A College Experiment

[Felix80]

"Do you want to have sex?"

Jack blushed right after he asked the question. He was sitting across from her on her roommate's bed. She was his partner in Chemistry and they were working on the write up for the lab that was due the next day. He was a geek, skinny with brown hair and wire rim glasses. She was a nerd too, always dressed professionally, like she was going in to an office job. An A-cup, if she wore a bra at all, thin with straight hips, and no butt. Never a hair out of place. They had been assigned as lab partners about a week ago at the beginning of both of their first semesters in college.

Her roommate had just left to go to a morning class. The door had closed just seconds before he blurted out the question. He quickly followed up, stammering through some of the lines he rehearsed.

"I don't mean right now. It's just, I haven't done it yet, and I want to see what all the fuss was about. And I don't want to be a virgin any more. I like you. You're pretty. I thought you might want to try it too? It's supposed to be a lot of fun and feel really good. I've done a lot of prep work and I should be able to find the g-spot, which is apparently a big deal."

Jack felt the blush cover his face as he realized what a ridiculous thing he had just said. When she didn't answer immediately he blurted out, "But if you don't want to then that's totally ok. I'm not going to make this weird. Well, weirder."

Two days ago Jack had taken a pill. He had made it himself in the school's chem lab. It was based on some grant work being done at their university. Jack had heard about their research from their professor and snuck in after hours to read over the research. He had been looking for some male enhancement and that's what they had been working on.

The pill had worked too. Jack went from five inches hard to nine inches flaccid. Jerking off took so much longer, which was kind of a downside, but he figured the ladies would like that. Now when he came it was like a fire hose. That was a negative, kind of. The first time he jerked off after he took the pill it had taken him forever to clean up. Now he only jerked off in the shower or directly into the toilet if he needed to relieve the pressure between classes. On the positive side, Jack loved watching girls get cummed all over in porn. Now he was a one man bukkake machine.

What Jack didn't know was that there was a side effect. His cum was now a potent aphrodisiac. The smell and taste would fill women with lust and desire. His cum on their skin would grow bigger boobs, wider hips and increase fat consumption, making girls into perfect Barbie dolls addicted to his dick.

_________________

OOC: Closed for now.

 

[emari]

No.

The word was on the tip of Lauren’s tongue when she paused.

To come out and ask for sex like that was rude and awkward and inappropriate, and accepting was something that no good girl would do.

But she was in college now.

She didn't consider herself a prude, she laughed just as much as anyone about the idea of waiting till marriage, but she had always told herself that she’d never be the sort of girl who had sex with guys who weren't her boyfriend.

That had been an easy enough ideal to stick to when she'd been in high-school and fully planning on going all the way with her then boyfriend once the time was right, but they'd barely got to second base when he'd dumped her for 'not being his type actually' which, given the girl he'd moved onto, seemed to mean 'too flat chested'. And it would be awful to start a relationship only to embarrass herself when it came to sex because she was inexperienced and clueless.

And Jack was offering a way to solve that problem.

He was in the same predicament she was, which meant he'd probably be sympathetic if she was bad at things to begin with, and though his suggestion was impertinent and definitely risked making their relationship as lab partners weird, it had also been delivered so earnestly that, combined with the way he was looking at her, ended up being charming.

Jack was cute, in a geeky sort of way, and if he'd gone to the right parties he could probably have found some slutty girl who'd be willing, but he'd picked Lauren despite her unflirty nature and the way she always kept her long dark hair tied back in a plain bun.

"If you've done all that research then you probably know better than me," she said, and then decided. She didn't want to wait forever to lose her virginity and if it all went horribly wrong then it was still early enough in the semester that she could probably swap lab partners. But if they were going to do it, it would need to be before she lost her nerve. "I'd like to try it out. Maybe you could start by kissing me... As, y'know, a chemistry test?"

 

[Felix80]

Lauren took an eternity and a day to answer him. Ok, it was only a few seconds, but Jack's heart had seemed to stop in those few seconds, hoping against hope his greatest need was going to be fulfilled. It hadn't been the most romantic request, but it had been both honest and earnest. And really, he hadn't said anything that bad. Lauren was pretty, and he had told her that. Jack was a virgin, which she may not have known, but it was still true.

Somehow, as he was worried about all this, a vivid image of her smiling up at him then wrapping her lips around his cockhead came to mind. His cock throbbed, the newly gigantic beast noticeably moving along his inner thigh on his left leg. He took a deep breath to try and clear his head but it didn't work. Now all he could think about was fucking Lauren in every conceivable position and covering the girl in gallons of cum.

"If you've done all that research then you probably know better than me," she said.

That wasn't a yes, but it was closer to a yes than a no. Jack's cock throbbed again, starting to grow. He imagined Lauren's hair down, a sight he had never seen, not just down but flopping around in his face as she bounced on his cock reverse cowgirl style. If this kept up and she said no, he was going to have to excuse himself and go jerk off to get some relief.

"I'd like to try it out. Maybe you could start by kissing me... As, y'know, a chemistry test?"

Jack nodded, a simple ascent belaying all the thoughts going through his head. They were gonna fuck! They were gonna fuck! Yea! He was gonna make her feel so fucking good and cover every inch of her body in his hot, white cum!

"Sure, that makes sense," Jack said, calmly. Then he blinked and laughed lightly. "I get it, a chemistry test, and we're studying chemistry. That was really quick, Lauren."

He looked to the right, then to the left, apparently taking stock of the room, but really just gathering his thoughts enough to form a plan. He got all his papers together and put them in his chemistry binder, closed that, closed his text, and put them both in his bookbag at the same time, then zipped that up. He took off his glasses and put them on top of his bookbag. He looked around again to make sure he hadn't missed anything, took a deep breath, clapped his hands on his knees and stood up.

"I'm going to strip." There was something different in Jack's voice. This wasn't the nervous Jack who she saw most of the time, timid and unsure of himself. This was the Jack she had only seen in the chemistry lab, or when answering a question in class. He was confident, sure of himself and in command of the situation. He was in his element, in his stride. He could have been telling her the next step in an experiment. He wasn't asking anymore, he was telling.

"You don't have to, but I want you to see me and get used to seeing me naked. Especially my cock." He took off his shirt, revealing a chest that wasn't huge, but it was well defined. He swam everyday and there was quite a bit of muscle on his small frame and barely any fat. He had a perfect six pack of abs and the rest of his body looked proportionately muscular though not bulky.

"I want you to look at my cock as much as you want to. You're going to touch it, lick it, suck on the cockhead, the balls, kiss the shaft up and down, and eventually have it up inside you. Right now I just want you to look at it and get used to seeing it." He kicked off his shoes and pushed them to the side with his socked foot. Then he unbuttoned his jeans, zipped them down and pushed his pants and underwear down to his ankles in one motion, bending over at the waist. He stood up straight and there it was, pointing at her.

It was long, at least ten inches, and it had a foreskin. There was a drop of whitish liquid at the end of the foreskin. It was thick around, nearly as wide as a can of coke at the shaft, the crest of the cockhead being wider still. it was jiggling up and down from Jack's movements and she could see there was a bit of a curve in the shaft. He let her take it in for a few seconds and then stepped out of his pants, making his cock jump around, dancing from side to side.

"You can touch it whenever you want to, and once you do I'm going to start touching you, whether you're naked or not."

Jack walked across the room, cock swaying from side to side, and sat on Lauren's bed next to her. He smiled at her, took a deep breath, and leaned in kissing her. He put his right arm behind her back and pulled her close to him. His left arm went around her to her lower back, his hands caressing her as they kissed.

 

[emari]

She'd made the right choice. She knew it the moment Jack laughed at her nerdy pun. He might not be her boyfriend but he was appreciative and kind and that was the sort of person she wanted to give her virginity to.

The confidence in his voice as he undressed proved that even if he had no hands on experience he could be trusted to guide her through this. And seeing him naked dispelled any concerns that this would be a case of getting the loss of her virginity 'over with' rather than taking pleasure in it.

He was fit, more so than she had assumed from seeing him clothed, but not bulky like some hulking intimidating football player.

But there was one area his size truly defied expectations. She'd never seen one in person before but she knew enough to know that Jack's cock was far more generous than average, long and thick, both utterly foreign to her and fascinating.

Lauren squeezed her thighs together, wondering if-- no, how he was going to fit inside of her, so much larger than even two of her slim exploratory fingers.

Then he sat next to her, not a cute boy on her bed to giggle over like a high school fantasy, but a man, naked and hard, serious about sex with her.

And then kissing her, just like she wanted.

He was good at it, if the sex was anything like this... she could feel the anticipatory wetness building between her legs. She kissed back, enjoying the moment and knowing that in this at least she had the experience to impress him too.

She hadn't planned on undressing, knowing the reason her ex had dumped her made her want to keep her body hidden away, but it felt unfair when Jack was sharing everything with her.

Pulling back slightly she unbuttoned her blouse, revealing the breasts which were barely big enough to fill an a-cup so she'd never needed to wear a bra, barely a hint of curves topped off by pale pink nipples, and set it aside.

Jack didn't seem overly put off by her lack of assets, but she didn't want to sit and be scrutinised in case he changed his mind. Hoping to distract him from any disappointment, she reached for his cock.

It was hot and heavy in her small hand as she blushed, trying to remember the rumours she'd heard about how to touch someone and make it good. Not too rough, but not stingy with touches either, it all sounded so mysterious.

"You'll tell me what's good, right?" she asked Jack. After all they were figuring this out together.

 

[Felix80]

The kiss broke and Jack's eyes opened, looking into Lauren's. He couldn't help but smile at her. She leaned back and started undoing her breasts.

Blouse. She was undoing her blouse. He was going to see her breasts. Boobs. Tits! Fuck yeah! His cock throbbed, jumping toward him in anticipation. If Lauren looked she would have seen it grow a bit larger, the foreskin slightly contracting.

Her hands moved quickly and nimbly as Jack stared until her breasts were revealed. They weren't very big, but he didn't care. Boobies! His cock jumped again as she removed her top and blushed.

Jack didn't notice the blush, he was too busy staring at her nipples. Fuck, he was going to have a lot of fun playing with those, licking them, nibbling on them, sucking on them, rubbing his cock on them, cumming on them, and cumming on them and cumming on them, then when he got the chance, cumming on them.

Had he been in a more rational state of mind Jack may have considered that he could be developing a cum fetish, especially after he took that pill. But then, he wasn't in his rational mind, he was obsessing over the first pair of titties he was ever going to touch, and get to play with.

Jack was ripped out of his fantasy when Lauren very gently wrapped her hand around the shaft of his cock. It wasn't a particularly sexy or arousing move, she didn't rub him or even stimulate him in any way, but it was the first time another person had touched his dick for sexual purposes, and pleasure shot through his entire body. Jack closed his eyes, his whole body shaking for half a second. He had heard what Lauren had asked but it didn't register yet.

A burst of cum erupted from his cock, shooting out of the end of his foreskin. It only went a few inches in the air, and landed on his fat cockhead and dripped down the shaft onto Lauren's hand. Jack looked at his cock, the thick white liquid on the shaft and on Lauren's hand. Before the pill he would have considered that a full orgasm's worth of cum, a big one at that. Now it was just something that happened sometimes on his way to orgasm. His cock throbbed again, jumping in Lauren's hand and growing a little. He looked back at Lauren and saw she was blushing. He was probably blushing too.

"Sorry," Jack said with a little laugh, "that was just a bit of pre-cum. When I really cum it's like a fire hose. I just got a bit excited, you've got suck beautiful tits, and I really want to touch, them, and lick them, and rub my cock all over them." And cum on them. And her face. And shove his cock down her throat.

"But first, why don't I sit on the bed with my back against the wall and just let you explore some. You can touch and lick and use whatever body parts you want," like those delicious titties, "and just take some time to get comfortable with my cock. I'm really excited right now and I'm probably going to cum pretty quick." Which was the nicest way to describe premature ejaculation.

"But don't worry, I'll get hard again fast. And when you're ready I'll be ready for the actual sex. Not that this isn't sex, I mean the fucking sex. I mean," Jack paused, took a deep breath and tried to calm down, which was hard to do while a beautiful woman had her hand on his dick. "When your vagina is ready to have me put my penis inside, when you want me to fuck you, I will definitely be ready."

The way things had been going since he took that pill, he may not even get soft after he cums.

 

[emari]

Lauren stared down at the pre-cum on her hand, surprised and pleased to get such a positive reaction despite her inexperienced fumbling.

His offer was unexpected, she'd figured he'd want to rush ahead, not let her take her time, but she settled between his legs, thankful for the opportunity to explore.

It was hard to be scientific when he was watching her with hot eyes that made her shiver with anticipation, nipples stiffening even in the warm room, but she tried to be observant. Experimenting with different grips, one hand and then two, she kept track of what provoked the best reactions, more pre-cum landing on her hands.

They were getting messy and she remembered what he'd said about licking. If she was going to try that with his cock she didn't want to be surprised by the taste and do anything embarrassing like choke - which was already going to be a challenge given his size.

One hand still stroking Jack's cock, she raised the other and sucked a pre-cum covered finger between her lips, tasting for the first time.

It was strange but not unpleasant, a natural sort of salty that she decided she could get used to as she liked a second finger clean.

Filled with confidence, she moved forward, one strand of hair coming loose from her bun, as she kept one hand squeezing Jack's length with the grip which had seemed to get the biggest reaction, and looked up through her lashes, watching Jack's reaction as she gave the tip of his cock a tasting lick.

 

[Felix80]

Lauren stared at Jacks cum on her hand with something of a smile on her face. Jack wasn't sure what she was thinking. She didn't say anything, just stared at his cum on her hand. In those seconds his heart was falling out of his chest.

He was sitting on her bed, in her dorm, legs spread at almost a ninety-degree angle, one against the wall, one against the foot of the bed, leaning against the wall and part of a dresser. He was butt-ass naked, well, except for his socks. She had her shirt open, her tiny, little, barely more then bumps with nipples on them, beautiful titties exposed. He had just told her to play with his cock, to touch it, and lick it, and to rub her beautiful titties all over it. And he told her he was going to prematurely ejaculate, and that when he did he would cum like a fire hose.

And in response she stared at the pre-cum on her hand. She didn't say anything. She didn't look at him and smile. She just stared at his cum on her hand. With something of a smile on her face.

What if she told him to go? What if she decided she didn't want to do this? What if Lauren told everyone on campus what a freak he was and this whole thing destroyed him? What if... the horrific possibilities roared through his mind like a tidal wave. He was already known as a nerd on campus, he didn't need to get a reputation as a sex freak too.

Lauren didn't say anything, but finally she moved, slowing the cavalcade of fears running through Jack's mind, but not ending it. She moved between his legs, her face pointed to his cock, not at his face. She seemed entranced by the log of meat between his legs. Jack couldn't help but notice her nipples getting stiffer. It was the only indication she was physically aroused, and it made Jack aroused, his cock jumping a bit before she touched it again, more blood flowing into the immense organ.

Lauren touched his cock and it jumped again, some cum flicking off of it and onto both him and her, more blood flowing in, the cock growing slightly, but noticeably as she starred at it. She wrapped her hand around it and began to stroke it. Not fast, not at first. His cock was throbbing and hot in her hands, seemingly growing with every touch.

"Fuck, that feels good," Jack murmured. Lauren increased her speed.

"Yes," Jack said through clenched teeth.

Lauren did that for a while, then moved her second hand in, wrapping both hands around his cock at the same area, her tiny hands finally covering the entire circumference of his cock. Jack let out some encouraging words through a gasp. This went on for awhile, then she switched it up again, one hand on top of the other. She went faster, slower, and with each change Jack tried to encourage her. His cock was definitely encouraging her, jumping and throbbing at her touch, the foreskin pulling back more with each downstroke until the giant purple cockhead finally appeared, naked and winking up at her.

She was trying out different grips and strokes with an almost detached, scientific approach. Was she into it? or was this just an experiment for her?

Part of Jack wanted to know, but part of him didn't care, didn't have the capacity to care. Jack was getting close. He had warned her about premature ejaculation. He was holding back as best he could, but animal lust and pleasure was taking over his mind.

Still stroking with one hand, the waiflike goddess took one hand from his cock. It had a good deal of his precum on it. Looking at the hand and not at him she extended one cummy finger and put it in her mouth, sucking on it then pulling the finger out slowly, with a small pop as it came out of her mouth.

"Fuck, that's hot!" Jack said, knowing he was close, but not wanting it to end.

Then she did a second finger the same way. She put it in her mouth, sucked off all the cum and pulled it out slowly, with a pop. She was still stroking his cock. Jack could feel it all boiling up inside him. He took a breath and held it, not wanting to cum yet, but knowing he was losing that battle.

Stroking him firmly and surely, Lauren bent her head down to his cock, her lips almost touching him, her hot breath on his cockhead. She looked up at him, and he could see the wanton desire in her eyes. He smiled down at her.

"You are so sexy."

She opened her mouth, extended her tongue, and it touched the exposed, raging head of his cock. Then it exploded.

White hot jism burst forth from his cockhead, up her tongue and into her mouth. Pleasure flooded his body as a continuous stream of cum filled Lauren's mouth, then splattered all over her face, covering her in sticky, white love fluid. Jack closed his eyes as pleasure wracked his body, making him shake, in turn making the whole bed shake as he was consumed by the first orgasm he ever got from someone else. He opened his eyes and he was still cumming like a fire hose, getting cum all over her face and hair. Jack reached down and moved his cock by the base, away from Lauren's face and pointed it at her chest, painting her little titties white, making sure that the entire bump and every square millimeter of her rock hard nipples were covered in his hot cum.

The stream slowed into bursts, like normal ejaculate, but seven or eight huge blasts that he aimed, trying to make sure she was properly painted by his cum. Finally it slowed to an ooze, the jism flowing out of his cockhead and down, creating streaks down the mammoth dick, pooling at it's base, mixing with his hair, some pooling on his pelvis above the thick, veiny shaft, the rest moving down over his balls. His cock was not getting any smaller, it was still throbbing as the flow of cum slowly came to a halt.

Jack stared at Lauren for a moment, afraid to say anything. Finally he asked, full of trepidation, "Did you like it?"

 

[emari]

“You are so sexy.”

Jack’s words rung in her ears, almost as surprising and overwhelming as the way his cock exploded, filling her mouth with a flood of ejaculate, salty taste so much stronger than when she’d been licking it off her fingers.

Lauren gasped, Jack’s cock slipping from her lips so that his cum sprayed onto her face in hot blasts, far more than she’d been expecting. She took it with shock but also an unexpected arousal as he spilled his cum over her. He’d called her sexy. And she’d made him cum. It made her feel sexy, in a way she never had before. She’d clearly done something well by the way he kept cumming, gripping his cock to redirect the bursts towards her tits, as if he was genuinely interested in the tiny mounds, coating them before the flow finally stopped.

The layer of cum coating her felt strange. It felt strange, and under any other circumstance she’d want to rush to wash it off, but everything felt too urgent for that now. Instead she settled for wiping a hand over her face so that she could look up at Jack properly without worrying about drips near her eyes, thighs clenching together beneath her skirt in her need for some sort of touch between her legs.

“Did you like it?” he asked.

A helpless giggle escaped her. Like it? Lauren had liked her last boyfriend, enjoyed kissing and felt a gentle throb of arousal sometimes when he’d put a hand on her waist or thigh sneaking his fingertips under her clothes, but he’d never made her feel hot all over like this. She’d certainly never felt like her arousal might soak through her cotton panties, but as she licked her lips, tasting a few more drops of cum as she did so.

“Yes,” she said quickly, “I… it was a good idea of yours, to try this.” Should she thank him? No, that would be strange, and it might make him think they were done. She hoped they weren’t done. She’d heard that men were prone to losing interest once they’d got their own satisfaction, but the look on Jack’s face and the fact his cock was still strong and hard gave her hope that he’d be interested in doing something to satisfy her arousal. She felt her eyes drift back to his cock. The size was still intimidating, but less so now that she was turned on. She’d never initiated anything with her ex, but looking at Jack made her want more.

“Will you touch me, please?” she asked, then blushed at the words coming out of her mouth. Please? Really? Did she want Jack to think she was some sort of idiot? Bad enough that she sounded slutty, begging made it seem like she wasn’t capable of thinking for herself.

Getting up from the floor, she shook her shirt off her shoulders, then pushed her skirt down past her skinny hips so that it fell to the floor and she was left standing before Jack in nothing but her plain white panties, wondering if he could tell how wet she was by the way that they clung to her.

Taking a deep breath, she looked him in the eye, making her best effort at sounding seductive as she said. “I want you to touch me Jack.”

 

[Felix80]

The giggle at his response didn't upset Jack. It didn't enrage him, or make him feel demeaned. It aroused him. His still hard cock throbbed at the sound, jumping as she involuntarily laughed. More cum oozed out from the tip and flowed down the shaft as she stood and stared at the beast between Jack's legs.

Getting laughed at usually made Jack feel bad, but this time it was a laugh of such sheer joy, with such a big grim on her face, that he didn't feel like he was getting laughed at. Lauren was laughing because she was enjoying herself. He was the cause of that. His ridiculously large dick and all that cum he had covered her in. She was sticky, and covered in his goo, and loving it.

Jack smiled at her.

"Yes," she said almost instantly after the giggle, answering his question.

"I..." she paused. I what? I loved it? I have never felt like this before? I always feel great covered in cum? I want more? I want you to fuck me?

"It was a good idea of yours, to try this." Jack grinned at that. She did like it. She liked playing with his cock and getting covered in cum. Which was good, because that's usually what happens when his cock got played with these days.

Her gaze moved from his face down to his cock. Jack couldn't just see where she was looking, it was like he could feel her focus on his cock, feel her longing for it.

"Will you touch me, please?" She blushed immediately, but she didn't stop staring at the thick, cum-covered monster.

Lauren stood before Jack could reply, shrugging off her shirt, the motion making her tiny tits jiggle, well, her nipples move around anyway, and drops of his cum to fly off her body while most of the thick substance slowly started streaking down from her chest towards her belly. Her hips shimmied as she shook down her skirt, enhancing the effect covering more of her body in his cum.

Jack stared at her, taking in the sight. She wasn't super sexy, standing there in her white cotton panties with the growing wet spot that made them cling to her, and start outlining her pussy lips, but she was sexy. He usually jerked off to girls on the internet with big boobs and round hips. Lauren had neither, yet here he was, cock throbbing looking at her in just wet, cotton panties.

What was made Jack's cock throb? Her lust. Oh, it wasn't as overt yet as it was in pornos, but Lauren wanted him. She was staring at HIS cock, covered in HIS cum, giggling and panties dripping because of HIM. And she wanted more.

She took a deep breath and Jack's gaze, which had been roving her body, but mostly trying to image what her pussy looked like from the tantalizing hints of her wet panties, snapped back up to look her in the eyes.

"I want you to touch me Jack."

Jack pushed himself off the wall, scooting forward on the bed, this cock flopping around, slapping his thighs and belly, leaving a smattered imprint of cum on everything it touched. All the cum that had covered his balls and dripped down was now visible on her bedsheets, leaving something of a trail behind him. Once his lower legs were over the edge of the bed and his feet on the floor he stopped while sitting there.

"You want me to touch you?" he asked, looking up at her with a devious grin.

His right hand came up, his pointer finger running a line back and forth across her waist.

"Is this how you want me to touch you?" Jack asked. Teasing her.

His finger left her waist and flew to her left, outer thigh, a single fingertip running up and down her leg.

"Is this how you want me to touch you?"

His finger moved again, this time to her left mini breast. he drew a circle in the cum around her nipple. A slow circle, careful not to touch her areola.

"Is this how you want me to touch you?" He drew another slow circle around her other nipple.

His finger left her breasts and moved to the cum on her. He started fingerpainting streaks of white down her belly and around to her back.

"Is this how you want me to touch you, Lauren? Do you want me to paint you with my cum? To use your body as a canvas, to paint you with semen?" Jack was looking up at her, grinning, watching every reaction. "Do you want to be my own, personal cum-canvas, Lauren?"

He painted a streak down to her panties, then continued over them, touching her mound through her panties, then moving down to the already wet cotton and holding his finger there.

"Is this how you want me to touch you, Lauren?" His voice dropped an octave this time, a low, guttural rumble. "Do you want me to touch your panties? Touch your pussy? Do you want me to finger you Lauren? Do you want me to rub you through your panties? They're already wet. I can see your arousal. You want me to make them sopping wet, don't you? You want me to make you cum in your panties, to slip my fingers under them and explore your hot, wet cunt. You want me to lick you through them, don't you Lauren? You want me to make you cum, to make you feel good all over, but especially right," he pushed with his fingers on her pussy lips, pushing the wet fabric between them, "here."

He waited there for what seemed like an eternity, his fingertip pushing her panties ever so slightly into her pussy, staring up at her with a grin on his face.

"I want to hear the words Lauren. I want to hear you tell me how much you want me. I want to hear the need in your voice as you beg me to make you cum."