第16部分(第4/7 頁)

Her　gray　eyes　and　long；　thin　face　were　starkly　beautiful；　but　her　front

teeth　were　crooked　and　yellow；　like　she？d　never　been　to　the　dentist　in　her　entire　life。　She　snagged

another　Red　Bull　cocktail　from　a　waiter？s　tray　and　handed　it　to　Dan。　？Rusty　says　poets　are　the

next　movie　stars。　One　day　we？ll　both　be　riding　around　in　limos　with　our　bodyguards。？　She　sighed

heavily。　？As　if　that　will　make　life　any　easier。？　She　raised　her　glass　and　clinked　it　against　his。　？To

poetry；？　she　announced　grimly。　Then　she　grabbed　the　back　of　Dan？s　head　and　pulled　him　toward

her；　crushing　his　lips　in　a　deep；　Campari…soaked　kiss。

Dan　knew　he　should　have　thrown　Mystery　off；　protesting　that　he　had　a　girlfriend；　that　he　was　in

love。　He　shouldn？t　have　enjoyed　being　hit　on　by　a　strange；　practically　naked　girl　with　yellow　teeth。

But　Mystery？s　lips　tasted　sweet　and　sour　at　the　same　time　and　he　wanted　to　understand　why　she

was　so　sad　and　so　tired。　He　wanted　todiscover　her；　the　way　he　sometimes　discovered　the　perfect

metaphor　when　he　was　in　the　middle　of　writing　a　poem；　and　to　do　that　he　had　to　keep　kissing　her。

？What？s　your　favorite　noun？？　he　breathed　into　her　ear　when　he　came　up　for　air。

？Sex；？　she　answered；　diving　for　his　lips　again。

Dan　grinned　as　he　kissed　her　back。

It　might　have　been　the　taurine；　but　sometimes　it　just　feels　good　to　be　bad。

the　girl　behind　the　camera

？So　you？re　the　one。？　A　beautiful；　tanned；　blond　dude　dressed　in　baggy　orange　surf　shorts；　white

leather　Birkenstock　clogs；　and　a　brown…and…white　pony　fur　vest　with　nothing　on　underneath

smiled　at　Vanessa　with　glistening　white　teeth。　His　name　was　Dork　or　Duke　or　something　and　he

claimed　to　be　a　prod