第5部分(第4/7 頁)

who　knew　them　were　going　to　think　Vanessa　was　a　real　ball…breaker。　But　the　last　line　was　so　sweet

and　sexy；　she　couldn？t　really　plain。

Take　care　of　me。　Take　me。　Take　care。　Take　me。

Reading　it　made　her　want　to　rip　off　all　her　clothes　and　jump　him。Gently　；　of　course。

Just　then　Dan　burst　through　the　black　doors　of　Riverside　Prep　practically　in　midsentence。　He

waved　his　rumpled　copy　ofThe　New　Yorker　at　Vanessa　and　galloped　up　to　her　in　his　worn…out

white　Pumas　and　navy　blue　cords；　planting　a　sloppy；　wet　kiss　on　her　mouth。　？This　has　been　the

best　day　of　my　life！？　he　trumpeted。　？I　love　you！？

？You　don？t　have　to　be　romantic　to　get　in　my　pants　again；？　Vanessa　giggled　and　kissed　him

again。　？I？m　always　available。　And　by　the　way；　I　love　you；　too。？

？Cool。？　Dan　smiled　goofily　back　at　her。

Vanessa　couldn？t　believe　this　was　the　same　old　Dan　she？d　seen　only　yesterday。　He　was　still　pale；

thin；　and　overcaffeinated；　but　his　brown　eyes　were　shining　and　there　were　traces　of　smiley…face

dimples　in　his　usually　sallow　cheeks。　Wait　a　minute。　Since　when　could　she　actually　see　his

eyes？　？Whoa；　you　got　a　haircut；？　she　observed；　standing　back　to　check　it　out。

Dan　had　asked　the　barber　to　cut　his　hair　short　with　long　sideburns；　figuring　the　sideburns　would

keep　him　from　looking　like　all　the　preppy　assholes　in　his　class。　He　swept　his　hand　over　his　head

self…consciously。　It　felt　odd；　but　somehow　cleaner　than　before；　more　。　。　。homogenous　。　And　that

was　exactly　what　he　wanted？to　be　judged　by　his　work；　not　his　hair。

Whatever　you　say；　Sideburn　Man。

Vanessa　put　her　hands　on　the　hips　of　her　black　parka　coat。　Something　about　Dan？s　haircut　was　so

deliberate；　li