小说园

第28部分（第1页）

Chips　with　the　rope。　？I　just　wanted　to　make　you　sweat　a　little。？　His　phone　rang　again　in　his　pocket

and　he　pulled　it　out？even　though　he　knew　who　was　calling。　He　silenced　the　ringer。

Chips　arched　an　eyebrow。　？Which　one　is　it？　Does　she　know　where　you？ve　gone？？　？She　doesn？t。

Neither　of　them　knows；　actually。　They　both　think　I？m　meeting　them　at　Grand　Central　right　now。？

Nate　thought　about　Blair　and　Serena　standing　in　the　train　station；　wondering　where　he　was；　and

felt　bad？but　only　for　a　minute。　He　closed　his　eyes　as　he　pictured　Blair？s　excited；　happy　face　and

Serena？s　wide；　gorgeous　smile。　It　really　was　better　this　way？for　everyone？whether　they　realized　it

or　not。　Serena　and　Blair　would　be　friends　again？without　him　getting　in　the　way　all　the　time。

？You　didn？t　even　tell　them？？　Chips　coiled　a　length　of　rope　around　one　arm；　his　brow

furrowed。　？Did　nothing　of　my　using…your…balls　speech　make　its　way　through　that　thick　hair　of

yours　and　into　your　head？？　Nate　looked　out　to　sea。　The　sky　above　him　was　flooded　with　bright

morning　light　that　bounced　off　the　calm　surface　of　the　water。　？No　。　。　。？　he　began。　？I　got　it。　It？s

just　。　。　。　better　this　way。　If　I？d　told　them；　they　would　have　tried　to　stop　me　from　leaving。？　His

phone　started　beeping　wildly；　breaking　the　perfect　silence　of　the　calm　morning。　Nate　pulled　it　out

of　his　pocket　and　silenced　it　again。　？And　I　might　have　let　them。？　He　glanced　at　the　phone　in　his

hand　and　its　screen　flashing　18　MISSED　CALLS。　He　flipped　it　open　and　punched　at　the　keypad；

knowing　exactly　what　he　needed　to　say　in　his　text。　He　pressed　SEND　and　then　SEND　again。　And

then　he　brought　his　throwing　arm　back　and　tossed　the　phone　out　to　sea。　It　made　a　tiny　splash　as　it

hit　the　calm　surface　of　the　water。

Chips　nodded　approvingly　and　Nate　grabbed　a　rope　to　hoist　the　sail；　giving　it　a　fierce　pull。　The

sail　rose　above　him；　fluttered　in　the　breeze；　and　then　grew　taut。

？We？re　off！？　Chips　cried　as　the　boat　motored　out　into　the　harbor。

Nate　watched　the　dock　grow　smaller　and　smaller。　Maybe　college　was　the　right　choice　for　most

people；　but　it　wasn？t　for　him？at　least　not　now。　Yale　could　wait。　He　needed　time　to　figure　out　who

he　was　and　what　he　really　wanted；　and　he　was　never　going　to　do　that　if　every　spare　minute　was

taken　up　with　classes；　papers；　and　。　。　。　Blair。　Or　Serena。

The　tall　buildings　of　Manhattan　began　to　recede　into　the　distance；　and　the　spires　of　the　Chrysler

building　and　the　Empire　State　building　became　tiny　toy　versions　of　themselves。　The　island　Nate

had　called　home　his　whole　life　suddenly　looked　。　。　。　small。　He　planted　his　feet　on　the　teak　planks

of　the　deck　and　turned　his　head　into　the　wind　as　they　sailed　off　into　the　sparkling；　endless　blue。

Like　we？re　never　going　to　hear　from　him　again？　Not　a　chance。　The　world　is　big；　but　notthat　big。

the　long　goodbye

Blair　crossed　her　arms　and　tapped　her　toe　impatiently　on　the　platform　as　the　train　began　to　fill　up

with　hundreds　of　luggage…toting　passengers。　She　was　so　fucking　on　edge　that　she　felt　like　she

might　throw　up。　The　bright　silver　train　cars　were　momentarily　engulfed　in　a　white　cloud　of