that　he　doesn？t　deserve　you。？　He　cracked　a　smile。　Nate　hated　it　when　his

father　tried　to　be　charming？especially　when　it　was　at　his　expense。

？That？s　true。？　Blair？s　blue　eyes　sparkled　with　mischief。　？But　he　knows　that。？　She　slipped　her

arm　through　Nate？s　and　rested　her　head　on　his　shoulder。　It　occurred　to　Nate　that　she？d　e　to

rescue　him　from　his　father。　He　reallydidn？t　deserve　her。

？This　calls　for　a　toast；？　Captain　Archibald　announced　jovially；　picking　up　two　champagne　flutes

filled　with　golden　liquid　from　the　bar　and　handing　one　each　to　Nate　and　Blair　before　raising　his

own　glass。　？You？re　Yalies　now。？　The

Captain　motioned　in　their　direction　with　his　full　glass。　？Here？s　to　the　navy　blue！？　Nate　opened

his　mouth　to　say　something；　anything；　but　nothing　came　out。　A　Yalie？　He　certainly　didn？t　feel　like

one。　？You　know；　Dad；？　he　began；　choosing　his　words　carefully；　？I　wanted　to　thank　you　for

introducing　me　to　Chips？er；　Captain　Chips。？　He　paused　to　swallow　a　gulp　of　champagne。　？He

really　taught　me　a　lot　about　being　a　man　。　。　。　and　uh　。　。　。　thinking　with　your　。　。　。　you　know。？　Blair

nodded　distractedly；　and　Nate　followed　her　gaze？she　was　staring　at　Chuck　Bass；　of　all　people。

Nate　was　about　to　be　jealous　when　he　noticed　that　Chuck　was　standing　with　a　nerdy　blond

spectacled　kid　in　a　too…small　tux；　his　orange…and…blue　monkey…patterned　socks　exposed　above　his

scuffed　loafers。　Chuck　was　holding　his　chattering；　screeching　monkey　up　to　an　enormous；　ancient

mirror　so　the　monkey　could　admire　his　tuxedo　and　hot　pink　bow　tie　identical　to　Chuck？s。　Wow。

And　Nate　thoughthe　had　problems。

Nate　turned　away　and　searched　his　father？s　face　for　some　kind　of　recognition　or