小说园

第18部分（第2页）

camera。　？I　swiped　it　from　Serena？s　house。　I　hope　she？s　not　too　pissed。？

Nate　frowned　at　the　mention　of　Serena？s　name。　He　was　still　feeling　a　little　guilty　about　sneaking

out　of　Serena？s　place　without　saying　goodbye？and　on　her　birthday。　Blair　had　persuaded　him　that

Serena　wouldn？t　have　wanted　a　morning　wake…up　call；　birthday　or　no　birthday；　and　chances　were

she　hadn？t　gone　to　bed　alone　anyway。　And　it　was　her　house；　so　it　wasn？t　like　they？d　just　ditched

her　in　the　middle　of　nowhere。

Whatever　you　need　to　tell　yourself。

Before　Nate　had　even　turned　off　the　car；　Blair　had　already　slipped　out　of　her　seat　and　skipped

toward　the　low　stone　wall　that　separated　the　parking　area　from　the　dramatic　drop…off　into　a　deep；

tree…lined　valley　below。　She　was　wearing　the　tiniest　white　shorts　he　had　ever　seen；　and　they　made

her　legs　look　ridiculously　touchable。　She　hopped　up　onto　the　wall　and　pouted　her　lips。

？Take　a　picture！？

Grinning　and　horny　all　over　again；　Nate　fumbled　with　his　seat　belt　and　burst　out　of　the　car；

willing　himself　not　to　run　over　to　the　stone　wall　and　stick　his　hands　down　her　tiny　shorts。　He　took

the　camera　from　Blair？s　outstretched　hand　instead。　？Say　cheese。？

Blair　stuck　out　her　tongue　and　crossed　her　eyes。

？Gorgeous。？　Nate　laughed　at　tan；　happy；　beautiful　Blair　on　the　little　LCD　screen。

Blair　patted　the　wall　next　to　her。　？Take　one　of　both　of　us　together。？

Nate　clambered　up　on　the　wall　and　held　the　camera　out　in　front　of　them。　Blair　pressed　her

smooth　cheek　against　his。　The　smell　of　her　made　him　feel　lightheaded；　and　he　put　his　free　hand

out　to　steady　himself。

Careful　there；　slugger。

？I　want　our　whole　summer　to　be　just　like　this。？　Blair　slipped　her　arm　through　his　and

sighed。　？The　two　of　us；　alone　on　the　open　sea。　No　people；　no　worries。　It？ll　be　perfect。？　Just　like　in

the　movie　set　on　constant　replay　in　her　mind。

Nate　nodded。　？I　can？t　wait　to　get　out　on　the　water。？　The　mental　image　of　Blair　in　her　bikini；

lolling　about　on　the　deck　of　theCharlotte；　swept　over　him。　It　was　happening　at　last。　The　real

summer　he　was　meant　to　have　was　beginning？　and　everything　was　falling　into　place。　Driving

northeast　in　that　the　serene　summer　afternoon　toward　the　ocean；　toward　freedom；　with　Blair　right

next　to　him　。　。　。　Nate　could　feel　the　weight　of　all　his　past　mistakes　lift　off　of　his　shoulders。　He　had

never　swiped　from　his　coach？s　stash　of　Viagra；　he　had　never　had　his　diploma　withheld；　he　had

never　hooked　up　with　Tawny；　he　had　never　rubbed　ointment　on　Babs？s　tattoo。　He　had　just　spent

the　night　with　Blair；　and　he　was　about　to　spend　the　rest　of　the　summer　with　her　and　maybe　the　rest

of　his　life。　All　was　as　it　should　be　with　the　universe。

？Okay。　Time　to　drive。？　It　was　almost　like　Blair　was　reading　his　mind。　She　hopped　down　from　the

wall；　grabbing　the　camera　from　Nate？s　hand　to　scrutinize　the　pictures　he？d　just　taken。

？I　just　gotta　make　a　pit　stop。？　He　nodded　in　the　direction　of　the　concrete　bungalow　that　housed

the　roadside　restrooms。