第31部分(第6/7 頁)

g　quietly　on　glossy；　dark　green　benches；

and　the　three　of　them　would　throw　rocks　in　the　water　and　lick　their　Popsicles？which　both　girls

would　eventually　grow　tired　of；　and　Nate　would　promptly　eat。　And　now　here　he　was；　sneaking

around　his　own　home　at　age　eighteen；　and　not　much　had　changed。　He　was　still　a　troublemaker。　He

still　loved　sailboats　and　popsicles。　And　most　of　all；　he　still　loved　Blair　and　Serena。

Nate　sighed；　walking　down　the　carpeted　hall　as　noiselessly　as　possible。　Somehow；　things　seemed

so　much　simpler　back　then。　He　didn？t　need　to　be　reminded　that　lately；　things　were　far　from　simple。

After　getting　caught　stealing　Coach　Michaels？s　Viagra；　Nate　hadn？t　received　his　diploma　at

graduation。　He　was　supposed　to　work　for　Coach　all　summer；　helping　to　fix　up　his　house　out　on

Long　Island　and　earn　his　diploma　that　way。　But　after　Mrs。　Michaels　started　ing　onto　him；　Nate

took　off　without　a　word　of　explanation　to　anyone。　He？d　stolen　his　dad？s　car；　kidnapped　Blair；

andthen　stolen　theCharlotte　。　Jesus；　what　hadn？t　he　done？　And　because　of　all　his　screwups；　his

future　was　totally　up　in　the　air。　As　he　tiptoed　past　his　father？s　study；　it　was　impossible　to　miss　the

sliver　of　yellow　light　that　peeked　out　from　the　half…open　door。　Nate？s　heart　sank　in　his　chest。Fuck　。

He　ran　his　hands　through　his　hair　and　tried　his　best　to　straighten　up。　He　wasn？t　reallythat　stoned；

was　he？

Is　that　a　serious　question？

？Who？s　there？？　His　father？s　voice　boomed　out　into　the　hall；　echoing　off　the　polished　wood

floors。　？Nate？　You　home？？　Nate　sighed；　ran　his　fingers　through　his　hair　one　last　time；　and　slowly

pushed　open　the　door。

The　study　was　paneled　in　rich；　dark　woo