A Well-Lived Life - Book 1 - BirgitChapter 13: The Lake, Part II free porn video

September 1977

It took us about ten minutes to get back to the cottage. I thought of a perfect way to really get Michelle’s goat. I told Elizabeth my idea and she laughed.

“Oh, that’s evil! And I get to enjoy it. I mean, I get to really enjoy it, she gets frustrated, AND I get you before her. She’ll absolutely lose her mind. Though when it’s her turn, if you decide to give her one, she might come close to killing you!” she giggled.

“I’ll take my chances, but she might just have to be frustrated. I don’t like to feel like I ‘owe’ somebody sex.”

“What did I do?”

“You asked me to talk.”

She nodded. I was starting to understand how girls felt when guys expected sex. It changes things, and it’s not as much fun.

Melanie and Michelle were still in the house talking. Elizabeth went inside while I went to the cottage. I saw her lean over to Melanie and whisper in her ear, putting my plan into place. Melanie came out to see me while Elizabeth got us a couple of Cokes.

“Michelle is really going crazy. You’re going to repeat what we did last night with Elizabeth? Really?”

“If that doesn’t make her crazy, nothing will. It’ll be worth it, even though I’m not thrilled with it.”

She nodded, saying “What’s my part?”

“Well, you just make sure you guys come to the cottage and she gets to see it.”

“Oh, wait! I get to watch you screw someone else silly?” she asked breathlessly.

“Yeah. Turn you on, does it?”

“Yes! And I’m going to want you, bad.”

“Hmm, that might even make Michelle more frustrated.”

Melanie laughed and said, “You are evil.”

I just winked and stuck my tongue out.

She said “I’ll hold you to that. I know what you say when girls do that to you!”

I laughed as well.

Elizabeth came back outside. “Oh my God. She’s so mad she can spit now.”

“You told her I agreed to fool around with you?”

“Yeah. No details, just told her we walked and talked, and when I asked you, you said ‘yes’.”

She turned to Melanie and said “You’re sure you’re OK with this? Steve explained everything to me while we were walking. I’m amazed at the situation.”

Melanie hugged her and said, “Go screw each other silly. We’ll be along shortly for the ‘show’, assuming Michelle wants to. Either way, I will.”

I took Elizabeth’s hand and we went inside the cottage.

Elizabeth stopped and said, “I’m on the Pill. My first time was a while ago. It was OK since the guy was experienced, but he really just wanted to bag a virgin and dumped me once I put out. I’ve been with five guys since. I like sex, a lot. I hope you’re as good as Melanie claims!”

I just looked at her and said “Well, there’s only one way to find out.”

“True.”

I took her hand led her across the room to the bathroom.

I turned on the shower in the combination shower/bathtub and adjusted the temperature. while Elizabeth looked on expectantly. I turned to her and removed her shirt and shorts, leaving her in a pale blue bra and panties. She was about 5’4” and a medium build. I smiled as I reached behind her and unhooked her bra to reveal her beautiful breasts. I was tempted to attack them but I had other plans. I knelt down and pulled down her panties, revealing a wild patch of blonde pubic hair and pronounced labia. I stood up and quickly stripped off my clothes. She smiled at my erection as I took her hand and helped her into the shower.

I grabbed Melanie’s shampoo which had a fragrance that I loved and started to wash Elizabeth’s hair. She was clearly enjoying this. I moved her to rinse the shampoo from her hair and grabbed the rose-scented soap that Melanie had brought. I proceeded to soap Elizabeth’s body, but didn’t linger on her breasts or vulva. I helped her rinse off and turned to pull her to me, giving her a deep French kiss as our bodies slid against each other. I broke the kiss and shut off the water. Grabbing a towel, I dried her, and then myself.

“Wow, nobody has ever done that for me before. That was so unbelievable.”

I led her to the main room where I saw Melanie had staked out one of the easy chairs and turned it to face the bed. She smiled when she saw us. I didn’t see Michelle and Melanie shook her head and pointed her thumb back at the main house. I hoped Michelle’s curiosity would draw her here. But if not, well, Elizabeth and I were going to enjoy ourselves anyway.

I led Elizabeth to the bed, which Melanie had apparently turned down and we lay down together. I ran my hand down her flanks and cupped her butt as I kissed her. I began planting small kisses on her neck and shoulders and worked my way to her chest. I took each nipple into my mouth in turn. Not lingering, I kissed down her stomach, brushed my lips through her pubic hair, and stuck my tongue between her lower lips.

She started bucking her hips as I licked up and down. I stopped briefly to look at Melanie who smiled at me and shook her head ‘no’. Damn. No Michelle. OK. I’d take my time here. Elizabeth moaned impatiently so I returned my attention to worshiping her pussy. She was really wet now, and I inserted a single finger and gently rubbed her while moving my mouth to take her clit between my lips.

I could feel her approaching orgasm and lashed her clit with my tongue while adding a second finger in her vaginal opening. The combined action put her over the edge and she groaned loudly as her pussy spasmed. I moved up to lie next to her and she gave me a huge kiss and hug. Our tongues tangled while her hands sought out my member. She stroked gently and said “blowjob?”

“Just don’t make me cum.”

She smirked and said, “OK.”

I lay on my back and watched her take me into her mouth. She was good. I was going to have to be real careful. I looked over at Melanie and locked my eyes on hers. She was watching, fascinated. She nodded slightly towards the window. Michelle. I did the same and she understood what I wanted. I saw her go to the door, step out, and waited. A minute later, I saw her pulling a distraught-looking Michelle into the room.

I reached down and pulled Elizabeth back to me whispering “Michelle’s here. Ready to screw each other silly?”

She smiled and said, “Do it!”

I got between her legs, took my dick in my hands, and rubbed it up and down her dripping labia. I looked Elizabeth in the eyes and asked, “Ready?”

“Come on!” she growled. “Just fuck me!”

I pressed forward and pushed my entire length into her. I gave her a few seconds to adjust and then started pumping in and out, building a rhythm. She raised her legs hooking them so her feet were on the small of my back and met every thrust. We were kissing, tongues probing the back of each other’s mouths. I put my hands next to her, pushed up, and really started pounding her. She again met every stroke.

She was panting hard and I could tell she was close. Her breathing became ragged and she started saying, softly “Fuck me, Steve. Oh fuck me!” each time she said it she got louder. I kept up the strokes as her pussy began to clench my super engorged member. I knew it was only a matter of time. She screamed “Yes, Yes, Yes, FUCK ME!” and her pussy clenched me like a vise and I buried myself and came hard.

Once I had shot everything I had, I started gently sliding in and out of her, feeling the spasms of the silky sheath around my dick. Eventually, I could not keep going so I settled in and then lay fully on top of her and we exchanged gentle kisses.

“Wow!” she gasped. “That was fantastic.”

“It was awesome for me too.”

We caught our breath and I turned my head to see Melanie smiling and Michelle just staring. I turned back, put my lips by Elizabeth’s ear, and said, “Grand finale.”

She whispered, “You don’t have to do this. I’m happy.”

“Are you OK with it? With sucking me?”

“I kissed you willingly after you ate me. I’m game if you are.”

“Here goes!”

I disengaged my still firm dick from her quivering passage. I looked Michelle directly in the eye and held her gaze until I had inserted my tongue into her sister’s dripping pussy. I set about keeping my promise to Elizabeth, using my lips, tongue, and index finger. I brought her to orgasm and when she stopped shuddering I gently pulled my dick from her mouth, and lay down next to her. “Wow!” she said softly, and then gave me a French kiss that curled my toes. I lay on my back and pulled her to my side. She put her head and one hand on my chest and signed contentedly.

“I hope Melanie will share you with me again!” Elizabeth sighed.

“I’d like that, too, but I can’t promise a repeat of that last part”.

She giggled.

Michelle finally regained her composure, “I guess you guys were telling the truth. I’m a fool.”

She got up and left the room.

Melanie started to go after her and I said “Let her go for now. Come here and kiss me.”

And she did.

“Hmm,” she said. “Interesting taste.”

Elizabeth laughed. We got up, got cleaned up, then dressed.

“I’ll go find Michelle,” I said.

I walked outside and saw that the Spencers and Parkers had returned. I looked around and walked down towards the lake. I saw Michelle sitting on a big rock just staring out over the water. I walked over to her.

“Mind if I sit here with you?” I asked.

She looked up and I saw she was crying. Crap. I hadn’t wanted that. I guess I pushed things too far. Or I was missing something fairly big here. Well, all I could do now was see if she would talk to me. I wanted to get her away from the area where we might be interrupted.

I took her hand and said, “Walk with me.”

She got up reluctantly and we started walking.

“I didn’t realize that I upset you. I’m really sorry I teased you to that point. It’s just with how Melanie described the two of you, and how you were acting, I was trying to get under your skin. Clearly, I got too far under. I’m sorry.”

We walked in silence for a bit, and her grip on my hand became tighter. She had tears running down her face still.

“It’s more than that, isn’t it? Will you tell me what’s going on, Michelle?”

She slowly got control of herself and said simply, “It’s an act.”

“What do you mean ‘an act’?”

“I’m not really like Melanie told you. My sister is, I guess. But you would know better than I would, actually. My sister and I compete at everything. While she started racking up sexual experiences, I was still a virgin. I lied to her about the guys. I even went on the Pill to keep up the charade. I knew she wouldn’t check up on me and I picked guys who had a reputation for having sex with multiple girls. She must have let slip that we were competing because I developed a reputation for being a great but easy lay. I had guys coming after me all the time. I would go out on dates, but not give them what they thought they were going to get.”

“With my reputation, they would never admit to their friends that they had struck out, so I maintained the fiction. When Melanie talked about you, it was clear Elizabeth wanted you. But so did I. I tried hard, but all you did was tease me. It wasn’t affecting Elizabeth because she was really like that. She was cool with the teasing, figuring she could get you. And she was right. She played it perfectly and I made a fool of myself.”

Michelle fell silent, and my head was spinning. I was trying to figure out what she wanted, with her still being a virgin. I wondered if she had talked to Melanie about this. I really needed some advice before I made a potentially huge mistake. This could easily backfire and blow up in my face. I didn’t need the sex - I was going to get plenty from Melanie I was sure, and might even get a chance with Elizabeth again. So it had to be about Michelle - and only about Michelle.

She broke the silence and continued, “Then, when Melanie brought me in to watch, I didn’t know what to do. I was watching my sister appear to have the best sex of her life. At least from what she’s told me. I almost ran out of the room several times, but I was fascinated. I had to see what you did with her. See if you really did that thing I thought I saw last night. We could only see dimly what was going on and my view was partially blocked, so I wasn’t sure what actually happened, but I knew what I thought I saw. This whole thing has me totally a mess. I don’t know what I want.”

I took a deep breath and exhaled - my turn.

“Michelle, I really am sorry. I didn’t know. I hope you’ll accept my apology. Do you mind if I discuss things with Melanie? I really need her advice. Then we can talk again. OK?”

She nodded, “I accept your apology. Go talk to Melanie. I’ll be waiting on the rock.”

We walked back in silence and before she dropped my hand she leaned in and kissed my cheek. “Thanks,” she said, and then sat on the rock. I continued on the path back to the cottage. I saw through the window that Melanie and Elizabeth were chatting amiably. I knocked on the door then opened it and stepped into the room.

“Hey,” I said. “Michelle is pretty upset. She’s OK, though. I’m going back to her in a bit. I just need to borrow Melanie for a few minutes.”

Elizabeth got up, came over to me, gave me a quick kiss, and said “I’ll go up to the house. I’ll see you both later.”

I sat down in one of the easy chairs. Melanie came to sit on my lap. She put her arms around my neck and kissed me.

“I got so turned on watching you have sex with Elizabeth. It was beautiful and amazing. I was tempted to jump in bed with you but I just stayed to watch. All I can say is ‘Wow’.”

“I need to talk to you.”

She pouted. I think she was hoping for her turn.

“Don’t worry, you have access to me whenever you want.”

“True.”

“I need to talk to you about Michelle. I need some advice.”

She got off my lap and moved to the other chair. “OK.”

“We had a long talk. She told me some things that I need to share with you. You can’t ever say anything to her. Can you tell me what you two talked about?”

She considered for a moment. “Not much, really. She asked a LOT of questions about you, about what we did together, what it was like with you. When you and Elizabeth were walking, she seemed to get kind of upset. I thought it was because Elizabeth had snagged you, but now that you ask I think it was something different.”

“What exactly has she told you about her experience?”

“Well, pretty much the same thing that Elizabeth had. That she had been with quite a few different guys and had done the usual stuff - blowjobs, screwing, you know. She seemed to know what she was talking about. Why are you asking?”

“You can’t let on you know this, but when I talked to her, she claims that she’s a virgin, that it’s all an act.”

“Oh my God!” Melanie gasped. “That would explain everything!”

“Explain what?”

“How uncomfortable she was. Why she was so on edge with your teasing. You notice Elizabeth wasn’t really falling for your plan, right?”

“Yeah. That was obvious.”

“Yeah. Michelle was totally off-balance. And it explains why she was so reluctant to come into the room with me. If she was a virgin, it would be really odd to watch people having sex. Especially her own sister that you had bragged to about your own exploits. And with me, who she had already seen have sex. And pretty wild sex. Well, I guess wild for a teenager. I know of some things that are pretty out there.”

I arched my eyebrow and said, “Uhm, you want to fill me in on that. Maybe the books my mom gave me and health class didn’t cover everything.”

She laughed. “I don’t know everything either, but it appears I know more than you do. This isn’t the time. I’ll tell you what I know at our next ‘appointment’. Deal?”

“Deal. What do I do with Michelle? If she is a virgin, that changes things. Especially if she thinks she has to do it in front of her sister.”

Melanie considered for a moment and said “I think that’s it. She’s nervous, which makes sense. But she made out like she was experienced. If she didn’t have a hymen, she might be able to fake it with you with just screwing. If you were alone, she could tell you. But if her sister was there, it might be obvious that she had lied. Do you know what she wants to do?”

“I’m not sure. I left it open. I didn’t press her, or even ask her. I just told her I needed to talk to you and that I’d talk to her after. I’m sure she knew I would tell you, but I think she’d die if Elizabeth found out. If something does happen, it’ll have to be just the two of us. I’m not sure how that is going to happen given that she watched me and Elizabeth.”

“Leave Elizabeth to me. I can take care of that. As for Michelle, well, you had one virgin already in Birgit. Did she have a hymen?”

I nodded.

“OK. You know about the potential for pain and blood. But you also see what sex with Birgit did. You have to consider if Michelle could easily think it’s about love rather than just about sex. If she’s going to think there’s more to this than there would or can be, you can’t. If you aren’t 100% sure, you have to turn her down, even if she begs.”

I nodded and said, “I told her about Birgit, though I didn’t use any names or say she was an exchange student.”

“Telling her that might not be enough. I assume you explained our relationship?”

“Yeah, including the whole ‘placeholder’ thing.”

“Hmm. Well, I think if she wants to do it, you have to be blunt and direct - that it’s just sex, nothing more and that it can never be anything more. If you think she really understands and really accepts that, then you can do it. If not, you have to say no. Can you do that? Because if not, then tell her outright you can’t.”

I thought about it for a minute.

“I don’t think fourteen-year-olds are supposed to worry about stuff like this.”

“You aren’t a normal fourteen-year-old.”

“So people keep telling me. My parents treat me like I’m 5 years old, well at least my mom does. If I didn’t think I’d get grounded for the rest of my life I’d ask you to screw on the floor of my parents’ living room when they were home! Then they might not think I was five.”

She laughed, “Except when you say that you sound like a petulant five-year-old.”

I sighed. She knew me pretty well. And she was right. I had to decide what to do.

“Melanie, go back to the house. Keep Elizabeth away from here until I come to find you. Will you do that for me?”

She smiled and said “Of course. Promise that I can have you again before we go home. Promise you’ll make love to me in a gentle way.”

I got up, pulled her into my arms, gave her a hug and a quick kiss, and said, “Whatever you want, Melanie; whenever you want.”

She hugged me tightly and I added, “Except right now.”

She hit me, hard, on the arm and headed for the house.

I was in dangerous territory, I knew. I had to be very careful and very sure. A mistake here could create more problems than I could deal with. I didn’t want to hurt Michelle. This was really a one-sided thing. I was free to do whatever I wanted. The worst possible scenario was that I would have sex with Melanie. More than likely I could have Elizabeth again as well. So I didn’t ‘need’ to have sex with Michelle. Did I want to? Well, she was certainly beautiful. Being an identical twin, I knew pretty much what she was hiding under those clothes and the bathing suit views were very similar.

Part of me wanted to just go get her and bring her to the house and be done with it. But that wasn’t completely fair to her. She had to decide for herself what she wanted to do and what she wanted to say to Elizabeth. Of course, if we had sex, she didn’t need to explain anything. If we didn’t, well, that might be awkward. I was afraid she’d decide based on that fact alone. Even I knew that was a really bad reason to have sex. I was not happy with my predicament. But I had to deal with it. Crap.

I made my way back to the rock and sat down next to Michelle. She had stopped crying and was just staring at the lake.

“Hi,” she said.

“Hi,” I said back.

“Are you mad at me?”

“No! Why would I be mad?”

“Because you thought I was going to have sex with you. Because you thought I was different from I am.”

I took her hand.

“Michelle, I’m not mad. I’m not upset. I was confused, but I think I understand better now, after talking to Melanie.”

She recoiled and pulled her hand back.

“Oh God, did you tell her what I told you?”

She put her face in her hands and started sobbing.

I took her hands again and said, “Yes. I did. But she absolutely will not say anything at all to Elizabeth. In fact, she won’t even say anything to you unless you raise the subject. I’m sure of that. Your secret is safe.”

She sobbed and said, “No, it’s not. If I don’t have sex with you, Elizabeth will know!”

Oh, hell. Now I knew I was in trouble. If she was thinking like that, could I trust anything she said? Was she determined to have sex just to avoid embarrassment? I wanted to run away, but I knew if I did that, it would put her in a bad situation with her twin sister. And if I had sex with her because of that, she might seriously regret it. What a mess. I had no choice but to get through it and hope for the best.

“Michelle, I won’t have sex with you just to prevent Elizabeth from knowing you weren’t telling the truth. I can’t do that. I won’t do that.”

She sobbed louder.

“Michelle, talk to me. I’m not saying I won’t have sex with you. I’m saying that it has to be for the right reasons and you have to understand why you want to do it. You’ll have to convince me you do. If you want to, that is. I have an idea. Let’s go back to the cottage. That’s what they expect.”

She looked hesitantly at me.

“Don’t get the wrong idea. Let’s go back and keep talking there. You’ll see what I have in mind.”

She got up and followed me back to the cottage. Elizabeth and Melanie saw us go inside. I stopped and locked the door and then pulled down the shades. I pointed to one of the easy chairs and said “Sit.” I went and moved the sheets on the bed and then re-arranged the pillows.

“What are you doing?”

“Cover story.”

Melanie had left a couple of Cokes on the counter so I grabbed them, gave one to her, and then sat in the other chair.

“No matter what happens, you can claim we had sex. I won’t deny it. I won’t lie about it, but I think I can deflect any questions without giving anything away.”

“Why?”

“It removes the pressure, at least somewhat. You can keep your reputation with your sister. Nothing will change.”

“Oh! I guess that will work.”

“It’ll work if you make it work.”

After a silent moment, I said, “Shall we talk this through? I want to help you figure things out.”

“Is this just a way to get me to have sex and feel good about it?”

“No. And if you think that, I’m wasting my time and should just head back to the house now.”

“No, don’t do that. Please. I’m sorry.”

“OK then, are you ready to talk?”

She looked at me meekly and nodded.

“Complete honesty on both our parts?” I asked.

She nodded again and said, “OK.”

“Michelle, are you really a virgin?”

“Technically, I guess.”

“Technically?”

She took a deep breath. “I came super close one time. I so wanted to do it, but I guess I picked the wrong guy. There was this super cute guy in my class who I liked. We had gone out casually a couple of times before I started pretending to have sex with other guys. He heard the rumors and one night when we were out having burgers he asked me if they were true. I didn’t know what to say so I just told him not to believe everything he heard. He was so nice he left it at that.”

“When he was driving me home, I asked him to take me to a make-out spot I knew about. He agreed. We got there and found a private place. We were making out and I took his hand and put it on my boob. He got the point and helped me take off my shirt and then my bra. I pulled his shirt over his head and then I reclined my seat in the car.

He climbed over and was on top of me. I got my hand in his pants and felt his erection. He was pretty big but I was determined. I asked him if he had ever done this and he said no. I told him that I hadn’t either. We got my shorts and panties off and pushed down his pants. He was on top of me, I was ready and we were sort of grinding together. I asked him to make love to me and he tried to put it in. I was so tight he couldn’t get it in right away and he was so excited he came. He never got inside me. So ‘Technically’.”

“He was so embarrassed. I tried to reassure him and told him I wanted to try again, but he just wanted to get dressed and leave. Of course, I told Elizabeth we had done it and bragged about how big he was. It made her so jealous that I embellished about the blowjob I gave him and how many times we had done it. But I hadn’t.

“I tried to get him to go out with me again, but he wouldn’t. I really tried. When Elizabeth asked about him I told her he just wanted one thing and once he got it, he was gone. I made him look horrible! But I had my story. God. What I did was so mean. And now I’m totally trapped. I can’t admit to Elizabeth that I lied. You won’t have sex with me. I have a reputation as a slut at school.”

She was sobbing again. I simply stayed quiet.

“How did I make such a mess of things?” she asked. “What can I do now?”

I had no idea how to deal with this. I had nothing in my life that prepared me for this. I thought back to things that Jennie, Birgit, and Melanie had said to me. I wanted to help her, but I just had to figure out how. Melanie’s advice seemed sound so I went with it.

“Michelle, before we discuss your issue directly, I need to say some things. I said some of them before, but I’m going to say them again. First of all, I’m basically committed to someone long-term. I have permission to fool around as much as I want, so long as I always tell her and I’m completely honest with her. That permission will end the day we can be together permanently. That means that anyone I have sex with, whether it’s Melanie, Elizabeth, or other girls I meet in the future, it’s just sex. I know that there really is more to it than that, but in the end, it’s never going to be something permanent. Even if I care for them a lot, as I do Melanie.”

She nodded.

“Melanie knows all of that. She and I have discussed it. It’s something we both have to keep in mind because we have feelings for each other. But we both love the girl I’m committed to, and we’d never hurt her, so those feelings have to be carefully managed. I’m afraid I won’t be able to do that. It scares me. Elizabeth wasn’t like that. That was just fun. A lot of fun.”

Michelle gave me a wan smile.

“But the first woman I was with, a widow, I developed feelings for her. She set me straight, but I see how dangerous sex is. There’s so much emotion tied up in it that it can get out of control.”

Michelle just looked at me for a moment and then said, “For a fourteen-year-old, you seem to know a lot.”

“Well, I just listen to very smart women. Between the three of them, they’ve made sure I have my head screwed on straight. Well, as straight as any fourteen-year-old could have. I know I’m going to blow it, though. I’m going to make mistakes. But the one thing I’m determined to do is not make any mistakes with the girl I think is my true love. I’m concerned about her ‘permission’ to mess around, but Melanie and she both seem to agree it’s going to work. I’m surprised at how smart they both are. In reality, those are the two who you should be calling smart. I’m just listening to them. And the girl, well, she thinks we have a serious future - marriage, kids, grandkids, the whole nine yards. If I ever hurt her, I’ll hate myself.”

“But it’s not just her. I don’t want to hurt anyone. Not Melanie, not Elizabeth, not you. Even if that means passing on some ‘opportunities.’ I’m lucky. I have a girl who is madly in love with me and a girl who wants to have regular, amazing sex with me without a long-term commitment or even the potential of one. And that girl has parents who not only know we have sex, but seem to be encouraging it. A year ago if you told me this was going to happen, I would have thought you needed your head examined or were on drugs. But here I am. Of course, I’m also smack dab in the middle of a dilemma. I’m in a situation that is fraught with problems and could end in disaster.”

“You’re talking about me, aren’t you?” she asked.

I nodded.

“I’m making a complete mess of this,” Michelle sighed. “All that big talk! If I had just been honest! Now I’ve pulled you into the middle of it. God. I ... I ... I, oh hell. I’m a mess. What I really need to do is move across the country and get a new start. But I’d have to be away from Elizabeth as well. College is three years away. I can’t do this for three more years. I can’t.”

I said carefully, “Well, one option is to call Elizabeth in here and tell her the truth. Yeah, you’ll be embarrassed. Yeah, it’ll be awkward. Yeah, you’ll feel bad. But you know what, after a short time, everything will be OK. As for your reputation at school, that can be fixed too. Elizabeth and you can simply tell people that the rumors are false. Then find a nice guy and start dating. And when you’re actually ready, you do it. And it’ll be beautiful. Well, with the proper situation. You can avoid a repeat of the previous one. Ask Elizabeth or Melanie. They can tell you.”