romancing the stoner

We can ask the butler to take his clothes off and play the piano for us,? Georgie told Nate. ?He does whatever I tell him to.? When group therapy had been over and it was time for the outpatients to go home, the storm had already been so bad, Nate couldn?t get a car to take him to the station, so Georgie had offered to give him a ride. Then when they?d gotten to the station the trains had stopped running, so the ever-accommodating Georgie had taken Nate home to her house in her bodyguard-driven black Range Rover. Now they were sitting on the floor of her enormous, luxurious¹ bedroom, getting stoned as they watched the snow pile up on the skylight overhead. The Upper East Side town house Nate had grown up in was four stories high and had its own elevator and a twenty-four-hour cook. But Georgie?s Greenwich, Connecticut, mansion² had something his family?s town house didn?t?vast amounts of space inside, and acres of land around the house. It was like a city unto itself, and Georgie had her own private borough³ where she could do absolutely whatever she pleased while her ancient English nanny was in bed watching BBC America and the other servants were doing their jobs in the other boroughs⁴. Georgie?s bathroom even had a Roman daybed in it for lounging on while she waited for her twelve-foot-wide marble Jacuzzi to fill up. ?Or we could have crazy loud sex on the stairs,? Georgie added. ?That would really drive the staff nuts.? Nate leaned his head back against the footboard of Georgie?s four-poster king-sized bed and put the joint⁵ they were sharing to his lips. ?Let?s just watch the snow fall for a while.? Georgie rolled over on her back, resting her head on the leg of Nate?s navy blue Culture of Humanity ripstop trousers. ?God, you?re mellow⁶. I?m not used to hanging out with someone so mellow.? ?What are your friends like?? Nate asked, sucking hard on the joint. Pot seemed to taste and feel better now that he?d gone without it for a while. ?I don?t have any friends anymore,? Georgie answered. ?They all kind of gave up on me because I?m so nuts.? Nate put his hand on her head and began stroking her hair. She had incredibly soft, luxurious hair. ?I hang out a lot with these three guys in my class at school,? he said, referring to Jeremy, Anthony, and Charlie. ?But I went for a few days without getting high and I didn?t really want to hang out with them, you know?? ?That?s what Jackie calls a ?negative friendship.? A ?positive friendship? is when you do fun, constructive⁷ things with your friends like baking cookies, making collages⁸, and climbing mountains.? ?I?m your friend,? Nate offered quietly. Georgie rubbed the back of her head against his leg. ?I know.? She laughed, her not-too-small chest jiggling up and down inside her tight white T-shirt. ?Want to bake some cookies?? Nate combed a lock of her hair up into the air with his fingers and then let it fall, strand⁹ by strand, back into his lap. Blair had long hair, too, but it wasn?t as straight or as silky as Georgie?s. It was funny how girls could all be so different. ?Can I kiss you?? he asked, not really having intended to sound so formal. ?Okay,? Georgie whispered. Nate bent¹⁰ over and brushed his lips against the bridge of her nose, her chin, and finally her lips. She kissed him back hungrily and then pulled away and sat up on her elbows. ?This is what Jackie calls ?feeding your craving¹¹.? You?re doing something that feels good temporarily instead of ?healing the wounds.? Nate shrugged¹². ?Why is it temporary?? He pointed¹³ up at the skylight, which was completely smothered¹⁴ in snow. ?I?m not going anywhere.? Georgie scooched her feet up under her and stood up. She disappeared into the bathroom and Nate could hear a cabinet door open and the sounds of pill bottles rattling¹⁵ and water running. Then she came out, brushing her teeth, her light brown eyes all lit up like she?d just had an epiphany, or at the very least a good idea. ?There?s an old carriage up in the attic¹⁶. We can go up and sit in it,? she announced with her mouth full of toothpaste. She went back into the bathroom to spit and then came out again, holding a pale hand out to Nate. ?Are you coming?? Nate stood up and took her hand. His body was humming from the pot and the intense smoothness of Georgie?s skin. All he really wanted to do was to kiss her some more. ?Can I ?feed my craving? when we get up there?? he asked, feeling very stoned indeed. Georgie cocked a thin dark eyebrow¹⁷ at him and licked her dark red lips. ?I might even let you ?heal my wounds.?? Nate grinned his lopsided stoner grin. Who?d known rehab psychobabble could be such a turn-on! 

1 luxurious   

adj.精美而昂贵的；豪华的

参考例句：

• This is a luxurious car complete with air conditioning and telephone.这是一辆附有空调设备和电话的豪华轿车。
• The rich man lives in luxurious surroundings.这位富人生活在奢侈的环境中。

2 mansion   

n.大厦，大楼；宅第

参考例句：

• The old mansion was built in 1850.这座古宅建于1850年。
• The mansion has extensive grounds.这大厦四周的庭园广阔。

3 borough   

n.享有自治权的市镇；(英)自治市镇

参考例句：

• He was slated for borough president.他被提名做自治区主席。
• That's what happened to Harry Barritt of London's Bromley borough.住在伦敦的布罗姆利自治市的哈里.巴里特就经历了此事。

4 boroughs   

（尤指大伦敦的）行政区( borough的名词复数 )； 议会中有代表的市镇

参考例句：

• London is made up of 32 boroughs. 伦敦由三十二个行政区组成。
• Brooklyn is one of the five boroughs of New York City. 布鲁克林区是纽约市的五个行政区之一。

5 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

6 mellow   

adj.柔和的；熟透的；v.变柔和；(使)成熟

参考例句：

• These apples are mellow at this time of year.每年这时节，苹果就熟透了。
• The colours become mellow as the sun went down.当太阳落山时，色彩变得柔和了。

7 constructive   

adj.建设的，建设性的

参考例句：

• We welcome constructive criticism.我们乐意接受有建设性的批评。
• He is beginning to deal with his anger in a constructive way.他开始用建设性的方法处理自己的怒气。

8 collages   

n.拼贴画( collage的名词复数 )；杂烩

参考例句：

• My work includes mixed media, paintings and digital collages. 我的工作包括混合媒介，绘画和数码拼贴。 来自互联网
• I love making photo collages. 我喜欢做照片拼贴。 来自互联网

9 strand   

vt.使（船）搁浅，使（某人）困于（某地）

参考例句：

• She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ears.她把一缕散发夹到了耳后。
• The climbers had been stranded by a storm.登山者被暴风雨困住了。

10 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

11 craving   

n.渴望,热望

参考例句：

• a craving for chocolate 非常想吃巧克力
• She skipped normal meals to satisfy her craving for chocolate and crisps. 她不吃正餐，以便满足自己吃巧克力和炸薯片的渴望。

12 shrugged   

vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀，什么也没说。
• She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩，装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

14 smothered   

（使）窒息， （使）透不过气( smother的过去式和过去分词 )； 覆盖； 忍住； 抑制

参考例句：

• He smothered the baby with a pillow. 他用枕头把婴儿闷死了。
• The fire is smothered by ashes. 火被灰闷熄了。

15 rattling   

adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词

参考例句：

• This book is a rattling good read. 这是一本非常好的读物。
• At that same instant,a deafening explosion set the windows rattling. 正在这时，一声震耳欲聋的爆炸突然袭来，把窗玻璃震得当当地响。

16 attic   

n.顶楼，屋顶室

参考例句：

• Leakiness in the roof caused a damp attic.屋漏使顶楼潮湿。
• What's to be done with all this stuff in the attic?顶楼上的材料怎么处理？

17 eyebrow   

n.眉毛，眉

参考例句：

• Her eyebrow is well penciled.她的眉毛画得很好。
• With an eyebrow raised,he seemed divided between surprise and amusement.他一只眉毛扬了扬，似乎既感到吃惊，又觉有趣。