第19部分(第1/8 頁)

Anthony　Avuldsen　wove　through　the　crowd；　lifting　his　whiskey　and　soda　high　into　the　air　to

avoid　a　spill。　He？d　shaved　his　blond　hair　close　to　his　head　and　had　a　deep　summertime　tan　that

made　his　smile　seem　even　brighter　than　usual。　The　bouncer？a　burly　guy　with　no　discernible　neck？

gave　him　a　quick　nod；　allowing　him　to　step　up　onto　the　platform　that　doubled　as　the　club？s　VIP

room。

？Archibald；　you　son　of　a　bitch；？　Anthony　said；　knocking　his　glass　against　Nate？s　bottle　in

greeting。　？Where　the　hell　have　you　been　keeping　yourself？？

？Hey；？　Nate　greeted　him。

？Coach　working　you？？　Anthony　plopped　next　to　Nate　on　the　banquette；　nodding　his　head　in　time

to　the　thumping　bass　line。

？Something　like　that；？　Nate　admitted。

？Dude；？　Anthony　continued；　shouting　to　be　heard　over　the　deafening　din　of　the　music。　？I　hear

Blair？s　back　in　town。　What？s　the　story？？

Nate　frowned；　then　draped　an　arm　around　Tawny；　pulling　her　even　closer。　？I　don？t　know。？　He

shrugged。

？I？m　Tawny；？　the　girl　said；　leaning　across　Nate？s　lap　and　smiling　in　Anthony？s　direction。

？What？s　up？？　Anthony　nodded　in　greeting。　？Anthony。？

？You　two　know　each　other　from　school？？　she　wanted　to　know。

？Yeah；？　Anthony　responded。　？How　do　you　two　know　each　other？？

Nate　signaled　to　the　waitress。　He　needed　another　drink；　immediately。

？Nate　just　fell　at　my　feet　one　day；？　Tawny　replied；　draining　the　last　of　h