couch and kissed me. Wren and Trip were both grinning when it ended, but Christy didn’t notice or even care.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” she said. “It means so much, especially from you.”

“Home run, dude,” Trip said.

“Well done,” Wren agreed. Then she grew suspicious. “Wait a sec, how come you haven’t opened any presents?”

“There weren’t any with my name on ’em.”

“Nonsense,” she said. “There’s one from Trip and me.”

I shook my head.

She still didn’t believe me, so she swept aside discarded wrapping paper and looked everywhere under the tree. Then she sat upright and searched her memory.

“Oh, damn!” She laughed and turned to Christy. “We left it upstairs.”

“Oh my gosh, you’re right.” She shot me a guilty look. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay. Is there anything else upstairs for me? Maybe… in my studio?”

“I told you he’d figure it out,” she said to Wren. “I can’t lie to him. It really bugs me.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Wren said. “He doesn’t know what it is.”

“No clue,” I agreed.

“Come on, then!” Christy said. “Let’s go see!”

We trooped up to the third floor, and I laughed as soon as I saw the door to my studio.

“We couldn’t wrap the present itself…,” Christy said.

“…so we wrapped the door instead,” Wren finished.

“Works for me.”

“Go ahead,” Christy said eagerly, “open it.”

I ripped through the wrapping paper and then opened the door itself. I froze in surprise when I turned on the light.

“Do you like it?” Christy asked hesitantly.

“It’s… amazing!” I turned to her. “But it’s way too much.”

“Just shut up and say thank you,” Trip said. “She asked me first, and I told her it was a good idea. Besides, she got it for a good price, ’cause a certain friend of yours called the local store and told ’em one of his best students needed it.”

I blinked as the words sank in. “Hold on. Do you mean… Joska?”

“Who else?”

“Professor Joska?” I struck a lordly pose and imitated his Hungarian accent, “‘You’ll have to do better, Mr. Hughes.’ ‘I won’t accept mediocrity.’ ‘You can quit at any time.’ That Joska?”

“Yep.”

Christy beamed. “He’s really proud of you. I swear.” Then she glanced at my new drafting table. “I hope you like it…”

“Like it? I love it!” She squeaked in surprise when I picked her up and kissed her. “It’s perfect. You’re perfect.” I set her down and put my arm around her as we admired the desk, a beautiful Hamilton with an oak top and a cast iron base.

“I realize it’s a bit anticlimactic,” Wren said, “but you have one more gift, from Trip and me.”

“Oh, right. Sorry.” I picked up the wrapped present and slid my finger under a seam to pop the tape.

Christy rolled her eyes. “He’s even neat about that.”

“You’re enough chaos for both of us,” I said.

“No kidding,” Wren laughed. “You should’ve seen us this morning.”

The present from her and Trip was a new drafting machine to go with the table. “It’s awesome,” I said. “Thank you very much. But… now I feel bad. I didn’t get you all nearly enough.”

“It isn’t a contest, man,” Trip said. Then he added with a grin, “But if it is, we win.”

Trip surprised Wren the next morning with a trip to the Volkswagen dealer. When they returned we oohed and aahed over the new car in the driveway. Trip and I talked about how fast it was, while Wren and Christy said how cute it was. I had to chuckle to myself when I realized what we were doing. The men were talking about “manly” things while the women talked about “womanly” ones.

Ah, yes, I mocked, so much more liberated and modern than those hopeless conservatives, the Carmichaels. People who live in glass houses…

“What’s so funny?” Trip asked.

“Nothing,” I lied. “Only, I was just thinking how cute the car is.”

He gave me a funny look.

“Never mind. Dumb joke.” But it wasn’t a joke. It was a reminder not to judge other people by my standards. Hadn’t I said the same thing to Christy? Practice what you preach, dude.

Easy for you to say, I told myself.

I chuckled again. Now I was having arguments with my better self instead of just my penis. Things were getting crowded in my head.

“Are you okay?” Wren asked.

“He’s fine,” Christy said. “He’s just talking to himself. He does that.”

Was I that easy for her to read? Evidently so.

“Oh?” Trip said. “What about?”

“Too soon to tell,” Christy said with a grin. “He’ll let us know when he figures it out.”

I smiled inscrutably at him and then gave her a wink.

“You two…,” Wren said affectionately.

Later that day we packed our things and prepared to leave. Christy had her usual two large suitcases and one small one, but this time the large ones were mostly full of gifts, so I didn’t tease her.

Trip and I loaded our cars at the same time. He was used to his Impala and its massive trunk, so he had trouble getting all the presents for his little brothers into the Rabbit. The boxes were like parts of a building—I took one look at them and simply knew where they needed to go. After several tries Trip pulled out the largest ones in frustration. I pitched in and helped, and we loaded everything in about ten minutes.

“Thanks,” he said when we finally closed the hatchback. “I was ready to leave the train set.”

“It needed to go in first.”

“Well, yeah. It’s obvious now.”

“Right. Sorry.”

“Nah, I’m sorry. I just… don’t like being reminded that you’re so much better at some things.”

“That’s why we’re a team. We complement each other.”

“Remind me again why you need me?”

“Because I have no idea how to make enough money to pay cash for a new car.”

“Yeah. Well. I do.”

“Exactly.”

The girls came out of the house with the last of our things. Wren asked if we were ready to lock up and leave, and we gave her two thumbs-up. Then we said our goodbyes, wished each other Merry Christmas, and climbed into the cars.

I followed Trip onto the interstate, but he mashed the accelerator and sped away. He was having fun with his zippy new car, even loaded as it was with luggage and presents. My poor old Cruiser probably could’ve kept up for a while, but I decided to let him win without a fight.

Christy and I listened to the radio and chatted about everyday things during the three-hour drive to my parents’ house in Sandy Springs. Then we entered the outskirts of suburban Atlanta, and she gazed out the window with interest.

“This is where you grew up?”

“Just for high school,” I said. “We moved here in ’77, from Savannah.”

“Oh, that’s right. Your dad flew for a charter airline, right?”

“Yep.”

“We moved every few years too.” She craned her neck and soaked up details. “I think that’s why I don’t want to be a Navy wife,” she said after a minute. “I want to live someplace and put down roots. I want a big house with a swimming pool and a studio and pets and a garden and the same friends year after year. We never had any of that when I was growing up.”

“A house like that costs a lot of money,” I said with a sidelong glance.

“I know,” she sighed. “Do kindergarten teachers get paid much?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Then you’ll have to make all the money,” she said absently. It was a completely unguarded comment, so I let it go. Besides, she wasn’t really the money-grubbing type. She liked nice things, but at least some part of her realized they didn’t grow on trees.

“That’s what I always thought I’d do anyway,” she added, “support my husband. Still… it’d be nice to have a career of my own.” She leaned her head against the window and watched the world go by.

“You can do both,” I said.

She shrugged.

“Besides, marriage is a partnership.”

“Yeah.”

“Partners support each other. Nothing says the husband has to work and the wife has to stay at home with the kids. Maybe you’ll make more money, and I’ll stay home with the kids.”

“I doubt it.” She sighed again and fell silent.

“What made you think about that?” I said at last.

“Thinking about what to do after I graduate.”

“You can get an MFA.”

“I probably will, but then what? Kindergarten?” She sighed again. “I always thought being a grown-up would be easy.”

“Nothing worthwhile is easy,” I chuckled. “If it were, everyone would do it.”

“I know, but still…”

I pulled into my parents’ driveway and parked next to Erin’s car. Then I turned off the engine and unbuckled my seatbelt.

“Come here,” I said to Christy, who threw off her own seatbelt and slid across to me. I put an arm around her and urged her to climb into my lap, which she did.

“That’s one thing I like about being my size,” she said. “I fit in your lap pretty much anywhere.”

“Mmm hmm.” I put my arms around her. Something told me she needed my presence more than words of assurance, so I held her in silence.

“I’ve also been thinking about how quickly we’re moving,” she said at last. “In the relationship department. I like it, but… it scares me a little too.”

“I know what you mean.”

“And I’ve been thinking about my beliefs, especially since you gave me the cross. Then I think about the lingerie and sleeping with you, and how much I enjoy it. And I guess I feel like two different people sometimes. One of them is this good girl who’s pure and innocent. The other is a bad girl who wants to do naughty things. I know it isn’t that simple, but I guess part of me wants it to be.”

“Believe me, I understand.”

“I know. That’s why I told you what I’m thinking. You never make fun of me for being so messed up in the head.”

“You aren’t messed up. You’re just human. And complicated.” I chuckled softly. “Just like me. A mess of contradictions and confusion.”

“You always make me feel better.”

“That’s my job.”

“You’re very good at it. Thank you.”

I kissed her temple. “You’re welcome.”

“And thanks for not making me feel dirty when we… you know.”

“I won’t ever make you feel dirty about sex. It’s in my best interest to make you feel good and enjoy it. If you do, you’ll want to do it again… and again and again.”

“And again and again and again,” she added with a small laugh. Then she looked up at me. “Can you really do it that many times? In one night?”

“Wait and see,” I said with a roguish grin. Then I kissed her full on the mouth. She sighed and surrendered herself.

“Mmm,” she said afterward. “You make it so easy to be naughty.”

“All part of my nefarious plan. One minute you’re pure and innocent, the next you’re part of an orgy with a half-dozen people.”

“Oh my gosh!” She searched my expression. “You’re kidding, aren’t you?”

“Wait and see.”

“You’re terrible. I thought you were serious.”

“You never know,” I said. “But don’t worry. We won’t have any orgies until I’ve had a chance to fuck you myself.”

Her eyes widened.

“Yeah, so you’re safe for a while.”

“Safe forever as long as I keep telling you no. At least till our wedding night.”

“That’s what you think. But you know it’s gonna happen long before then.”

“What’s gonna happen?” she taunted.

“You know.” I kissed her. “I’m going to spread your legs, get your pussy nice and hot and slippery, and slide every inch of my cock into you. I’m going to pound your little box until I fill it.”

She whimpered.

“Then I’m going to fuck you again and shoot another load inside you. After that, I’ll make you suck my cock until I’m hard again. You can ride me until you come, and I’ll fill you with a third load.” I kissed her again and she leaned into me. “And that’s just the first hour,” I added softly. “Imagine a whole night of that.”

She sighed with barely suppressed desire. “Yes, please.”

“When you’re ready. All you have to do is ask.”

“Ugh! Why’d you have to spoil it? You know what I want!”

“Uh-huh. But—”

“I know. You don’t want another Kendall. I get it.” She grimaced. “Sometimes I really don’t like you.”

“Sorry,” I said unrepentantly.

She tried a pout, but that didn’t work either, so she did her attitude-adjustment trick. “Tell me again what you’re going to do.”

I described a recurring fantasy, one where I tied her to the bed and had my way with her.

“Oh my gosh.” Her cheeks had turned pink from the heat, and she squirmed in my lap with even more heat between her legs.

I let her imagination run wild for a few moments before I said, “We’d better head inside.”

“Do we have to?”

“Yeah, sorry. If we don’t, I’m going to throw you into the back and fuck you for real. Call me a romantic, but I really don’t want our first time to be in the back seat of a ’72 Toyota.”

She laughed. “Me neither.”

“At least we agree on that.” I pretended to think about it. “Actually, we agree on pretty much everything. You just don’t know it yet.”

“Excuse me?”

“You said it yourself, I make it easy for you to be naughty.”

“You can say that again!”

“I make it easy for you to be naughty.”

She rolled her eyes but kissed me anyway.

“Okay,” I said at last, “back seat or inside.”

“I dunno, the back seat looks pretty comfy. Or…,” she hesitated, “you could tie me to the bed.”

“Don’t tempt me.” I patted her bottom and gently slid her off my lap. “Now come on, Little Bit. Let’s get a move on.”

“Yes, sir.”

Erin spoke up during dinner. “Um, hey… is it okay if I invite Leah and Mark to come over tonight?”

Mom’s brow furrowed. “Are you talking to me or Paul and Christy?”

“You.”

“Fine by me,” she said.

“I’d better explain first,” Erin said. “Mark said he’ll bring the stuff to make B-52s. Those’re shots, by the way. Alcohol, not planes.”

“We know,” Dad said with a laugh. “We aren’t complete squares.”

“Yeah, sorry. Anyway,” she continued, “I figure if we’re going to be drinking, you won’t want them to drive home. So, if they come over—and that’s a big ‘if,’ since I want to make sure it’s okay with Christy and Paul too—I was going to ask them to spend the night. But I wanted to clear it with you first.

“I mean, we could surprise you with the overnight part,” she explained, “after they’d already been drinking, but that seems kinda underhanded. We don’t really want to go to a club, so… I thought we could do it here instead, where it’s safe.”

“That’s… a very wise decision,” Mom said when she recovered. She glanced at Dad. “I’m okay if you are.”

“Sure. I’m easy.”

“Thanks,” Erin said to them before she glanced at us. “Okay, two down, two to go. But you can totally object if you want to, Christy.”

“Why would I?”

“I dunno. Leah just said you might. But I guess I’m getting ahead of myself. You probably don’t even know who she is.”

“No, I’ve met her,” Christy said. “She came to Knoxville after the thing with that guy. And… didn’t she have a fight with her mother?” She glanced at me and said, “You made her call home. Remember?”

I nodded. Leah had also spent the night with me, which Christy certainly remembered as well. Her memory was as good as mine, maybe better.

“Oh, yeah!” Erin said in surprise. “When she ran away and no one could find her. The Gary incident. Ugh, what a jerk.”

“No kidding,” Christy agreed, “Wren told me about it. One of those guys.”

“Totally,” Erin said. “A real asshole. So you understand.”

“I think we all do,” Mom said. “The Garys of the world are a stain on mankind.”

“They make the rest of us look good by comparison,” Dad said lightly.

“Because we don’t kiss and tell,” I added.

“Amen,” Christy said with feeling.

Mom, Erin, and I exchanged a grin.

“Okay,” Erin said as she picked up where she’d left off, “so you know who Leah is. I guess that explains why she wants to see you. I forgot you met already.”

“We did, sort of, but I wasn’t very friendly.”

“Really? Why not?”

I jumped in, “She was annoyed with me. I wasn’t being a jerk—not at the time—but…”

“I did something I wasn’t really proud of,” Christy said. “I… um… started some rumors too. A former friend gave me some bad advice, but it was my fault for taking it.”

I nodded and left it at that. Then Christy touched my hand and squeezed gently.

Erin’s eyebrows twitched at the possessive gesture.

“That’s why she’s a former friend,” Christy said.

“Ah, okay,” Erin said. “But… you’re okay if Leah and Mark come over? I thought we could hang out in the hot tub and just chill.”

Christy looked at me.

“It’s up to you,” I said. “You’re the new nudist.”

“Hold on, we’ll be…?

“Nude,” I finished for her. “Unless you don’t want to.”

“No one’s going to force you,” Mom assured her.

“Totally,” Erin agreed. “You can wear a suit if you want. I probably have one that’ll fit you.” She sized her up. “Okay, maybe not. But a string bikini, at least. We can make it work.”

“Or you can just say no to the whole thing,” Mom added, followed by a nod from Erin.

“No, I’m… okay,” Christy said. “I did fine with Susan and the others. Besides, I’d like to meet Leah when I’m not being a you-know-what.”

Erin smiled and leapt up. Then she slid back into her seat. “Sorry, Mom. May I be excused? Just for a minute? I wanna call Leah and tell her.”

“Go ahead,” Mom said with a laugh.

Erin used the kitchen phone, but she stretched the long cord into the living room.

“Sometimes she goes a bit overboard on the maturity thing,” Mom said to the rest of us.

“It beats the alternative,” Dad said.

“No kidding.”

“Besides,” he added, “it makes me happy to see you getting along.”

“Me too,” I said.

“Took us long enough,” she muttered.

“You’re both stubborn, strong-willed women,” he said.

“You can say that again,” I said with a laugh. Then I sat upright and glanced sideways at Christy. “Uh-oh. I just realized something.”

Her brow knitted. “What?”

“You’re stubborn and strong-willed too. Sorry, I have to break up with you. I can’t date a woman like my mother.”

The mother in question swatted my arm. “That wasn’t very nice. To me or her.”

“Sorry, I couldn’t resist.”

“Try harder next time.”

“Mom, you’re the second most-wonderful woman in the world, and I love you more than I’ll ever be able to tell you.”

“Thank you, but… only the second most-wonderful? I must be slipping.”

“No, you’ve been one-upped.”

“Oh? By whom?”

“You’re lookin’ at her.” I sat back and put my arm around Christy, who looked up at me in surprise.

Dad burst out laughing. “That’s my boy!”

Leah and Mark arrived about an hour later. He carried two brown paper grocery bags into the kitchen and set them on the counter.

“Great to see you, Mark.” We shook hands.

“You too, man.” He pulled me into a hug. “You look great, as usual. Merry Christmas.”

“You too. Merry Christmas. Hey, Leah. How’s it going?”

“Good. Don’t I get a hug too?” She glanced at Christy. “Do you mind?”

“No, not at all.”

Leah gave me a sisterly hug and then stepped back. Any other time she probably would’ve kept her arm around my waist.

“I know you’ve met,” I said to her and Christy, “but I don’t seem to do a good job of introducing people.”

“In your defense,” Leah said, “you were a bit distracted last time.”

Christy nodded.

“Right. So, Christy Carmichael, meet Leah Coulter. Leah, Christy.”

The girls shook hands.

“It’s nice to meet you again,” Leah said with a personable smile. “Erin’s told me so much about you.”

“For real this time,” Erin chimed in.

“Nice to meet you too,” Christy said. “Again. And I’m sorry I was so rude last time.”

“To be honest, I was so upset that I barely remember,” Leah said. “I do remember you storming out of the room, though.”

“It wasn’t personal. I… wasn’t very happy at the time.” She shot me a quick glance, but Leah caught it and smiled.

“Lemme guess,” she said, “it had to do with Paul.”

“Sort of, but not really,” Christy admitted. “It had more to do with me… um… not getting… I mean…” She finally gave up. “You explain it, Paul. You’re better with words.”

“She had a crush on me,” I said, “and I was clueless.”

“Gee,” Erin said, “imagine that.”

I ignored her and continued, “Worse, I was a jerk about it. Well, that and other things.”

“I totally understand,” Leah said to Christy. “He’s a big goof sometimes, isn’t he?”

“A total dweeb,” Erin agreed.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Christy said with a smile as she thrust her arm through mine. “I think he’s coming around nicely.”

Leah’s own smile shifted to me. “She’s wonderful, Paul. And…” She paused to consider her next words before she looked at Christy. “Erin says you know about Paul and Gina. Recently, I mean. So—”

Christy stiffened with sudden wariness.

“No, it’s nothing like that,” Leah promised. “It’s just that she wanted me to tell you something.”

“Okay,” Christy said neutrally.

“She said she loves Paul dearly, but she heard something in his voice when he was talking about you. She said she can’t compete with that, and she hopes you’re very happy together.”

Christy blinked in surprise.

“She’s serious,” Leah said. “I know her better than anyone, and she really wants you to be happy.”

“I… I don’t know what to say.”

“Well, she did make me swear to threaten you if you hurt him. She says she has a ‘posse of chicas’ who’ll do anything she wants. So,” she finished with a grin, “you’ve been warned.” Then she gave me a faux-stern glare. “She told me to tell you not to screw this up like you did with her.”

“Doing my best not to,” I said.

“Good.” Leah smiled at Christy again. “She said she’d like to meet you sometime, but only if you want to. She totally understands if you don’t.”

“No,” Christy said immediately, “I’d like that.” She glanced at me. “If it’s okay with you.”

“What do you think?” I asked Leah.

“Honestly? I think she means it. I dunno what you said to her, but you know how she is.” She explained to Christy, “She’s my sister, so we fight sometimes, but she doesn’t have a mean bone in her body. She isn’t scheming or vindictive or anything like that.” She added a reproachful look and said, “Not like some people Paul dated.”

“Kendall wasn’t that bad,” I grumbled.

“Yes, she was!” “She was terrible!” Leah and Erin cried at the same time.

“You were the only one who didn’t see it,” Erin added. “She was a total—”

“Hey! Kendall’s a complicated person,” I said. “Some good, some bad, like anyone else, me included. And she’s still a human being. How would you like it if I talked about you that way? Huh? So lay off Kendall. Yeah, she has her faults, but she’s still a good person. You don’t have to be friends with her, but that doesn’t mean you can cut her down either.”

“He’s right,” Mark said. “I don’t even know this Kendall, but you shouldn’t talk that way about anyone.”

“I’m sorry,” Leah said contritely.

“Yeah, me too,” Erin added.

Mark gave me a supportive look and then completely defused the tension. He held out a hand to Christy and said, “Mark Douglas. Nice to meet you. Leah and Erin have told me a little about you, but I’m dying to hear more. So, you’re from California?”

She shot me a half-bewildered look but then turned back to Mark. “Not originally,” she said. “We moved there when I was a baby. I was born in Virginia.”

Mark chatted easily with Christy as he unpacked bottles and four-packs of wine coolers from the grocery bags. Erin went to fetch shot glasses from the wet bar, so I moved closer to Leah and lowered my voice.

“Thanks for making Christy feel welcome,” I said.

“My pleasure. Gina says hello, by the way.”

“Say hello back.” I paused to make sure Christy was paying attention to Mark before I asked, “Did she really say those things?”

“She did. I swear to God. She wants to see you too, but only if Christy knows.”

I nodded.

Leah glanced at me and studied my face. “You’re really happy with her, aren’t you?”

“I am,” I said simply.

“Well… I knew it had to happen sooner or later. She sounds wonderful. Erin is totally in love.” She rolled her eyes. “You know how she is. She’ll be thirty before she settles down.”

“She has high standards.”

“No kidding. But she’s happy enough for now, especially since I’m willing to share Mark. Happy at home too, now that she and your mom are getting along better.”

“How about you? You and your mom doing okay?”

“We are. She still drops comments about me becoming a doctor, but she knows I’m serious about journalism. Besides, she has Kara and Gina. Two out of three isn’t bad, right?”

“Three out of three,” I said firmly. “Three awesome daughters: smart, beautiful, and determined.”

“You’re biased.”

“True. But that doesn’t mean I’m wrong.”

Her eyes crinkled with affection. Then they relaxed and she studied Christy for several heartbeats. “How much does she know? About us?”

“You and me? Or the group secret?”

“Both.”

“She knows we’ve slept together. And she notices a lot more than I give her credit for, so I’ll probably be answering some questions tonight. As far as the other thing… she doesn’t have a clue.”

Leah arched a dark eyebrow. “Do you really think you can make it work? With her? If she’s not… one of us?”

“Believe it or not, I think she’ll come around. Wren thinks so too.”

Leah nodded speculatively.

“We’re taking things slow, though. One baby step at a time.”

Erin returned and saw that we were talking, so she joined the others and added another distraction in case Christy turned our way.

“What can I do to help?” Leah asked, her voice still low.

“Just be yourself.”

“Is that all?”

“Yeah. I don’t want her to feel like we’re railroading her or anything. She has to come willingly. You know?”

She nodded.

“But in the ‘be yourself’ category, don’t worry if you feel a little frisky, especially with Erin. Christy has serious feelings for Wren, although she hasn’t really come to grips with the idea. She has, sort of, but she needs to realize it’s normal with us.”

“Okay.”

We watched Mark use a spoon to build the shots while he explained the process to Christy and Erin.

“Anything else?”

I thought about it for a moment. “Maybe talk about sex. She’s getting used to the idea that we’re a lot more open about it, but it wouldn’t hurt to reinforce it.”

“You don’t ask for much, do you?” Leah teased.

“Hey, I really like this girl—”

“I can tell.”

“—and I want to make it work with her. I think she’ll come around, but it won’t happen overnight.”

“I hope you’re right.” She nodded at the small blonde. “And I hope she understands what you’re giving up if not.”

“I think it’ll work out. I have faith.” I chuckled at my choice of words.

“What?”

“Long story. Just… she’s changing me as much as I’m changing her.”

“Yeah, that makes sense. Mark’s doing the same with me. It’s weird sometimes, but I like it.”

“Me too. For both of us.”

Her hand found mine and clasped it. We both felt a spark, but it was different somehow, subdued yet stronger than ever, like a deep current that connected us.

“For the record,” I said, “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

We stood in companionable silence for a moment and then let go of each other’s hand at the same time.

“Yeah,” she said, “we’d’ve been good together.”

“Totally.”

Mark glanced at us. He must’ve known how much Leah and I cared for each other—he wasn’t stupid—but he’d never said anything.

“Time to join the party,” I said.

She smiled and brushed her index finger against mine, the briefest of touches but full of meaning. Then she stepped forward and deliberately moved to Mark’s other side.

I touched Christy on the small of the back and smiled when she looked over her shoulder.

Mark handed me a shot glass with distinct layers of liquor. He raised his own glass.

“To old friends and new,” he said. “May we always be true. Cheers!”

“Sláinte,” Christy and I said together. She grinned at me when she heard it. Then we sipped our drinks. We both shivered as we downed the Kahlúa.

“Oh, God,” Erin said to her, “you’re turning into him.”

“What’s wrong with that?” she asked.

“She can’t help it,” I said. “I’ve been giving her special injections.”

The others burst into laughter.

“I bet you have!”

“Lucky her.”

“Oral, I’m sure.”

Christy blanched. “Oh my gosh.”

“Come on,” I said to her. I grabbed a four-pack of wine coolers and tossed my head toward the patio door. “I’m surrounded by beautiful women with too many clothes.”

“We should do something about that,” Mark agreed.

We headed out to the patio, although Christy hesitated uncertainly.

“You okay?” I whispered.

“I can do this,” she said, more to herself than me. Then she kicked off her shoes and unbuttoned her jeans. “I can do this.”

I gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and knelt to untie my shoes.

The light from the hot tub bathed us with a cool glow, and I watched Christy check out Leah and Mark as they undressed. Her eyes widened when she realized that Leah was shaved too.

Did she do that for you? she asked silently.

I nodded.

But…? Are you…? Is she…?

“She likes it,” I told her quietly. “Mark too.”

“Oh. Okay. I thought… Well, you probably know what I thought.”

“That maybe I had another girlfriend you didn’t know about?” Her guilty look was answer enough. “No, just you.”

“I don’t know why I get jealous,” she said. “I’m really not. I mean, I am, sort of, but… not. Ugh! I hate that I can’t use words like you. At least you know what I’m talking about most of the time.”

The others had finished undressing, and we watched them climb onto the deck and then descend into the tub. I hung my shirt over the back of a chair and decided how much I wanted to explain.

“I know what you mean,” I said after a moment. “It’s a trust thing. Like… if I thought you still had something going on with Simon that you were hiding from me.”

“Exactly! I don’t, by the way.”

“I know,” I said with a chuckle. “Be kinda hard, with him in England and all.”

“Right.”

“By contrast, I know about you and Wren, so it doesn’t make me jealous.” I wasn’t really the jealous type, but that wasn’t the point. “I’ll tell you more about Leah and me some other time. The R-rated version, at least. Long story short: we’re very close, we love each other, but we aren’t in love… if that makes sense.”

“I… think it does.”

“She’s in love with Mark, and I’m… well… I’m falling in love with you.”

She beamed and bounced up to kiss me. “The feeling’s mutual.”

“I thought it might be,” I said with a grin.

“You guys coming?” Mark called from the hot tub.

I raised my voice, “Yep. One sec.” Then I pulled Christy against me and bent to kiss her. “So… are you okay? About Leah and me?”

“I think so. But I definitely have some questions.”

I cocked an eyebrow.

“Get your mind out of the gutter. Not those kinds of questions.”

“Okay. Just checking.”

She stared at my chest for a moment. “I’ve decided something, though. You were right. No way you should’ve told me this all at once. I’d’ve run screaming.”

“So, maybe I know what I’m doing?”

“Maybe,” she admitted. Then she grinned up at me. “I still wanna know everything, though. But…! When you think I’m ready. And only the R-rated version. Okay?”

“For now,” I agreed. “I’ll save the X-rated version for when I want to tease you while you’re tied to the bed.”

“Oh my gosh.” She sighed with an unspoken, “Yes, please.”

“Ready to join the others?”

She nodded and we took off the rest of our clothes. Then I grabbed the wine coolers and gestured for her to precede me.

“Oh, cool,” Erin said when Christy came into view, “you shaved.”

“I keep telling you,” Leah said to her, “you should try it. It makes you extra-sensitive. Besides, I think it looks neater.”

“You never complained about mine before,” Erin snapped before she realized it. She blushed and stammered to Christy, “Not that I— Or we— I mean—”

“It’s okay, Erin,” I said. “Christy has a sort of sixth sense for bi, lesbian, gay, whatever. It’s uncanny.” I twisted the cap off a wine cooler. “Here,” I said as I handed it to her, “you’re going to need this.”

Christy gave me a deer-in-the-headlights look but took the bottle. She drank about half of it, which seemed to settle her nerves. “I can do this,” she said so only I could hear. “I’m fearless.”

“You are.”

She turned and descended the steps into the water.

I followed her and told Erin, “She figured out that Mom and Susan are bi. Took her about five seconds.”

“For real?”

“Yep.” I sank into the water and guided Christy to my lap. “She might’ve taken a bit longer to realize you and Leah are too, but—”

“No,” Christy said, “I was pretty sure already.”

“What gave us away?” Leah asked.

“I’m… not sure. I can just tell.”

“Are you always right? I mean, have you ever thought someone was, but they really weren’t?”

“I don’t know. I… um… don’t usually ask.”

“No, I guess not,” Leah said with a laugh. “It isn’t something you just come right out and say.”

Christy glanced furtively at me. “Can we change the subject, please?” She raised her wine cooler and added, “At least until I’ve had a few more of these?” In an even smaller voice she said, “Like, about a dozen.”

“Sure,” I chuckled, “no problem.”

“Sorry,” Leah said. “Sometimes we forget what it’s like for new people.”

“We can talk about something else, sure,” Erin added.

“Yes, please.”

“So, Mark,” Erin said to him, “when do you leave for Seattle?”

“The 27^th. My dad’s in Hawaii with his girlfriend, so we’re going to celebrate when they get back. After that, we’re…”

“Are you all right?” I asked Christy in a low voice.

She nodded and took another drink. “I’ll be fine. My family doesn’t… you know… talk about sex. Not in mixed company, at least.”

I arched an eyebrow.

“Well, the women do. Of course. Sometimes it’s all they ever talk about. But never with the men around.”

“Why not?”

“Because it’s private. Between a man and a woman.”

“But you just said—”

“Don’t use logic against me. My family’s just different. Okay?”

“You’re right.”

“I like your family,” she added quietly, “but they take some getting used to.”

“Fair enough.”

She drained the last of her cooler and handed me the empty bottle. “Just keep giving me these and I’ll be fine.”

I handed over my mostly-full bottle.

“Thank you. And before you say it… I know, you want me to be able to talk about this stuff without being tipsy. Well, baby steps. I’ll get there. But for now…” She raised the bottle and took a drink, albeit a moderate one. Then a thought occurred to her and her brow creased. “Hold on… do I have to be sober later? If we want to… you know? Tell me now and I’ll stop.”

“No, we’re good,” I said with a chuckle. Then I grinned. “So… you like fellatio more than alcohol?”

“Oh my gosh, yes!”

“Hold on,” Leah said from across the tub, “did I hear someone say ‘fellatio’?”

Christy turned pink and hid her face in my shoulder.

“Guilty,” I said. “Sorry. We were talking about boyfriend-girlfriend stuff.”

“I should hope so,” Leah teased. “I mean, imagine if you talked about fellatio with just anyone.”

“Exactly,” Mark said. “World peace might break out.”

Her jaw dropped. “What?”

“Hey, guys who’re getting a blowjob are pretty happy. They don’t hijack airliners or bomb shit. I’m just saying… Maybe if Yasser Arafat got his dick sucked once in a while, peace might break out in the Middle East.”

“Are you serious?” Leah said. “That’s your solution to the Middle East conflict? Blowjobs for everyone? It’s a lot more complicated than that! For one thing, the Israelis…”

I lifted Christy’s chin until she met my eyes. Relax, I told her with a look.

She nodded. Then she took a sip of wine cooler.

“Better?” I asked softly.

“Yes, sir.”

“Good. ’Cause you aren’t gonna last ten minutes if you keep getting embarrassed every time we talk about sex. Never mind ten years…”

“I know.” She stiffened as my words sank in. Then she looked up. “Ten years…?”

“Oh, at least,” I said. “Forever, if you play your cards right.”

“Yes, please.” She smiled dreamily. Then she kissed my neck and sighed as she felt my penis stiffen under her. “Mmm… someone approves.”

“Of course. He has very simple desires.”

“He just wants to be loved.”

“Long and often.”

“Mmm, long…”

“Are you all talking about sex again?” Erin said.

Christy squeaked and buried her face.

“Sorry, my fault,” I said. “Again.”

“Well,” Erin continued, “I’m ready for another round of shots. Then we can talk about sex all you like.” She turned to Leah. “Okay if I steal Mark?”

“He’s all yours.”

Erin stood and gestured for him to follow. They climbed out of the hot tub and grabbed a couple of towels from the stack she’d brought out earlier. Leah watched them go and then returned her attention to us.

“I’m really curious about this sixth sense of yours,” she said to Christy. “Is it like a light bulb? Some kind of alarm bell? Or just a feeling?”

“I don’t know,” Christy said. “I never really thought about it. I just… know.”

“It has to be something. I wonder what it is that makes you so sensitive. You’re bi too, aren’t you?”

Christy shot me an alarmed look, but Leah had already moved on.

“Maybe it’s ’cause you have some kind of radar,” she mused, “that only works on people like you. Like us, really. But I can’t tell if someone else is. Erin’s even worse than I am, especially in the clue department. She isn’t as bad as Paul, but sometimes I wonder…”

“I’m especially slow on the uptake,” I told Christy.

“You keep saying that,” she said, “but I think it’s really a smokescreen.”

“Really?” Leah said, already on the trail of a new story. “What makes you say that?”

“’Cause he knows so much about me, without being told.” She shot me an accusatory look. “You can read my mind.”

“Maybe he simply pays attention to you,” Leah said. “Most guys just look at us—women, I mean—and try to figure out how to get us into bed.”

“He already knows how,” Christy muttered.

“Well, that’s what I mean. He pays attention to you.”

“Gosh, does he!”

“And maybe that’s why he can read your mind.”

“You do the same to me,” I said to Christy.

“I do not!”

“Sure you do.” I grinned. “You can always tell when I’m horny.”

“That’s easy. Are you breathing? Then you’re… you know.”

“I know the word,” Leah stage-whispered to her. “You can say it.”

“Sorry. I’m still getting used to how much everyone here talks about sex.”

“I understand. It’s okay.”

“Horny,” Christy said. “See?”

“Good for you!” I said.

“Don’t patronize her, Paul. She isn’t a child. She simply wasn’t raised like we were.”

“You’re right. Sorry.”

“It’s all right. I’m used to it,” Christy said. Then she brightened. “If you get me another wine cooler, I’ll say a few more naughty words.”

“Which ones?”

“Uh-uh. Not until you hand me the drink.”

“Right!” I stretched out an arm and managed to snag the cardboard four-pack. I twisted the cap off a bottle and handed it to Christy before I opened one for myself.

“Penis,” she said after a drink. “Erection.”

“Dick,” I teased. “Hard-on.”

“You have your words, I have mine,” she said primly.

“Fair enough. Any other words you’d like to, ahem, get off your chest?”

“Tits!”

Leah laughed. “You have really nice ones, by the way.”

“Thank you. Yours too.” Christy looked down at her own. “I just wish they were bigger.”

“Don’t we all?”

“See?” she said to me. “I told you, guys like girls with bigger boobs.”

“And I told you,” I said, “I like the ones I can touch, which means yours.”

“You can touch hers too. They’re right there.”

Leah grinned and stuck out her chest.

“Yes, I could,” I said to Christy. “But not unless she wants me to and it’s okay with you. Till then, she and her boobs are off limits.”

“Good answer,” Leah said.

Christy beamed and offered her lips for a kiss.

“You two are cute,” Leah said.

Mark and Erin returned with the shots and more wine coolers. She set them within reach and then followed him into the hot tub. He started handing out shot glasses with layers of dark, cream, and amber liquor.

“What should we toast to?” he asked.

“To breasts,” I said. “Big, small, round, flat, perky, or saggy… we like ’em all!”

“Hear, hear!” He raised his glass. “To breasts, may they always come in pairs. Cheers!”

We toasted and drank.

“I’m more of an ass-man myself,” Mark said as he collected the empty glasses. “I think that’s why I first noticed Leah. Then I discovered a bunch of other reasons I liked her. But… yeah. Definitely her ass.”

I could actually feel the alcohol work its way through Christy’s system. She relaxed and stroked my chest.

“Paul has a nice one,” she said. “I call him Mr. Cute Butt sometimes.”

“He does have a cute ass,” Mark agreed wryly.

“That’s not all,” she continued. “His penis is nice too.”

“You’re on your own there,” he said to me as Leah and Erin shared a look.

“It’s my favorite,” Christy added.

Leah laughed. “Get this girl another drink! She really loosens up.”

“Paul calls me ‘flirty girl’ when I’m tipsy. Like now.”

“Nothing wrong with that,” Mark said.

“It takes a lot to get me really drunk, though.”

“Are you even more flirty when you are?” Leah asked.

“Oh my gosh, yes! I wanna do all sorts of naughty things.” She patted my chest. “But Paul is a perfect gentleman. He never takes advantage.”

“Then he’s an idiot,” Erin said. We all looked at her and she blurted, “What? I’d totally take advantage of her.”

Christy let out a sigh too soft for anyone else to hear. I’d have missed it myself if I hadn’t been holding her. I counted back and realized how much she’d drunk in less than an hour. I was sixty-plus pounds heavier and had drunk a lot less, but I was definitely feeling the effects. Erin was fairly tipsy herself, so I decided to tease her and fan the flames.

“I think she might like that,” I said.

Christy hesitated a moment but then nodded.

“Wow,” Leah said to her, “it’s like you’re a different person.”

“Paul says it’s ’cause I’m not trying to be a…” She glanced at me. “What was it we decided? Oh, right! A paragon of virtue. I don’t have to be pure and innocent or anything.”

“Pure and innocent are overrated,” Leah said.

“No kidding,” Erin agreed.

“I dunno if I’ve ever been pure and innocent,” Christy said. “Not for real. I pretend, but it isn’t the same.” She added for my benefit, “Sister Prune would not approve.”

“Well, you don’t have to pretend with us,” Leah said.

“Thank you. That means a lot.” She took a drink and then sighed. “Sometimes it’s exhausting. I have to pay attention to everything I do, have to be a proper young lady. It’s nice to relax and forget all that stuff.”

“It gets easier every time you do,” I said.

“I know. Like when we… you know… do stuff. It gets easier every time.”

“Yeah, Paul can take some getting used to,” Leah said.

“It’s ’cause he’s bigger’n other guys,” Erin added.

Leah and I looked at her in surprise, but Christy didn’t even pause.

“No, it isn’t that,” she said. “His penis is the perfect size. I mean the guilt. I hardly feel it anymore when we… you know.”

“Have sex?” Leah prompted.

“Oh, no! We’re waiting till we’re married.”

Erin snorted. “Marriage is overrated.”

“She just thinks we’re going to wait,” I chimed in.

“He says it’s gonna happen long before then,” Christy agreed with a nod. She searched my eyes. “I think he’s probably right, but…” She fell silent and looked down.

“But what?” Leah pressed.

“I… um… have to do some things first.”

“What kind of things?”

“Just… things.”

I silently warned Leah and she backed off.

“Christy was raised Catholic,” I said into the silence. “And they… put a lot of pressure on girls to conform. We’re trying to undo some of that without abandoning her faith completely.”

Christy nodded.

“It’s okay,” Leah said softly, and Mark nodded. “If your faith makes you happy, then good for you. And good for Paul that he supports you.”

“He does,” Christy said. She fingered the new gold cross around her neck. “He gave me this.”

“That’s because he cares about you. All of you. Not just your body.”

Christy nodded.

“Okay,” Leah said after a respectful moment, “I think we covered the religion angle. So, next subject. Christy, you decide.”

“Maybe something we all like?”

“Sex?” Mark suggested.

“No,” I said immediately. “Flirty girl talks a good game, but we’re still taking things slow. So let’s not scare her away before I have a chance to debauch her properly.”

“No problem,” he laughed. “Then… how about camp? Erin says you mentioned maybe you and Trip are gonna work there this summer instead of your usual job.”

“Yeah, it was Christy’s idea.”

She brightened and nodded.

“Cool,” he said. “I’ll be in Seattle the first part of the summer.” He gestured with his bottle and indicated the girls. “They’ll be in Europe.”

Leah nodded.

“But maybe we can all get together before we head off to college in the fall.”

“Sounds good to me.” I looked down at Christy. “What do you think, Little Bit? I know you usually travel, but…” I explained to the others, “Last summer she was in California, Japan, and Hawaii.” To her, “You wanna spend next summer at camp instead?”

She looked at me pensively. “Are you asking me to spend it with you?”

The question hung there as I considered it. We both knew what she was asking. The others did too, and they held their breath.

“I am,” I said at last.

“For real?”

“For real.”

“Big decision,” Mark said.

“Yep.” I looked down at Christy. “Do you think you can handle it?”

“I can handle anything… as long as you’re there.”

“Aww,” Erin and Leah said in unison.

“So… I guess we have a plan for the end of the summer,” I said to the others. “Party at the Pines?”

“Party at the Pines!”

We spent another hour in the hot tub, just talking and relaxing and drinking. Christy finished wine coolers about twice as fast as the other girls, although she wasn’t any more drunk than they were. She went to the bathroom with them once and a second time with me, but that was it.

She loosened up a bit more and didn’t get embarrassed when the topic strayed into risqué territory. She also didn’t protest when I parted her thighs to play with her pussy a couple of times. And she even made a couple of comments that had Leah and Erin grinning to each other. I mostly sat back and enjoyed, until Mark stood and reached for the tray with the empty shot glasses.

“I dunno ’bout you guys,” he said, “but I’m ready to head inside. Time for more shots, and I’m about half-waterlogged.”

Leah and Erin agreed with nods.

“Not me,” Christy said. “I could spend all day in the water.”

“Yeah, but not everyone’s a Naiad like you,” I said.

“Ooh, I know what that one is. It’s a water nymph, right?”

“Mmm hmm. So come on, my little water nymph. Let’s go inside. We’re down to our last couple of wine coolers out here anyway.”

“Oh. Then we definitely need to go inside.”

The others stood and began filing up the stairs, but I held Christy in place on my lap.

That was a preview of Three Little Words. To read the rest purchase the book.

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