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she added slowly,  Lawn Guyland.
 Oh! Now I got it! She had a Long Island accent. I was embarrassed
to admit this, but I couldn t tell a Brooklyn from a Bronx from a Queens
from a Long Island accent, but now that I d heard Gina s, I realized that
some of my students spoke exactly like she did. It wasn t a particularly
lyrical accent, but it somehow became her.  I don t know anyone who
lives on Long Island.
She gave me a smile and admitted,  I don t know anybody who lives in
the city.
Before I could censor myself, I nearly shouted,  No!
 Yeah, she said, looking rather proud.  Everybody I know lives on the
island.
 Nearly everybody I know lives in Manhattan or Brooklyn. It s not
such a small world, is it?
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Cherry Grove
 I guess not. But it makes sense. I mean, who d want to drive into the
city just to hang out? I don t like to go outside of Suffolk County if I
don t have to.
 That s the county Long Island s in?
 There s four of  em, she said, seemingly testing to see if I was
kidding.  Kings, Queens, Nassau and Suffolk. But most of us only
consider Nassau and Suffolk to be the real island. We kinda ignore
Brooklyn and Queens. Don t tell  em, she added, sotto voce.
 I ve only been there twice, I admitted, my head spinning while I tried
to figure out what she was talking about.  Just to get to the ferry.
 Well, I ll have to take you around some time. If you can t find it on
Long Island, you don t need it.
I rather doubted that, but I wasn t going to argue. I also wasn t going
to admit that all I knew about Long Island was that it was, in fact, a long
island next to New York City. As a matter of fact, it might be part of New
York City for all I knew. And I had no idea why she brought Brooklyn
and Queens into the mix. But I wasn t going to ask Gina any more
questions about the whole affair. She was obviously a little touchy when it
came to her town if it was a town.  Do you ever come into the city?
 Oh, sure. I ve been there a lot. I worked there for about six months.
 Really? Did you enjoy it?
 I just worked. Went home as soon as I was done. I hated having to go
that far to work, so no, I didn t. I left as soon as they found someone to
replace me.
 But what about just visiting?
 Just to visit? Probably six, maybe seven times.
 In your life?
 Yeah. I ve been to JFK a bunch. Does that count?
 No, I meant coming into Manhattan to do something. Like go to a
play or a museum.
 I went to Radio City for the Christmas show a couple of times when I
was a kid. And a bunch of my friends drug me to Times Square for the
Millennium. And I went to a couple of museums with my class when I
was in school. So, I ve been there. She stuck her chin out and said,  I ve
been to the city a lot more than you ve been to Long Island.
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Susan X Meagher
She had me there.  Good point. I m just one of those people who grew
up wanting to live in New York. I ve always considered New York to be
Manhattan.
 We ve got a hundred miles of island out here.
 A hundred miles? You can t be serious.
 Yes, I am. It s a long, long island. We ve got nice places, bad places,
mansions, slums, ocean views, views of your neighbors bedrooms. You
name it, we ve got it.
 Is Long Island a city or part of 
 Damn, she said, laughing.  You don t know a damned thing about it.
How can you ignore a place this big that s right next door to you?
 I don t know. I guess it s like New Jersey to me.
She flicked her hand as though she were swatting a fly.  I don t know
anything about Jersey.
 Well, it s big, I said, teasing her.  And it s a state. And it s right next
to New York.
Her smile was so lovely I barely heard her say,  True. And even
though she d only been there fifteen minutes, we d been talking long
enough. I wanted to feel those nice, strong hands on my body. Not so
slyly scooting next to her on the sofa, I snuggled against her when she
held her arm out.  Long Island has you. That s a lot. There was just one
thing that I had to resolve before I could be intimate with her again.
 Gina?
 Hmm?
 You didn t really pick me up because there weren t many other women
on the island, did you?
 No. Definitely not, she said. She gave me a gentle squeeze and kissed
my cheek.  To be honest, I usually go for an Italian girl. I ve never been
out with someone with blue eyes or uhm, light-colored hair. But I m
really glad I branched out. You re special, Hayden. Real special.
I cuddled up against her and felt her chest expand and contract when
she breathed.  I don t know what made you come up to me, but I m
damned glad you did.
)
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Cherry Grove
We didn t rock the house like we d done the first time, but I think I
enjoyed having sex with Gina this time even more. We were on an equal
level now, and she seemed more interested in being close to me, rather
than just giving me orgasms. It was almost two in the morning when we
went to sleep, and it seemed as if I d just dozed off when I heard her
watch alarm beep in my ear. Of course, I didn t know what it was at the
time, other than an annoying sound that made me whimper in protest. I
was so confused that Gina picked up my head and pulled her arm away to
shut it off.  Go back to sleep, she whispered.
I reached out and pulled her to me, starting to kiss her body.  Don t [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]