g　of　revelers；　waving　at　Blair？s　little　brother　Tyler　and　his

girlfriend；　Jasmine；　who　were　ballroom　dancing　rather　adorably；　despite　the　fact　that　Gwen

Stefani？s　？Hollaback　Girl？　was　playing。　Tyler　just　tipped　his　head　at　her；　clearly　engrossed　in　his

waltz。　Serena　kept　walking　until　she　was　standing　right　where　she　belonged？directly　in　front　of

Nate。　Her　breath　caught　in　her　throat　as　she　looked　at　him。　In　his　black　Hugo　Boss　tux；　crisp　white

shirt；　and　shiny　dark　Prada　loafers；　he　really　did　look　princely。

？Hey。？　His　face　broke　into　a　wide　grin　when　he　saw　her。　？Hey；　yourself。？　She　stepped　a　little

closer　and　reached　for　his　hand。　He　closed　his　fingers　around　hers；　and　Serena　breathed　a　sigh　of

relief　at　the　warm　touch　of　his　skin。　？You　okay？？　？Yeah。？　Nate　shrugged　his　shoulders。　？I　guess。？

He　dropped　her　hand；　his　eyes　shifting　nervously　away　and　then　back　again。

？It？ll　be　easier　tomorrow；　after　Blair　leaves。？　She　took　his　hand　again　and　squeezed　it　tightly　in

her　own。　It　was　torture　to　have　to　stand　next　to　him　like　this　and　not　really　be　able　to　touch　him。

All　she　wanted　was　to　pull　him　close　and　kiss　him；　until　Blair；　the　party；　and　the　whole　world　fell

away；　leaving　just　the　two　of　them。

？Yeah。？　Nate？s　eyes　were　shiny　with　emotion。　？You　look　really　beautiful　tonight。？　His　voice

trembled。　Was　he　struggling　to　keep　his　hands　off　her；　just　like　she　was？

She　tossed　her　long　blond　hair　over　one　shoulder。　？My　hair　does　look　a　little　better　when　I　brush

it；？　she　joked。　Behind　them　Tyler　spun　Jasmine　around　and　around。　Jasmine　looked　like　she　was

about　to　puke　all　over　her　cute　purple　plaid　satin　Marc　Jacobs　halter　dress。

Nate　bit　his　lip