第3部分(第3/7 頁)

　to　him。　She　could　smell　toothpaste　and　nicotine　on

Thaddeus？s　warm　breath；　Kiehl？s　oatmeal　lotion　on　his　hands；　and　Tide　on　his　clothes。　She　was

barely　touching　him；　just　resting　her　hands　against　his　firm　chest；　but　she　could　feel　his　body

against　hers；　from　his　strong；　broad　back　to　his　perfect　abs；　from　his　lean　and　muscled　forearms　to

his　flip…flopped　feet。　And　she　could　feel　something　else：　a　flicker　of　electricity　in　the　air；　in　the

tiny　pocket　of　space　between　their　two　bodies。　Was　this　acting　or　was　it　real？

？Okay；？　Thaddeus　stammered。　He　took　a　step　back　and　Serena；　who　had　been　leaning　all　of　her

weight　on　him；　stumbled　a　bit。

He　laughed　nervously。　？Ken；　a　smoke？？

Ken　held　out　a　pack　of　Marlboro　Reds　and　Thaddeus　selected　one　and　coolly　lit　it。

？What？d　you　think；　Ken？？　he　asked；　looping　his　thumb　in　his　waistband。

？Good。　Better。　I　felt　more　spark　that　last　time。　But　Holly　needs　to　pick　up　the　slack。　Holly；　we

can　do　some　rewrites　if　you？re　having　trouble　with　your　lines。？

？What　do　you　mean？？　Serena　sank　into　the　worn　couch。　She　hadn？t　madetoo　many　mistakes；　had

she？

？If　there　are　too　many　words；　you　know；？　he　explained；　pronouncing　the　words　loudly　and　slowly；

like　he　was　speaking　to　someone　whose　English　wasn？t　so　good。　？If　you？re　having　trouble

remembering　all　of　them。？

Was　he　calling　herstupid？

？No；　it？s　fine；？　she　sighed　wearily。

？She？ll　get　the　hang　of　it。？　Thaddeus　sat　down　beside　her。　He　rested　his　soft　hand　on　her　bare

knee；　giving　her　leg　a　supportive　squeeze。

You　know　I　will；Serena　agreed　silently。　God；　was　she　already　in　love？　Sometimes　she　was　almost

too　easy。

No　ment。

？Of　co