小说园

第27部分（第1页）

black。

The　smooth　slope　of　her　pale　upper　arms；　the　mocking　curve　of　her　red　lips；　and　the　defiant　glow

in　her　big　brown　eyes　made　Dan　wonder　how　he？d　ever　functioned　without　her。　He　resisted　the

urge　to　whip　out　his　leather…bound　notebook　and　scribble　down　a　poem。　Instead　he　pulled　a　Camel

out　of　the　pack　and　stuck　it　between　his　lips　without　lighting　it。　？So；　you　want　to　take　a　walk？　Get

some　coffee　or　something？？　he　ventured；　trying　to　sound　vaguely　normal。

Vanessa　shrugged　her　shoulders　without　moving　away　from　him。　？I？m　having　a　major　d？j？　vu；？

she　confessed　with　a　bemused　smile。　Wasn？t　this　how　they？d　gotten　together　again　the　last　time？

He？d　e　over　and　then　they？d　basically　ripped　each　other？s　clothes　off。

？Me　too；？　he　admitted；　secretly　hoping　that　history　would　repeat　itself。

？Blair　and　I　just　discovered　a　door　to　the　roof　of　the　building。　All　this　time　I　thought　it　was

padlocked；　but　the　lock　is　totally　broken。　It？s　pretty　cool　up　there？want　to　check　it　out？？

So　was　Vanessa　into　sunbathing　now　too？　？Sure；？　Dan　agreed。

To　his　surprise；　she　collected　a　quart　of　Absolut　and　a　bottle　of　tonic　water　from　the　fridge；

tucking　them　into　a　paper　bag　with　two　plastic　Scooby…Doo　glasses；　which　she　filled　with

ice。　？I？ve　kind　of　developed　a　taste　for　this　stuff；？　she　admitted　with　a　wicked　grin。

Dan　stared　at　her　in　amazement；　his　whole　body　trembling　with　anticipation。　Vanessa　never　could

hold　her　liquor；　neither　could　he。

He　followed　her　out　of　the　apartment；　down　the　dirty；　cement…floored　hall；　and　up　the　building？s

cruddy　stairs；　which　were　painted　black　and　smelled　of　turpentine。　Two　flights　up；　Vanessa　pushed

open　a　black　metal　door　marked　DONOTENTERand　stepped　out　into　the　bright　hot　light　of　the

rooftop。　Suddenly　the　city　was　all　around　them；　and　the　Williamsburg　Bridge　seemed　close

enough　to　touch。　Off　to　the　right；　the　East　River　looked　glassy　and　cool　as　a　sailing　yacht　glided

past　a　barge　pulling　a　load　of　Porta　Johns；　its　white　sails　luffing　in　the　thick　afternoon　air。　To　their

left　was　the　sugar　factory；　billowing　smoke　out　of　great　smokestacks　and　adding　to　the　smog。

Across　the　bridge；　Manhattan　loomed　large　and　full　of　promises。　A　born　Manhattanite；　Dan　could

never　get　over　the　feeling　when　he　was　in　Brooklyn　that　something　exciting　was　going　on　across

the　water；　and　that　he　was　missing　out。

？Over　here；？　Vanessa　called　over　the　roar　of　interborough　traffic。　She　ducked　under　a　metal　beam

supporting　the　giant　wooden　water　tower　that　dominated　the　roof。　？We？re　totally　protected　from

the　sun　and　rain　under　here。　And　see；　the　condensation　from　the　water　tower　even　keeps　the　air

kind　of　cool。？

Dan　went　over　and　ducked　under　the　water　tower。　A　black　futon　was　spread　out　on　the　ground；

plete　with　an　assortment　of　black　fake　fur　throw　pillows。　Vanessa　seemed　to　have　her　own