第24部分(第2/7 页)

　one；　only　years　ago；　when　they　were　much　younger。　She

and　Blair　were　changing　out　of　their　one…piece　Lands？　End　bathing　suits　behind　some　raspberry

bushes　at　her　house　in　Ridgefield；　Connecticut。　Nate　kept　threatening　to　chase　them；　and　they

were　giggling　so　hard　they　kept　pricking　themselves　and　sticking　their　feet　into　the　wrong　holes　of

their　terrycloth　shorts。

？What　the　f？？？

Serena　couldn？t　believe　her　eyes？it　was　almost　as　if　she？d　conjured　him。　Nate　stood　in　front　of

them；　his　eye…brows　furrowed；　brushing　the　splinters　off　the　seat　of　his　khaki　shorts　after　jumping

the　wooden　fence　between　the　two　properties。

？Natie！？　Serena　ran　over　and　threw　her　arms　around　him；　forgetting　how　pletely　naked　she

was。　He　hugged　her　back；　awkwardly　patting　her　bare　shoulder。　She　giggled　and　bounded　back　to

Blair？s　side；　obscuring　her　privates　with　a　leafy　branch。

Blair　grinned　devilishly。　It　somehow　seemed　so　right　to　run　into　Nate　like　this。　There　was　just

something　soobvious　about　the　three　of　them　together　again；　even　if　two…thirds　of　them　weren？t

wearing　any　clothes。

？Strip；　Nate！？　Blair　cried；　running　after　him　like　she　was　going　to　pull　down　his　cargo　shorts。　He

ducked　behind　an　oak　tree。

？Skinny…dipping？？　Nate　asked；　peeking　out　from　behind　the　slim　tree　trunk。

Serena　smiled　as　she　studied　her　old　friend　or　boyfriend　or　whatever　Nate　was？she　wasn？t　even

sure。　That　confused　expression；　those　sleepy；　stoner　green　eyes？he　hadn？t　changed　a　bit。　But　for

once；　Nate　wasn？t　looking　back　at　her　at　all？　he　was　staring；　mouth　agape；　atBlair。

？Naked　is　the　new　clothed；？　Blair　told　him　matter　of　factly。　She　placed　a　hand　on　the　fleshy