Bri had been the most vocal about getting on the road early, so we could enjoy as much time as possible at Kris' parents' cottage. But as nine o'clock came and went, she had yet to emerge from her bedroom. Finally at quarter after nine, Mel and Kris conspired to wake her up by sneaking into her room and pouncing on her.

A minute later, the sounds of shouting, screaming, swearing, and laughter filled the whole house. I was waiting in the living room, and watched as Mel and Kris came scrambling down the stairs, laughing hysterically. Bri soon followed in her Canadiens Jersey, with her hair still sleep-wild.

"You fucking bitches!" she shouted after the other two girls.

They laughed and taunted her. She chased them around the living room. After a minute she tackled Kris, and tumbled on to the sofa next to me. Mel piled on top, and the girls wrestled with each other giggling and giddy. Occasionally, Bri's Jersey rode up during the battle, and I caught glimpses of her bare ass as she squirmed. Then, as she'd try to pull it down again, and the other girls would jump her all over again.

"Ow!" I shouted as a stray elbow connected hard with my ribs. "Jesus! Watch it!"

"Oh, sorry, Bill," Kris apologized, sitting up, but still chuckling softly.

The rough-housing came to an end. Bri retreated back to her room to shower, pack, and get ready. We didn't get on the road until almost eleven o'clock.

Five hours in an old Mercedes with three girls and seven suitcases. The girls paid for gas and lunch at a Panera Bread in a little Missouri college town not unlike Clinton City. I'd spent hours the previous night compiling a playlist for the trip. My taste in music still drew complaints from Bri and Kris, but I peppered the playlist with songs I knew they'd enjoy, like Brown Eyed Girl or Tainted Love (the latter inspired a shouty sing-along from the back seat).

After we crossed into Iowa, I turned off the interstate, and onto a two-lane highway, passing through a number of tiny reduced-speed communities. At one of these single-stop-light towns, we turned onto a main street consisting of a bank and a bar on one side, and a gas station, a liquor store and a McDonalds on the other. Both sides were lined with empty grimy windows with old 'for lease' signs that spoke to better days. We stopped at the liquor store, where the girls stocked up on wine and liquor. Then we followed Main Street out of town and into the country.

Twenty minutes later, Kris guided me onto a gravel county road, and then after another 10 minutes, onto a dirt track. I heard the grass brush against the underside of the car, and then the ugly scrape of a rock that made me cringe. I hoped the old Merc was alright. We ended up at a large metal gate closed with a chain and a padlock. A wire fence supported by wooden posts at regular intervals stretched to either side of it. A 'private property' sign was prominently displayed across the gate.

"Hold on," Kris said, hopping out of the car.

She jogged happily to the gate, unlocked it, and pulled it open for me. Once we were through, she shut the gate, and re-secured the lock. She went to the plain orange plastic mailbox, set about a foot ahead of the gate, and retrieved an armload of letters, flyers, and other envelopes. Then she hopped the fence as if she'd done it a million times, and got back into the car.

I drove on for another couple of minutes through a thick line of trees. As we emerged on the other side, we were greeted first by the sparkling glint of the sun off of the water, and then by Kris's parents' cottage. It was bigger than our house back in Clinton City!

"Wow, this place is amazing!" Mel said.

"Your parents must be loaded," Bri added with wonder.

"We do okay," Kris responded coyly.

"How big is the property?" I asked, pulling the car over to one side of the grassy lawn.

"Well, see how the land kind of dips out into the lake?" Kris replied. "We own from the point back to the fence back there."

"All of it?" I asked.

Kris nodded, looking embarrassed. "My great grandfather bought it when he retired in the sixties. He was a doctor. Then when he died, he passed it down to my grandfather, who passed it down to my father. Over time, we bought a little more land here and there when we could. We didn't get it all at once. I guess it all adds up, though. When my father dies, I suppose my brother Dev will inherit it."

I looked around taking it all in. The trees, the large bare rock hill, the cottage, the water. It was peaceful, quiet, private. Being there, away from everything, I thought of how much work I could get done. I was already envisioning myself in a hammock between a couple of big shady trees, working on my laptop, while the girls played in the water.

We unloaded the car, and brought our things inside. The cottage was large but cozy - a kind of luxury-rustic decor that almost parodied what I thought of as 'roughing it.' The floors were all finished wood as were the walls. There was a fireplace, but also central air conditioning. The kitchen was large and well equipped with modern appliances. The living room was a large open space. On one wall was a massive flat screen television. Another wall was made almost entirely of glass windows facing out towards the lake.

The decor was a strange combination of Indian and American. There was a large painting of Krishna above the fireplace, but also a bearskin in front of it. On the book shelf, the works of Tom Clancy and Kurt Vonnegut sat next to books written in indecipherable Sanskrit.

Kris led us to our bedrooms. There were three guest rooms on one side of the cottage, each with its own double bed, and a master suite on the other side, dominated by a King sized bed. Kris took the master, and the other girls and I selected our rooms. With our luggage put away, we reconvened in the kitchen.

"Well, what do you want to do now?" Mel asked.

"Drinks!" Bri shouted without missing a beat. "Drinks! Drinks! Drinks!"

She and Kris went to the pantry, and returned with four shot glasses and a large bottle of Fireball whiskey.

"Oh, I don't know," I started to decline. "I've got lots of work and stuff, I need to do, still."

"Bill, are you serious?" Bri complained.

"No, really-" I tried again.

"Listen, Bill," This time it was Mel who interrupted me. She clapped a hand on my shoulder and leaned against me. "You just drove all the way from Clinton City. Don't you think you deserve to relax a little? Just for tonight? You've got the whole weekend to work."

"I know," I said. "But I won't be able to relax knowing I've got all this work hanging over my head."

"Okay, okay," Kris said, impatiently filling all four shot glasses. "Just, let's all toast to us being here, and this being the best weekend ever. Then Bill you can go ahead do your work, and we'll leave you alone."

"Fine," I agreed.

"Okay, here's to the weekend!" Kris repeated raising her glass.

"The weekend!" we echoed.

We clinked our glasses together then tossed the shot down our throats. Oh God! It was cinnamon and sickly sweet. The girls slammed their glasses down on the counter. I did likewise, grimacing. Bri gave a sharp 'Whoo!'

"Okay, line them up again," Mel said.

"Wait, no more," I said. "I need to work."

"Just one more," Kris said, refilling my glass.

"Fine," I pouted. "Then I need to get to work."

"Alright," Mel said. "This one is for Bill for driving us here. We wouldn't have made it without you, buddy. To Bill!"

"To Bill!"

The second syrupy shot followed the first.

"Again!" Bri demanded.

Once again I found my shot glass full. What the fuck!

"This is to bad-ass bitches who can't be fucked with," Bri shouted. "To the bitches!"

"The bitches!" I cheered along with the girls, though I had no idea what Bri was talking about.

"Okay, Bill, you gotta do one," Mel said shaking my arm.

"No, I need to get to work is what I need to do," I disagreed.

"Last one," Kris said, refilling the glasses again. "You've got to. We all did one, now it's your turn. Then, we'll let you go."

"Promise?" I asked.

"Promise," Mel agreed. The other girls nodded solemnly.

"Okay, uh, this is to... um... getting work done..."

"What?" Kris shouted.

"Boooooo!!!!" Bri added.

"Come on, Bill, do a good one." Mel pleaded.

"Alright, alright," I said. "Here's to spending a wonderful weekend with three beautiful girls who are going to get me into a lot of trouble when I get back home. Here's to friends!"

"To friends!" The girls called back, and we knocked back the fourth shot in a matter of a few minutes.

"That was nice, Bill," Mel said.

"Fuck, I can already feel it," Bri said.

I could feel the rush of the alcohol going to my head, too. Thankfully Kris finally capped the bottle. I hoped it wouldn't make me too drunk to work.

"We should probably eat," Kris suggested.

"Alright," Mel said to me. "Why don't you go get some work done, and we'll work on dinner."

I went back to my room, grabbed my laptop, and then headed out and around to the front of the cottage where there was a huge wooden deck overlooking the lake. At the tip of the land there was a blue painted dock with a boat house at the end of it extending out into the lake. I could see a couple of people in a canoe on the water, but they were some distance away.

I settled into one of the extremely comfortable deck chairs, and opened my laptop. I pulled up my lecture notes, and tried to read over what I'd written, but I couldn't focus. The words lost their sense, and I found my eyes drawn instead to the lake, where the golden sunlight flashed off of the ripples. I could hear them lazily splashing against the dock and onto the shore. The wind gently rose and fell, rustling the leaves of the trees behind me. Birds chirped, and insects buzzed. Somewhere across the lake a dog barked excitedly. My body felt heavy. I closed my eyes.

***

Whispering.

"He's totally passed out."

Giggling.

"Look!"

More giggling.

"Oh my god!"

"Should I wake him up?"

A hand on my thigh. Soft golden light flooded into one bleary eye, then the other. Two large dark blurs resolved themselves into the shapes of Bri and Kris.

"Hey," Kris said softly. "You feel asleep."

"Yeah, sorry," I said. "I guess I was tired."

"Or you're a lightweight," Bri accused.

"No, it was just a long drive is all," I defended. "I'm up now."

"In more ways than one," Bri blurted out, and then both girls broke into laughter.

I looked down to find that my cock had gone hard as a rock while I slept, and was now poking very prominently out from beneath my jeans.

"Shit!" I swore, trying to conceal my erection. "Sorry, I..."

"Aw shit Bill," Bri said. "It's not like neither of us never saw it before."

"Must have been some dream," Kris said.

"I don't remember," I said.

Disjointed images of Mel in the changing room of JC Penny crept back into my mind. I tried to will away both the thoughts and the erection they'd caused, but the more I focused on getting rid of them, the more they came. And now here were Bri and Kris just inches from it. Neither of them seemed particularly alarmed or threatened. In fact they were quite amused by my predicament.

"Tell you what, sport," Bri said sarcastically. "Why don't you get little Bill under control there, and then come inside. Dinner's ready."

Then she reached out and squeezed the swollen head through my pants.

"Bri, you're so bad," Kris laughed.

"It's there," Bri said, standing up. "So, why not? Anyway, he's not complaining is he?"

"No, he definitely is not," Kris observed with a sly smile. Then she added to me, "See you inside, big guy."

She reached out and ran her fingers over my bulge, then stood as well. Both girls left me to deal with myself, and went inside giggling together. I so desperately wanted to whip out my cock, and jerk off right there, but looking out across the lake, there were a few boats floating in the water now with fishing rods hanging over the sides. Instead I sat and waited for my erection to subside. Finally, five frustrating minutes later, I was able to stand without drawing too much attention to myself.

Inside, the girls were playing loud hip-hop music - the money, bling, and hos sort of thing that I hated, but apparently the club-world couldn't get enough of. Kris had cooked some kind of Indian spiced chicken and rice dish, that she served with a cool yogurt sauce. The girls had switched to wine in my absence and Mel poured me a glass as well. Over dinner, the girls talked about what an amazing place Kris' parents' cottage was, and how glad they were to be there without any guys hanging around ("No offense, Bill"). They were looking forward to just relaxing and enjoying themselves.

After dinner we went back out to the deck with our wine, and watched the sun set over the water. The red globe melted over the edge of the horizon, searing the clouds orange and pink. They sky faded to a rapidly darkening purple, and then the sun was gone, leaving just the pale moon and stars to light the night. We were quiet mostly, enjoying the moment. Weird, I thought, I really am enjoying being here with these girls. It wasn't just a chore or favour I was doing, but I was actually having a good time with my roommates - my friends.

"You know what we should do?" Kris asked finally when the sun had completely disappeared.

"What?" Bri responded.

"We should totally go for a swim," Kris said.

"Yes!" Bri agreed excitedly.

"Is it safe?" Mel asked.

"Yeah, it's fine," Kris reassured her. "The water's clean, and it's all sand on the bottom."

The girls got up and headed into the house. I stayed where I was, and booted up my laptop again. When they came out, they were each wearing sexy little bikinis and carrying beach towels. Mel's was the black and yellow one she bought the other day with me (as she shoplifted another set soaked with my cum, I couldn't help but recall). Kris followed Mel, dressed in sexy bright red and white bikini which looked stunning against her brown skin. Finally, Bri stepped out carrying another bottle in her arm. Her bikini was light blue, tied with strings. Her bigger breasts practically spilled out of her top.

I couldn't help but stare at them. The girls, noticing my attention, began to spin and pose for me.

I was glad for the laptop and darkness to shield my crotch this time.

"How do we look?" Bri asked.

"You all look really hot," I answered.

"What about you, Bill?" Mel asked. "Aren't you coming for a swim?"

"I will..." I said. "Maybe tomorrow. But right now, I really need to..." I gestured to my computer.

"You suck," Bri said, childishly sticking her tongue out at me.

She uncapped the bottle she was carrying, and took a swig. Then she passed passed it to the other girls. The formality of shot glasses had been dispensed with, I surmised. When the bottle came around to me, I took a small sip. Licorice flavoured this time, but still disgustingly sweet. I passed the bottle back to Bri. The girls padded down to the end of the dock, where Mel dipped a tentative toe into the lake. I could hear her from where I was sitting.

"Oh my God, it's cold!" she said.

"Jump in," Kris dared.

"You jump," Bri shot back.

"Watch," Kris said.

This was followed by a splash as Kris fearlessly dove off the end of the dock. The other two girls squealed as the cool water sprayed onto their skin.

"How can you just dive in like that?" Mel asked.

"It's fine," Kris said. "Your body gets used to it after a minute."

"But for a minute you're- Fuck!"

There was another splash.

"Oh my god! You fucking bitch!" Mel shouted.

"How is it?" Bri asked tauntingly.

"It's fucking freezing!" Mel said.

Mel started splashing water up at Bri on the dock. Soon Kris joined her, totally soaking the one remaining girl on dry land.

"Watch out," Bri said. "Stand back."

She took a couple of heavy steps and canon-balled into the lake.

"HOLY FUCKING SHIT BALLS!" Bri yelled as she surfaced.

After a few minutes of splashing each other, they calmed down.

I turned my attention back to my computer, knowing it was hopeless. All the alcohol, and the bikinis, and the noise from the girls had totally destroyed my concentration. Sighing heavily, I went to my room, quickly changed into my trunks, grabbed a towel, and headed down to the dock. If you can't beat 'em, might as well join em,' I thought to myself.

"Hey Bill," the girls called in unison.

"Just jump in," Bri advised as if she hadn't been the most reluctant to get into the water. "Seriously, it's better to just do it all at once. After a minute, it won't feel as bad."

I reached down, grabbed the bottle at the end of the dock, and took a big burning sugary-licorice drink. The girls cheered. Then I set the bottle down again. I walked to the edge, and stepped off, jackknifing into the water to find the sandy bottom about four feet down. The initial shock of the cool water around my balls jolted me wide awake. My teeth clenched hard together. I growled through them. The girls laughed at my obvious discomfort. But as promised, the coldness wore off after a couple of minutes, and I started to feel more comfortable.

The girls and I swam around for a little while, taking turns diving under the water, trying to see how far out we could go. The sandy bottom declined gently for about 25 yards from the shore then there was a drop off. Mel screamed in surprise when her legs first encountered a bit of sea weed. I dove down and pulled some up, tossing it at Bri. A seaweed battle ensued. When we tired of that, Kris suggested a game of Marco Polo.

"Let's raise the stakes, bitches," Bri said.

"What?" Kris asked uncertainly.

"Whoever gets tagged..." It was clear that Bri hadn't really thought her statement through past raising the stakes. After a few seconds, her face took on a thrilled expression, and she concluded, "loses a piece of clothing!"

"Strip Marco Polo?" Kris considered. "I like it."

"But what if someone sees us?" Mel asked.

"Relax," Kris said. "It's dark and no one's out there anyway."

The girls decided I was going to be 'it' first since I had only my trunks to lose. I shut my eyes, and waded around the water calling out "Marco!" The girls echoed back "Polo!" Then I'd head off in the direction of the closest voice. I could hear them splashing around in the water, trying to avoid me.

I began to home in on Kris' voice. The call and response became more rapid. Marco-Polo-Marco-Polo. And then when I sensed I was close, I lunged out for her. I felt my hand brush against her chest and over a breast. She screamed when I tagged her, and the other girls shrieked with laughter.

"Gotcha," I said, smiling. Kris smiled back.

"Okay, you have to lose something," Bri reminded her. "Top or bottom, your choice."

Kris thought for a minute, and then dove beneath the surface of the water. When she came back up, she was holding the red and white bottom of her bikini. The thought of Kris's naked pussy somewhere down there under the water made me feel slightly aroused.

"And also," Mel said, clearly getting into the game. "The person who got caught has to kiss the person who was it!"

"What? No, that wasn't part of the rules!" Kris protested.

"Yeah, it is now," Bri said laughing.

"Kiss him!" Mel shouted excitedly. The alcohol was clearly having an effect on the girls.

"Kiss, kiss, kiss," Bri chanted. Mel joined in, too. "Kiss, kiss, kiss."

"Alright!" Kris shouted. "Fine!"

The girls fell silent as Kris moved towards me in the water. She threw her arms around my neck, pressed her body (naked below the waist, I was too aware), and kissed me hard. She was still holding the bottoms in her hand, which dripped down my back. Our tongues met and danced as I boldly circled my arms around her lower back. Then I let my hands slide down over her buttocks, giving them a little squeeze.

Finally she pulled away, but as she did, her hand slipped down to my trunks, and gave my now obviously hard cock another teasing stroke of her fingers. I looked at her with surprise, and she looked back with a mysteriously mischievous grin. Then, without a word, she swam for the dock. She put her bikini bottoms there, grabbed the bottle and took a drink. After that, the game was back on.

This time, Kris waded blindly in the water calling Marco. Instantly, I could tell she was heading for me again. I swam towards the other girls, luring her with my Polos. I let Kris get closer and closer. All the while, I followed Mel, sticking right to her. Then, just as Kris was about to reach out and tag me, I ducked under the water. Kris missed me and tagged Mel instead. Bri burst into a fit of loud laughter. Kris opened her eyes and looked surprised to see Mel in front of her instead of me.

"Tops or bottoms, Mel," Bri called out tauntingly.

Following Kris' lead, Mel took off her bottoms. She proudly displayed them in the air, dripping over her head. She was obviously thrilled with her own naughtiness. She dove under the water, doing a summersault and showing her bare ass. When she surfaced again, she swam them over to the dock.

"What about the kiss?" I asked. Mel turned to look as if she was hoping I'd forgotten about this part of the game. "You owe Kris a kiss."

"Yeah, you two have to kiss," Bri insisted. "That's the rules."

"Uh..." Kris and Mel said in unison, and then laughed nervously at each other.

The girls hesitantly moved toward each other.

"How do you want to do this?" Mel asked.

"Um..." Kris responded.

They awkwardly brought their faces closer together, giggling. When they were just an inch apart, Kris suddenly turned to Bri and I.

"This is hard with you watching," she said.

"Just shut up and do it, bitches," Bri called out.

"You came up with the rule," I reminded Mel. "Kiss her!" I was caught up in the moment. The alcohol had loosened me up considerably, as well. I was feeling pretty buzzed.

Kris and Mel leaned in again. Then Mel went for it, but only a quick peck on the lips. They parted again giggling. But they weren't going to get out of it that easy.

"Boooo!!!" Bri shouted.

"Yeah, that wasn't a real kiss," I agreed.

"Kiss her properly. Don't be such fucking pussies," Bri chided.

"Fine!" Kris shouted.

She grabbed Mel around the back of the head, and pulled her into her. Mel looked shocked for a minute, then relaxed and went with it, putting her arms around Kris. The two girls stood in the water, making out for a full minute. I'll admit I've seen my share of those Girls Gone Wild videos, but none of them were anywhere near as hot as being there in person, watching two beautiful girls I actually knew kissing right in front of me.

"Was that good?" Kris asked, finally breaking off from Mel.

"Uh huh," Mel said breathlessly, though the question had been directed at Bri.

"That was awesome!" I added.

The girls laughed at my enthusiasm. It was as if they'd forgotten there was a guy present until just then. We gathered back at the dock, and passed the bottle around once more. Then we dove back into the lake as Mel counted to ten with her eyes squeezed shut. This time she caught Bri pretty quickly. Bri pulled the string of her bikini top, and slipped it off, unleashing her big beautiful breasts. She tossed the top at the dock, just barely landing it, then dove for Mel.

"Give me some sugar, you sexy bitch!" Bri shouted.

She grabbed the smaller girl before she could get away, and gave her a big sloppy kiss. Mel struggled to keep her balance as Bri thrust her tongue into her mouth. Her hands dipping below the water, presumably to squeeze Mel's ass, though I couldn't see. After a minute Bri pulled away and whooped loudly. Mel gasped for air. Kris was near me, laughing her ass off.

"Goddam!" Bri shouted. She went for the dock, and the bottle again, taking a big gulp of the licorice-flavoured alcohol syrup. "Alright, you fuckers, get ready, 'cause I'm coming for you."

She shut her eyes, and counted a quick ten, then she was off. After a couple of minutes of searching, she seemed to home in on my voice. I tried to repeat my tactic, sticking close to Kris, hoping to duck away at the last minute. But Bri was too fast, and she caught me on the back of the neck, as I was lunging backwards, away from her hands.

"Ha!" she cried with devilish glee. "Got you, bitch. You know what that means?" Without waiting for a reply, Bri leapt forward, and tackled me in the water. "Hey, help me ladies!" she shouted as I struggled in her grasp.

The other two girls closed in, surrounding me. I felt hands, not sure whose but there were more than two, tugging at the waistband of my swim trunks. My cock, which had been in a state of at least half-arousal since the game had started, was growing distinctly harder as I was mobbed by the half-naked girls. Then I felt it spring out, free of the mesh netting of the swimsuit, and into the open water, as my shorts slid down my thighs to my knees.

"Oh my god!" I shouted.

I decided that turn-about was fair play, and reached for the clasp on the back of Kris' top. With all my recent practice, I'd gotten pretty good at undoing them, and managed to get it with just one hand.

"Hey! Not fair!" Kris cried, clutching her forearms to her breasts, but I managed to pull the top off her anyway.

I held the small bit of fabric over my head. Kris jumped for it. Her small breasts bounced up out of the water, and rubbed against my chest. But I was taller than she was, and she couldn't reach. Laughing, I tossed it towards the dock, but missed. In retribution, Kris dove under the water, and yanked my shorts from my ankles, nearly knocking me over. Before she came up, she paused to take my now rock hard erection into her mouth for just a teasing second. Then she emerged again with my shorts victoriously clutched in her hand. Before I could stop her, she threw them in the opposite direction from the shore.

"Shit!" I said.

I managed to break free from the girls, and swam completely naked after my swim trunks. Kris hadn't thrown them far, but they were drifting with the current. Meanwhile, Mel and Bri were laughing wildly at the two of us. Then Bri suddenly turned on Mel, reaching for the clasp on the back of her bikini top. But Mel dodged Bri's grasping hands, and tugged at the strings at Bri's hips. Both girls reached beneath the water. After a short struggle, Mel's fist shot up, victoriously clutching Bri's little black bottoms.

She turned to toss them toward the dock, but Bri wasn't so easily defeated. She once again went after Mel's top, and this time managed to get it off. By this time, I'd retrieved my shorts, and was swimming back to the dock where the girls were all laughing hysterically. I'd never been skinny dipping before, but I was enjoying the free feeling of the water flowing freely around my body unrestrained by any clothing.

"Ah shit," Mel said, when I'd caught up with the girls again. "I need another drink."

The bottle was passed around the four of us a couple more times.

"So, Billy-goat, Billy-boy," Bri started abruptly. "What's up?"

The other girls laughed.

"Huh?" I asked.

"Come on, Bill" Bri said. "You know what I mean."

"I don't," I argued.

"I think you do," Kris said.

She emphasized her point by reaching below the water, and grabbing my cock. It suddenly hit home to me that I was standing naked and erect, surrounded by three beautiful girls, and I was the only guy there.

"Oh..." I said, feeling my natural state of timidity begin to creep back through the alcohol fog. "Well... that's up, I guess."

"Hm," Mel said. Her hand reached down to meet Kris' already stroking my cock. "Well, maybe we can play a different game."

"What?" I asked.

"Let's go inside, and see," Bri suggested.

For a minute no one moved. Instead, Bri reached beneath the water, and cupped my balls, fondling them in her fingers. I leaned back against the dock, my breathing getting harder as the three girls gave me an amazing three-hand job. I could see the girls were getting excited as well. Bri was pinching her stiffened nipple. Mel's other hand had also disappeared into the water, between her legs.

"Come on, let's go," Kris said, finally taking her hand off my cock.

We picked up our towels from the dock, quickly drying ourselves. We didn't bother wrapping them around us. If anyone was watching, we were past the point of caring. As we crossed the lawn, and climbed the steps of the wooden deck I looked at each of the girls in turn, admiring their naked curves in the moonlight. I wondered what more could be in store for the night.