小说园

第18部分（第3页）

？Be　quick　about　it。？　Blair　kissed　his　cheek　before　skipping　back　to　the　passenger　seat。

Inside　the　chemical…smelling　bathroom；　Nate　focused　on　what　would　happen　a　couple　of　hours

from　that　moment；　when　they　at　last　reached　their　destination。　He　closed　his　eyes；　picturing　Blair

skipping　ahead　of　him；　up　the　gangplank　and　onto　the　yacht；　shedding　those　tiny　white　shorts　as

she　went。

As　he　washed　his　hands；　Nate　felt　the　familiar　throb　of　his　phone　vibrating　in　the　pocket　of　his

cargo　shorts。　It　was　probably　Blair；　telling　him　to　hurry　up。　He　smiled。　Some　things　never

changed？like　Blair？s　impatience。　He　dialed　his　voicemail；　hoping　to　listen　to　the　sexy　message

Blair　had　left　him　as　he　dried　his　hands。　The　phone　was　perched　precariously　between　his　ear　and

his　shoulder　and　he　almost　dropped　it　into　the　sink　when　instead　of　hearing　Blair？s　sly；　giggly

voice；　he　heard　the　angry　grumble　of　Coach　Michael？s。

？Archibald；　I　don？t　know　what　the　hell　you　think　you？re　pulling；　but　you　better　be　on　your

deathbed　right　now。　Thought　my　wife　would　cover　for　you？　Forget　it；　kid。　She　said　you　were

smoking　pot　in　my　fucking　attic。　Under　my　goddamn　roof。You　think　I　was　bluffing；　Archibald？

I？m　calling　your　dad　the　second　I　get　off　the　phone。　It？s　over；　kid。　You？re　never　going　to　see　that

diploma。　Yale？　It？s　never　going　to　happen。　Big　mistake；　kid；　fucking　with　me。　Big…time　mistake。

And　I？m　not　through　with　you　yet。？

Nate　finished　drying　his　hands　on　his　shorts；　then　grabbed　the　phone；　stabbing　at　the　button　that

would　erase　that　message　forever。　He　stuffed　it　back　in　his　pocket　and　studied　his　face　in　the

cracked　rest…stop　mirror。　He　had　to　get　the　fuck　out　of　there。

Spoken　like　a　man　on　the　run。

the　purloined　letter

？Hey。　It？s　Blair。　I　just　wanted　to　call　and　say；　you　know；　happy　birthday。　Sorry　we　took　off。　I？ll

call　you　later　and　tell　you　everything。？

Snapping　her　telephone　shut　and　tossing　it　into　her　bag；　Blair　leaned　back　into　the　warm　leather

embrace　of　her　bucket　seat　and　tapped　her　foot　impatiently。　What　the　fuck　was　taking　so　long？　The

sooner　they　got　back　on　the　road；　the　sooner　they　would　be　at　theCharlotte；　and　the　sooner　she

would　be　stretched　out　on　the　wide　wooden　deck　sunning　herself　in　only　her　undies；　drinking

spiked　lemonade　and　feeding　Nate　slivers　of　raw　bluepoint　oysters　with　her　fingers。That？s　how

she　planned　to　spend　every　minute　of　the　rest　of　the　summer。

Not　a　bad　plan！

She　swiveled　the　rearview　mirror　to　examine　her　face：　her　eyes　looked　bright　and　clear；　her　skin

sun…kissed　and　flawless；　her　hair　flecked　with　gold。　She　grinned　at　herself。　All　the　stresses　of　the

summer　just　melted　away：　she？d　never　gone　to　London　with　Lord　Marcus；　she？d　never　played

second　fiddle　to　Serena　on　her　movie　debut；　she？d　never　seen　Nate　holding　hands　with　some　tacky

Long　Island　townie。　Everything　was　just　as　it　should　be：　her　and　Nate；　in　love；　forever。

Blair　fiddled　idly　with　the　stereo；　but　Nate　had　the　car　keys　in　his　pocket；　so　it　wouldn？t　play。

Impatiently；　she　turned　the　knob　on　the　glove　box。　It　dropped　open　to　reveal　a　crisp　white