ith the correct intonation。 He
stopped smiling。 God； he sounded gay。 ？There were lots of pretty girls at our first meeting； and
they were kissing each other too。？ He frowned； totally confused。 ？But I kissed Greg。？
Vanessa microwaved a pitcher of water and poured it out into two mismatched mugs； stirring in
spoonfuls of instant coffee。 She took a sip and made a face。 Christ； Folgers fucking tasted like dog
piss after all the amazing coffee she？d been drinking in the Hamptons。
？So let me get this straight。？ She took another sip of the acrid coffee and looked across the room；
past the mountain of unwashed dishes and the bowl of deposing bananas to the rickety stool
where Dan was perched miserably。 ？No pun intended。？
？Ha；？ Dan said joylessly。
？So 。 。 。 you？re gay。 You。 Dan Humphrey。 Gay。 Not gay happy…gay。 Gay…gay。 Gay；
I…like…to…kiss…boys gay。？Vanessa raised her dark eyebrows doubtfully。
？I wouldn？t exactly say Ilike to kiss boys。？ Dan frowned。 ？But I did。？
Jesus。 She？d only been gone three days and Dan had already met someone else。 Girl； boy；
monkey。 It just seemed kind of fast。 ？Well； I ate a salad once。 Doesn？t mean I？m a vegetarian。？
？It？s not that simple。 I got a postcard from Jenny that said my mom said I used to wear dresses
when I was a kid。？ Dan ran his fingers through his hair； inadvertently destroying the cigarette he？d
tucked behind his ear only a few minutes before。 ？Shit。？
？It kind ofis simple； Dan。 Look； you？re either gay or you？re not。 Or 。 。 。？ Vanessa paused；
considering this third option。 ？You？re bi。 Maybe that？s what it is。You？re just 。 。 。 exploring。
Discovering yourself。？
？Do you think so？？ Dan？s face brigh