第19部分(第6/7 頁)

e　staggered　backward。

？Whoa；　there；　Natie！？　Chips　laughed　out　loud　and　grabbed　hold　of　Nate？s　arm。　He　steered　him

toward　the　bench　behind　the　wheel；　indicating　that　he　should　steer。　Chips　sat　down　heavily　beside

him　and　placed　a　large　blue　pillow　behind　his　back　for　support。　He　pulled　out　a　fat　brown　cigar

from　his　pants　pocket　and　rolled　it　around　between　his　lips。　Then　he　lit　the　tip　and　puffed　away

until　the　end　glowed　amber　and　the　stench　of　cigar　smoke　filled　the　air；　sweet　and　acrid。　Nate

looked　out　at　the　water；　steering　the　boat　and　fretting　over　what　he？d　just　said。　Talking　about　it

meant　thinking　about　it；　and　that　was　the　last　thing　he　wanted　to　do。

？Now。？　Chips　blew　a　ring　of　smoke　over　his　head。　？Let？s　start　from　the　beginning。？　？Well　。　。　。

first　there？s　Blair；？　Nate　began　tentatively　as　he　steered　the　boat　expertly　between　the　green　and

red　buoys　marking　the　entrance　to　Manhattan？s　harbor。　？We？ve　been　together　forever；　and　I　really

love　her。　She　likes　getting　her　way；　and　she　just　。　。　。　wants　everything　to　be　perfect。　She？s　leaving

for　Yale　tomorrow；　and　she　wants　me　to　e　live　in　New　Haven　with　her。？　He　reached　into　his

pocket　and　ran　his　finger　over　the　smooth　surface　of　the　silver　lighter　Blair　had　given　him　two

years　ago。　？But　I？ve　always　loved　Serena；　too。　She？s　。　。　。　the　plete　opposite　of　Blair。　All　light

and　mystery　and　laughter；　but　hard　to　pin　down。？　Chips　nodded；　listening　carefully。

？And　to　make　things　even　more　plicated；　they？ve　been　best　friends　forever；　and　I？m　always

kind　of　messing　things　up　between　them。？　Kind　of？

He　took　a　deep　breath；　and　Chips　passed　him　his　glass　of　scotch。　？I　know　it？s　idiotic；　but　I　just