第32部分(第5/7 頁)

se　that　was　so　small　it　looked　like　it　was　out　of　a　cartoon。　A

couple　of　little　kids　were　perched　on　the　steps　licking　strawberry　ice　cream　cones。

？Two　vanilla　cones；？　Tawny　purred　to　the　pimply　guy　behind　the　counter。　She　had　the　faintest

hint　of　an　accent；　but　Nate　couldn？t　quite　place　it。

？No　story。？　Nate　idly　kicked　the　side　of　the　cartoon　house　with　the　toes　of　his　battered　Stan

Smiths。　He　wanted　to　run　his　hands　up　and　down　her　warm；　freckled　arms。

Tawny　knelt　down　and　smiled　and　laid　a　five…dollar　bill　on　the　counter；　reaching　inside　the

window　to　retrieve　two　pointy　sugar　cones　piled　high　with　creamy　white　scoops　of　ice　cream。　She

handed　one　to　Nate。

？Thanks。？　The　ice　cream　started　to　melt　immediately　in　the　late　afternoon　sun；　trickling　down　his

hand。　He　licked　it　delicately。

Tawny　touched　his　skinned　knee　gently。　There　was　some…thing　about　the　way　she　did　it？a

possessiveness？　A　certainty？　A　particularje　ne　sais　quoi　？that　reminded　Nate　of　Blair。　But　this　girl

was　nothing　like　Blair：　Blair　would　never　wear　a　pink　tube　top；　or　let　an　ice　cream　cone　melt　all

over　her　hands；　or　。　。　。　pay　for　food　on　a　first　date。

Date？That　was　fast。

？Are　you　okay？？　Tawny　asked；　rising　to　her　feet。　She　licked　her　pink；　swollen…looking　lips。　？You

look　so　serious。？

The　truth　was；　Nate　was　wondering　what　Tawny　looked　like　without　her　tube　top　on。　Was　her

chest　freckled　too？　His　hands　itched　just　thinking　about　it。

？I？m　just　really　glad　I　met　you；？　Nate　told　her　a　little　goofily。　He　dabbed　his　chin　with　a

napkin。　？We　should　hang　out　this　summer。？

A　world　record：　Nate　Archibald　managed　to　swear　off　girls　for　three　whole　minutes。