小说园

第4部分（第2页）

lovefriendship　ring　he？d　left　on　the　kitchen　counter　that　morning。　？She　couldn？t　stand　living　so

far　away　from　Barneys　in　a　walk…up　with　graffiti　on　the　door。？

？Well；　can　you　blame　her？？　Aaron　smiled　at　their　reflection　in　the　mirror？two　dark　shaved　heads；

two　pairs　of　brown　eyes；　two　pairs　of　thin　red　lips。　？Did　you　get　my　e…mail？？

We　could　almost　be　twins；Vanessa　thought；　creeping　herself　out。　She　was　suddenly　reminded　of

those　freaky　old　V。C。　Andrews　books　she？d　read　when　she　was　twelve；　about　a　brother　and　sister

who　were　locked　together　in　an　attic　and　eventually　gave　birth　to　twins。　？Blair　wants　to　be　our

senior　speaker。　If　I　miss　graduation；　she？ll　kill　me。？

Aaron　rolled　his　eyes；　flipped　the　cracked　white　toilet　seat　lid　down；　and　sat　down　on　it。　He

sighed。　？I　don？t　know　how　she　does　it。？

？What　do　you　mean？？　Vanessa　couldn？t　help　observing　that　this　little　bathroom　chat　was　the

longest　they？d　ever　talked　without　forgetting　what　they　were　talking　about　and　ripping　each

other？s　clothes　off。

？You？re　like　the　most　righteous　person　I　know；　but　she　even　manages　to　get　you　to　do　her

bidding。？　Aaron　explained；　rubbing　the　back　of　his　neck　where　the　supershort　shaved　bits　were

growing　in。

？It？s　not　like　that。　We？re　friends。　Anyway；？　Vanessa　quickly　changed　the　subject。　？I　think　driving

across　the　country　and　camping　out　and　stuff　sounds　？　cool。？　She　put　her　hands　in　her　pockets；

hoping　that　Aaron　would　forget　all　about　the　ring。　？I　mean；　as　long　as　there？s；　like；　a　bathroom

and　a　shower　we　can　use。？

Sounds　like　she　doesn？t　quite　know　the　meaning　of　？camping　out。？

？Really？？　Aaron　stood　up；　grinning　as　he　turned　her　around　to　face　him。　？So；　are　you；　like；

pletely　naked　underneath　that　towel？？　he　asked；　kissing　her　neck　and　shoulders。

Vanessa　knew　she　ought　to　have　been　overwhelmed　by　her　outrageous　deception。　Dan　had　left

only　an　hour　ago。　Now　here　she　was　with　Aaron；　her　real　boyfriend；　pretending　it　was　perfectly

natural　to　be　taking　a　shower　in　the　late　afternoon；　when　she　normally　only　took　one　in　the

morning。　Maybe　she　was　just　losing　her　mind；　but　somehow　it　made　being　with　Aaronand　Dan　all

the　more　exciting。

Aaron　turned　on　the　shower　and　pulled　his　shirt　off　over　his　head。　？I　say　we　both　need　to　get

really；　really　clean。？　He　tugged　on　Vanessa？s　towel。　？e　on；　I？ll　wash　your　hair　for　you。？

The　towel　fell　to　the　floor　and　Vanessa　laughed　out　loud；　amazed　at　how　unguilty　she　felt。　The

truth　was；　in　the　very　near　future　she　wouldn？t　be　seeing　much　of　these　boys　at　all；　so　why　not

enjoy　them　now；　while　they　were　standing　right　in　front　of　her？naked？

After　their　steaming　hot　shower；　Aaron　busied　himself　cooking　wheat　gluten　chicken　nuggets

with　sweet　potato　fries；　while　Vanessa　edited　her　final　film　project；　a　series　of　interviews　with

seniors　from　Constance　and　other　private　schools　that　she？d　filmed　over　the　course　of　the　past　few

months。

Some　of　the　interviews　were　funny　and　insightful；　but　some　of　them　could　be　interpreted　in　kind