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。 Wele 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 pliment； 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