Anthony？s appearance was a
wele surprise。 After talking to Blair on the phone 。 。 。 he just couldn？t help but feel like he was
with the wrong girl。 Plus； he was about twenty minutes early。
There？s a first time for everything。
？Hey；？ Nate called； strolling over to the driver？s side of the car。 ？What？s going on？？
？Not much。？ Anthony grinned。 ？I was just on my way home from the beach； but why don？t you
get in and we？ll go for a ride？？ He reached into the car？s ashtray and plucked out a freshly rolled
joint； waving it in the air。 ？Just a quick drive； you know？？
That was all the invitation Nate needed。 He walked around the car and hopped into the passenger
side； settling into the soft； cream…colored leather seat。
Anthony turned down the stereo and pressed a button so that Nate？s window lowered quickly。 He
circled the car around the parking lot and out onto the street。 ？Go ahead and start it up；？ he urged。
Nate grabbed the joint； pulled his trusty Bic from his sock； and lit it。
？Good time the other night at Isabel？s。？ Anthony reached over to take the joint from Nate。 ？Sorry
you couldn？t make it。？
Nate exhaled a long plume of smoke out the window。 He studied his reflection in the windshield：
he hadn？t had time to shave that morning and was looking kind of stubbly。 His T…shirt was filthy
and his deodorant had given out hours ago： his jeans were grass…stained and dingy。 He was
sporting an incredible tan but still looked a bit unhealthy； probably because he hadn？t been
sleeping much； and his eyes were a little bloodshot。
Is lack of sleep really the culprit here？
He turned to take the joint back from Anthony and studied his friend more