第32部分(第2/7 頁)

heCharlotte　；　up　at　his　family？s　pound　in　Mt。　Desert　Isle；　Maine；　and　the　after…noon　working

on　Coach　Michaels？s　place　kind　of　reminded　him　of　that　summer；　although　the　setting？rows　of

houses　and　overpopulated　beaches？wasn？t　quite　as　serene。　Still；　there　was　nothing　like　tough

manual　work；　bright　sunshine；　and　the　reward　of　a　cold　Stella　Artois　when　the　day　was　done；　and

no　distractions。

There　were　no　classes　to　worry　about：　school　was　over　at　last；　and　Yale　seemed　impossibly　far

away。　Blair；　the　girl　he　was　pretty　sure　was　the　love　of　his　life　but　who　he　could　never　seem　to　get

it　together　for；　was　in　England　with　her　new　aristocrat　boyfriend；　probably　shopping；　eating　scones；

and　drinking　way　too　much　tea。　Serena　was　back　in　the　city　being　a　movie　star；　and　Jenny；　the

incredibly　well…endowed　freshman　he？d　somehow　gotten　involved　with　last　winter；　had　been

shipped　off　to　Europe。　He　was　better　off　far　away　from　those　three。

He　grinned；　realizing　that　this　was　how　the　whole　summer　would　go：　days　of　hard　labor；　bike

rides　back　home；　then　a　shower；　a　joint；　and　maybe　some　time　by　himself　was　just　what　he　needed。

Coach？s　house　was　in　Hampton　Bays；　several　miles　from　his　own　house　in　East　Hampton；　but　it

was　like　a　different　world；　with　its　suburban　houses　and　minivans　and　malls。　It　was　just　the　kind　of

place　that　would　help　him　refocus　this　summer；　which　was　his　plan。　He　didn？t　have　his　eye　on　any

particular　girl；　and　anyway；　they　tended　to　lead　him　into　nothing　but　trouble。　Maybe　he　was　better

off　as　a　solo　act。

As　if　he　were　ever　alone　for　more　than　thirty　seconds。

Nate　had　to　climb　off　and　push　the　squeaky　bike　up　a　particularly　bad　hill；　w