第9部分(第3/7 頁)

e　wondered　if　he　could　duck　in　with　them　and　make　his

escape。　？Really　sick。？　His　gaze　shifted　tentatively　to　Greg；　who　was　staring　at　him　with　something

like　amusement；　his　blue　eyes　creasing　at　the　corners。　？I　just　didn？t　want　to　give　it　to　you？I　think

I？m　still　pretty　contagious　and？？　Greg　cut　him　off　with　a　wave　of　his　hand。　？Listen；　I　really

wanted　to　talk　to　you　about　something。？　He　sat　down　next　to　Dan　on　the　sidewalk。

Dan　stayed　silent；　fiddling　with　the　pen　in　his　hand。　The　throng　of　tourists　came　and　went；　but　he

knew　he　had　to　sit　there　and　stick　it　out。　He　dreaded　the　words　that　were　sure　to　fall　from　Greg？s

lips　any　second　now。Let？s　do　this　thing。　I　want　you　to　meet　my　parents。　I　want　to　show　you　things

only　another　man　can。

Greg　cleared　his　throat　and　continued。　？I　thought　that　me　and　you　had　a　pretty　good　thing　going。？

He　stopped；　his　words　hanging　in　the　air　above　their　heads。　？But　。　。　。　I？ve　kind　of　met　someone

else。？　Huh？　Dan　stared　at　Greg；　his　mouth　open。　He　felt　like　he？d　just　been　smacked　in　the　head

with　a　two…by…four。　Two　girls　dressed　all　in　black　stepped　around　them；　practically　trampling　them

with　their　bat　boots　and　giving　them　a　dirty　look　for　blocking　the　sidewalk。

？I　met　this　amazing　guy　at　。　。　。　um　。　。　。？　Greg　looked　down　at　the　pavement；　his　cheeks　flushing

bright　red；　and　ran　a　hand　through　his　hair　before　continuing。　？A　party　。　。　。　and；　well；　we　kind　of

just　had　this　really　intenseconnection　。？　He　put　his　hand　on　Dan？s　forearm；　squeezing　hard？but　in

a　brotherly；　reassuring　way。　？I？m　sorry。？　This　time；　Dan　didn？t　squirm　at　his　touch。　？Don？t　worry

about　it。？　He　patted　Greg？s　hand。　？It？s　totally　fine。？　He　sighed；　br