?Please tell me that?s his sister,? Thaddeus whispered. ?Is she wearing teal eye shadow? Wait till
I tell Serge when I get back to the hotel.?
Serena studied the new girl. She was indeed wearing blue eye shadow. She was also wearing
head-to-toe peach, which was so . ..peach . Her hair was blond and vaguely frosty looking?she
looked like Stripper Barbie at the beach.
Stripper Beach Barbie? Now that?s catchy.
?And where did she get that outfit Thaddeus gasped bitchily.
Serena didn?t have time to indulge in more catty gossip: Blair was racing toward her, a panicked
look on her face that Serena knew all too well.
?Shit,? Serena muttered in a low voice.
?Who. The. Fuck. Is.That Blair hissed angrily, pushing through the gawkers and into the
narrow kitchenette.
There was no need for Serena to ask who she was talking about.
?Oh, honey,? Thaddeus declared kindly. ?She?s nothing foryou to worry about.?
?I cannot believe,? Blair snapped, ?that Nate had the balls to show up tonight with that trash.
Where did he pick her up?the mall
Well, there are plenty of those on Long Island.
?Sit,?Thaddeus ordered,patting the countertop.?Relax.?
?Shit!? Blair took his advice and pulled herself up onto the kitchen counter. ?I need a drink.?
?Just stick with us,? Thaddeus suggested, leaping onto the counter himself and draping a
protective arm over Blair?s bare shoulders.
?I didn?t think it was true.? Chuck Bass squeezed past Serena to join the threesome in the
kitchen. ?But I guess seeing is believing, huh, ladies
?Hey Chuck,? Serena sighed, leaning against the counter-top between Thaddeus?s widespread
legs. The last thing she wanted was for Chuck Bass to get his claws into her gorgeous costar.
?Blair, back stateside!? Chuck cried. ?Good to see you.? He leaned in and dropped a quick kiss
on each of her cheeks.
?Hello, Chuck,? Blair replied, receiving his kisses dutifully. ?Who?s the mystery bitch She
might as well take advantage of the one good thing about Chuck Bass: he could always be counted
on for the scoop, however inaccurate.
?I heard about her but I?ve never actually met her,? Chuck explained proudly. He took a swig
from a freshly opened bottle of Dom Perignon. ?Oh! Don?t look now,? he whispered loudly,
clearly enjoying the moment, ?but I think we?re about to meet and greet.?
Nate led Tawny through the thicket on the dance floor toward the cluster of familiar faces in the
kitchen.
?Hey,? Nate shouted over the din. ?Serena. Blair.? They looked even more gorgeous than he
remembered. Like they?d been sprinkled with fairy dust.
?Nate!? Serena lunged forward to give her old friend a warm hug, trying to prevent the moment
from being too unbearably awkward.
Too late.
?Hello,? Blair seethed, crossing her legs and brandishing her comically long cigarette holder like
a weapon. ?Can I please have a light, someone
Thaddeus Smith produced his silver monogrammed Zippo and lit Blair?s cigarette for her. The
song faded into Madonna?s ?Papa Don?t Preach,? and some of the ultra-hyper extras jumped into
the middle of the dance floor, pretending to sing with imaginary microphones.
?A real gentleman at last.? Blair sighed dramatically. ?Has anyone seen my date Just wait until
Nate saw her French-kissing with Jason. Hah!
?Blair,? Nate stuttered. ?You look great. Welcome back.? He didn?t know what else to say. He
felt like an asshole.
Blair hopped down from her perch on the countertop, wobbling drunkenly in her pointy black
Jimmy Choos as she landed on the cracked tiles of the kitchen floor with a thud. ?Yes, thanks.?
She nodded. ?You?ll have to excuse me. I?m really in the mood to dance. I just need to find my
partner.? She strode back into the packed living room.
Serena smiled apologetically at Nate. ?I?m Serena, by the way.? She offered her hand to the new
girl and noticed that she did have pretty almond-shaped blue eyes and adorable freckles on every
inch of her skin.
But isn?t she always thinking of something nice to say?
?I?m Tawny,? the girl said in a thick accent that made it sound likeTauh-awe-nie .
?Right, sorry,? Nate mumbled. ?Serena, this is Tawny.?
?And Thaddeus.? Serena squeezed the movie star?s arm. ?This is Nate and Tawny.?
Thaddeus jumped down from the countertop and shook hands warmly, first with Nate, then with
Tawny. A drunk girl wearing a purple off-the-shoulder American Apparel minidress backed into
him accidentally. He gently pushed the dancing girl away from the kitchen.
?It?s great to meet you both,? he responded charmingly.
He reallyis a good actor.
?Ahem!? Chuck Bass cleared his throat dramatically. ?And I?m Chuck.?
?Tawny.? The girl adjusted the straps on her teeny peach backpack and offered him her hand
before turning back to look at Thaddeus, wide-eyed and practically drooling.
?Enchanted,? Chuck cooed, kissing her hand and bowing deeply. ?Let?s get to know each other,
darling. You don?t mind, do you, Natie
Nate would have told him no, go right ahead, but he was distracted by the sight of Blair, holding
hands with some tall banker-type, laughing with her head thrown back. She was introducing him
to an older, impeccably dressed short man, and there was something familiar in the excited way
she was flirting with both of them that filled Nate with longing.
?Excuse me,? Nate stammered. ?I have to go.?
As he headed for the door, he heard Chuck say, ?By the way, you?ve really got some tan.?
Tawny, indeed.
b is an inspiration
?Darling! Dar-ling!? Bailey Winter screeched at Blair. ?You must?I repeat,must ?stay with me on
the island this summer. You areperfection .?
They were standing in the bedroom doorway, which was as far away as Blair could get from the
kitchen without actually losing sight of it. She tucked her dark, almost shoulder-length hair behind
her ears self-conciously. She?d always liked getting a compliment, but what did you say when
someone called you perfect?
How about ?thank you
?I?m starting a new collection. It?s called Summer/Winter.? Bailey made a motion with his hands
that Blair suspected was supposed to convey the seasons but instead looked seizurelike. ?And you,
my love, are Winter.?
Jason placed his big, soothing hand on the nape of her neck. ?That?s incredible, Blair,? he said
sweetly.
Itwas incredible, but out of the corner of her eye, she couldn?t help but watch Nate, with his
glittering green eyes and perfectly worn baby blue Polo, backing away from Serena and Chuck
and that townie whore and exiting the party. Where the fuck was he going?
?And Serena is Summer!? Bailey cried, snapping Blair back to attention. He snapped his
mirrored aviator sunglasses off his face and stared excitedly into the overhead light.
Blair made eye contact with Serena across the dance floor. Of course, being one of two muses
hadn?texactly been part of the fantasy, but if she had to share the limelight with anyone, then it
should be her best friend.
How generous.
?I?ll need you both to live with me, of course. For inspiration, darling! Don?t worry?there?s
plenty of room for visitors in the beach house!? he singsonged, winking at Jason.
Blair watched Nate bump fists with Jeremy Scott Tompkinson from his lacrosse team out in the
hallway. She sometimes wondered how much guys really told one another in the locker room. Had
he told them all about the first time they?d had sex? What about how he?d done it with Serena?
Blair looked down to see that her hands were suddenly clenched in little red fists.
?Well, I?d love to visit.? Jason pulled Blair closer. ?If she wants me to.?
Bailey put his aviators back on and pushed them down the bridge of his nose. ?I?ll take you if
she won?t!? He laughed and then clapped his hands together. ?Oh, that mustterrify you! Don?t
worry, I don?t bite. Unless you ask me to!? Bailey squealed in delight.
Blair set a prim smile on her lips. She was having a hard time concentrating on Bailey?s staccato
voice. He?d called her perfect?she?d heard that.
Of course she had.
But what was this about living with him? Well, that could work. Although she?d just told Jason
she?d be staying here, Bailey?s palatial town house on Sixty-second and Park would suit her just
fine before jetting off to Yale in a couple months. Surely Audrey Hepburn had had some similar
set up as a muse? ?I have a feeling my mom will be dropping by for ?tea? every afternoon,? she
offered.
?Will she be on Georgica, too Bailey asked, arching his unnaturally high, dark eyebrows even
higher. ?How wonderful!?
?Georgia Blair creased her forehead. Did Bailey always have to be so strange?
?No darling, Georgica.At the beach house? In East Hampton? Where we?ll all be he
explained. ?Are you feeling all right, dear
Wait, theHamptons ? As in, the Hamptons where Nate and that little townie slut were going to be
all summer long? Why hadn?t he mentioned that before?
Well, hehad.
?Yes,? Blair confirmed, although she was shaking her head no. ?I?m fine.?
?I?m afraid the guest house is set back on the property and it?s abit close to the neighbors,
although they?re hardly ever there. Perhaps you know them, dear? The Archibalds? Their son
seems to be around this summer. About your age. Devilishly handsome
Oh, she knew him, all right.
You know what they say:love thy neighbor!
threesome on the roof
Dan clambered up the ladder and pushed open the trapdoor to the roof, climbing outside and into
the night. The building wasn?t high enough to see the East River, but he could smell it, dank and
fishy. Still, there was something magical about dusk in New York in the summertime.
He lit a Camel and puffed on it greedily. Through the uneven tar roof he could feel the beat of the
bass and hear the dull roar of the crowd. He needed to sit and think things through in solitude.
Strolling to the edge of the roof, he peered into the back garden and in the pitch darkness he
almost stepped on Bree, seated near the roof?s edge in a lotus position, eyes closed, her turquoise
gypsy skirt fanned around her.
?Bree, are you okay
?Dan,? she replied calmly. She opened her eyes and smiled up at him. ?You?re smoking.?
Shit.
He tossed the burning butt into the night. ?Sorry,? he appologized sheepishly.
?You don?t need to apologize,? she said in a voice so neutral it was condescending.
Dan took a seat next to her on the roof as darkness descended. The backyard was so dark he
could just barely make out the sparse tops of lilac bushes and the burning embers of people?s
cigarettes. He closed his eyes and tried to pretend they were on top of a mountain in the Pacific
Northwest, but even his poet?s imagination wasn?t quite that strong.
There?s no oxygen up here. Not enough for two . . .
?I won?t mind if you want to smoke,? Bree continued. ?I wish you wouldn?t, because it?s bad for
your body and it?s bad for the earth, but you?re an individual. You can do what you like.?
Dan didn?t feel like arguing. He shook out another cigarette and lit it. There. He felt better
already.
?I?m sorry you had to come up here after me,? Bree apologized.
Dan decided not to mention that he hadn?t been looking for Bree, just a minute of peace and
nicotine.
?Anyway, I thought you?d be downstairs talking to Vanessa. It certainly seems like you two have
a lot of things to say to one another.?
Dan didn?t know how to respond. The truth was, he didn?t really believe he and Vanessa were
going to be living together for the rest of the summer as . . . friends.
Friends with benefits, maybe?
?I?m not mad or anything,? Bree assured him, and she sounded like she meant it. ?We?ve had a
nice time together these past few weeks, haven?t we
?Totally,? Dan agreed, nodding. He knew what was coming.
?I?ve really enjoyed the experience of getting to know you, getting to understand you a little, as a
person. That?s always a magical journey, don?t you think
Oh boy.
?Right, right,? Dan replied. Her philosophy-of-life mumbo jumbo was getting kind of old. He?d
be glad when he didn?t have to listen to it anymore.
?And it?s okay to be sad when the journey ends,? she said. ?But our paths are diverging. Your
life path has taken you to a big Hollywood party. That?s just not something that I understand. My
path is leading me elsewhere.?
He?d gambled his education and his entire future on a romance with Vanessa, and he was
comfortable with that. But he?d gambled his entire future with Vanessa on Bree? What had he
been thinking?
Bree stood and stretched, holding her hands high above her head and exhaling deeply. Only her
bright white camisole and white-blond hair were visible in the dark, so she looked like she was
floating, legless.
?Oh, Dan.? She sniffled a little. ?Itis hard to say good-bye, isn?t it? I try to remember what my
yogi teaches about letting go of things, but it?s hard. I mean, I?m still just a student.?
Suddenly it didn?t seem hard to say good-bye at all.
Dan hugged her weakly because it seemed like the right thing to do, then watched her disappear
through the trap door. He was kind of glad that they were breaking up, and he was definitely
psyched she was going to leave. He?d learned a lot from her, about nature, about exercise, about
spirituality, but he?d reached his breaking point: he just wanted a cigarette, a minute of peace, and
then he?d head downstairs and go home with Vanessa?in a just-friends sort of way.
?Bummer,? uttered a male voice in the darkness.
Why was it so hard to get a minute alone?
?Who?s that All Dan could see was a cherry tip and the telltale scent of a joint.
?Sorry, dude.? Nate Archibald stepped closer to Dan. ?Didn?t mean to eavesdrop. I guess you
didn?t realize I was up here.?
?Oh, hey.? Dan recognized the preppy stoner guy who?d broken Jenny?s heart last fall. Jenny
seemed to have gotten over it pretty fast, though, so there were no hard feelings.
?You?re taking it pretty well,? Nate commented.
?Honestly, man,? Dan replied philosophically, ?it just wasn?t meant to be. I thought she was
someone I was interested in. I mean, I thought I was ready for a change. But you know what? I
