Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2014 16:03:02 +0000 From: Alain Mahy <amahy1957@gmail.com> Subject: Unexpected events 7 Chapter 7 We rinsed off the remaining of soap and got out, took some fluffy towels and dried ourselves. It was an awkward moment and an almost palpable silence. I went to the bedroom with the other two in tow and picked out a T-shirt and some shorts. Martin seemed a little bit surprised at that as all the other times we just stayed naked. Darren followed my lead and Martin couldn't do anything else as to dress as well. As we sat at the terrace table, Martin started to speak. - I met a friend yesterday who came over to see my sister. He obviously didn't know she passed away. When I told him what had happened, he asked me if I had spread the news among friends and acquaintances and I realized I hadn't. So I took the decision to fly back to my hometown and have a little service in her memory. I am flying back tomorrow. I went to the travel shop and booked my flight. I am leaving tomorrow morning. You are welcome to join me. Martin was on the verge of crying but seemed to make quite an effort to retain his tears. He still had a difficult time when talking about his lost sister and that was normal. He had put his mind on other things during a few days but was suddenly confronted to real life again. He wanted to honor his social obligations and that's why he decided to fly back. He also had to empty his sister's house and put it up for sale. There were quite some more things to do such as going to his lawyer to settle his sister's assets. - I don't know how long I will be gone, he said, as the bureaucratic sides of things are always slow. I am sure I will forget things, as it is the first time I have to deal with such matters. When our parents died, it was my sister who took charge of everything. I called our lawyer and he assured me that he would be sure everything was covered from bank accounts to the change of name on the deed of the house and so on. I just hope he knows what he is talking about. Darren and I were speechless. What do you say to all that anyway? Those were such personal matters. It was at that moment that I realized how we were still perfect strangers and despite of that we cared about each other, all three of us. I started to understand why Martin had suggested the three-way and it confirmed as well that such a commitment was far to soon to happen. It was a total paradox but a real situation as well. Apart from that, there were the new feelings growing between Darren and me and seeing how Martin's state of mind was, it was not the moment to talk about that. It was probably the best thing for Martin to fly back and Darren and I would have the time to sort out our feelings and see where our relationship would go. Nonetheless, I wanted to sheer up Martin a little as I knew his mood would revert to smiling anyway as he had done in the past days. So I dropped the news on him that I had decided to buy the house and Darren followed my lead by telling Martin he had sold his business. - Waow, Martin uttered, I am gone just for one day and look what happened in the mean time! We all smiled at that and I had that thought that maybe when and if he came back after settling all his sister's matters, he would probably be flabbergasted. But it was, once again, not the time to talk about that. We went on explaining to Martin what had happened the day before, with the call to the owner of the house, the business matters of Darren and so on. I matter- of-factly dropped the hint that we had to do quite some things before everything would be legal and in order. Martin didn't say anything about it but I could see in his eyes that I was actually saying that we would not join him on his journey home. It was not that I didn't want to, but I didn't want to leave Darren either and he couldn't get away with the training of the new owners of his business. - You want me to come with you? I asked Martin. - It would be nice indeed, but than again, I would not have a lot of time to spend with you as I'll have to attend to friends and acquaintances, lawyers, real estate agents, cleaning out my sister's house and so on, and cleaning out my sister's house would be something I'd rather do on my own... a lot of personal stuff and probably a few break-downs that I would have to face on my own. I felt less guilty when I said that we would drive him to the airport in the morning. Darren left short after that to meet the new owners of his business and Martin and I stayed behind on our own. Strangely enough we started to talk and didn't stop for hours. For the first time we opened up really to each other and shared a lot of personal stuff. For the first time I had the real sensation that I was getting to know Martin. A lot of things were really to my liking and other a little less, but hey ... that's being a friend: accepting the others just as they are and not like we would like them to be. That's where Love and Friendship are so close to each other. Pure and uninterested feelings and where as Friendship is concerned, these feelings have to be reciprocate. With love, sometimes it is not the case as you can love some one and the feeling is not mutual. But I always said that I wanted my lover to be my best friend! - Will you miss me? Martin asked. I didn't answer straight away. - You can be as honest as you can, I will not be offended in any way, Martin said. I took a deep breath and said: - If you had asked me that yesterday, I would have said that I would miss the sensational sexual part of our friendship. Today, and certainly after this conversation we just had, I tell you I will miss you as a friend and as a person. I feel for the first time that I get to know you Martin. We just shared some very important thoughts and this makes it all so special and if you agree, I will tell Darren most of the things you just shared with me. Martin nodded and said that I could, of course, share those things with Darren. WE both stood up and hugged each other, but not in a sexual way. I thought it was one of the first times that we were pressed together without both having a hard-on. That hug lasted for quite some time and it made me realize what Martin said about being connected to me and attracted to Darren. Martin and I had very similar vibrations, where with Darren Martin had more like sexual vibrations. I shared this thought with Martin and said: - I think that is why a three-way relationship among us is more a risk than a good thing. The connections we have all three are different for each of us. As we two are connected, it is not the case between you and Darren. The way I am connected with Darren is not the same way as I am with you and finally it would lead to difficult moments that could bring our emotional balance in danger. I don't want that Martin. I value your friendship to the highest point and I don't want to lose you. What I feel for Darren is equally important and I don't want to lose him either. Of course, I can only speak for myself, but I am pretty sure that Darren sees it the same way. - Have you fallen in love with Darren? Martin asked. - I don't know yet Martin. One thing is sure: I feel connected and attracted to Darren. Yes we admitted to each other that the possibility of falling in love is there. As you know, everything between us started in a very strange way and not so long ago either. We want to take our time to know each other a lot better and see where this all with lead us. Martin smiled, took my hand and squeezed it gently. - Even if you don't know it yet, I can tell you: you are in love with him! And in a certain way I envy you. It is a very positive envy, I assure you and I wish you the best in your lives. Don't worry about me; I had a life before I knew you and I'll have a life from now on as well. - But I promised your sister that I would look after you ... I tried to answer. - And you did! Martin said. You were there at the most critical moment. You announced me her death in the most sensitive way, you picked me up as I was a wrack and you organized everything for me then. You were the best of friends I could have been hoping for! The look in his eyes was so sincere that I only could believe him. It was his point of view although I thought I had done nothing special. Yes, we were growing towards a great and lifetime friendship. Ok, there would probably be more times when we would share the fantastic sex we had get to like so much, but we knew that with pure friendship we wouldn't risk everything like we would with a three-way relationship. I felt relieved that Martin would leave knowing everything there was to be known. A really heavy load felt from my shoulders. As noon was approaching, Martin told me he'd better started packing his suitcases. I took the time to prepare us some lunch and called Darren to see if he would join us or not. While we were on the phone I also told him most of the conversation I had had with Martin and he too was relieved and said he would have been feeling guilty if the situation was not cleared completely before Martin's departure. He asked me to hold on for a moment and I heard him talk to the new owners. Soon he was back to me and said he would be home in about an hour. I liked it that he said he would be "home". While the food was on the stove, I dressed the table for three and then went back to the kitchen. Just as I was finishing the preparation of the meal, Martin came out of the bedroom and announced he was all packed and ready. At the same time Darren came in and first came to me to give me a kiss and then to Martin and gave him a kiss as well. I noticed that that kiss was absolutely not sexual and that Martin, maybe, wanted more but didn't insist. Lunch had to be in the oven to broil and we still had about twenty minutes before we could eat, so we jumped in the pool, naked as usual, and had a drink before lunch. While we were eating, Martin tried to tell Darren almost everything he had told me. Darren looked at me from time to time and I just nodded as to confirm what Martin was telling him. Darren looked pleasantly surprised with what he was hearing and assimilating. I could sense in his behavior and in his eyes that he was starting to look at Martin in a different way, just as I had done a few hours before. Martin continued: - Any relationship, being it friendship or love, is based on three pillars: Feelings, Respect and Trust. On a three-pillar basis, every construction is solid, but you take only one pillar away and everything tumbles down. I have the feeling that we all three have the three pillars. Our friendship is solid and I think nobody or nothing will be able to destroy that. We are able to talk about those things and that means the world to me: it shows Friendship, Respect and Trust. WE all had smiles on our faces. Martin, who was actually excluded form what he wanted, was showing a lot of dignity and respect towards our opinions and points of view. He admitted that he suggested the three-way relationship because first of all the sex was great, but also because at the time, he was a little scared of being alone after his sister died. I thought he was very brave to show his weaknesses and I appreciated him all the more. Our conversation took a new dimension. Once again Darren experienced some difficulty to be open about his feelings, just as he had with his kid brother when he came out of the closet to him. Soon enough though, I could sense he was reaching the point of being totally honest and open again, and this time not only with me but also with Martin. We talked and talked and time flew by without us realizing it. It was only when the lights in the garden and the pool switched on that we saw that the plates and the rests of lunch were still on the table and it was already dinner time. We were not hungry yet, but still, I prepared some sandwiches while the other two cleared the table and put the plates in the dishwasher. As it seemed it was going to be Martin's last night for quite a while, we opened again a bottle of Champagne to celebrate our friendship. We kept on talking, but the conversation faded quietly into a comfortable silence. Darren and I hold hands all the while and as Martin had to be at the airport quite soon we called it a night and went to bed. We soon were naked and between the sheets. Darren spooned me as Martin spooned to Darren. None of us was really in the mood for sex and Darren's soft and lovely snoring told me he was already in dreamland where I followed him in an instant. For the first time since I was here, it was the alarm clock that woke us. Martin jumped out of bed and was in the bathroom before I even opened my eyes. I turned towards Darren who was still pressed against my back. I kissed him softly on the lips. Even though his eyes were still closed he smiled at me and felt me up. I was having my morning boner and so did Darren. He looked at the clock and said we could join Martin in the shower to release the tension of his forthcoming flight. I agreed and we got up and went in the bathroom. Through the glass door we could see Martin stroking his cock, oblivious to the rest of the world. When I opened the door to the shower, Martin was startled but only for just a moment. He looked down and had a smile on his face. Darren and I got into the shower and soon the three bodies were rubbing against each other. It was a delightful feeling: six hands roaming over three bodies. I couldn't even make out who's hand was caressing me or who's body I was touching. It was not important at that moment. We just wanted to feel alive and with what we were doing there was no doubt that we were. At one point, Martin started to kiss me passionately and I responded eagerly to letting my tongue invade his mouth. He wrapped his arms around my neck and pressed his body to mine. Daren pressed his body to Martin's and as I could feel every reaction of Martin, I knew Darren was entering him slowly but forcefully. Once he was inside Martin up to the hilt, Darren stayed still to let Martin get use to the penetration. Once he relaxed and resumed his kissing me, Darren started his pumping. Slow and long at first but he increased his speed bit by bit. AS I felt that Martin was comfortable with Darren's actions, I turned around, soaped my butt and pointed Martin's dick to my rosebud. Martin didn't have to do anything as Darren's thrusts pushed him inside of me. We savored the moment and let Darren's strength giving us all pleasure. Everything Darren did, Martin did to me. When Darren played with Martin's nipples, Martin played with mine. When Darren nibbled at Martin's earlobes, Martin did the same to me. We were really enjoying the moment, but we also knew we had little time as Martin had to get to the airport. As Darren stopped pumping into Martin's ass, and I was standing still in front of Martin, Martin started to go in and out of me while feeling Darren's cock go in and out of him. I couldn't see anything as I was the front guy, but closing my eyes and feeling what I felt, I could easily make a mental picture of us three with the water cascading over us. It was so erotic and sensual. I felt my climax build up in my balls as Martin's cock appeared to grow even more and getting harder. He too was on the verge of coming, and knowing Darren as I did, I could easily imagine he was about to shoot his load as well. I t would be great to tell you that we came all three at the same time, but it was not like that. I didn't know who came first but it sure was firing the necessary fuses with the others. In a matter of minutes, we had all three shot our loads wherever our cocks were. I saw my semen being washed through the drain but knew Martins juice was filling my ass and Darren's was filling up Martin. As I sensed that we were standing still, I guessed we were spent. Slow backward movements told me Darren was deflating and leaving Martin's ass and Martin did the same. We turned to each other and had a meaningful group hug and group kiss. We finished our shower and dried off and then dressed. We had no time for an elaborated breakfast but I was in absolute need of a good coffee. We had time for that. After that we were all three smiling but with nonetheless a little sad look in our eyes. We dragged Martin's suitcases to the car and were on our way to the airport. The check-in went very smoothly and soon we heard the call for Martin's flight. We looked at Martin who looked at us. No words were said. I kissed him deeply, not caring about the stares that we got. Darren did the same and in a very short time, Martin was through customs and waved at us without turning around. I guessed he didn't want us to see his tears. Darren's and my eyes were filled with our own. As he disappeared out of sight, we stood there a little longer as if we were expecting Martin to come back to us, but he didn't. We left the airport and nothing was said. I had my hand on Darren's thigh and he had his hand on mine. Yes, we were going to miss Martin's presence. My mobile phone rang to tell I had a message. I looked at the screen and saw it was from Martin. The only thing in the message was: "THANK YOU" I showed it to Darren and we both had a sad smile on our face. After Martin's departure, time flew by so quickly. I had signed the deed to the house. I had called my job to tell me I was not coming back. Darren had signed off the deal with the new owners and had finished their training. Every now and then, we received news from Martin. He missed us. He was actually doing fine and all the official papers and matters were over as he was the only one left in the family. The lawyers had done a good job and so did the real estate agent as his sister's house was sold before even advertising it on the Website. The money of the lottery had arrived and we could honestly say that, even after taxes, we were wealthy men. Darren's accountant, who was also a financial advisor, had pointed out a few investments that were safe and provided a nice income. Martin had finally refused his part, saying he was wealthy enough and that he didn't see why he would be included in this sharing. Darren nonetheless had transferred the money to Martin's account, but it came back about a week later. Darren decided to put this money in a fund to help youngsters who had no means to study or pursue a decent career. He not only put the money, but was also actively involved in the fund. He didn't call it work, as he loved what he was doing. Each and every day I discovered new aspects in his personality and yes, each day I loved him more and more. It was in a very recent past that we finally admitted we loved each other and were in love with each other. We had taken our time to say it out loud, but when we did it was one big firework! I think that that moment will stay in my mind and in my heart till the end of times and even beyond that. I knew Darren was a good kisser, but the one he gave after saying the magical words "I love you" was the best kiss I had ever shared with anyone at anytime in my life. The kiss was full of the sincere love he declared to me. When finally the law of same gender wedding came through, we applauded it and toasted to it. None of us mentioned it any more but the idea was in my head and in my heart. I wanted us to be husband and husband and commit officially. I wanted the world to no we were a couple. I had a lot of plans in my head of how to propose to Darren, but none of them seemed to be worthy of him. I wanted it to be special. He had been right almost from the first day when he told me I would find my Mr. Right. At that time he didn't see that he was my Mr. Right and he even tried to push me towards some one else, but to no avail. I was where I wanted to be and that was in his life. Darren seemed to think the same. We were just happy together. Before we even knew it, the anniversary of our meeting was there. That day Darren was particularly busy at the fund. I took my time to prepare his favorite dishes and invited his brother Clive and his lover Fred for an anniversary dinner. For Clive and Fred it was almost the same date so we decided to have the celebration together. When Darren came home, a nice set table and the presence of his younger brother and his lover surprised him. Before we had our dinner, we all jumped in the pool and swam the tiredness of the day away. We had as usual a nice time full of laughter and joy. Before entering the house and sit down at the dinner table, for once, we dressed. Clive and Fred were telling us the latest trip they had made and all the new things they saw and experienced. They were both so exited about it all that it was contagious and gave us the idea of maybe doing the same. We had not travelled in that year, being happy at home and needing nothing else, but we also were aware that we had the time and the means to go and see other things as well. When we finished eating, Darren almost wanted to lick his plate! He loved my cooking and it was always a pleasure to see him eat and see he appreciated what I was preparing for him. Neither Clive, nor Fred, were expert cooks and they also appreciated my culinary skills. I had just brought dessert when Darren got up and fetched a bottle of Champagne. He served four glasses of the bubbles and called for our attention. He then proceeded to get on one knee, took a little box out of his pocket and just asked me: - Will you marry me Allan? Tears of pure happiness welled up in my eyes! He had chosen the perfect moment, the perfect place and the perfect company to ask me to marry him. I wanted to shout out loud yes, but my throat was dry and closed. I had not realized I was holding my breath. Darren started to be worried but then, just in time, my nerves released all muscles and I could tell him: - Yes! He opened the box and inside there was a beautiful golden ring, finely worked with a very original pattern. Inside the ring there was a simple inscription "With Love" and the date we met. Darren slipped it on my finger, stood up and gave me one of his passionate kisses that only he could give. When our lips parted we saw Clive and Fred with happy tears in their eyes. We lifted out glasses and toasted to love! WE went on talking but now it was all about the wedding ceremony and the date and the place and who we would invite to join us and so on ... A lot of suggestions were made. Some of them were fantastic, others were plain ridiculous and hilarious. But in the end we had a great evening. As the last drop of Champagne had disappeared, Clive and Fred stood up to go home. I went with them to the door to wave them goodbye. When I came back, Darren was lying on the lounge bed next to the pool. I soon joined him and cuddled up to him. His arms were immediately around me. I looked at the ring on my finger and just loved it and I told so to Darren. - It's custom made, there are no two rings identical to this one, because you are unique, he said. I felt my heart skip a beat. Darren always knew what to say at the appropriate moment. He made me so happy that I sometimes wondered how I had deserved that man in my life. I just lifted myself a little and ended on top of him. I gave him a few pecks on his lips, but with his strong arms he forced me to his lips and started to be really passionate. As so many times during the last year, our tongues were dueling in our mouths, trying to reach as deep as possible, making us feel as one. Darren held me tight to him. I was, once again going to heaven and back with his kisses. It seemed we were kissing for hours. With time we had learned to regulate our breaths so we could do that. But we were overdressed. I started to unbutton his shirt and he did likewise. We took our shirts off and I lay down on him again, skin to skin. The feeling of his bare chest against mine was always a special moment for me. Yes, I should be used to it, but nonetheless it was each time as if it was a first. I just loved his hairs mixing up with the few ones I had if Darren had not shaved me in a few days. But most of all, with a skin-to-skin touch I could always feel his heart beat in his chest. It always made me feel so alive. I held Darren's face in my hands while he was caressing my whole body, at least as far as he could reach in his position. But we had still our trousers on and these were feeling disturbing in this situation. I just sat up and undid Darren's belt buckle and then opened his trousers as teasingly as I could. I knew he loved that. But even if I wanted to go slow, the sexual urge was to big and I got up and undid his pants completely. He knew how white underwear was exciting me and as he knew that this was a special night, he was lying there with his white bikini briefs on. White briefs on a tanned and hairy body always drove me mad. It was always more teasing to see him in tiny briefs than completely nude. I almost ripped of my trousers and lay back on top of him. As I laid back on him, he wrapped his legs around my waist. That was always a sign that he wanted to bottom and tonight it was no exception. When I wanted to go down on him, he surprised me with squeezing his legs even more. I looked at him and he just said: - Not yet my love. He was indeed in a very romantic mood and needed more kisses. I obliged, of course. I just wondered why he wanted to kiss so much more and not wanting me to go down on him. I got the answer a few minutes later when the lights in the garden and the pool went out, but there was still a special glow around us. I lifted my head and saw that there were like hundreds of candles around the pool that I had not noticed when the lights were on. I had no idea when he had had the time to light so many candles, but there they were. I was totally awestruck. This was the most romantic setting-up that I had seen in my entire life. In the corner of my eye I saw something move and suddenly I saw Clive and Fred with their thumbs up. So, this was a set-up! And I thought I had surprised Darren with the presence of his brother and Fred for dinner. I would have a word with them, but they soon disappeared behind the bushes. I looked in Darren's eyes and was once again flabbergasted with his look. There was so much love and desire in his eyes that it seemed impossible. I tried to give him a similar look but doubted that I was succeeding. Despite my doubts, Darren drew me again in one of his magical kisses. When this time I tried to release myself of his grip, he let me go and I went down, kissing his throat and nibbling on his earlobes. Going further down I kissed and licked his nipples and softly bit on them. Darren was already moaning out loud. I followed my road down and followed his treasure trail to reach his ample bush of hairs above his genitals. I first licked out his navel and then went even more south to his groin. I almost ripped off his briefs. Darren was squirming. He wanted to push me onto his cock, but I went even further down and kissed the inside of his thighs. He spread his legs to give me better access and I took that as an open invitation. I licked his thighs and came back up after giving the inside of his knees a total work-over. I was determined to give him as much pleasure as I could and if the sounds he made were any indication, I was succeeding pretty well. As I reached his balls, I lifted them with my nose and ate out his perineum. After a year of lovemaking, I knew this was driving him nuts. The more he was writhing and squirming, the more I attacked his flesh with my mouth. I went for his balls, sucked them one by one in my mouth and let them roll over my tongue. It was a little difficult to breath with his two balls in my mouth, but I didn't mind. I wanted him to build up such a sexual desire that he would, at the appropriate time, shoot a load at an Olympic distance. As usual I was producing a lot of saliva and his entire groin was showing the glistening moisture. I didn't stop at that, as I had not even touched his steel hard cock. I came back up and teased him even more by kissing and licking his shaft without touching him in any other way. As I reached his cock, it was twisting and doing little jumps up and down. I had to calculate my approach if I wanted it in my mouth and God knows I wanted it! At one of the upward jumps, I opened my mouth wide and let his cock slip between my lips. His cockhead was warm, soft and hard at the same time. I was in heaven as his cock slid into my mouth and reached my throat. He pushed in hard and I loved it. I sucked him into my mouth and used my tongue to give him the pleasure he deserved. His hips had a mind of their own and pushed up even more. I let Darren invade my mouth and I drank up the huge amount of pre-cum he was producing. I swallowed him in me as much as I could, but also felt his urge to feel me inside of him. So, I went down again and without preamble went for his crack and his rosebud. His puckered hole was winking at me and I didn't lose any time to eat his ass out, as I knew he loved it so much. His smell always drove me mad, that clean scent of soap, a little of chlorine and his sweat made the perfect combination to send me in over-drive. I dove with my tongue first, trying to pass his sphincter although I knew I couldn't, but nonetheless kept trying. I lifted his ass cheeks to get better access and to push my tongue even further into him. His moans and groans grew even louder and I knew I had him where I wanted him. I grabbed below the lounge bed where we hid a tube of lube. I squeezed a nice amount on my fingers and spread it between his buttocks. I found his puckered hole and pushed my fingers inside so I could lube to passage towards his prostate. A good thing we had no neighbors, as they would undoubtedly be woken by the noise Darren made. I twisted my fingers around in his hole and knew I was touching his prostate at each twist. With my hand covered in lube, I massaged my own cock and didn't want to make Darren beg for me to enter him. I lifted his legs on my shoulders and in one swift thrust, pushed myself deep inside of him. I felt his ass cheeks in my groin and knew I could not get any deeper. I stayed still for a while to let him get used to my cock in his ass. He looked me deep in my eyes as to give me permission to go on. I withdrew a little so I could enter him again full force. That was the way he liked it and my only concern was his pleasure. I started pumping into him and he threw his head back and with a wide open mouth the moans grew even louder. He grabbed my ass cheeks and tried to have me even more inside him. I was going to go over the edge in no time at all. I didn't care. I was in such a sexual ecstasy that coming now or later had no importance. I let my hormones take over and soon filled Darren's ass with my juice. I didn't touch his dick, as I knew he would spurt his load straight away. I wanted him to stay rock-hard, as I wanted him inside me as well. Once I had shot my load, I withdrew from him, straddled him and pushed myself down on his cock. With all the pre-cum he had produces, there was no need of any lube. He entered me with ease and no pain at all. As he had not come yet, he was still full of energy and wanted to shoot his load. I fucked myself on his pole and was rewarded with a massive load. I collapsed on him and our lips met. We kissed like never before and bit-by-bit we recovered a normal breath and heartbeat. We were sweating profusely. Our bodies slid on one another. It was once again such a marvelous feeling. As his cock was deflating it popped out of my ass. I felt that emptiness inside of me, equal to every time Darren left my body. It was more than heaven. I felt so happy and content. My wildest dreams were coming true. I was sure we were really soul mates. We were meant for each other. WE had a leisurely swim after our lovemaking surrounded by hundreds of little lights of the candles. It was magical! I was in Darren's arms as he swam on his back. I just floated in his arms. I felt his breath on my neck and his lips just behind my ears. - If this is what we do on the engagement night, I just wonder what we will do on our wedding night, I said. - Let's not go ahead of time my love, we will see then, he answered. After that we went to bed and slept with the angels. Not even three month later, we had the house completely decorated and all of our friends with us. Champagne was flowing freely. Martin had flown over with what appeared to be a new lover. Clive and Fred were our best men at the wedding ceremony. We were now officially wed. The celebration was huge and we could only see happy faces. We couldn't ask for more The end.