第3部分(第6/7 頁)

up　and　down　each　other？s　backs　and　giggling。

Then　she　felt　a　hand　on　her　back；　too；　underneath　her　shirt。

？Let？s　take　our　shirts　off；？　Harry　suggested　eagerly。

？Okay；？　Jenny　agreed；　not　wanting　to　be　a　prude。　She　only　had　three　buttons　left　buttoned；

anyway。　The　guidebooks　were　definitely　right　about　Croton。　It　was　wild；　and　maybe？once　she　got

used　to　it？exactly　what　she　needed。

？Wow；？　he　murmured　as　she　folded　her　shirt　neatly　and　placed　it　on　the　grass　beside　her。　The

look　on　his　face　was　the　absolute　definition　of　the　phraseto　gawk　。

？Now　you；？　Jenny　said；　feeling　confident　in　the　knowledge　that　she　was　the　only　sober　one　in　the

forest。　Well；almost　。

？What　the　hell　are　you　kids　doing　back　here？！？　a　deep　voice　boomed。　An　athletic…looking　man

with　curly　brown　hair　and　a　brown　mustache　strode　down　the　path；　barefoot；　wearing　faded　Levi？s

and　a　threadbare　light　blue　oxford　shirt；　unbuttoned　to　midchest。

April　sat　up　and　wiped　her　mouth；　her　brown　eyes　shining。　？Hi；　Mr。　Tortia。？

Mr。　Tortia　didn？t　look　as　angry　as　he？d　sounded。　He　almost　looked　like　he　wanted　to　hang

out。　？So；　what　did　I　miss？？　he　demanded　eagerly。　Then　he　noticed　Jenny。　？And　who；　may　I　ask；

are　you？？

Harry　rubbed　the　spot　between　Jenny？s　bare　shoulder　blades。　？She？s　a　prospective。　And　I　think

maybe　she　took　your　share。？

Jenny　crossed　her　hands　over　her　chest。　Actually；　his　share　of　the　E　was　somewhere　inside　her

nude…colored　Bali　extra…support　bra　with　double…duty　underwire　and　chafe…free　superwide　straps；

but　she　wasn？t　about　to　volunteer　that　information。

Mr。　Tortia　picked　something　out　of　his　tobacco…stained　teeth　and　flicked　it　angrily　into　the　grass