curvy； blue…eyed blonde who wore her curly dark blond
hair pulled back tight and tucked under a red bandana。 Her pink tube top was riding dangerously
low and her denim miniskirt promisingly high。 A lipstick…smeared straw poked out of the Coke she
gripped in her left hand。 She extended her right hand to Nate； her long； perfectly painted nails
exactly the same shade of red as the can。
？Just ignore my friends；？ she told him apologetically。
Her skin was the same golden beige as that of every other girl who used the same shade of
Clinique self…tanner； but beneath the beige was a smattering of freckles covering her nose； cheeks；
shoulders； arms； and chest。 Nate had learned from Blair that girls were usually more plicated
than they first appeared； and this girl？s prominent freckles seemed to suggest that she was more
than just a typical Long Island babe。
Nate grinned as he took her hand and let her pull him to his feet。 ？Yeah； no problem；？ he
answered sheepishly。
？You？re going to need to get that looked at；？ Freckles advised； nodding at the bike。
？Yeah；？ muttered Nate。 He wasn？t that worried about the bike。 The only thing that seemed worth
looking at was right in front of him。
？I？m Tawny。 I know a place where you can get your bike taken care of。 But maybe I？ll buy you
an ice cream cone first。？
Tawny？ But isn？t that the color of her self…tanner？！
？Sure。？ He？d smoked the roach from his morning joint before leaving Coach？s place？hence the
accident； maybe？？ and ice cream sounded very appetizing indeed。
？So what？s your story； Nate？ I？ve never seen you around；？ Tawny asked as she skipped across
the street to a tiny； faded blue hou