小说园

第32部分（第1页）

duty？to　make　this　asshole　read。　He　stood　up。　？Follow　me。？

He　led　the　mindless　goth　kid　into　a　small　back　room　full　of　leather…bound　classics　and　found　a

beautiful　Everyman？s　Library　copy　of　Joyce？s　masterpiece。　Dan　began　to　read　aloud　from　a

random　page：　？Touch　me。　Soft　eyes。　Soft　soft　soft　hand。　I　am　lonely　here。　O；　touch　me　soon；　now。

What　is　that　word　known　to　all　men？　I　am　quiet　here　alone。　Sad　too。　Touch；　touch　me。？　Dan

paused　and　looked　up。　？e　on；　you　know　you　want　to；？　he　urged。

The　kid　looked　terrified；　probably　suspecting　Dan　was　some　sort　of　Strand…lurking　literary

pervert。　He　dropped　his　Batman　lunch　box　and　bolted。

Dan　sat　down　on　the　floor　to　finish　the　page。　He　had　to　admit　that　James　Joyce　did　always　sort　of

turn　him　on。

Yes；　it？s　going　to　be　an　interesting　summer　indeed。

helmets　are　almost　as　important　as　condoms

Nate　stood　up　on　the　pedals　of　his　vintage　Schwinn；　pushing　them　up　and　down　with　his　feet；　and

then　eased　himself　back　onto　the　unfortable；　unpadded　leather　seat。　He　liked　to　bike　this

way？pedaling　as　hard　as　he　could　and　then　sitting　down　to　feel　the　warm　summer　breeze　on　his

face。　To　the　right；　the　waves　rippled　off　the　beach。　On　his　left　was　a　vine…yard　full　of　Chardonnay

grapes。　The　air　smelled　like　salt　and　gas…grilled　steak。　He　listened　to　the　satisfying　crunch　of　the

gravelly　road　under　his　wheels　and　grinned　lazily。

His　morning　joint　had　done　just　the　trick；　and　by　the　end　of　the　day；　he？d　been　kind　of　grooving

on　what　was　supposed　to　be　his　summer　punishment。　There　was　something　soothing　about

physical　labor。　He？d　spent　the　summer　after　tenth　grade　helping　his　dad　build　their　sailboat；

theCharlotte　；　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